After a painful betrayal, Kiera thought a week in Seattle would help her heal. But just three days into the trip, a scary discovery on her doorbell camera pushed her to rush home. What did she see in the footage?
I just got back from my week-long trip to Seattle, and I have a lot to talk about.
Let me start by saying that I’ve always been a very private person, especially when it comes to my home.
So, imagine my shock 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 stunned me. It was what I overheard that made my blood run cold.
But before I get into that mess, let me back up a bit.
I’m Kiera, and my life was great until a few weeks ago. I had a loving husband, a nice home, and big plans for the future.
That all fell apart when I found out my husband was cheating on me.
Brett and I had been married for eight years. Eight years! I thought that was a long time, you know? I never imagined he’d cheat on me, but…
How did I find out, you ask? Well, it was a Tuesday evening. I came home early from work, excited to surprise Brett with tickets to his favorite band.
Instead, I was the one who got the surprise. He was there on the couch with another woman.
I clearly remember everything that happened after that moment.
“Brett?” I gasped.
He jumped up, his face pale. “Kiera! I… I can explain!”
But there was no explanation needed. The scene spoke for itself.
“How long?” I asked, my voice shaking.
Brett looked down.
“A year,” he mumbled.
“A year! Can you believe it?!” I shouted. “A whole year of lies and cheating!”
The pain and betrayal I felt at that moment were too much.
It was like someone had reached into my chest and crushed my heart. I felt angry, so very angry. But more than that, I felt sad.
Sad that eight years of trust and love could be thrown away so easily. And betrayed? Oh, you bet. The man I had shared my life with, the one I thought I knew completely, had been living a double life for a whole year.
To make matters worse, we were in the middle of fixing our kitchen when this bombshell hit.
Well, my kitchen now. You see, the house belonged to me. This was one thing I was suddenly very thankful for.
“Get out,” I said.
“Kiera, please, let’s talk about this,” Brett begged.
But I was done talking.
I marched to our bedroom, grabbed armfuls of his clothes, and started throwing them out the front door.
“I said, get out!”
He kept saying sorry, begging for another chance, but what he had done was something I couldn’t forgive. Not now, maybe not ever.
I cried my heart out once he left.
I badly needed to talk to someone, so I called my best friend, Livia.
“Livia,” I sobbed into the phone, “Brett’s been cheating on me.”
“Oh, honey,” Livia sounded very worried. “I’m so sorry. Listen, why don’t you come to Seattle? Get away for a bit, clear your head.”
The idea of escaping sounded perfect.
“Are you sure?” I asked, wiping my tears.
“Totally! We’ll have fun, I promise. It’ll help you feel better.”
So, I agreed.
I packed my bags, locked my bedroom door, and gave the workers access only to the kitchen. I planned to keep an eye on them through the doorbell camera, just to make sure they were showing up and leaving on time.
The flight to Seattle was a blur. When I landed, Livia was waiting for me with open arms.
That night, we stayed up late, talking about everything. I poured my heart out and shared all the details of my failed marriage.
“I just can’t believe he did this to me,” I said, curled up on Livia’s couch with a glass of wine.
Livia reached out and squeezed my hand.
“I know it hurts now, but you’re strong, Kiera. You’ll get through this.”
Her words and presence made me feel lighter. Suddenly, I felt a bit of hope that everything would be okay.
I spent three days at her place, and then we decided to explore Seattle. But fate had other plans.
As I was getting ready that day, I casually checked the doorbell footage on my phone.
What I saw made me freeze.
In the fisheye lens of the doorbell camera, I saw my neighbor Greta casually walking into my house right behind the worker. She was always poking into everyone’s business, but what brought her into my house? She had no right to enter without my permission!
As I watched, my confusion turned to anger. Greta and the worker walked through my kitchen, and to my horror, I could hear their conversation.
“Poor Kiera,” Greta said. “I heard she gave Brett a big demand, and that’s why he left.”
What the heck? I thought. What is she talking about?
The worker’s voice chimed in, “Really? I thought maybe he had broken her trust somehow.”
“Oh, who knows?” Greta replied. “Maybe she was just too bossy. You know how some women can be.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Not only had my privacy been invaded, but this woman had the nerve to gossip about one of the worst moments of my life, right inside my house!
As they moved farther from the door, their voices faded, and I couldn’t hear the rest of their talk. But I’d heard enough.
My blood was boiling. How dare they?
“Livia!” I called out, my voice shaking with anger. “I need to go home. Now.”
“What? Why?” Livia looked confused. “I thought we were going to explore the city.”
I showed her the video, and her eyes widened in shock.
“Oh my gosh, Kiera. That’s awful!”
“I know,” I said as I packed my bag. “I need to confront Greta and see what’s going on there.”
I booked the next flight home as my mind raced with all the things I wanted to say to Greta.
The flight felt endless. By the time I got home, I was so nervous and angry.
I marched up to my front door and quickly unlocked it. I was ready to face whatever waited inside.
But when I walked into my finished kitchen, I turned pale. The kitchen looked nothing like what I had pictured.
Instead of the sleek, modern kitchen I had agreed on with the work crew, I found the whole space covered in old, ugly curtains, and the white countertops we’d agreed on had been swapped with a terrible shade of yellow.
The entire space looked bad and completely wrong.
“What in the world?” I whispered in horror.
Just then, I heard a cheerful voice behind me.
“Kiera! You’re back early!”
It was Greta. She stood in the doorway with a big smile on her face.
“Greta,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “What happened to my kitchen?”
Her smile grew wider.
“Oh, isn’t it great? I saw how dull and sad it looked before, and I just knew it was because of your breakup with Brett. So, I decided to cheer things up a bit! Make it happier for you.”
I stared at her. She had taken it upon herself to completely change my kitchen without my permission, all because she thought I was sad?
“Greta,” I began, “you had no right to enter my home or make any changes to my kitchen.”
“But… I was just trying to help. You should be thankful!”
“Thankful?” I couldn’t believe my ears. “You broke into my home, gossiped about my personal life, and totally ruined my kitchen fix-up! And you think I should be thankful?”
Greta’s face turned red.
“Well, I never! You’re being totally unfair and crazy!”
I took a deep breath, realizing that arguing with her was pointless.
Instead, I pulled out my phone.
“Greta, I’m sending this video of you entering my home without permission to the HOA. They’ll handle the trespassing issue. What you did is not right!”
Her face changed as she realized the trouble she was in. And then, she stormed out of the house without a word.
Once she left, I looked around my kitchen, realizing it would take weeks to undo Greta’s “changes.”
“Oh, well,” I took a deep breath as I started taking down the ugly curtains.
I already felt tired, but I knew I couldn’t give up. I knew this was just another challenge I would overcome. I was stronger than this, and I was sure I couldn’t let an annoying neighbor like Greta ruin my peace.
This incident made me realize that life throws tough situations at you, but you can’t let them break you. Instead, you have to come out stronger, ready to face whatever comes next. And that’s exactly what I planned to do.
