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Late night, the site was a mess, I could hear the grinder humming in the background. Itll be late, were

Shameless Beyond Belief “Come on, Kate, just tell me honestly,” Nick whined, “What’s the big cosmic difference if we rent the house to friends or strangers? The money’s the same.” Kate finished hanging the laundry, wishing Nick would quit complaining and help instead. “My darling Nick,” she replied, “The difference is you can never actually get the money out of family.” “You mean Dave?” Nick bristled at the implication, “Dave’s my brother! He’ll pay, I swear. He’s not even asking for a discount! He’ll rent the place at full price. For the whole summer. And we won’t have to go looking for tenants.” “Nick, it’s a seaside house. I could find tenants in five minutes.” “Explain why you’re so dead set on renting to strangers?” “It’s simple: with strangers, there’s a contract, upfront payment, and if they don’t pay—they’re out, end of. With family, it never ends—‘Oh, Katie, you know how it is, we’ve got kids… We’ll pay you later… Oh, we broke the telly, but you’re not actually going to charge us, are you?’ I’ve seen enough of it to last a lifetime. You don’t know how those stories end.” Kate’s parents had owned the seaside cottage before her. They lived right there in Brighton, and the house was the perfect little side hustle. Kate stuck to their formula—rent the place out, but, under no circumstances, to friends or family. She’d seen her parents get burned too often. “And how do those stories end?” her husband pressed. “With relatives not paying, and not even apologising! As if it’s no big deal to let them stay for free. Nope. Business is business, Nick. Not a free B&B for your lot.” Dave, Nick’s brother, had decided a three-month seaside holiday was just what the doctor ordered for his wife and their three children. Summer was slow for work, so a little family getaway sounded perfect. Kate had her suspicions that Dave wasn’t planning to pay at all. “But Dave isn’t asking to stay for free!” Nick insisted, “He said he’ll pay.” “They always promise.” “So why bother? We always have a queue of people ready to pay market rate. Folks who turn up, sign the contract, pay up front—I get to sleep easy. No friends. No family. Business is business.” Kate’s logic was hard to argue with, but Nick wasn’t finished. “Fine. Don’t believe Dave. But do you trust me?” Kate waited. “I do. And?” “If Dave tries anything dodgy, I’ll pay you myself.” Nick blurted it out, all puffed up like a hero. Kate rolled her eyes. “Brilliant. You’ll pay me using our joint account.” “I… I mean… I’ll pick up some extra work. Evenings, weekends, whatever I can get. Whatever I make, I’ll give it straight to you. Not our money, just yours. Deal?” Kate didn’t realise it mattered so much to Nick. Maybe, if he trusts his brother that much, she should too… “You could talk the hind leg off a donkey,” she said, “You’re responsible for this. Fine.” Summer was months away. Kate had time to breathe and maybe even try to believe in Nick just a little. June rolled round. Trouble arrived on day one. Nick called Dave every three days, gently reminding him to pay up at least for the first month. Dave always had a reassuring answer: “Yeah, Nick, all in hand! The money? Ah, just waiting on a big invoice from a client. Should be here end of the month. As soon as it lands, you’ll have it. Sorry, just one of those things. Don’t worry!” June ended. Still no money. Kate bit her tongue for a month, said nothing, didn’t nag, didn’t scold. Nick had begged her to let him handle it—so she did. She was trying not to dent his confidence, but after another upbeat post-call with Dave, she couldn’t resist: “Any luck? Has he paid?” “Dave’s still waiting on that payment from the client. Should be any day now!” And still, the excuse hadn’t evolved. “Told you so. Relatives always have excellent reasons to pay late.” “Kate, it’s just a one-off!” Nick protested, “He’s not doing it on purpose, honest! It just happened this way. Give it a bit longer.” “Sure. Let’s wait ‘til September, when they pack up their three suitcases and cheerfully leave, saying, ‘thanks for the lovely holiday, we’ll settle up soon!’?” “Kate, you’re not losing anything. I’ll just take an extra job.” “You? Right now?” Nick wilted. “Give him a couple more weeks. If nothing changes… I’ll pay up myself. If it’s that important to you.” “I didn’t force you to promise anything. You insisted—to prove your brother’s a man of his word. So prove it!” The atmosphere at home soured; Nick spoke to Kate with a joyless gloom. July. The heat was suffocating. Evenings found Kate watching as Nick scrolled through job listings online, but phoned no one. “Nick, it’s the 30th today. Two-thirds of summer gone, still not a penny rent,” she reminded him. “Still waiting on Dave’s payment… But—” “‘As soon as.’ Right?” “He’ll pay! He promised the minute the money comes in, we’re first on his list! He’ll throw in a little extra for making us wait.” “I’m done believing. You vouched for him. You said: ‘I’ll pay.’ So pay up. Where’s that job?” Nick’s enthusiasm for side hustling seemed to be wearing thin. It was easier to promise than to work double. Doing double shifts wasn’t quite so heroic. “I’ll find something. But there’s not much about… Not going to start lugging boxes with my back, am I?” “Maybe you should tell your brother to start carrying boxes to pay his debts. You promised me. Either you find work right now, or I ring Dave and tell him if I don’t see half the rent by Friday, his family’s out—by the book—and I’ll chase the rest through Small Claims Court.” Nick broke out in a cold sweat. “Don’t call Dave! Court? What will the family think of me? How’ll I tell Mum—took my own brother to court, Kate? Nobody’ll understand.” Dave didn’t want to pay, Nick didn’t want to keep his word, but suing his brother was unthinkable—so he decided Kate was the villain in all this. “Some wife you are! Don’t care that I’ll be working myself into the ground, just to pay you back.” “I didn’t twist your arm, Nick! This was your idea!” “But how was I to know Dave would do this?” “I did,” Kate replied, “Because I’ve seen it happen. Over and over. You didn’t listen.” “I get it!” Nick snapped, “But you’re just ruthless, Kate! You’d have me run myself ragged for the sake of, what, some money? My health means nothing as long as you get paid?” “I’m not making you—I just want the deal you insisted on to be kept.” “Fine!” Nick shouted, “I’ll get another job just to pay you for Dave’s holiday, fine? If that’s what you want—enjoy your blood money!” The deal fell apart on Nick’s terms, yet Kate got what she wanted—Nick started moonlighting. Yet her heart felt heavy, and Nick glared at her with a wolfish resentment every evening when he’d finished a courier shift. “This is all your fault,” he spat one night. “My fault?” “Yes!” “Well, maybe you’ll realise—you can’t buy being the nice guy if paying the bill falls to me. Put your own money on the line for your brother, and see if you learn something.” Kate honestly hoped Dave’s conscience would kick in and he’d pay. Just as she thought it, the phone rang—Dave calling her, not Nick. Surely, this was it—a payment at last? “Kate, got a bit of a situation…” “Dave, I don’t have time. You owed August’s rent already, we’re still waiting for July. Not my problem anymore—it’s Nick’s, since he vouched for you.” “Yeah, Nick told me! Poor guy—listen, bit of a snag—the car broke down while we were here, spent the lot getting it fixed. Need cash to get the family home, so I’ll just have to pay you later…. hope that’s all right?” Predictable. Kate hung up. Nick saw it all written on her face. “Fine,” he admitted, “I was wrong to trust him like that. But you—you never let me make a single mistake. Instead of supporting me, you just pile in…” “Should I have smiled and said, ‘No worries, let them have a free holiday, I’ll just grin and bear it’? You made the deal that you’d cover his debt!” “Yes, I did!” Nick sulked, “But you agreed way too quickly to me working myself into the ground! Don’t you give a toss about me?” “Does your brother give a toss about you?” “He’s not a bad guy, he just got unlucky…” “Great. He’s not a bad guy, as he rips me off and leaves you holding the bag. But me—I’m the villain, because I want what’s owed?” Nick fell silent. Looks like rough weather ahead for their marriage.

