You imagine marriage as the beginning of a dream: an exciting new chapter with the love of your life.<\/p>\n
But for me, that dream quickly turned into a nightmare when I was handed a list of rules on how to be a \u201cgood wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s when my journey toward revenge began.<\/p>\n
Growing up, I always believed marriage was about partnership, love, and respect.<\/p>\n
I pictured Sunday mornings in bed, laughing over shared secrets, creating a life built on mutual understanding.<\/p>\n
But life has a funny way of shattering those fantasies.<\/p>\n
Dan and I had just gotten married.<\/p>\n
The wedding was perfect: small, intimate, and everything I had imagined.<\/p>\n
For a while, it felt like a fairy tale.<\/p>\n
Dan was kind, funny, and supportive, and I truly believed we were aligned on how we wanted to live our lives.<\/p>\n
That was until his mother, Karen, gave me a \u201cspecial gift\u201d after the ceremony.<\/p>\n
I remember sitting in the living room, still glowing from the wedding, when Karen approached me, her smile tight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is for you, Lucia. A little something to guide you in your new role,\u201d she said, handing me a decorated box.<\/p>\n
Inside was a carefully folded piece of paper.<\/p>\n
At the top, in bold letters, were the words: *How to Be a Good Wife to My Son*.<\/p>\n
At first, I thought it was a joke.<\/p>\n
Maybe Karen was poking fun at old stereotypes.<\/p>\n
But as I read through the list, my smile faded.<\/p>\n
It was a detailed guide on how I was expected to behave as Dan\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n
I glanced at Dan, hoping he was as horrified as I was.<\/p>\n
But he was busy opening his gift: a large check from Karen.<\/p>\n
Me? I got a book of rules.<\/p>\n
Later that evening, Dan casually brought up the rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saw the list, right? It\u2019s just how marriage should work.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him, waiting for him to laugh, to tell me it was all ridiculous.<\/p>\n
But he didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait, are you serious?\u201d I asked, disbelief creeping into my voice.<\/p>\n
He shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just what Mom thinks is important. Marriage is different from dating.\u201d<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t believe what I was hearing.<\/p>\n
I bit my tongue, holding back the retorts boiling up inside me.<\/p>\n
Was this really what Dan expected from me now?<\/p>\n
That night, while Dan slept, I reread the list, my anger growing with every line.<\/p>\n
The rules weren\u2019t just outdated\u2014they were downright humiliating.<\/p>\n
Some of the points included:<\/p>\n
– *Wake up at 6 AM, fully dressed and made up, and prepare a hot breakfast for Dan. Remember: no vegetables, no butter, only eggs and toast on a blue plate because the green one ruins his appetite.*
\n– *Grocery shopping is your responsibility. A man shouldn\u2019t be bothered with such chores.*
\n– *Carry the bags yourself: it\u2019s unfeminine to ask for help.*
\n– *After dinner, ensure the kitchen is spotless before Dan leaves the dining room. No mess should be visible to him.*
\n– *Always dress conservatively when Dan\u2019s friends are over. You wouldn\u2019t want to give them the wrong impression.*<\/p>\n
By the time I finished reading, I was furious.<\/p>\n
But instead of confronting Dan, I decided to play the game my way.<\/p>\n
The next morning, I followed the first rule.<\/p>\n
I got up at 6 AM, put on makeup, and made Dan breakfast.<\/p>\n
But I didn\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n
I took the smallest piece of toast and the blandest, unseasoned egg I could find and placed them on the largest blue plate we had.<\/p>\n
When Dan walked into the kitchen, he looked confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t there something else?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
I smiled sweetly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just following the rules! Do you want me to make another slice?\u201d<\/p>\n
He sighed, clearly dissatisfied, but said nothing.<\/p>\n
Later that day, I went grocery shopping, dragging the bags all by myself.<\/p>\n
When Dan asked where his beer was, I smiled and replied, \u201cOh, I didn\u2019t want you to get lazy. I bought sparkling water instead. Much healthier!\u201d<\/p>\n
I could tell Dan was starting to sense something was off, but I wasn\u2019t done yet.<\/p>\n
When his friends came over for a football night, I dressed according to Karen\u2019s rules: modestly, but in the most old-fashioned outfit I could find.<\/p>\n
I looked like I was ready to teach Sunday school in the 1800s.<\/p>\n
Dan pulled me aside, whispering, \u201cYou know you don\u2019t have to dress like that, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut your mother said I should dress modestly around your friends,\u201d I replied, feigning innocence.<\/p>\n
Laundry day came, and I had a blast.<\/p>\n
I washed all of Dan\u2019s clothes together: whites, darks, everything.<\/p>\n
His crisp white shirts came out pink, and his socks were either mismatched or shrunk.<\/p>\n
When he complained, I shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll fold them in thirds next time, just like the rules say.\u201d<\/p>\n
By the end of the week, Dan was clearly exasperated, and when Karen came over, things finally exploded.<\/p>\n
\u201cLucia\u2019s been doing a great job following the rules!\u201d Karen beamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t life easier now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dan slammed his fork on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, these rules are ridiculous! This isn\u2019t how we want to live.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karen looked shocked.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Dan, I just want to make sure you\u2019re taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Mom,\u201d Dan said firmly.<\/p>\n
\u201cLucia isn\u2019t my servant, and I don\u2019t need a rulebook for our marriage. We\u2019ll figure out how to live together, without these outdated ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karen was stunned, but she finally understood.<\/p>\n
I handed her back the decorated box with a note inside that read: *Thanks, but no thanks.*<\/p>\n
When Karen left, Dan hugged me, looking apologetic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry I didn\u2019t stand up sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n
I smiled, feeling the weight lift off my shoulders.<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter late than never.\u201d<\/p>\n
And so, we began building our marriage our way\u2014free from rules, lists, and outdated expectations that had no place in our lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You imagine marriage as the beginning of a dream: an exciting new chapter with the love of your life. But for me, that dream quickly turned into a nightmare when I was handed a list of rules on how to be a \u201cgood wife.\u201d — And that\u2019s when my journey toward revenge began. Growing up, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2718,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-random-stuff"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3074"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3075,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3074\/revisions\/3075"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/buzzfeednews.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}