Nobody seems to hold a grudge quite like family, which is pretty sad if you think about it.

What would you do if your aunt refused to forgive your mother and constantly treated her poorly for decades?

That is what the young man in this story dealt with, so he played the long game and got his revenge in the end.

Check it out.

Let me tell you something before you go…

I spent almost 50 years in between a conflict between my mom and her sister.

Aunt was your typically “holy roller” who believed her poop didn’t stink because she went to church every week.

She had the typically holier-than-thou attitude about everything.

Sadly, there are many people like this (religious and secular).

She put on an “I’m such a wonderful person” appearance to everyone, but at home, she was wicked to my mom.

My Mom’s “great sin” was abandoning her family to enlist in the military.

Her sister never forgave her for forming her own life and spent the rest of her life making my mom feel like trash.

My Mom was a very passive person, so she never dared stand up for herself.

I was 5 at the time when Aunt came to town, and even at that age I quickly saw how nasty she was to my mom.

I watched my mom cower around her, so logically I feared her too.

She took offense to my fear and did what any rational adult would do in that situation.

Wow, she really is awful.

She decided to get even with a 5 year old, and turned her wrath on me.

Some of it was petty like buying my siblings expensive gifts and I would get a bottle of Old Spice or a bar of soap.

Some was more direct.

She would yell at me and belittle me anytime we stayed at her house (I hid the abuse from my parents, so she was a regular babysitter).

When I got older and didn’t need a babysitter, I was able to reduce contact.

She then switched from direct attacks to spreading lies about me to neighbors and anyone who would listen.

When I was 17 I found out she told all of our neighbors I was a satanist.

Weird, but that is good I guess. People can change.

When I got married, a switch flipped and she decided I was now her favorite nephew and acted like we were always best friends and she didn’t spend 20+ years abusing me.

Well 25 year old me didn’t fall for it, but I decided to play along.

Why? I was cynical and knew how to hold a grudge.

She was unmarried, childless, and loaded.

So I spent the next two decades acting like I could stand to be in the same room with her.

I would buy her “thoughtful” gifts which were always whatever was on clearance at the religious book store.

She would go on about how spiritual I was and would shower us with gifts and expensive meals.

Her wrath was no longer directed at me, but she doubled the venom spit at my mom.

She made it her mission to get me to turn against my mom.

She made up ridiculous events that never happened, like my mom trying to smother their mother in her sleep, or her repeatedly trying to push her down stairwells.

Through all of it, my mom took her abuse, never standing up for herself.

I feel bad for the mom.

It broke her that her sister hated her, but she never stopped trying to rebuild their relationship.

Time marched on an Aunt was diagnosed with a terminal disease.

In her final months she decided to stick the knife in one last time and give it a good twist.

She announced she was going no contact with her sister.

My mom was devastated.

Through 60+ years of abuse she still loved her sister and wanted to be there to care for her.

Aunt denied that and it broke her.

I tried to talk her into letting my mom visit her but she claimed she had talked to her Priest and he told her my mother didn’t deserve forgiveness, and being such a strong Catholic as I was, I should respect that.

My mom’s only comfort was that her son was there to care for her sister, so I did my duty and was with her almost every day until she passed.

In her final days, she was very weak and couldn’t really talk.

Just whispering one or two words here or there was all she could manage.

Knowing she was powerless to protest, I delivered what would be my 2nd biggest F.U. to her.

I am sure that gave mom a lot of comfort.

I called my Mom and told her she was welcome to come and visit whenever she wanted.

My mom was elated.

She rushed over immediately and returned every day.

She would sit there for hours, holding her hand and talking to her sister, so happy to be reunited.

My aunt would stare daggers at me while I smiled back.

My mom was blissfully unaware that her sister didn’t want her there, and got to be with her sister during her final days.

A huge weight was lifted off her shoulders as they had finally reconciled.

I never told my Mom that her sister never actually told me she could come, and that secret will go to my grave.

On the last day, it was clear she was in her final moments.

It was just her and I in the room, so I leaned in close and delivered my farewell message.

Wow, this might be crossing a line.

I spoke loudly and clear to make sure she could hear me: “I want you to know, I’m an Atheist.”

Her eyes told me she understood, and within a minute she was gone.

I’m not sure if my message pushed her over the edge, but I kind of hope so.

Oh, and thanks to her generosity in her will, I’m somehow managing to go on without her.

Ouch, messing with someone’s dying moments is well beyond petty revenge, even if she was awful in her life.

I’m curious to see what the people in the comments think about this.

Yes, put that inheritance to good use.

The love of family knows no bounds.

Sometimes the best gifts are never known.

Yes, this was a great gift to mom.

He really did play the long game.

It is so sad when family can’t forgive each other, even in their final days.

But at least the mom believes it happened.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.