After the Best Friend and Daughter-in-law Divorced, The Sons Regretted It

My eyes blurred with tears as I stood there, helpless. I couldn’t help but remember the day my sons got married. Monica and Riley were full of life back then—Monica, always cheerful and lively, while Riley was sunny and bright.

On their wedding night, the two of them giggled and whispered together, plotting how they would "deal with" me, their so-called evil mother-in-law.

Rick and Mike had been utterly helpless, eventually carrying their wives back to their rooms, surrendering to the girls' mischievousness. That was their youth—their clever, vibrant, joyful youth. But now, that energy was gone. Instead, here they were—Monica, dying in her hospital bed and Riley, barely holding on.

As the first light of dawn crept through the windows, the doctors finally stabilized their conditions. I should have felt relief, but my heart was too heavy with sorrow. Then, I saw Rachel’s latest post in her social media feed.

"I'm back home. Thank you to my two good friends for celebrating my birthday~ I will always be their only baby~"

And there they were—my two foolish sons, standing beside her with ridiculous smiles plastered on their faces. They had no idea, no clue that while they celebrated with Rachel, their wives had fought for their lives, crossing the threshold of death and barely returning.

These were the women my sons had once begged me to marry, kneeling in front of me and swearing their undying love. They had been so earnest, so convincing.

"Mom, don’t worry," Rick had said back then. "I love Monica so much. I can’t even think about life without her."

"Yes, mom," Mike had chimed in. "Riley is like my sun. I can't live without her."

I had believed them. I had allowed myself to believe that they would be good husbands, that they could love these women as they deserved to be loved. I thought I was seeing the start of something beautiful.

***

I stayed in the hospital for an entire week, watching over Monica and Riley as they clung to life. When they finally regained consciousness, their first instinct was to demand answers from their husbands. But I knew better—Rick and Mike weren’t going to give them anything close to an explanation.

So, I gathered the two frail girls and took them back home, away from the suffocating indifference of the hospital.

***

As we arrived home, a sickening sight greeted us. Two uninvited guests were already there—Rachel and her brother, Randy. The moment Monica and Riley laid eyes on Randy, I noticed a faint tremble run through their bodies. Something was terribly wrong.

Inside the room, I overheard the conversation that made my blood freeze. Rick, Mike, Rachel and Randy were huddled together, discussing how to help Randy get away with... it.

"You said it was just a little stabbing, right? They didn’t even die! Why call the police?" Randy's voice was nonchalant, as if the brutal attack on Monica and Riley was a mere inconvenience.

"Exactly!" Mike chimed in, puffing out his chest. "They're probably just looking for money. Don’t worry, Rachel, I’ll hire the best lawyer for Randy. I’ll make sure nothing happens to him."

My breath caught in my throat. Randy. Randy was the one who stabbed Monica and Riley. And here they were, treating it like a joke, like a problem that could be solved with lawyers and money. Riley’s clenched fists shook with barely contained rage.

Before I could react, Rick spotted us at the doorway. His face twisted with impatience as he spat out, "Oh, so you finally decided to crawl back home, huh? I was beginning to hope you'd died out there!"

Monica stared at him, stunned. She hadn’t even had the chance to confront him, but Rachel stepped in, her voice dripping with false sweetness.

"Ricky~," she cooed at Rick, trying to soothe his temper. Then she turned to Monica, pulling her close in a mock display of affection. "Don’t take it to heart. You know how Rick gets when he's upset. He doesn’t mean it~."

Rick’s anger visibly cooled under Rachel’s touch. He nodded, as if forgiving Monica for daring to leave in the first place. "Fine, go make Rachel some longevity noodles to apologize for running off like that. Do it and I’ll forgive you."

Monica’s eyes flashed with defiance, staring at Rachel as if she were the devil herself. Her voice was low, trembling with fury. "Apologize to this vicious woman? Is she worthy of my apology?"

My heart raced. Could it be? Were the thugs from that night—Randy and perhaps even Rachel—responsible for the attack on Monica and Riley? I had arrived too late to see who assaulted them, but Monica and Riley... they saw everything.

I realized then that this went deeper than I had imagined. The girls weren’t just victims of neglect or cruelty—they had been hunted, attacked by the very people Rick and Mike were now protecting. Rachel wasn’t just a manipulative woman vying for my sons' attention—she was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, standing at the center of this horrific crime.