After a brutal year battling cancer, all Jessica wanted was a peaceful escape on a dream cruise with her husband. But when an entitled couple turned their vacation into a nightmare, her husband found an unexpected way to reclaim their joy with a little mischief.
The last year and a half had been the hardest of our lives. My wife, Jessica, was diagnosed with cancer. The word alone had knocked the wind out of us. We were just two people, living a quiet life, until everything changed.
A devastated couple in a hospital’s waiting room | Source: Midjourney
But Jessica was a fighter. She took on the disease with a strength I didn’t know she had. Chemo drained her, and some days she could hardly get out of bed. But somehow, she kept going. I tried to stay strong for her, but the fear of losing her never left my mind.
Then came the good news: the cancer was gone. “Remission,” the doctor had said. It felt like the world had opened up again. We both cried, tears of relief this time.
A happy doctor in his office | Source: Midjourney
To celebrate, I booked us a seven-day cruise. We needed it. She needed it more than anyone. Sure, it wasn’t cheap, and I had to borrow a bit from my sister, but it was worth it. Jessica deserved something good, something to take her mind off the past year. It was time to move forward, to heal.
We were excited as we boarded the ship. Jessica’s smile, her first real smile in months, was everything. The ocean air, the sound of the waves—it all felt like a fresh start.
A cruise ship | Source: Pexels
We went looking for our cabin, a little lost in the maze of hallways. I asked a crew member for directions, and that’s when I heard it.
“How stupid do you have to be to not know where your cabin is? If the number starts with seven, it’s on deck seven, duh,” a voice muttered behind us. I turned and saw a man standing with his wife, looking at us like we didn’t belong.
A judgemental couple | Source: Midjourney
Jessica didn’t hear him, thankfully. But I did. My stomach twisted, and my face flushed. I wanted to say something, anything, but I didn’t. Not now. Not today. Instead, I forced a smile for Jessica.
“Let’s find our room, babe,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
We made our way to the elevator, and just as I reached out to hold the door, the same man pressed the button to close it. “Sucks to be you,” he muttered with a smirk. The doors shut in our faces.
A smug couple in an elevator | Source: Midjourney
I clenched my fists, trying to keep calm. “Let it go,” I told myself. But it wasn’t easy. My chest burned with anger. Jessica’s hand slipped into mine, and I saw the worry in her eyes.
“It’s okay,” I said quietly. But it wasn’t okay. Not at all.
We eventually got to our cabin. It was small, but cozy. Jessica sat on the bed and looked around, her smile fading a little. “Everything alright?” I asked, sitting beside her.
A happy woman in her cabin | Source: Midjourney
“Yeah,” she whispered, but I could tell she was tired. She was always tired now. The cruise was supposed to be a break, a chance to leave behind all the stress. But the weight of everything still hung in the air.
After unpacking, we headed to lunch on the Lido Deck. The buffet was crowded, but it didn’t matter. I was just happy to be here with her, away from hospitals and doctors. We took some appetizers and went to look for a seat.
A dish in a buffet | Source: Pexels
But then I saw him again. The same man from earlier. He was piling food onto his plate like he owned the place. His wife, standing beside him, looked equally unimpressed with everything around her.
I felt the anger rise in my chest again. I watched them from a distance, my mind racing. “Who do they think they are?” I muttered under my breath. Something inside me shifted. I wasn’t going to let this go.
An angry man in a buffet | Source: Midjourney
I needed to know more. “Where are they staying?” I thought. Maybe, if I knew, we could avoid them for the rest of the trip. I casually followed them after lunch, just to see where they were headed. They were staying just one deck below us. Perfect.
That evening, Jessica and I had a quiet dinner, just the two of us. She was still struggling with her appetite, but we were grateful for the time together. I was about to suggest dessert when we heard them again.
A couple dining on a ship | Source: Midjourney
The man’s voice cut through the soft hum of the dining room. “I don’t understand why we have to share a deck with people like them,” he sneered, glancing our way.
Jessica’s face fell, her eyes dropping to her plate. I saw the hurt flash across her face, and it broke my heart.
“Let it go,” she whispered, her voice trembling.
A concerned woman on a ship | Source: Midjourney
But I couldn’t let it go. Not this time. Something inside me snapped. As we finished dinner in silence, a plan started to form in my mind. This wasn’t over.
