I’m Elara, and while married life with Jacob should have been idyllic, it turned into a nightmare due to his mother, Agnes. From the start, Agnes made it clear she didn’t like me, but things escalated when our home became infested with cockroaches. Despite our efforts to get rid of them, they persisted, and Agnes delighted in criticizing me for the mess.

One day, while Agnes visited, she left her handbag behind. I discovered a receipt for live cockroaches from a pet store. Realization hit me—Agnes was behind the infestation, sabotaging me to make me look incompetent.

Fueled by rage, I decided on revenge. I bought a potent animal attractant and, under cover of night, spread it around Agnes’s yard and inside her house. The next morning, Jacob called, shocked that Agnes’s home had been swarmed by wildlife—deer, moose, and foxes had ravaged her property, turning it into a mess.

When Agnes came to stay with us while her home was cleaned, she was furious and humiliated. I showed Jacob the receipt, and he confronted Agnes. She admitted her scheme, her face flushed with shame. Jacob insisted she pay for all the pest control and repairs and live with the roaches she had unleashed on us.

That night, I lay in bed with a dark satisfaction. Revenge might not be sweet, but sometimes, it’s exactly what you need.