After months without a job, I finally got an offer from my dream company. Excitement quickly turned to dread, though, when I saw who my new boss was—my old college rival, Tyler Wilson, the guy who’d made my college years miserable.
My roommate, Shanti, pushed me to open the acceptance email, and for a moment, I felt thrilled. But my stomach dropped when I read I’d be working under Tyler. On my first day, he ignored me and made a pointed comment about my tattoos, reminding me of his arrogant college self. Frustrations built as I emailed him about necessary equipment upgrades, but he ignored me—until I discovered he’d canceled my order. I decided to confront him directly, storming into his office, ready to quit if it meant dealing with his pettiness.
But then, I overheard him in a meeting, advocating for me and demanding my equipment order be approved. When I confronted him, Tyler admitted he’d been trying to shield me from biases in the company, and confessed he’d once had feelings for me but handled it poorly back in college. We laughed over the misunderstanding, and he asked me out to dinner as an apology. For the first time, I saw a side of Tyler I hadn’t expected, and it left me wondering—maybe, just maybe, people really could change.
The Groom’s In-Laws Mock His Mother, a Janitor, Until She Steps Up to Give a Speech for the Newlyweds
Once Maria met Linda, she understood why Aiden loved her so much. Linda was humble and didn’t judge Maria even when she learned where she worked. When Aiden revealed that he and Linda had gotten engaged, Maria gave her blessing immediately.
Maria decided to throw an engagement party at a local restaurant to celebrate and meet Linda’s parents, Hugh and Elizabeth.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen, Maria. My parents are very stuck up, so when they learned about Aiden’s background, they didn’t give their blessing,” Linda revealed.
After some time, Hugh and Elizabeth reluctantly gave Aiden their blessing and agreed to pay for the wedding. The ceremony was quite extravagant. Linda wore a designer wedding dress that her grandmother had gifted her. The cake was giant, and Hugh had hired a famous chef to cater the wedding.
Maria finally had the opportunity to meet Hugh and Elizabeth, but they didn’t treat her kindly. When asked what degree she had, Maria replied, “I didn’t get the chance to finish my studies because Aiden’s dad left me to raise him alone.”
“Well, if we hadn’t worked hard, then we couldn’t have given Linda all of this,” Elizabeth replied rudely. Hugh and Elizabeth had VIP guests, including well-known businessmen from around the city. When asked who Maria was, they seemed embarrassed to reveal that she was the groom’s mother.
After the vows and I-dos were said, it was the turn of the groom and bride’s families to give speeches. Hugh and Elizabeth took the stage first to congratulate the newlyweds on their union. They then revealed their gift, which surprised Aiden and Linda because Hugh had already paid for the wedding.
“We’re really sorry. We’ve mistreated you since the moment we met you.”
“We know you are both house-hunting and will move in together soon. So we’re going to pay for all of your furniture and appliances,” Huge revealed.
“Once you’ve found a house, it will be fully furnished,” Elizabeth added. The gift was met with applause from the attendees. Hugh and Elizabeth looked on with pride at the reaction. Next to the stage was Maria. Many guests began to whisper and murmur as they all expected a gift that would be quite cheap in comparison.
Maria wiped away a tear of joy as she congratulated the newlyweds. She didn’t care about the judgment. Maria was just proud of her son and daughter-in-law. But what she said next shocked the entire wedding party.
“I worked all my life and saved up to pay for your college tuition because I knew it would be expensive. Then you decided you wanted to be a doctor, and I thought, wow, even more expensive,” Maria joked.
She could tell that Hugh and Elizabeth were laughing at her, not with her. Maria reached into her purse for an envelope before continuing.
“The funny thing is, you got a scholarship to study medicine anyway, so you didn’t even need all the money I saved. So now that you’re about to get your doctorate and you’re getting married to this brilliant young woman, what better way to congratulate you than by buying you a house,” Maria revealed.
The entire wedding party gasped in shock as Maria opened her envelope and handed a set of keys to Aiden and Linda. Everyone stood to applaud while Hugh and Elizabeth were left stunned. After the ceremony ended, Hugh and Elizabeth apologized to Maria.
“We’re really sorry. We’ve mistreated you since the moment we met you. We apologize for judging you. You’ve really shown us how remarkable you are,” Elizabeth told Maria.
“Just remember, some of us might come from nothing, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be something,” Maria replied.
By the end of the year, Aiden had finished his doctorate and joined Hugh’s practice to work as a doctor. Aiden insisted that Maria retire from working as a janitor. Hugh and Elizabeth followed suit soon afterward. Linda threw Maria a retirement party, and Aiden bought her a brand-new car to thank her for everything.
Soon, Aiden and Linda had children of their own. Maria lived as a grandparent for the children, a role she happily shared with Hugh and Elizabeth.
What can we learn from this story?
Don’t take negative judgment to heart. All that mattered to Maria was her son’s happiness and success. She didn’t let the judgment bring her down, and in the end, she proved all of her doubters wrong.
You never know what someone has been through. Hugh and Elizabeth had false perceptions of who Maria was based on the fact that she was a janitor. In the end, they realized that Maria was just as hard-working and deserving of respect as anyone else.
Leave a Reply