Ever had someone invade your personal space while you were away? Now imagine it’s your mother-in-law’s best friend playing dress-up with your designer clothes. I’m Karen, 32, an entrepreneur and mom, and I just lived through this nightmare.

A couple of weeks ago, I was packing for a week-long business trip to New York when my mother-in-law, Janet, casually strolled into my bedroom.

“Don’t worry about a thing, dear,” she said, patting my arm. “I’ll take good care of Dave and Marly while you’re gone.”

I forced a smile. “Thanks, Janet. I appreciate it.”

As I zipped up my suitcase, Janet’s eyes drifted to my walk-in closet. “My, you have such lovely things, Karen.”

I nodded, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. “Thanks. Well, I’d better get going. My flight’s in three hours.”

Janet waved me off cheerfully. “Have a safe trip, dear!”

At the time, I was grateful for her help, but little did I know, I should have kept my guard up.

Two days into my trip, in the middle of a meeting, my phone buzzed with a text from my neighbor and best friend, Lisa.

Lisa: “OMG, you won’t believe this! Do you know someone named Sheryl?”

Me: “Sheryl? No, why?”

Lisa: “Well, Sheryl, Janet’s friend, is basically living in your house right now! She’s wearing your clothes and using your makeup!”

Me (freaking out): “WHAT?! Are you serious? That’s insane!”

Lisa: “You need to see this.”

A video popped up on my screen.

I excused myself from the meeting and hurried to the hallway to watch it. My jaw dropped as I saw a middle-aged woman strutting around my living room in my favorite red dress, applying what looked like my Chanel lipstick.

I called Lisa immediately. “What the hell is going on?”

“I don’t know,” Lisa said, sounding just as shocked as I felt. “This woman’s been coming and going from your house whenever Dave’s not around. I thought she was a relative or something, but then I saw her trying on your clothes and makeup through the window.”

My blood boiled. “That’s definitely NOT a relative. Thanks for letting me know, Lisa. I’ll handle this.”

I ended the call, my mind racing. Who was this Sheryl, and why was she treating my home like a personal dressing room?

I was fuming but had three more days of meetings ahead, so I had to keep my cool.

When I finally got home, I stormed through the front door, ready for a confrontation like never before.

“Janet?” I called out.

Dave appeared from the kitchen, looking confused. “Hey, honey. How was your trip?”

I ignored his question. “Where’s your mother?”

“She’s upstairs with Marly. What’s wrong?”

Without answering, I marched up to our bedroom. The sight that greeted me made my stomach churn.

My walk-in closet looked like a tornado had hit it. Clothes were scattered everywhere, and makeup containers were left open and smeared. But the worst part? My wedding dress, crumpled on the floor with a massive red wine stain.

“What happened here?” I gasped.

Janet appeared behind me, holding Marly’s hand. “Oh, Karen! You’re home early. We were just about to tidy up.”

I turned to her, my anger barely contained. “Tidy up? TIDY UP? Janet, what have you done to my things?”

Janet shrugged nonchalantly. “Now, dear, don’t get upset. It was just a bit of harmless fun.”

“Harmless?” I sputtered. “My wedding dress is ruined!”

Dave rushed in, his eyes widening at the mess. “Mom, what’s going on?”

Janet wrung her hands. “Well, you see, my friend Sheryl was in town, and she had a date. She needed something nice to wear, and since Karen has such lovely things…”

I cut her off. “You let a complete stranger USE MY CLOTHES AND MAKEUP?”

“Sheryl’s not a stranger,” Janet protested. “She’s my best friend. I thought you wouldn’t mind. She was just BORROWING them.”

Dave’s face darkened. “Mom, that’s completely out of line. You had no right to touch Karen’s things, let alone let someone else use them.”

Just then, the doorbell rang. Dave went to answer it, and I heard an unfamiliar voice.

“Oh, hello! I’m Sheryl. Is Janet here?”

I stormed downstairs, ready to give this Sheryl a piece of my mind. She stood in the doorway, a smirk on her face that quickly vanished when she saw me.

