[alexander_busek]

...and we entered a phase where she would say things deliberately to get a response out of me (or to see if I would just sit and say nothing)[.] Needless to say, I wasn’t about to sit and get baited by my mother-in-law, so I gave back in like kind when she initiated something.

I think that you misunderstand the meaning of the expression "to bait someone."

By responding to her provocations and "giving back in kind," you were "taking the bait." She thus was able to successfully "bait" you.

Regards,

[rlmorel]

LOL, I get what you are saying, but I see the process (as anyone who has set traps for critters and has had to watch sadly when nothing takes the bait knows) of “baiting” as being distinctly different from “taking the bait”.