Since hiring our housekeeper, I had always felt that she was sincere and genuinely cared for our family. Over the past five years of living together under one roof, I had come to see her as a family member. Whenever we talked, I learned that she had no husband or children, which only made me feel more sympathy for her.

Both my children and I were very fond of her, but my husband was different - he always wanted to replace her. Despite her years of dedication to our family and her lack of any serious mistakes, he insisted on finding someone new. At times, he would even lose his temper with her, making me feel guilty and more protective of her.

However, she was always gracious. No matter how harsh my husband was, she never held a grudge. Instead, she would try to calm him down and even tell me not to be upset with him. Seeing her kindness only deepened my affection for her, though I couldn't understand why my husband acted that way.

Then, one morning, she was gone.

When I woke up, she wasn’t in the kitchen as usual. Soon after, I received a message from her, saying she had returned to her hometown and would no longer be working for us. I was shocked and deeply saddened by the sudden news.

I had never intended to let her go. I had even told her many times that she could stay with us even after the children grew up because we would always need her help. Over the years, apart from my husband’s cold behavior, she had shown nothing but love for our family. I couldn’t understand why she had made such a drastic decision.

I felt lost, wondering why she had left without even saying goodbye. If I had known, I would have at least given her a small gift to thank her for all the years of dedication to our family.

As I went into her room to clean up, I found an old cloth bag under her pillow. Inside, I discovered 30 gold bars and a note. What I read left me in sh.ock.

"Please forgive me, my son. I know I have made mistakes, and I have done everything I could to make up for them. I am happy to see you with a loving family, but I know I am not a part of it because you still do not accept me. Perhaps I should not stay here and make things harder for you. I will go far away, but I will try to live well. These 30 gold bars are my final plea - this is my gift to my grandchildren. I hope you will accept it."

It turns out, our housekeeper was actually my husband's biological mother.

Years ago, she had abandoned him, and now she deeply regretted it. She had wanted to reunite with her son and grandchildren, but my husband refused to accept her.

Throughout the time she stayed in our home, she had tried to make amends, but my husband had continuously rejected her. In the end, she decided to leave, not wanting to burden him any further. She left behind all her wealth for us, hoping for his forgiveness.

I brought the bag of gold and the letter to my husband. He stood frozen, silent for a long moment before finally nodding and admitting the truth.

Before we got married, his mother had sought him out when he took me home to meet his family. However, he had refused to acknowledge her. Yet, she did not give up. Determined to atone for her past mistakes, she found a way to enter his life once again. When I gave birth to our first child, she asked someone from her hometown to introduce her as a housekeeper for our family.

I sighed and asked my husband why he never told me.

"I didn’t want to talk about the fact that I was abandoned by my own mother," he said.

"But no matter what happened in the past, she is still your biological mother. How could you let her work as a housekeeper for all these years without me knowing?" I asked.

My husband didn’t answer. Instead, he walked out of the room. I knew his heart was filled with pain and conflict. Deep inside, he still couldn’t forgive his mother, but at the same time, he was also hurting from how he had treated her.

The next day, after he had calmed down, he insisted on returning the gold.

I, on the other hand, felt deep sympathy for my mother-in-law. I wanted my husband to understand her - to acknowledge her. She was old now, and no matter what had happened in the past, she had clearly shown how much she loved us.

She had given us all the love she could, despite being rejected.

I wanted to accept her as my mother-in-law.

But how do I convince my husband? What should I do?