When my daughter Emma’s heartfelt birthday cake for her step-grandmother was cruelly rejected by Barbara, I decided enough was enough. Barbara had always been cold towards Emma, making her feel unwelcome in our blended family. Determined to defend Emma, I orchestrated a series of retaliations that made Barbara regret her hurtful words.
Emma, eager to win Barbara over, baked a beautiful cake for her birthday. But Barbara’s reaction was devastating—she called it “disgusting” and shattered Emma’s hopes. John, my husband and Emma’s father, tried to calm things, but Barbara remained unapologetic. Emma was left in tears, asking why Barbara didn’t like her.
That night, seething with anger, I plotted my revenge. Knowing Barbara cherished her garden, I spread manure in her prized flower beds. Barbara’s fury was palpable when she discovered the mess the next morning. I feigned innocence, enjoying the sweet taste of payback.
But I wasn’t finished. Before Barbara’s important dinner party, I swapped the sugar in her pantry with salt. The disastrous dessert that followed left Barbara embarrassed in front of her guests. Seeing her humiliated was satisfying, but it wasn’t enough to make up for her cruelty towards Emma.
Barbara’s habit of gossiping about Emma pushed me further. I anonymously reported her derogatory remarks to the community center where she volunteered, resulting in Barbara being asked to step down. She was livid, but she had no idea I was behind it.
For the final act of my revenge, I organized a family gathering where Emma baked another cake. This time, John and his father stood by Emma’s side. When Barbara tried to say something snarky, John firmly shut her down, declaring Emma’s place in our family.
Barbara was left speechless, realizing she had lost the support of her family. Emma felt loved and accepted, finally getting the celebration she deserved. It was a sweet victory, and Barbara knew she had been outplayed.
In the end, Barbara learned a valuable lesson about kindness and acceptance, while Emma learned that her family would always stand up for her.
Anne Hathaway Shares Painful Memories of Losing an Unborn Baby
Anne Hathaway reflects on her challenging journey to motherhood and the heartfelt influence her openness about her experience has had over the years.
Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway, who is a mother to sons Jonathan, 8, and Jack, 4, with her husband Adam Shulman, recently looked back on her challenging journey to motherhood. She shared how she faced a miscarriage while performing in the Off-Broadway play Grounded for nearly six weeks in 2015.
Reflecting on her experience, she told in a cover story published on March 25, «The first time it didn’t work out for me. I was doing a play and I had to give birth onstage every night.»
During that time, she felt that «it was too much to keep it in when I was onstage pretending everything was fine,» and chose to be honest about her struggles with her friends and family. «I had to keep it real otherwise.»
Later on, she extended this same openness to the public when announcing her pregnancy. She explained, «When it did go well for me, having been on the other side of it — where you have to have the grace to be happy for someone — I wanted to let my sisters know, ’You don’t have to always be graceful. I see you, and I’ve been you.’»
«It’s really hard to want something so much and to wonder if you’re doing something wrong,» she added. The Oscar winner further recalled her shock at learning how many pregnancies end in miscarriage. According to the Mayo Clinic, 10% to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage, though the actual number is likely higher. She wished that this information was more widely disseminated.
Anne continued, «I thought, ’Where is this information? Why are we feeling so unnecessarily isolated?’ That’s where we take on damage. So I decided that I was going to talk about it.»
When Anne Hathaway announced her second pregnancy on Instagram in 2019, she accompanied it with a powerful caption.
«It’s not for a movie…» Hathaway wrote, referring to her baby bump. «All kidding aside, for everyone going through infertility and conception hell, please know it was not a straight line to either of my pregnancies. Sending you extra love.»
Reflecting on the impact of her candid post, she shared, «The thing that broke my heart, blew my mind, and gave me hope was that for three years after, almost daily, a woman came up to me in tears and I would just hold her, because she was carrying this (pain) around, and suddenly it wasn’t all hers anymore.»
Reflecting on her experience, she shared that given «the pain I felt while trying to get pregnant, it would’ve felt disingenuous to post something all the way happy when I know the story is much more nuanced than that for everyone.»
Recently another actress, Nicole Kidman, also shared her struggles having children.
Preview photo credit Siegfried Nacion/STAR MAX/IPx/Associated Press/East News, annehathaway / Instagram
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