The late afternoon sun kissed my husband Ben’s skin as he held me on the porch. We were exhausted, but the exhaustion was the good kind, the kind of exhaustion that comes from hard work. For months, we had cut out all unnecessary expenses. We didn’t eat out, our clothes were the same, and going to the movies was a thing of the past. Life was a succession of budgets and spreadsheets, all for a noble cause: Ben’s sister Megan’s wedding.
Ever since Megan announced she was getting married, Ben and I decided we wanted to do something special. Megan was… a difficult person, to say the least. Her life was a constant search for something better, and she never hesitated to make others feel small to make herself feel bigger. But deep down, Ben still hoped that through marriage, she would love more and become a better person.
“Clara,” Ben said, his voice low and full of hope, “it will be the most beautiful surprise in the world.”
And it was. With the help of a travel agent friend, we secured the dream package: a seven-day, all-expenses-paid honeymoon to a tropical island paradise. First-class airfare, a luxury hotel, and exclusive activities—all for a price that made our bank account weep. But we thought, “It’s a wedding gift! It’s a gift of love!”
I closed my eyes and pictured Megan’s face. That sincere smile she rarely showed, the surprise in her blue eyes, and the genuine gratitude. Ben held me tighter. This was our reward.
The wedding reception was grand, exactly as Megan had planned. The ballroom was filled with crystal chandeliers and white flowers, the guests wore their finest clothes, and the band played upbeat music. We waited for the perfect opportunity to give our gift.
Finally, as the lights dimmed for the cake cutting, Ben called out to the guests. “We want to make a special toast to the bride, my beautiful sister, and her new husband!”
Everyone applauded as Ben and I walked onto the small stage. Our hearts were pounding.
“Megan, we wish you the greatest happiness,” Ben said, his voice full of brotherly love. “And to start your new life off on the right foot, we want to offer you a gift from our hearts.”
I handed Megan a large gift envelope. She tore it open with a curious smile. She read the document inside. Her smile froze. He was silent for a moment, a silence that felt like an eternity. The guests were waiting, trying to understand what was happening. Ben’s face was bright, waiting for her reaction.
Then she looked at us angrily and said, in front of EVERYONE :
“Oh… is that it? I mean, I expected you guys to at least give us a luxurious honeymoon suite. This hotel is only 4 stars. And the tickets—economy class, seriously? I thought we deserved BUSINESS CLASS! Is this how you value us?”
The entire room fell silent. The band stopped playing. Ben was livid. My stomach sank, and I felt like a hammer had been driven into my chest. I just wanted the floor to swallow me. I looked out at the crowd. Some guests murmured, others stared at the floor, and a few looked shocked.
Megan wasn’t joking. Her face, once filled with happiness, was now twisted with anger. My heart broke.
Ben’s face flushed with anger. I took his hand and squeezed it tightly, my smile trembling. We pretended her words hadn’t affected us. But in that moment, I knew. That heartfelt gift we’d given her with such sacrifice, she’d thrown in the trash.
It was at that moment I knew we weren’t going to let this go. The pain, the humiliation, the anger—it all turned into cold determination. No, we weren’t asking for our money back. We had something even better planned for her. We were going to give her another surprise. A surprise she would never forget.
For the next few weeks, Ben and I acted as if nothing had happened. In every conversation, we made a point of expressing how happy we were for her. “So glad you liked the gift!” or “We can’t wait to hear all about your honeymoon!”
Megan, always arrogant, responded with indifference. “Yeah, it’ll be okay, I guess.” or “It won’t be anything special, but it’ll do.”
She didn’t know we had a plan.
Our travel agent friend, who was aware of the whole story, agreed to help us teach him a lesson. She told us that with a little travel agency manipulation, we could change some package details without their knowledge. And that’s exactly what we were going to do. The plan was subtle but effective.
Two days before the couple left for their honeymoon, we contacted the travel agent. We asked to change the reservation. Not to a worse hotel, but to a wing of the same hotel that was undergoing renovations. The ocean view promised in the original package was magically transformed into a vista of scaffolding and trash.
The limousine that would have taken them from the airport to the hotel was replaced by a regular taxi, without air conditioning. And the luxury boat ride was swapped for a kayaking trip on a smelly lake. All this without their knowledge. Their “business class” honeymoon had just turned into hell.
On the day of departure, Ben and I drove the couple to the airport. They looked radiant, and Megan was still complaining about the economy class tickets. “I hope the hotel is at least a little better than the four stars you gave us. I should be drinking champagne in first class right now,” she murmured. Ben and I exchanged a look and smiled. His “surprise” was beginning.
We waited for three weeks. Megan didn’t call us once to thank us or tell us about the trip. Her Facebook page was quiet. No posts about the trip. Nothing. Which was a good sign for us.
Finally, one afternoon, the phone rang. It was Megan.
“Clara? Ben? You guys need to come here,” she said, her voice full of hate.
We arrived at their house and found Megan crying, her face pale and dark circles under her eyes. Her hair was a mess, and her arms were covered in mosquito bites.
“Your honeymoon… was… horrible,” she said, sobbing. “The hotel… the air conditioning didn’t work. There were cockroaches in the bathroom, the taxi was old, and I couldn’t even go on the boat trip because our boat was broken! You ruined my honeymoon!”
Ben stepped forward. “Megan,” he said, his voice soft, “We… didn’t do anything.”
“Lies! I know it was you!” she yelled, pointing her finger at us.
I sighed. The time has come.
“No,” I said, my voice low and cold, “We didn’t ruin your honeymoon. We gave you the best honeymoon we could. We gave you a five-star hotel, the best boat trip on the island, and the best flights. But you… you ruined it the moment you got it. When did you say, ‘That’s it?’”
Megan’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“We made a huge sacrifice to give you the best gift we could,” I continued, tears streaming down my face. “And you treated us like we were trash. Your ingratitude and arrogance are what ruined your journey. It wasn’t us, it was your lack of gratitude.”
Ben nodded, and he took my hand.
Megan was silent. Her face was completely pale.
“We traded everything so you could have the 4- star trip you said you deserved,” I said, “I hope this is a lesson for life.”
And it was.
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