When Lee desperately needs someone to watch over her daughter, she has no choice but to leave her with her mother-in-law. But when she picks her up, her child looks completely different.

My relationship with my mother-in-law, Gina, was always okay. We weren’t close, but there wasn’t any bad blood either.

My husband and his sister, Noelle, also weren’t close to their mother. Whenever we did family dinners or outings, Gina was around, but she didn’t play an active role in anyone’s lives.

Noelle has dropped a few hints over the years, warning me not to leave Eva with Gina.

“Just don’t leave Eva with Mom,” Noelle said. “If you need someone to watch her, call me first. Or get a sitter. I’m telling you, don’t leave her with Mom. I don’t leave Ryan with her either.”

Ryan, my nephew, was a year older than Eva and an intelligent and sensitive little guy.

But then, one day, I had no choice but to drop Eva off with my mother-in-law. I had an important work meeting, and I couldn’t miss it.

“Noelle,” I said frantically on the phone. “Can you watch Eva for an hour or so? I’ll drop her off after school. I have a meeting and need to return to work.”

“I’m sorry, Lee,” Noelle said. “But I’m not around at the moment. I’m out with Ryan right now.”

So, I had no choice.

“Momma,” Eva said. “Please come get me soon.”

I promised that I would fetch her as soon as I could. I left my child with her grandmother, feeling like I had left my heart behind.

When I got back, I was devastated.

Eva, my sweet little girl with her long, beautiful golden locks, had her head half-shaved at the bottom and her ears pierced — all without my consent.

Can you even believe it?

“Gina!” I exclaimed. “What did you do to her?”

Eva ran to me, holding tightly to my legs.

“Lee, darling,” my mother-in-law, slurring her words slightly.

“Doesn’t Eva look fabulous? She wanted to be a big girl. And look at her! Isn’t she just adorable with her new hairstyle?”

“Adorable?” my voice trembled. “Gina, you think this is adorable? How could you do something like this without asking me? Did you speak to Shaun?”

My husband would have blown his fuse — he loved Eva’s long hair the way it was and always told her to speak to us if she wanted it to be cut.

“Lee,” Gina said, rubbing the side of her face. “It’s just some hair. It will grow back soon. And it will grow back healthier than it was. Don’t you know that?”

“And the earrings?” I asked, gingerly touching Eva’s red ears.

“That’s fashion, dear,” Gina said. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

I stood there, looking at my daughter, who had tears in her eyes.

I couldn’t believe that Gina had done this to my child, especially without permission. She said that she thought that Eva would enjoy the “fashionable makeover,” and that it would be their bonding time.

I walked into the house with Eva holding tightly onto my hand.

“This is not about the hair or the earrings or even about you bonding with Eva,” I told Gina. “It’s about you betraying my trust when I thought you were going to keep my daughter safe.”

I picked up Eva’s bag and took her straight home. But as I drove, tears fell down my face. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have left Eva with Gina.

I gave Eva some snacks and put a movie on for her.

Shaun walked in shortly after us.

“What on earth?” he asked, looking at Eva’s new hairdo.

At first, he didn’t react, but he finally saw things from my perspective.

Thankfully, Noelle backed me up, saying she had warned me about Gina. And that Shaun knew how strange their mother was — especially when she had been drinking.

Shaun wanted Gina to apologize to us but never did. She still thinks that she did nothing wrong — and that the entire thing was because she wanted to bond with my child.

This whole ordeal has made me question everything. I never thought my relationship with Gina would come to this, but here we are.

It’s challenging, and I’m unsure where we’ll go from here. All I know is that I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my daughter and ensure something like this never happens again.

But now, Noelle and Shaun want to talk to Gina about how much she’s been drinking lately.

“I just need to know if that’s why she did it,” Shaun said.

I know that come hell or high water, my daughter will not be placed into Gina’s care again.

Has anyone else been through a situation like this? What did you do?