Nicole was shocked when her stepmother, Susan, called with a “priceless” birthday gift. Their relationship was distant, so she was curious, though skeptical. When she arrived at her dad’s house, Susan proudly revealed the “gift”: an old, smelly, tattered couch from the basement. It was in horrendous condition, the kind of thing you’d expect to find on the curb, not in someone’s living room.
Despite her frustration, Nicole didn’t want to upset her father, so she agreed to take it home, thinking it would just be another one of Susan’s quirky presents. She called her boyfriend, Derek, who helped load the couch into his van, and they took it to Nicole’s place. But rather than throwing it away, Nicole decided to take on a massive restoration project, determined not to let Susan win.
She tackled the couch’s foul odor first, using a DIY deodorizer. Then, she cleaned the stains with a baking soda mixture. The rips and tears were more challenging, but with some fabric glue, patches, and decorative touches, she turned the couch into something almost unrecognizable. After hours of work, it looked like new.
Nicole decided to sell the restored couch for fun, pricing it at $5,000 as a test. To her surprise, a woman named Maggie offered the full price within a day, eager to use it for her creative studio. When Maggie arrived to pick it up, Nicole sold it without hesitation.
A few days later, Susan showed up at Nicole’s door, furious. She’d seen the sale post and demanded half of the $5,000. “You sold my couch!” Susan yelled.
Nicole, unbothered, responded, “You gave me garbage. It’s worth only what I put into it. You didn’t do any work, I did.”
Susan stormed off, and Nicole hasn’t heard from her since. Her dad will probably call soon, but Nicole isn’t worried. She knows exactly how to handle this—by standing firm.
