I’m a 36-year-old mom of two girls (9 and 5) engaged to a wonderful man (38). He loves my daughters, and his family has been respectful and generous—except for my future mother-in-law. While she treats us well on the surface, her actions often exclude my girls. For instance, they don’t receive gifts on Christmas when other kids do, aren’t invited on family trips, and recently, she created a family photo album but excluded my daughters, despite me sending her pictures of all four of us.

When we saw the album, my girls were hurt, and I was shocked. I asked her why she left them out, but she ignored me. Feeling awful, I took my girls and left. My fiancé said I overreacted, claiming his mom didn’t mean harm and promised things would change after we’re married.

Later, my MIL called and said my reaction was disrespectful. When I explained how her actions hurt my daughters, she bluntly stated, ‘They don’t relate to me in any way,’ though she claimed to love them. I hung up, feeling torn. Did I overreact by walking out?