Imagine coming home after a long day, hoping for some peace, and finding your husband and his ex-wife in your living room. That’s exactly what happened to me. But Melissa wasn’t there just to chat. What she was doing was beyond anything I could have ever imagined.
Do you know that feeling when you come home after a day full of meetings and deadlines? All you want to do is take a shower, put on a clean pair of pajamas, and sink into your cozy bed. It’s simply the best feeling ever.
I felt the same way when I came home from work two weeks ago. All I wanted was my bed, a hot cup of coffee, and the crime documentary I was watching. I was about to watch episode 3, but what I saw when I walked in made me forget everything.
I opened the door, hung up the car keys and started walking towards my room when something unexpected caught my eye. At first, I really thought I was imagining things because it seemed too strange to be true.
I noticed the couch was gone, the rug was gone, and even the bookcase was gone. I checked the hallway and the kitchen, and sure enough, most of the items were gone. The coat closet? Gone. The coffee machine? Gone. The dining table? GONE!
What the hell is going on? I wondered. Where is Roger?
A woman looking at her kitchen and hallway | Source: Midjourney
Roger, my husband, usually came home before me, but I didn’t see him around. Then I heard his voice, like he was yelling at someone. It was coming from down the hall. From our living room.
I threw my bag on the kitchen island and followed his voice. As I got closer, another voice echoed down the hall. It was a woman’s voice.
Not prepared for what awaited me, I pushed open the door and saw my husband with his ex-wife, Melissa. The woman Roger had sworn never to see again, the one he called “a spoiled rich brat.”
I felt like my heart had jumped to my throat. Why was Melissa in my house?
“Roger?” I asked, interrupting their conversation. “What happened to our house?”
“Oh, Liz, are you there?” Roger asked as if he wasn’t expecting me.
“Yeah, I just got back,” I said. “What’s she doing here?”
“I’ll explain everything,” Roger stammered. “I’ll fix it, I swear.”
Roger looked desperate to keep me calm, while Melissa stood there, smiling. I almost thought they were having an affair until Melissa’s words sent a wave of pure rage through me.
“No, you won’t,” she said curtly to Roger. “Didn’t you tell him that everything you owned was mine?”
“I… I…” Roger stuttered, speechless.
“Well, honey,” she said, turning to me. “All this furniture… it’s mine. You see, your husband and I bought it together when we were married, so I’m just taking back what’s mine.”
What the… I thought. What does she think of herself?
She was practically destroying my house and acting like it was no big deal.
I remember staring at her for a few moments, wondering what kind of evil person would walk into her ex’s house and take most of her furniture.
I wanted to scream, to throw her out, but I couldn’t. Not with Roger standing there silently and watching her humiliate me.
“And you let her take everything?” I finally managed to speak, looking Roger straight in the eye. “You didn’t even try to stop her? And why didn’t you tell me she was coming? You knew, didn’t you?”
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, looking down. He was too ashamed to look at me.
“Seriously, Roger? Is that all?” I rolled my eyes. “I never thought you’d let your ex walk away with our entire lives! That’s ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous?” Melissa laughed. “I’m sorry, honey, but technically everything in your house is mine. Even the bed you two share. I paid for all of that, so I have every right to take it.”
Yeah, that’s right, I thought.
It would be true if I said that I have never felt so humiliated in my entire life. Can you imagine the kind of patience it took for me to stop myself from humiliating Melissa?
I could have thrown all the embarrassing secrets Roger had told me about Melissa back at him, but I had no intention of stooping to his level. I wasn’t going to be petty.
At this point I wanted to ask her why she needed that old second-hand furniture when she could afford a brand new bed set and the latest model automatic coffee machine.
She was wealthy, owned one of the most popular businesses in town, and could easily afford a fully furnished house.
But I knew why she was doing this. She had only one goal: to humiliate me. I could see the jealousy in her eyes.
“Okay,” I spat. “Take it. Take everything you own. But don’t you ever dare contact me or my husband again!”
“Sure, honey,” she said, smiling as if she had won the biggest prize of her life.
I watched her walk to the front door and call the workers inside to collect the remaining furniture. Then I spotted a truck in our yard, filled with furniture the workers had already moved.
Meanwhile, Roger watched silently as the workers demolished our house. He was helpless and just as heartbroken as I was.
That’s when I had the idea to make Melissa regret her decision.
Just as she was going out to look at the truck, I rushed into the kitchen and pulled out some frozen shrimp from the freezer. Then I quickly hid them in various places, including on our side table, in the living room chairs, and inside our mattress.
I even stuffed a few into the decorative pillows. It only took a few days for the shrimp to work their magic.
You see, I knew she wouldn’t keep this furniture in her house. She’d probably throw it in a storage unit, and I couldn’t wait to see how these little pieces of meat would turn this place into an unbearable stink bomb.
As the workers loaded the last piece of furniture into the truck, Melissa took one last satisfied look around, making sure she had destroyed our house in every way possible.
“I hope you took everything that’s yours,” I said, arms crossed.
She nodded. “Yeah, I’m done, honey. Sorry for the inconvenience.”
Sure, sorry, I thought.
And with that, Melissa left our house and drove off in her shiny SUV. Meanwhile, Roger sat on the ground with his hands on his head.
“I’m so sorry,” he said as tears streamed down his cheeks. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know how to tell you. She called me a few days ago and said she was coming, but I didn’t know she was serious. I never thought she would do this to us.”
I sighed and sat down next to him.
“It’s okay, baby,” I said, stroking her arms. “I wouldn’t want to live in a house furnished by your ex-wife anyway.”
At that point, I could have yelled at Roger, resented him, and made him feel bad about the situation, but I knew things were out of his control. Besides, that’s exactly what Melissa wanted.
She wanted to see us fight and break up, and I wasn’t going to give her that satisfaction.
“Instead of apologizing, I want you to buy me new furniture, okay?” I laughed. “Whatever I choose. I want this place to feel like a home again.”
“I will,” he looked at me with a smile. “I will buy all the furniture you want. I promise.”
I held his hand and squeezed it tightly.
“I love you, Roger, and I will always be there for you,” I said. “We will get through this together.”
As we lay on the bedroom floor that night, I realized that I didn’t need Melissa’s furniture to make my house feel like home. I had Roger, and that was all I needed.
But the story doesn’t end there.
A few days later, while scrolling through Facebook, I came across a post in one of the local groups. It was from Melissa, and it was clear she was desperate.
HELP NEEDED URGENTLY! Does anyone know how to get rid of a horrible rotting meat smell in furniture? I recently moved some old furniture into storage, and within a few days it started smelling like something had died inside.
I have tried airing them out, deep cleaning them, and even using baking soda, but nothing works! The smell is unbearable, and I can’t even go into the storage room without retching. Please, if anyone has any advice, I’m losing my mind here!
I couldn’t help but laugh as I read her frantic message. All her wealth, all her pride, and it was brought down by a few hidden pieces of shrimp.
It was the sweetest revenge. Served cold.