Chapter 1: The Gift Box
My divorced neighbor warned me, "I'm going to take your husband, so you'd better prepare for divorce" — when she began openly flirting with him, I decided to teach her a lesson in a way only another woman could.
My husband, Irvin, and I had been married for seventeen years when Vanessa settled next door.
She was newly divorced, beautiful, confident, and initially, I felt sorry for her.
I took her a pie, helped her unpack, and asked her over for coffee.
That was my mistake.
Within weeks, she began finding excuses to stop by whenever Irvin was home.
A broken cupboard.
A heavy parcel.
A lightbulb she "couldn't" change.
Then one day, while Irvin was at work, Vanessa smiled at me across my kitchen table.
"I'm going to take your husband."
I thought she was joking.
She wasn't.
"You should start preparing for divorce.
Men get bored after that many years."
After that, she quit pretending.
She wore low-cut tops around Irvin, leaned over our fence to speak to him, brought him homemade cookies, and touched his arm whenever she could.
Irvin always moved away.
Then Vanessa announced a huge backyard barbecue for the neighborhood.
She invited Irvin.
Not me.
When he showed me the invitation, he frowned.
"I'm not going."
I smiled.
"Actually, I think you should."
He stared at me, puzzled, but I already had a plan.
Half an hour after the barbecue began, I stepped into Vanessa's yard uninvited, carrying a large gift box.
The conversations around us gradually stopped.
Vanessa's smile tightened.
"What are you doing here?"
"I brought the hostess a gift."
I set the box in front of her.
"Go ahead.
Open it."
With half the neighborhood watching, Vanessa lifted the lid, and the color drained from her face
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What was inside Vanessa’s box—and how will Irvin react?
Comment “NEXT” for Part 2.
