I snapped.
“Your weak boundaries are part of why we’re here. We have to fight back.”
I regretted the words the second they left my mouth.
Irvin looked hurt.
“I’m not protecting Vanessa,” he said. “I’m trying to protect you. I’m the one who built that garage.”
“And I’m the one losing customers.”
We sat there in silence.
Both angry.
Both trying to protect the same life from different directions.
Then Vanessa texted me.
Last chance. Apologize publicly at the HOA meeting on the 14th. I’ll be expecting you.
Irvin held out his hand.
“Give me your phone.”
He compared Vanessa’s screenshots with the original conversations on his own phone.
Then he suddenly stopped.
“Claire. Look at this.”
Vanessa had not simply selected messages that made her look good.
She had cropped them.
In one conversation, she had written:
Wish I had a man like you.
Her screenshot ended there.
But Irvin’s full response said:
You’ll find one. I already have the woman I want.
Another message from Vanessa read:
You’re the only man I can rely on.
She had cut off his reply again:
You need to stop saying things like that. Claire is my wife.
Now we had proof that she had manipulated the conversations.
But that still didn’t solve my bakery problem.
Vanessa could lie about Irvin and still be correct about the garage.
That was when the answer finally became obvious.
“I’m shutting down the garage myself.”