Brazen Cheek So, Emily, tell me honestly, whinged Nick, Whats the cosmic difference who we rent the house to?

My Husband Maintains a Lively Friendship with His Former Female Colleague – And It’s Starting to Make Me Jealous

I can honestly say Im very fortunate to have my husband. He is nearly the perfect man for me!

Linda, have you lost your mind in your old age? Your grandchildren are already off to school, and you want to get married? — That’s what my sister said when I told her I’m tying the knot.

Lucy, youve gone completely bonkers in your golden years! my sister blurted out when I told her I was

“Baldie, Wake Up!” – My Husband Used to Wake Me Every Morning Last year, I decided to do something I’d never considered before. Some time ago, I started noticing that my scalp was covered in bumps, almost like a rash, my head was unbearably itchy, and my hair began to fall out. Visits to a dermatologist and trichologist proved fruitless. The doctor advised I not take vitamins, insisting they’d never helped anyone. Then I stumbled upon an article claiming that shaving one’s head completely was great for strengthening hair follicles. I deliberated for a long time before taking the plunge—even after my son said he’d be scared if I was bald. Despite this, I finally made up my mind… I asked my husband to first use clippers on my head, then a razor. He went for the clippers, still not quite believing I wanted this. Standing before the mirror afterwards, I was amazed to discover I had a perfectly shaped head. The main problem was, I felt cold going out with my head uncovered, and as my hair began to grow back, it stuck to my pillow—an oddly unpleasant sensation. After my husband shaved my head, he started rousing me every morning with, “Baldie, wake up!”—which never failed to make me laugh, as I now held the title of baldest in the family. My children were taken aback at first, but soon my son wanted to match my style. My mum asked me not to visit until my hair grew back, saying otherwise she couldn’t bear to see me. My daughter begged me not to go to parent-teacher meetings without a hat, and my husband wryly remarked that if I did, everyone would forget why they were there, and her classmates would envy her for having such a stylish mum. After shaving my head, the bumps disappeared on their own. My daughter keeps laughing at me, claiming she has no idea what to expect from me next. One day, I overheard her telling her brother she wouldn’t be surprised if I got a tattoo on my bald head.

Baldy, wake up! thats how my husband took to rousing me out of bed in the mornings. Last year, I decided

“Get Yourself Home This Instant! I’ll Deal With You There!—Max’s Threat to His Troublemaking Wife Varvara Unleashes a Family Showdown, a Hidden Past, and a Surprise Knockout in an English Village”

Go home! Ill talk to you there! I snapped at Emily in irritation as we left the bustling high street

A Mother’s Heart

A Mothers Heart Stephen sat at the kitchen table in his mothers semi-detached house in a leafy suburb

Mum, Your Son Is a Grown Man! Why I Finally Told My Mother-in-Law to Stop Controlling Every Detail of Our Lives—From His Underwear to Our Flat Décor—After She Tried to Send My Mum Away

Mum, your son is a grown man! Thats exactly what I said to my mother-in-law, because for the hundredth

Alex, I Just Don’t Understand You! Are You Out of Your Mind? You’re Leaving Me for a Mistress 16 Years Younger—And Her Dad Is Rich?! Well, Good Luck, Because I’m Going Out to Celebrate My Own Fresh Start!

Edward, I truly dont understand you. Have you lost your senses? What does it mean, Im leaving?