That night, as Jessica slept beside me, I couldn’t shake the memory of that man’s sneering face. His smugness, his comments, the way he made Jessica feel small. My heart ached every time I thought about it. I wanted to stand up for her, to make him feel just a fraction of what he had put us through.
A sleepless man in his bed | Source: Midjourney
As I sat on the edge of the bed, flipping through the channels on our small TV, an idea hit me. The remote. I looked down at it, turning it over in my hands. What if this thing worked on other TVs too?
I decided to test it. Quietly, I slipped out of our cabin, the ship humming softly beneath my feet. My heart raced as I made my way down to the entitled couple’s cabin, just a floor below. Standing outside their door, I aimed our remote at it, my thumb hovering over the power button. I took a deep breath and pressed it.
A laughing man with a remote | Source: Midjourney
To my delight, the faint sound of their television clicked on, and the glow from their screen seeped under the door. A grin spread across my face as I cranked the volume up to the max. The muffled roar of a late-night talk show echoed down the corridor, and I could hear them fumbling inside, trying to figure out what was happening.
I rushed back to our cabin, stifling my laughter. Jessica was still sound asleep, unaware of the chaos I’d just caused. My heart pounded with satisfaction. It felt like I had taken back a small piece of control.
A laughing man in his cabin | Source: Midjourney
Each night after that, I repeated my little prank. I’d sneak out, turn on their TV, and turn up the volume. Every time, I could hear the frustration in their voices. They argued, they cursed, but they never figured out what was going on.
As the days went by, I noticed a change in myself. The cruise, which had started with so much anger and resentment, began to feel lighter. Jessica and I started enjoying ourselves again. I could finally see her relaxing, her face glowing with happiness.
A man looking at the ocean with his wife | Source: Midjourney
But I wasn’t done yet. On the last night, I decided to take things up a notch. I waited until I heard the couple settle in, their voices drifting through the walls as they discussed how badly they’d been sleeping.
This time, I didn’t just turn on the TV. I flipped through the channels, searching for the most obnoxious infomercial I could find. Finally, I landed on one selling some ridiculous kitchen gadget, with loud jingles and cheesy hosts.
A laughing man with a TV remote in a hall | Source: Midjourney
The next morning, I felt triumphant. As Jessica and I sat down to breakfast, I spotted the entitled couple shuffling into the dining room. They looked terrible. The man’s eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was a mess. His wife looked equally exhausted, her face pale and drawn.
“I haven’t slept a wink,” the man grumbled to her, rubbing his temples.
a sleepy man on a ship | Source: Midjourney
“Something’s wrong with this ship,” his wife replied, glancing around suspiciously. “Every night, it’s like the TV has a mind of its own.”
I smiled to myself, taking a sip of my coffee. Jessica noticed the smirk on my face.
“Feeling better?” she asked, her eyes twinkling.
“Much better,” I said, reaching for her hand. For the first time in a long while, I truly meant it.
Holding hands on a ship | Source: Pexels
As I watched the couple muttering to each other, a strange feeling washed over me. I had won, but somehow, it didn’t feel like the victory I thought it would. Yes, they were miserable, and yes, I had gotten my revenge.
But looking at Jessica, healthy and smiling again, I realized that what mattered most wasn’t getting back at them. It was the fact that we had made it here, together.
A happy woman looking at the ocean | Source: Midjourney
When the cruise finally ended, Jessica and I disembarked, hand in hand. The entitled couple was still lingering behind us, but I no longer cared. They weren’t important anymore. What mattered was that we had made it through one of the hardest times of our lives.
“You know,” I said, glancing at Jessica as we walked toward the parking lot, “this trip didn’t turn out the way I thought it would.”
A happy mature couple on a ship | Source: Midjourney
She looked up at me, smiling softly. “No, but it’s one I’ll never forget.”
And she was right. This trip wasn’t just about revenge or luxury. It was about us, about reclaiming our joy and finding peace in the little things. After everything, we were still standing, still smiling. And that, I realized, was the greatest victory of all.
A happy man on a cruise ship | Source: Midjourney
Liked this story? Consider checking out this one: Susan’s peaceful Fridays are ruined by her entitled neighbor Jessica’s guests who constantly park in her driveway. After weeks of frustration, Susan hatches a daring plan to teach them a lesson.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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