When Gina and her husband, Brendan, decide to split up, she takes a moment away from the drama by staying with her parents for a weekend. But when she returns, she finds all her belongings scattered across the lawn. With luck on her side, Gina finds a priceless item belonging to her ex-husband. Read on as she gets her revenge…

After Brendan, my husband, and I decided to split, he turned into a completely different person overnight. The man I once knew, the one I shared years of my life with, had vanished altogether.

In his place stood someone bitter and spiteful.

“You’re complaining about how I behave? About how I speak?” Brendan shouted.

Nestled among the loose change, random pens, and receipts was Brendan’s father’s watch. It was a family heirloom that he loved and cherished and barely wore for fear of losing or breaking it. It had also been passed down through generations, finally landing with Brendan.

But now, I had it hostage.

“Checkmate,” I said to myself.

I couldn’t help but feel a small sense of satisfaction as I tucked the watch into my pocket. After all, he was the one who had put it out there for free. I wasn’t stealing anything.

Then, I texted my friend group, asking everyone who was available to come and help me take everything back into the house.

“Brendan is the worst, Gina,” my friend, Jenny, said holding a lamp. “This is a new low.”

“Yeah, I agree with you there,” I said. “But don’t worry, I’ve got a way to get back at him.”

I told her all about the watch and how I had it safely tucked away in my car. I knew that it was just a matter of time before Brendan realized that the watch wasn’t with him.

Later that evening, as I was arranging the last of the furniture, my phone buzzed. It was him.

“Hey, Gina,” he said. “I think I might have left something important behind. Can I come by and grab it?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I said, grabbing another slice of pizza from the box in front of me.

“Please,” he said. “It’s just the bedside tables.”

“Look, the neighbors came over and took a few things. The bedside tables are gone, too. But if you’re polite enough, I’m sure Cathy will sell it back to you.”

There was a long pause.

“Gina, it’s my dad’s watch. My granddad’s watch. I really need it back.”

I let the silence stretch out for a moment before saying anything.

“I see. Well, like I said, it’s with Cathy. But I’m sure she’ll be reasonable. You know, for the right price.”

He knew I was bluffing. I could hear it in his voice. But there was no way that he could prove it, and I wasn’t about to let him off the hook easily. Nope. Brendan needed to fight for it.

“How much?” he asked.

“How much do you think it’s worth?” I asked. “A few hundred dollars, maybe?”

“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “Just get it back.”

“I’ll do my best, but no promises.”

After hanging up, I held the watch and turned it over in my hands. If we had a son, he would have been handed the watch. But thankfully, we were splitting before we had a chance to think about kids.

The next morning, Brendan showed up while I was sitting on the porch and drinking a cup of coffee.

“Here,” he said, giving me an envelope. “$500. But you know how priceless it is.”

I nodded.

“Thanks. You can leave now,” I said.

“I’ll get in touch with you about the divorce. My lawyer has some things to discuss with us.”

“Cool,” I said simply.

Brendan did a double-take, but he took the watch from me and walked away slowly, almost as if he wanted to say something but just couldn’t get the words out.

What would you have done?