After being hurt, Danika thought that going to Seattle for a week would help her get better. But three days into the trip, she had to rush home because of a scary thing she saw on her doorbell camera. What did the video show her?
I’m back from a week-long trip to Seattle and have a lot to talk about.
To begin, I want to say that I have always been a pretty private person, especially when it comes to my home.
That’s why I was so shocked when I found out that my workers had let my nosy neighbor into my house while I was in another city.
But it wasn’t just the invasion of privacy that shocked me. That’s what I heard that made my blood chill.
But let me take a step back before I get into that mess.
My name is Danika and things were going great in my life until a few weeks ago. My husband loved me, my house was lovely, and I had big plans for the future.
When I found out my husband was cheating on me, it all fell apart.
We had been married for eight years. Eight years! You know, I thought that was a long time. I didn’t think he would cheat on me, but…
You may be wondering how I found out. It was, after all, Tuesday night. I got home early from work because I was excited to give Shaun concert tickets as a surprise.
I was the one who got the surprise instead. He was sitting on the couch with another woman.
Everything that happened after that is very clear in my mind.
“Shaun?” I gasped.
He jumped up and his face turned white. “Danika!” “I… I can explain!”
But there was no need to explain. It was clear what the scene was about.
“How long?” My voice was shaking as I asked.
Shaun took a look.
He said, “A year.”
“A year!” “Can you believe it?” I yelled. “A whole year of sneaky lies!”
I couldn’t put into words how hurt and betrayed I felt at that moment.
It felt like someone had smashed my heart. I was really, really mad at myself. But I felt sad more than anything else.
Sad that trust and love built up over eight years could be lost so quickly. And lied to? Yes, of course. After a year of being with someone, I thought I knew them inside and out. But that person had been living a double life.
Plus, this news came while we were remodeling our kitchen, which made things even worse.
Okay, this is my kitchen. As you can see, I owned the house. I felt very thankful for this one thing all of a sudden.
I told them to “get out.”
Shaun begged Danika, “Please let’s talk about this.”
But I had enough to say.
I walked over to our bedroom, picked up his clothes in bulk, and began throwing them out the front door.
“Get out!” I said.
He begged for another chance and kept saying sorry, but I couldn’t forgive what he had done. Not now, and maybe never.
When he left, I cried so hard.
I had to talk to someone badly, so I called Maya, my best friend.
“Maya,” I cried into the phone, “Shaun has been cheating on me.”
Maya sounded very worried as she said, “Oh, honey.” “I’m really sorry.” What do you say? Why not go to Seattle? Take a break and clear your mind.
Getting away sounds like a great idea.
“Are you sure?” I asked as I wiped away my tears.
“Certainly!” I promise we’ll have a good time. It will make you feel better.
That’s why I agreed.
I locked the door to my bedroom and packed my bags. I only let the workers into the kitchen. I was going to use the doorbell camera to keep an eye on them to make sure they were coming and going on time.
It was hard to remember the trip to Seattle. Maya was there to greet me when I got off the plane.
We talked about everything that night until late. I opened up and told them everything about my failed marriage.
As I sat on Maya’s couch with a glass of wine, I said, “I just can’t believe he did this to me.”
Maya put her hand on mine and squeezed it.
“Donik, I know it hurts right now, but you’re strong. “You’ll get through this.”
Her words and being around me made me feel better. All of a sudden, I had a small bit of hope that everything would be okay.
After three days at her house, we went out to see some of Seattle. But fate had other ideas.
I checked the doorbell video on my phone while I was getting ready that morning.
I went cold when I saw what I did.
The wide lens on the doorbell camera let me see my neighbor Nancy walk into my house without a fuss, right behind the contractor. But why did she come to my house? She was always interested in what other people were doing. She wasn’t allowed to come in without my approval!
My shock turned to anger as I watched. It scared me that I could hear Nancy and the worker talking as they walked through my kitchen.
Nancy said, “Bless you, Danika.” “I think she gave Shaun a choice and he left because of it.”
What the heck? I believed. In what way does she talk?
The voice of the contractor came in and said, “Really?” I thought he might have broken her trust in some way.
“I don’t know,” “Yes,” Nancy said. “Perhaps she was just too needy.” “You know how some women are.”
What I heard made no sense to me. Not only had this woman invaded my privacy, she was also rude enough to talk about one of the worst times in my life in my own home!
They were talking, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying as they got farther away from the door. But I had heard enough.
My blood was really hot. Why did they do that?
“Maya!” I yelled, and my voice was shaking with anger. “I have to go home.” Right now.”
“What?” “Why?” Maya seemed to be lost. “I thought our plan was to see the city.”
When I showed her the video, she was shocked.
“Oh my god, Danika!” “That’s awful!”
As I put my things away, I said, “I know.” “I need to talk to Nancy about it and find out what’s going on.”
My mind was full of things I wanted to say to Nancy, so I booked the next trip home.
The flight went on and on. That I was so scared and mad when I finally got home.
I walked right up to my front door and quickly opened it. I was ready for whatever was inside of me.
But I turned pale when I walked into my finished kitchen. It wasn’t at all like I thought the kitchen would look.
I didn’t find the sleek, modern kitchen I had agreed on with the building crew. Instead, I found the whole room covered in tacky, old curtains, and the white countertops we had agreed on had been changed to a horrible shade of yellow.
The whole area looked bad and out of place.
“What the heck?” I whispered in shock.
At that very moment, I heard a happy voice behind me.
“Danika!” “You got back early!”
Judy was there. With a big smile on her face, she stood in the doorway.
I tried to keep my voice steady as I said, “Nancy.” “Where is my kitchen now?”
She smiled even more.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” I knew it was because of your split with Shaun because of how sad and depressing it looked before. So I chose to make things a little better! Make it more happy for you.”
I looked at her. It was her idea that I was sad that she changed everything about my kitchen without asking me first.
“Nancy,” I started, “you didn’t have permission to come into my house or change anything in my kitchen.”
“But…” I just meant to help. You should be thankful!”
“Thankful?” I was shocked to hear that. “You broke into my house, talked about my private life, and ruined my kitchen renovation completely!” Do you think I should be thankful?”
It got red on Nancy’s face.
“Well, I never!” You’re not making sense at all and are going crazy!”
I took a deep breath when I realized there was no point in fighting with her.
I took out my phone instead.
Judy, I’m sending this video of you breaking into my house without my permission to the HOA. The trespassing problem will be taken care of. “What you did was wrong!”
When she realized she was in trouble, her face changed. After that, she stormed out of the house without saying a word.
When she left, I took a look at my kitchen and realized that taking back Nancy’s “improvements” would take weeks.
As I began to take down the tacky curtains, I said to myself, “Oh well.”
Even though I was tired, I knew I couldn’t give up. I knew this was just another problem I would be able to solve. I knew I was strong enough to handle this, and I wasn’t going to let Nancy, my annoying neighbor, set me off.
I learned from this experience that bad things happen in life, but you can’t let them break you. You need to get better and be ready for whatever comes next. Indeed, that’s what I meant to do.
