I was sleeping with a fever of 39.5°C when my mother-in-law doused me with cold water and ordered me to get up and entertain guests — that’s when I did it… 🫣😲
My temperature was 39.5°C, my whole body ached, my throat felt like it was burned with sandpaper, my head was splitting, and my ears were ringing. I decided to at least take a short nap, wrapped in a blanket, just to forget the agony for a while. Sleep seemed like the only salvation.
At first, I had strange, heavy nightmares — as if I was trudging through thick mud and someone kept pulling me deeper. Suddenly, a stream of icy water hit my face. I jerked awake, gasped, and barely opened my eyes to see a silhouette above me.
— “You’re still sleeping?!” — a sharp, hoarse voice pierced my ears.
It was my mother-in-law. Her face was stone-like, lips pressed into a thin, almost white line. Her hands were clenched into fists. She stood over me as if she had caught me doing something shameful.
— “Get up!” — she almost shouted. — “Guests will be here in an hour! Everything must sparkle! Clean, set the table! Don’t just sit there like a lazy girl!”
I wanted to say something, but I had no strength. Instead, I struggled to lift myself and tried to wipe the cold water from my face, feeling a shiver run through my body.
— “Mom… I have a fever of 39.5… I can’t even lift my head…” — my voice was weak.
But she just waved me off.
— “Oh, stop whining! Everyone gets sick. I was sick too, but I still did everything! Don’t you dare embarrass me in front of the guests!”
Something inside me snapped. Her words weren’t just cruel — they were indifferent, cold, like the water that had just soaked me.
And that’s when I did it — the thing that left my mother-in-law begging me for forgiveness in panic, while I didn’t care at all.
I slowly got out of bed. My legs were shaking, the world was spinning, but I walked past her without a word. My phone was on the nightstand — I grabbed it and dialed 103 right in front of her.
— “Hello, ambulance? I feel very bad… my temperature is almost 40, severe weakness, pain in my throat and head… yes, the address is [address].”
My mother-in-law erupted:
— “What are you doing? Guests will be here in an hour!”
— “Guests are yours. I have inflammation and a fever. And this is my apartment.” — I said it clearly and calmly for the first time, without the usual excuses.
While I packed my bag, she ran around the kitchen mumbling about her “crazy daughter-in-law.” But twenty minutes later, when the ambulance arrived, I was ready. The doctor checked my temperature and throat, then said:
— “We’re going to the hospital. This is serious.”
I grabbed my jacket and, before leaving, looked at my mother-in-law:
— “When I come back, neither you nor your guests will be here. And you will never come here without my permission. Never.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but I closed the door behind me.
