When family support fails in your darkest moment, the hurt lingers far beyond the event itself.

So, what would you do if your in-laws promised to stay and help, but then suddenly left right after your father passed away, forcing you to cut your grieving short and return home to juggle a newborn and toddler alone?

Would you forgive them right away? Or would you set boundaries until they acknowledged the damage they caused?

In the following story, one husband finds himself in this exact situation with his in-laws.

Here’s how it all went down.

AITA Tension After My Father Passed Away and I had to Leave 36 Hours Later Because of My In-Laws

My In-Laws stayed with my wife and me for 3 weeks to watch our toddler while we were in the hospital having our second.

Near the end of their visit, my dad unexpectedly became very ill, so I had to fly home to be with him. My MIL promised she (if not also my FIL) would stay a few days extra (no cost to them as they were staying with us).

She’s retired and has no obligations for months.

Suddenly, they needed to leave.

Sadly, my dad passed away the first day I was back home, and later that day, I was told my in-laws couldn’t extend their stay.

They had zero reason other than telling my wife they were “tired” (as though I wasn’t after caring for a newborn and watching my dad die??) and “wanted to go home.” They haven’t explained it to me or apologized for this.

As a result, I had to leave my hometown and grieving mother just 36 hours after my dad passed. I had to care for a newborn and toddler while still in complete shock and utter exhaustion, so my in-laws could go back to their cushy life.

Here’s where he and his wife disagree.

They want to come visit in less than a month, and when I told my wife I’m not comfortable with that, given what they did, she said it made her “uncomfortable” and “overwhelmed.”

She agrees that what they did was awful, but won’t say anything about it to them, and expects me to just accept them visiting despite how I feel.

Now, I want to set a boundary and insist I’m not comfortable with them coming so soon.

Or perhaps even just until we have a conversation?

It’s not just that they left me high and dry when I needed them most, it’s that they didn’t even reach out to me to explain or apologize.

I’m just very hurt and very angry.

AITA?

Yikes! It’s easy to see his frustrations, but they did help when needed for the most part.

Let’s see what the readers over at Reddit think about what happened.

According to this reader, he should rent a place to stay if his wife insists.

This person brings up a very valid point.

That’s one way to turn it around.

Here’s someone else who would turn it around on them.

He should talk to them. It sounds like he has a pretty good relationship with them, so maybe they can talk and work it out.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.