A Woman’s Stepsister Borrowed Her Designer Dress, Ruined It, and Refused to Pay for the Damage – So She Did Something That Had Her Stepsister Screaming, ‘Have You Lost Your Mind?!’

Two days later, she dropped the dress on my couch in a plastic grocery bag.

“You need to learn to share.”

Plastic. Like a gym towel.

I pulled it out and my stomach dropped.

Red wine had bloomed across the bodice in a dark map. The skirt was torn at the hip. The zipper hung open, two teeth bent like tiny broken fingers.

“What did you do?” My voice came out thin.

“It was an accident,” Valerie said, studying her nails. “Don’t be dramatic.”

The skirt was torn at the hip.

“You said you’d be careful.”

“I was. Stuff happens.”

“You’re paying to fix this. Or replace it.”

She laughed. “With what? I’m nineteen. You have a job.”

I called Dad and Diane that night, because I’m an idiot who still believes in fair play.

They came over. Dad stood in my kitchen with his arms crossed.

“You said you’d be careful.”

“Valerie doesn’t have that kind of money,” he said.

“I didn’t either. I earned it.”