My Mother-in-Law Stole Our Wedding Money and Gave It a New Purpose

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Our wedding day was everything we had dreamed of—a beautiful vineyard ceremony, heartfelt vows, and the joy of celebrating with our closest family and friends. As the festivities wound down, I went to check the card box where guests had placed their generous gifts, only to find it missing. My heart sank. After a frantic search, my new mother-in-law, Maris, casually informed me she had taken the entire box, containing about $5000, to her car for “safekeeping.” While I was uncomfortable, I didn’t want to cause a scene on our wedding day and decided to trust her until the next morning.

At our post-wedding brunch, I politely asked for the box back. Instead of handing it over, she calmly announced she had counted the money and decided to hold onto it for us. To my utter shock, she also revealed she had already taken $800 from it to cover expenses for other family members, deeming it a necessary family duty. When my husband, Soren, and I demanded the return of our gifts, she refused, stating she would decide what we could use it for in the future, perhaps for a down payment if we proved ourselves “wise.” The argument that ensued was humiliating, drawing stares from everyone in the restaurant before she stormed out.

We were devastated. That money wasn’t for luxuries; it was our carefully planned baby fund. We knew a direct confrontation would fail, so we devised a different strategy. Soren called his mother and explained that because she had taken our seed money, we would have to delay starting a family for several years. The thought of postponing her chance to be a grandmother hit its mark. Within days, she was at our door with a envelope containing the full $5000. We deposited the money into our “Baby Fund” savings account. When she later called to ask if I was pregnant, Soren calmly informed her we had decided to wait and travel first. She was furious we had “manipulated” her, but we stood our ground. The experience taught us a powerful lesson in setting boundaries and protecting the future we are building together, on our own terms.

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