“Oh, you must be Karen,” she said, her voice sickeningly sweet. “I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed a few things. Janet said it would be fine.”

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my cool. “Actually, I do mind. Very much.”

Sheryl’s smirk returned. “Oh, come on now. What’s a little sharing between friends?”

“We’re not friends,” I said through gritted teeth. “And what you did wasn’t sharing. It was trespassing and theft.”

Sheryl’s eyes widened in surprise. “My, aren’t we dramatic? It was just a bit of fun. No harm done.”

I was about to unleash my anger when Dave stepped in, pointing to the door. “I think you should leave now, Sheryl. And don’t come back.”

As Sheryl huffed and left, I turned to Janet. “I want you out of my house. Now.”

The next few days were tense. Dave was furious with his mother, and I was still seething. But as angry as I was, I decided to take the high road. I wouldn’t stoop to their level.

“Let karma handle it,” Lisa advised over coffee. “What goes around comes around.”

I nodded, sipping my latte. “You’re right. I’m not going to waste my energy on revenge.”

Little did I know, karma was already at work.

A week after the incident, my phone rang. It was Janet, sounding frantic.

“Karen, I need your help. It’s Sheryl.”

I sighed. “What about her?”

“She’s in the hospital. She had some kind of allergic reaction. Her face is all swollen and covered in a rash.”

I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of satisfaction. “That’s terrible. But what does it have to do with me?”

Janet’s voice dropped to a whisper. “The doctors think it was caused by the makeup she used. Your makeup.”

I tried to keep the glee out of my voice. “Oh, that’s unfortunate. I hope she’ll be okay.”

“She’s mortified,” Janet continued. “She had to explain to the doctors how she got the rash. It was so embarrassing for her.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “Well, actions have consequences, Janet.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “I know, dear. And I’m truly sorry for what we did. It was wrong of me to let Sheryl use your things without permission. Can you ever forgive me?”

I took a deep breath. “It’s going to take some time, Janet. You really hurt me and violated my trust.”

“I understand,” she said softly. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make it up to you.”

As I ended the call, Dave walked in. “Was that my mom?”

I nodded. “Yep. Karma’s already working its magic.”

Over the next few weeks, Janet bent over backward trying to make amends. She replaced all the makeup that had been used, paid for my wedding dress to be professionally cleaned, and even hired a closet organizer to put everything back in order.

One evening, as we were putting Marly to bed, Dave turned to me. “I’ve been thinking about what happened with my mom and Sheryl.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“I think we need to set some clear boundaries with her. What she did was a major violation of our privacy and trust.”

I smiled, feeling a warmth spread through my chest. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Dave squeezed my hand. “I’m going to talk to her tomorrow. Let her know that if she ever pulls something like this again, she’ll risk losing contact with us and Marly.”

I leaned in and kissed him softly. “Thank you for having my back.”

He grinned. “Always.”

The next day, Dave had a long talk with Janet. When he came home, he looked both relieved and a little sad.

“How did it go?” I asked, handing him a cup of coffee.

He sighed. “It was tough but necessary. I told her she needs to respect our boundaries if she wants to be a part of our lives. She cried a bit, but I think she finally understands.”

I nodded. “And Sheryl?”

“Mom promised she wouldn’t be coming around anymore. Apparently, the whole makeup incident was pretty traumatic for her.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, I guess karma really does work in mysterious ways.”

Dave wrapped an arm around me. “You know, I’m proud of you for not seeking revenge. You took the high road, and it paid off.”

I leaned into him, feeling content. “Sometimes, the best revenge is just sitting back and letting the universe do its thing.”

As we stood there, I realized that this whole ordeal had actually brought Dave and me closer together. And as for Janet? Well, she was on her best behavior now, finally respecting our boundaries.

In the end, I didn’t have to lift a finger. Karma worked better than any revenge I could have plotted. Janet learned her lesson, Sheryl was out of our lives, and Dave and I were stronger than ever.