Then came the excuses.

Her bank account was frozen. Her friend hadn’t paid her back. Her car needed repairs. She had medical expenses. There was always something.

Meanwhile, life hit me from another direction.

The company I worked for started layoffs unexpectedly. At first, everyone thought only a few departments would be affected, but within two weeks, I was called into HR and told my position had been eliminated.

I felt numb driving home that day.

I’d never been unemployed before. I kept thinking about our bills, our mortgage, groceries, insurance, everything. And all I could think about was how badly I needed the money I’d loaned out.

When my mother-in-law found out, I hoped maybe she’d finally understand how serious things were.

Instead, she laughed.

I wish I were exaggerating.

We were at a family gathering when someone mentioned my layoff. She looked directly at me, shrugged, and said, “That’s what happens when you’re careless with money.”

Then she laughed and added, “Maybe this will teach you not to hand money out so easily.”

The table went silent.

I honestly felt my face burning with humiliation. I kept waiting for her to say she was joking, but she never did.

My husband immediately snapped at her and told her she was being cruel, but she just rolled her eyes like we were overreacting.

That moment changed something in me.

Up until then, I still wanted to believe she intended to repay me eventually. But after hearing her mock me for helping her, I realized she never respected me in the first place.

I stopped reaching out after that.

No calls. No texts. Nothing.

I focused on finding work instead. Those months were rough. I picked up freelance jobs online, sold things we didn’t need, and cut every expense possible. Some nights I barely slept from stress.

Then, three months later, my phone rang around 8 p.m.

Her name popped up on my screen.

I almost ignored it.