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