Family relationships tend to get messy when kindness only flows one way.

When one woman’s car broke down, her mother-in-law had a perfectly good vehicle sitting untouched in the garage, but still refused to lend it.

So after being forced to scrape together money for rides and driving a barely functional car through a storm, she’s not exactly eager to play the role of helpful daughter-in-law anymore.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for refusing to help my MIL with stuff as she refused us to use her car when we were in need?

My husband and I’s car broke down and was dangerous to drive on the road, so we took it to a mechanic.

We were also short on cash, so we couldn’t use Uber or Lyft to get around. My MIL was abroad, and her car was sitting at home unused.

So she and her husband tried to call in a favor.

My husband asked her if he could borrow her car for a couple of days (he is an excellent driver with an amazing record and has never been in an accident).

This seemed like a perfectly reasonable request.

Her mom also had unlisted driver insurance protection, so that was not a problem, and she occasionally lets her other son drive the car — who is a far worse driver, lives in the same home, and isn’t even on the insurance (although only for short distances).

Apparently her MIL didn’t see it that way.

However, my MIL refused to let us borrow her car for a couple of days, which resulted in me and my partner spending money on Lyfts and Ubers, and driving our sketchy project car in heavy rain and storms.

This didn’t prevent her from demanding a favor of her own.

Now my MIL is coming back from vacation and wants me to hang out with her, help her with things, and dedicate a couple of days every week to her.

But now she’s not in the mood to be helpful.

I feel sour and don’t want to waste my time hanging out with her or helping around the house.

My husband also helps them fix their car for free, and I’m not happy about that either — it just makes me feel bitter.

AITA?

This isn’t petty — it’s simply matching her MIL’s energy.

What did Reddit think?

Why not throw a little shade?

She definitely shouldn’t drop everything to help someone who wouldn’t do the same for her.

Family should be willing to help one another out.

She shouldn’t sugarcoat the truth for her rude MIL.

Her mother-in-law really showed her true colors that day.

She doesn’t owe kindness to someone who treats compassion like a one-way street.

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.