😡😳MY NEIGHBOR REFUSED TO PAY ME THE $250 WE AGREED ON FOR CLEANING HER HOUSE.😡I GAVE HER A LESSON.

They say neighbors can either become friends or enemies, but I never imagined mine would turn into both in an instant. What started as a simple favor turned into bitter animosity and a twist that left us both stunned.

When my husband, Silas, left six years ago, I never could have imagined that I’d be standing in my kitchen, scrubbing the same countertop for the third time, wondering how I became this person.

I’m Prudence, 48 years old, a mother of two, trying to make ends meet by working remotely at a call center. Life hasn’t turned out quite as I hoped.

Silas and I used to talk about our dreams, you know? About the life we wanted to build together. But somewhere along the way, those dreams shattered, and I was left picking up the pieces alone.

One evening, he left, saying he needed “space to find himself,” leaving me with our then eight-year-old son Damien and a few-month-old daughter Connie. I think he found more than just space because he never came back.

“Mom, can I have some cereal?” Connie’s high-pitched voice snapped me out of my thoughts. Her big brown eyes, full of innocence, looked at me from the kitchen table.

“Of course, sweetie. Just a second.” I forced a smile and reached for the cereal box on the top shelf.

Damien, now fourteen, walked into the kitchen with his headphones on, barely lifting his eyes from his phone. “I’m meeting Jake, okay?” he muttered.

“Don’t stay out too late. And remember, when you come back, do your homework first,” I called after him as he rushed out the door without waiting for my response.

It was just another day in my life, trying to keep things together after Silas left. Balancing the duties of raising two kids on my own while trying to keep a roof over our heads wasn’t easy.

My job at the call center helped, but it wasn’t exactly my dream job. But it was a job, and in times like these, that’s what mattered.

At that moment, Emery, a new neighbor in her thirties, knocked on my door. I opened it to find her with red eyes, looking as though she hadn’t slept in days.

 

“Hi, Prudence, can I ask you a huge favor?” she said, her voice trembling slightly.

I nodded, stepping aside to let her in. “Of course, Emery. What’s going on?”

She sighed, sinking onto the couch as if she were about to collapse. “I had a crazy party last night, and then I had to leave town for work. The house is a disaster, and I don’t have time to clean. Could you help me? I’ll pay you, of course.”

I hesitated, glancing at the clock. My shift was about to start in a couple of hours, but the idea of making some extra money was tempting. Lord knows we could use it.

“How much are we talking about?” I asked, crossing my arms.

“Two hundred and fifty dollars,” she replied quickly. “I really need help, Prudence. I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t urgent.”

“Okay,” I agreed after a moment. “I’ll do it.”

“Thank you so much! You’re a lifesaver!” Emery hugged me quickly, then hurried out, leaving me to wonder what I’d just signed up for.

Emery’s house was a complete wreck—an understatement. There were empty bottles, half-eaten food, and trash everywhere—it looked like a tornado had gone through.

I stood in the middle of her living room, hands on my hips, trying to figure out where to start.

Two days. It took me two full days to scrub, sweep, and haul out the trash from that house. By the time I was done, my back ached, and my hands were raw. But I kept reminding myself of the promised $250. That money would be so helpful.

When Emery finally returned, I went to her, ready to collect my payment.

“Emery, everything’s ready. Your house is spotless,” I said, trying to hide the exhaustion in my voice. “So, about the payment…”

She stared at me like I was speaking a foreign language. “Payment? What payment?”

I frowned, my heart sinking a little. “The $250 you promised for cleaning your house. Remember?”

Her expression shifted from confusion to irritation. “Prudence, I never agreed to pay you anything. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

For a moment, I just stood there, stunned. “What… what? You said you’d pay me! We agreed on this!”

“No, we didn’t,” she snapped. “Listen, I’m running late for work, and I really don’t have time for this.” She brushed past me, heading to her car.

“Emery, this isn’t right!” I called after her, but she was already pulling out of her driveway without even glancing at me.

I watched as Emery’s car disappeared down the street, fuming with anger. How could she just walk away like that?

Two days of exhausting work, and she had the audacity to pretend like we never made a deal. I felt rage bubbling up inside me, but I knew I had to hold off on doing anything rash.

I went back home, slammed the door behind me, and paced through the living room, trying to think. Connie was playing with her dolls on the floor, and Damien was still out with his friends. I didn’t want to involve my kids in this mess, but I wasn’t going to let Emery get away with this.

“Alright, Prudence, think smarter,” I muttered to myself. I looked out the window at Emery’s house, and an idea began to form in my mind. It was risky, but at that point, I didn’t care. If she wanted to play dirty, I could get down and dirty too.

Twenty minutes later, I was at the local dump, pulling on a pair of old gloves I kept in the car. I wasn’t proud of what I was about to do, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

I loaded as many garbage bags as I could into the trunk, nearly gagging from the stench. But I gritted my teeth and kept going.

On the way, I replayed our conversation in my head, her dismissive tone, her refusal to acknowledge what she had promised. The more I thought about it, the more justified I felt.

She didn’t even have the decency to respect the work I put into cleaning her filthy house. Well, she was about to see just how dirty things could get.

It was quiet. No one was around to see as I opened the trunk and started hauling trash bags to her front door. My heart pounded in my chest, adrenaline rushing through me as I worked quickly.

Then it hit me: Emery had forgotten to take the key from me. She was in such a hurry when she left that she didn’t even think about it.

I hesitated for a moment. But then I remembered the look on her face when she told me there was no deal, how she dismissed me like I was nothing. I wasn’t going to let her get away with it.

I unlocked the door and went inside. The house was still spotless, just like I had left it, but that was about to change. One by one, I tore open the trash bags, dumping their contents onto the floor, counters, and even the bed. Rotting food, old newspapers, dirty diapers—it all mixed into a disgusting pile.

“This is what you get, Emery,” I muttered under my breath as I emptied the last bag. “You wanted to play games, well, now you play.”

I shut the door behind me, locking it, and slipped the key under her doormat. As I walked back to my car, I felt a strange mix of satisfaction and guilt. But I pushed it aside. Emery brought this on herself.

That evening, while I was putting Connie to bed, I heard furious knocking at my front door. I knew who it was before I even opened it.

“Prudence! What the hell did you do to my house?!” Emery yelled, her face red with rage.

I crossed my arms and leaned against the doorframe, feigning calm. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Emery. How could I get into your house? We didn’t have any agreement, remember? So I never had a key to your house.”

She stared at me, momentarily speechless, before her face twisted with fury. “You… you’re lying! I’m calling the police! You’ll pay for this!”

I shrugged, maintaining eye contact. “Go ahead, call. But how are you going to explain how I got inside? You can’t, because according to you, I never had a key.”

Emery opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out. She looked like she was about to explode, but all she did was turn on her heel and storm off, muttering to herself.

I watched her go, my heart still pounding, but this time, not just from anger. It felt like justice, a balance restored.

I didn’t know if she’d call the police, but I didn’t care. That day, Emery learned a valuable lesson: don’t mess with Prudence.

I closed the door and let out a long sigh, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. I knew I had crossed a line, but in that moment, it felt like the only way to make things right.

Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself, even if it means getting your hands dirty. And as for Emery? Well, I had a feeling she wouldn’t be asking me for favors anytime soon.

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