I should have known something was wrong when Janet, my future mother-in-law, kept asking about my wedding dress.

For weeks, she'd text me almost daily: "Have you found the dress yet?" or "Make sure you pick something nice, dear. You don't want to look like a doily."

But despite her constant nagging, there was always some excuse whenever I invited her to come dress shopping with me.

"Sorry, I have a migraine," she'd say. Or, "Oh, I'm just too busy this weekend."

My mom noticed it too.

"Strange how invested she is for someone who won't even come look," she said one afternoon as we browsed through our third bridal boutique of the day.

I shrugged it off, trying to focus on the excitement of finding my perfect dress.

"I don't get it either. But hey, at least I don't have to deal with her criticizing my choices, right?"

I turned to look at a different display right near the back of the shop. That's when I saw it: an ivory A-line gown with delicate lace detailing and a sweetheart neckline.

The moment I tried it on, I knew. The way it hugged my curves before flowing out gracefully, the subtle sparkle of the beading catching the light — it was everything I'd dreamed of.

"Oh, honey," my mom whispered, tears in her eyes. "This is the one."

The price tag read $3,000. Which was more than I'd planned to spend, but sometimes perfection comes at a cost.

As I stood there in the fitting room, my mom snapping pictures from every angle, I felt like a real bride. Everything was falling into place.

I texted Janet the minute I got home to tell her I'd found the perfect dress. She replied within minutes, demanding I bring the dress so she could see it.

I texted her back: "Sorry, Janet, but I'm going to keep it right here until the big day. I'll send you the pictures my mom took."

"No. I don't want to see pictures!" she texted back immediately. "Bring the dress!"

I firmly refused again, and again. She was very insistent but eventually seemed to realize I wasn't going to risk damaging my precious and very expensive gown by driving it across town just for her to look at.

Two weeks later, I spent the day at my mom's house, going over wedding details and working on DIY centerpieces. When I got home that evening, something felt off.

The apartment was too quiet, and Mark's shoes weren't by the door where he usually kicked them off.

"Mark?" I called out, dropping my keys on the kitchen counter. No answer.

I headed to our bedroom to change clothes, and that's when panic hit me like a bucket of ice water.

The garment bag containing my wedding dress wasn't hanging on the back of the closet door where I'd left it. I immediately guessed what had happened.

My hands shook with anger as I dialed Mark's number.

"Hey, babe," he answered, his voice oddly hesitant.

"You took my dress to your mom's place, didn't you?" The words came out sharp and scared.

"She just wanted to see it, and you weren't home, so…"

I didn't let him finish. "Bring it back. Right now!"

When Mark walked through the door thirty minutes later, I knew something was wrong.

He smiled like everything was normal but the guilt in his eyes was obvious. My heart was in my throat as I took the garment bag and unzipped it, fearing the worst.

The dress inside was stretched out of shape, the delicate lace torn in places. The zipper hung crooked, broken teeth glinting mockingly in the overhead light.

"What did you do?" My voice came out as a whisper.

"What do you mean?" Mark frowned at me like he had no idea what I was talking about.

"This!" I gestured to the broken zip, the ruined lace, the stretched fabric. Tears filled my eyes as the full extent of the damage became clear. "My wedding dress is ruined!"

"It's… not that bad. I really don't know how that happened, honey. Maybe... it was badly made and tore when Mom opened the garment bag?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" I snapped. "The only way this could've happened is if… oh my God! She tried on my wedding dress, didn't she?"

"Uh…"

"How could you, Mark?" I pulled out my phone and dialed Janet's number. "She isn't the same size as me and even if she was, this is MY WEDDING GOWN! Not some sundress from Target."

Janet answered the phone, and I put her on speaker.