Just After Changing into My Wedding Dress, My Mother-in-Law Slipped Me a Bankbook and a Haunting Message

For a moment, I couldn’t understand what she was implying.

I got married three months ago. My husband is the only son in his family, and my parents-in-law are both retired. On our wedding day, I felt incredibly lucky to have married into such a proper, well-mannered family. From the way the wedding was organized to how everyone treated each other—it was all so respectable. I thought, stepping into this new chapter of life, I would finally have peace and stability.

But right after I set foot into my husband’s house following the ceremony, my mother-in-law unexpectedly pulled me into a private room. She looked at me for a long time with an unreadable gaze, then suddenly pressed a savings book into my hand. I was startled, still searching for words, when she whispered: “Keep this with you. If something happens in the future, use it. But never let T. (my husband) know.”

I froze. For a few seconds, I couldn’t grasp what she meant. How could she put me in such a difficult position on the very first day of becoming her daughter-in-law?

That evening, I opened the bankbook. The savings weren’t small at all—amounting to billions of VND. My heart raced as countless questions flooded my mind: Why would she give me this money? Was it out of trust? Or was she trying to tell me something?

The next day, I gathered the courage to ask her. She sighed deeply, her voice trembling: “T. has always been a free-spirited child, easily influenced by friends. Many times, he’s disappointed us. I’m only afraid you’ll suffer in the future, so I saved this money for you. If one day he does something foolish, you’ll have a way out. Please don’t be angry with me.”

I was stunned. I love my husband, but I never imagined his family carried such worries. Looking into my mother-in-law’s weary eyes, I felt an ache in my heart. I knew saving that much money must have taken her a lifetime of sacrifices.

Yet from that day on, I could no longer feel at ease. I started noticing every little detail about my husband’s behavior. True enough, he’s quite carefree with money and sometimes stays out late with friends. But is that really enough for my mother-in-law to prepare such a “safety net”?

Until now, the savings book still lies untouched in my closet. But it lingers like a “haunting message”—a constant reminder that marriage isn’t always the rosy dream we imagine.

I still love my husband and want to nurture this home, but every time I recall my mother-in-law’s anxious eyes, I can’t help asking myself: Will I be patient and strong enough to walk with him to the end? Or will there come a day when I must use that savings book—the very “escape plan” my mother-in-law had prepared for me?

Behind his calm exterior, are there secrets I don’t know? Fleeting relationships? Or hidden debts yet to be revealed?