Most parents would do anything to see their child smile. That’s why when my mother-in-law, Jacqueline, gifted my 6-year-old daughter Jean a beautiful pink bicycle for her birthday, I was stunned. This was not her usual behavior. Normally, she wasn’t one for grand gestures, so I thought—just for a moment—that maybe she was trying to make an effort.
I was so, so wrong.
Just a few days later, Jacqueline showed up unannounced. She put on her sweetest voice and said, “Jean, sweetheart, be a dear and get Grandma a glass of water.”
Jean, ever the polite little girl, eagerly ran inside. But the second she was out of sight, Jacqueline took the bike from our front porch and started forcing it into her car’s trunk.
Jean came out just in time to see her beloved birthday gift being taken away.
“Grandma, NO!” she screamed.
Her little voice cracked, filled with confusion and heartbreak. She didn’t understand.
I stepped forward, my heart pounding. “What the hell are you doing?”
Jacqueline didn’t even look guilty. She turned to me with a smirk and said something that made me see red.
“I’m taking it back. Jean doesn’t deserve it.”
Excuse me?
I stood there, stunned. My daughter was sobbing, and this woman—her own grandmother—was stealing her gift like it was nothing.
I demanded an explanation, but Jacqueline just brushed me off, got in her car, and drove away—with Jean’s bike still in her trunk.
Jean cried herself to sleep that night, asking me over and over, “Mommy, what did I do wrong?”
But the truth is, she did nothing wrong.
It was just Jacqueline’s way of proving she was still in control. It was never about Jean. It was about her power.
Well, not anymore.
The next day, I went out and bought my daughter an even better bike, and I made sure she knew that no one—not even family—has the right to take away something she loves.
Some gifts come with strings attached. But my daughter? She deserves unconditional love.
Would you ever forgive someone for doing this? Tell me in the comments below!