As the icy water trickled down my face and soaked into my pajamas, I felt a mix of disbelief and indignation. My mother-in-law’s voice rang in my ears, sharp and commanding. This was the last straw in a long line of deliberate provocations and passive-aggressive gestures. Her disdain for me was no longer just thinly veiled – it had become blatantly apparent.
I sat up, shivering and trying to gather my thoughts. The idea that someone could be so brazen as to wake another person up in such a harsh manner was almost beyond comprehension. Yet, here I was, a victim of her peculiar brand of tough love, or perhaps more accurately, tough disdain.
