Woman Anoints Face with Cream Mom-In-Law Gave Her, Faints at the Mirror in the Morning – Story of the Day

When her mother-in-law, Annalise, gave her a skincare set for her birthday, Pauline was surprised and pleased. After applying the products, she went to sleep to see bits of her skin on the pillow and knew immediately that Annalise had tricked her maliciously.

"And this gift is from…my mom," Pauline's husband, Carl, said, reading the label on the last gift sitting on the table. She frowned slightly after accepting the gift but looked at her mother-in-law.

"Thank you," she said softly and sincerely.

"You're welcome," the older woman replied with a short nod.

Everyone was silent, and the moment was highly awkward because Pauline and Carl's mom, Annalise, had never gotten along. Pauline got pregnant only a few months after she and Carl started seeing each other, and Annalise was more than displeased.

She told her son Pauline was a gold digger and had done it intentionally, but Carl didn't listen. Therefore, they eloped and moved in together. They fought over everything for years at family gatherings, and Annalise usually ignored her.

But this time, she had asked to come to Pauline's birthday and brought a gift, which surprised everyone. Annalise was not the kind of woman to let go of grudges or be the first to extend an olive branch.

"Oh, wow. I love this brand," Pauline exclaimed when she opened her presents and saw a set of skincare products from a famous brand. "Thank you, Annalise."

The older woman was nodding. "I read that women like that these days, so I ordered it online."

"This is fantastic," Pauline said, smiling at Carl, who was pleased. Finally, they could all put the bad blood of the last few years to rest.

***

"I'm shocked that your mother bought me something," Pauline applied one of Annalise's products. She and Carl were in their bathroom getting ready for bed after the exhaustion of hosting the party.

"I'm just as surprised. But this is good for all of us," Carl said while brushing his teeth.

"I agree," Pauline said, wiping her hands on a hand towel and returning to the bedroom. "And these things are expensive. I can't wait to wake up with rejuvenated skin."

Carl finished in the bathroom, turned off the lights, and they both fell asleep quickly with the sound of the TV in the background.

***

Pauline woke up earlier than usual the next morning. She could feel the little sunshine in the room, but her eyes wouldn't open correctly. It's probably too early, she thought, trying to blink until finally, she managed to lift her lids.

However, it wasn't the new morning's hue that woke her. Her face was in pain for some reason, as if she had spent 24 hours lying in the blistering sun. "Ouch," she croaked, slowly raising her head from the pillow, only for the pain to intensify tenfold. A big patch of peeled skin stuck to the fabric, and Pauline stared, blinking slowly because it hurt.

"What?" she asked quietly, reaching for her face with one hand. "Ow! Oh, God!"

She jumped from her bed and went to the mirror, her mouth dropping painfully at the sight reflected.

"Baby, what's going on?" Carl asked, half-asleep still.

Pauline let out a small yell, and her whole body crumbled to the floor. "PAULINE!" was the last thing she heard.

***

Pauline woke up in the hospital a few hours later and felt Carl's hand wrap around hers. "Pauline, baby. How are you feeling?"

"What happened?" she asked, confused until the memory of the mirror came back. "My face!"

"Careful," Carl warned, grabbing her rising hand. "Don't touch it. The doctor said you'll be fine, but it's better not to touch it."

Just in time, a doctor entered the room. She had a team of younger doctors with her and a businesslike expression.

"Mrs. Paterson, I'm glad you're awake," the physician said blankly, grabbing a table and clicking on some things. "I'm Dr. Rawlings. How are you feeling?"

"What happened to me, doctor?"

"I understand you put on some peeling mask last night?"

"Yeah, I did," Pauline confirmed, nodding despite the heavy bandaging.

"Well, Mrs. Paterson. What you put on is heavy-duty peeling—only used in medical spas. You weren't supposed to do that at home," the doctor explained, seemingly chastising her for being so careless.

Meanwhile, Pauline turned to Carl and saw the horrified expression on his face. They had both come to the same conclusion: Annalise had done this on purpose.

"I knew your mother was acting strange!" Pauline screamed at her husband. "My face!"

Carl shook his head, lost and confused. "I can't believe this."

"Carl!" Annalise's voice came loudly from the doorway. "Your sister called me. Pauline, Jesus! What happened?"

"YOU DID THIS! YOU HORRIBLE OLD WITCH! YOU RUINED MY FACE ON PURPOSE!" Pauline yelled and cried at the same time.

"What? NO! I didn't! I swear. I didn't!" Annalise defended herself, but Pauline was too distraught to see the sincerity in her eyes.

"Mom, you should leave," Carl said angrily and firmly. "We don't want anything to do with you from now on. You will never contact us or see our kids again. Is that clear? Just be happy that we're not pressing some kind of charges."

"No, Carl. I didn't do this!" Annalise continued, desperate.

"I think it's best you leave, madam," one of the younger doctors expressed after being quiet throughout the scene.

"No, you have to listen to me!"

Finally, two doctors pushed her away, and the leading physician continued her explanation. Fortunately, Pauline would be fine, but they would have to assess the damage to her face later. Dr. Rawlings recommended a dermatologist, but they would have to wait to see if plastic surgery was needed.

Pauline cried that night, and Carl comforted her while the seething anger raged through his body. When she finally fell asleep, he went into the hall and saw Annalise still there. She rushed to him.

"I told you to leave! I won't listen to any excuses!"

"I didn't do this on purpose, Carl. I swear!" she yelled, but he began to walk away. "I've been seeing a therapist!"

That stopped him in his tracks. His mother was not the kind of woman who would say anything to a professional. Carl lifted his eyebrows, basically telling her to continue.

"I wanted to work on myself. I know I was horrible to you and Pauline for many years, but I didn't want that anymore," Annalise explained, her eyes tearing up. "Please, listen to me."

Carl sighed, and they sat down. Annalise explained what she had discussed with the therapist and how horrible she felt about everything she had done and said to Pauline before. She hated not being close to the grandkids and that their family was always waiting for scandal from her.

"I swear. I bought that in good faith. I saw it in a video on TikTok. It was a best-seller online. But I didn't know it would be bad for her," Annalise finished. "I don't know about that stuff."

After the explanation, Carl allowed Annalise to apologize to Pauline. Carl's sister, who had been watching their kids, came to the hospital with them. She brought the things Annalise had given Pauline to show to the doctors.

They later discovered that Pauline had applied a peeling mask, but it wasn't a home one. The entire skincare routine Annalise had bought was meant to be used by professionals. The peeling mask only had to remain on the skin for two minutes, but Pauline only knew of other peeling masks that could be worn overnight, so she applied it and fell asleep.

"I'm sorry I doubted you," Pauline apologized after they all realized the truth.

"No," Annalise shook her head. "It's my fault. How I treated you was horrible, and it makes sense to blame me."

"I want to move on. I want my kids to have a grandmother," Pauline expressed. "So, let's start over. Clean slate. Just don't give me any presents for a while."

"Deal," Annalise choked.

What can we learn from this story?

• Always check the labels and all information before applying anything to your skin. Annalise shouldn't have bought something she saw online with research, and Pauline should've looked at the cream more closely.
• There's no sense in holding grudges, especially between families. Annalise learned that her resentment for Pauline had made her a spectacle in the family and wanted to change.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman who was kicked out of her mother-in-law's house, and years later, she saw the older woman digging through the trash.

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