Life can give us problems we didn’t expect. Sometimes, we have to decide whether to keep quiet and deal with it or speak up and try to find a way out. Emily is a young woman who is in a very awkward situation. The father-in-law of her new husband has started sending her gifts and messages that are meant to be private. She told us her story because she needed help.

Here is Emily’s letter:

“The 49-year-old dad of my husband has always been distant and quiet around me.” When he added me on Facebook a few months ago, everything changed all of a sudden. He began to like all of my photos and then send me direct messages every other day saying things like, “You’re a beautiful woman” or “I’m jealous of my son because he has you.”

At first, I didn’t think much of it, thinking it was just his awkward attempt to be friendly. But things got really creepy when he began putting little red boxes on my car. There are always red feathers and a small piece of jewelry inside. At one point, he even gave me a satin scarf as a gift.

It’s made me feel very awkward because I don’t know how to handle all this attention. I’m afraid to talk about it with my husband because I think it might make his relationship with his father worse. What makes things even stranger is that his dad has always been described as straightforward and serious, so this behavior is very different from him. His 23-year marriage to my mother-in-law also shows that he is a stable and dedicated person.

The thought of it makes me sick. What should I do in this case?

Thank you, Emily”