At my wedding, my mother-in-law stood and declared, “He deserves someone genuine, not a single mother with baggage

At my wedding, my mother-in-law stood and declared, “He deserves someone genuine, not a single mother with baggage.” The room fell silent. I struggled to hold my composure, but then my 8-year-old daughter, Lily, stood up, walked to the front, and said, “My new dad told me to read this if anyone was unkind to my mom.” She opened the envelope he’d given her.
My name is Claire Bennett, and six months ago, at my wedding reception, my mother-in-law seized the microphone before nearly 200 guests. “I want to say a few words about my son,” she began, her voice sweet but laced with venom. The room hushed instantly.
To understand, you need to know: I’m a single mother. Lily is my world. Then I met Ethan, a kind-hearted firefighter who loved me and embraced Lily as his own. He was the future I never dared to dream of.
But his mother, Patricia, was a storm I didn’t anticipate.
From our first encounter, she eyed me critically and remarked, “A child already? That’s quite modern.” Every family gathering was a subtle war, filled with jabs about Ethan “shouldering someone else’s burden.”
Ethan always defended me, but I sensed he knew his mother was plotting something for our wedding.
I was right.
As all eyes watched, Patricia raised her glass. “Ethan has the biggest heart,” she said. “Sometimes too big, trying to save things that might not be worth saving.” She locked eyes with me. “Today, he’s welcomed a single mother into our family.”
The room stared. My cheeks burned with shame