I used to think karma was just something people said to feel better. Until I saw it in action—with my ex-husband. Dan and I were married for eight years. We built a life together—a home, two beautiful kids, and what I thought was a solid marriage. But I was the only one who thought that. One night, while looking for medicine for our sick daughter, I saw a message pop up on his phone: a heart emoji, followed by “I love you.” Not from me. It was his secretary. When I confronted him, Dan said it was “harmless fun,” like cheating was no bigger deal than forgetting to take out the trash. I gave him one more chance… until I found lipstick on his collar—red,

the kind I never wore. That was the last straw. I filed for divorce. Dan didn’t fight much—except for one thing. The house. But it had been in my name since before we were married. Still, he made sure to take everything he could: kitchen appliances, random furniture… even the toilet paper. But the worst part? When I returned home with our kids after staying at my mom’s, I found our beautiful floral wallpaper ripped off the walls. Dan was still there, tearing at it like a man possessed. “I bought it,” he said. “It’s mine.” My son cried,“I liked the flowers!” My heart broke—not because of the wallpaper, but because of what he’d turned into. I moved on. I joined a book club, met new people, made peace with the past. I even told the wallpaper story to the group once, and we laughed about it over wine. One of those new friends was Cassie. Months later, I bumped into Dan downtown—with Cassie. She looked thrilled. “This is my fiancé, Dan!” I froze. “Dan? My ex-husband Dan?” Her smile faltered. “Wait… is he the wallpaper guy?
” Oh, he was. Dan’s face turned red as Cassie connected the dots. “You told me your ex was crazy and moved away! You said she took your kids and everything!” She took off the ring and walked away, leaving him speechless. That night, my son looked at our freshly decorated walls and said, “I like the dinosaurs better anyway.” And that’s when I knew: karma came. She didn’t knock—she kicked the door in and made herself comfortable.