Five years later, our friendship had taken a turn, and I’d grown to love Jack like he was family.

Knowing that they were saving for a house, I’d planned to give them $10,000 as a wedding gift. It was a big gesture, but I wanted to help them build their future together.

“That’s a lot of money,” my friend Camille said one evening when we were having a girls’ dinner at my apartment. “Are you sure that’s the best idea?”

“I do,” I replied, shredding chicken to add to our noodles. “Jack is insanely talented, but he’s had really bad luck on the work front lately. And anyway, you know Clara. She’s spoiled. Super spoiled. At least this way, maybe their house will be taken care of.”

“Clara is lucky that she’s got you for a sister. What is your fancy job and editorial role at the magazine.”

I laughed.

“I’ve been trying to teach her how to grow up, but you know my sister.”

So, I told Clara and Jack about the money ahead of time, figuring it would relieve some financial stress. Clara, of course, had no problem letting the news slip to a few friends, she loved to brag.

“I’m going to be $10,000 richer!” she said in a video that she posted on her socials. “Life keeps getting better!”

But just two weeks before the wedding, everything imploded.

Jack discovered Clara had been cheating on him with his friend Liam, a guy that Jack had known since middle school. It wasn’t just betrayal. It was nuclear.

Jack called off the wedding, and though I felt awful for him, I couldn’t blame him for walking away.

Clara, though?

She acted like she was the wronged party, complaining nonstop about the “embarrassment” of a canceled wedding.

“Do you know how stupid I look, Davina?” she sighed dramatically, draping herself over my couch.

“But really, sis. What did you expect? How long were things going on for between you and Liam?”

“That doesn’t matter!” she said, reaching out for her glass of wine on the coffee table.

“It does matter, Clara,” I said. “Were you really going into a new marriage while taking your lover along?”

“Don’t say ‘lover,’” she glared. “Don’t make it cheap.”

“You ruined your relationship,” I said. “Don’t make me the bad person for telling you that you made the biggest mistake.”

Any guilt that my sister might’ve felt was buried under layers of self-pity.

A few days after our argument, my sister showed up at my apartment again. This time she was puffy-eyed but determined. She was a woman on a mission.

She sank onto my couch without asking, setting a latte on the table between us.

“Davina,” she began, her voice a mix of desperation and entitlement. “So, the wedding didn’t happen. Isn’t going to happen… but I still want my gift. Okay?”

I blinked, certain I hadn’t heard her correctly.

“What?”

“The $10,000,” she said, crossing her legs and folding her hands neatly in her lap, like we were discussing the weather. “You already promised it, and honestly, I need it more now than ever. Jack’s kicking me out of the apartment. I have two more days until I need to be out. I need the money for a new place, Davina.”

I was silent. I couldn’t believe the audacity.

“Plus…” she sighed dramatically. “I could use a major shopping spree to cheer myself up.”

Again, it wasn’t just the words, it was the audacity. I stared at her, waiting for some sign of remorse or self-awareness, but she just looked back expectantly, like I was a vending machine about to spit out cash.

“Clara,” I said carefully. “You can’t be serious. You’re asking for the gift after you cheated on Jack and ruined the wedding?”

Her face twisted in frustration.

“That’s irrelevant! You promised the money, Davina! It’s not fair for you to take it back just because the wedding didn’t happen.”

Something inside me snapped.

“Actually,” I said, sitting up straighter. “I don’t have the money anymore. I’ve given the money to Jack.”

Her jaw dropped, and she almost fell off the couch.

“What?! Davina!”

“Yeah,” I lied smoothly. “Dear sister. Jack’s been a close friend of mine since college. He’s starting a business, and I wanted to support him. After what he’s been through… I figured it was the least I could do.”

Clara froze for a moment, her brain working overtime to process the betrayal.

Then she exploded.

“You gave my money to Jack?!” she shrieked, her voice sharp enough to make my upstairs neighbor stomp on the floor. “Are you insane? He’s not even family! Davina, how could you betray me like this?”

I didn’t flinch.

“It wasn’t your money,” I said calmly. “It was a gift for your wedding, which, let’s not forget, you destroyed. Clara, you betrayed Jack. And you didn’t even have the decency to end the relationship first, you just cheated. Why would I reward that?”

Her cheeks flushed with rage.

“You’re supposed to support me! You’re my sister!”

“And I do support you,” I said, standing up. “But supporting you doesn’t mean condoning your actions. You made this mess, Clara. You need to face the consequences now.”

She stormed out, slamming the door so hard it rattled the frame.

I thought that was the end of it, but she kept up her tantrum for days.

She called, texted, and even roped our mom into trying to guilt me.

“Just give her the money, Davina,” Mom had said reluctantly, but I refused.

Here’s the kicker.

At that point, I hadn’t actually given Jack the money. I’d just said it to make a point. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it wasn’t a bad idea. Jack was a good man who’d been dealt a terrible hand, and he deserved a fresh start.

The next day, I called him.

“Hey, Jack,” I said nervously. “I know this is out of the blue. But I’ve been thinking about your startup. You know, you told me all about it at the engagement party. I want to invest $10,000, not as a loan. Just a gift. I believe in you.”

There was a long pause.

“Davina, I don’t even know what to say,” he said finally, his voice thick with emotion.

“Are you sure? I can’t take that kind of money from you.”

“You’re not taking it,” I insisted. “You’re building something with it. And I think you need this more than anyone else right now.”

Eventually, he accepted.

Fast forward a few months, and Jack’s startup, a platform connecting freelancers to small businesses, took off. It wasn’t just successful.

It was thriving. He was thriving.

He sent me a thank-you note with the first return on my investment, and it nearly brought me to tears.

As for Clara?

She eventually stopped speaking to me. She moved back in with our parents, sulked for weeks, and found a way to spin the narrative to make me the villain. When I refused to engage, she gave up.

I don’t regret what I did. If anything, I hope it taught Clara a valuable lesson: entitlement doesn’t pay, but accountability does.

As for Jack? He’s happier than I’ve ever seen him, and I’d like to think I had a small part in helping him rebuild his life.

But then, my mother called unexpectedly and asked me to brunch.

“Davina,” she said on the phone. “We need to talk.”

“Mom, if it’s about Clara, I don’t have anything else to say.”

“No, it’s about you, honey.”

So, there I was, sitting at a trendy brunch buffet, waiting for my mother to appear. I hoped that she would come alone.

Thankfully, she did.

“Mom,” I said, hugging her as she sat down.

“Darling,” she said. “Let’s get some food and then we need to talk.”

We walked around the buffet, picking and choosing our way through the food. I just wanted my mother to spit it out. From her pursed lips, I knew she had something to say.

“Right,” I said. “Mom, talk away. I’ve got a lot of work to get through. Final approvals and all that.”

“I have to ask,” she said, picking at a strawberry on her pancakes. “Did you do this to get… did you do this to get with Jack?”

“Excuse me?” I gasped.

“Was this all about teaching Clara a lesson, or did you want Jack for yourself? I saw a photo of the two of you on his socials last week. You invited him to an event for the magazine?”

“I did,” I admitted. “It was an event for all our techies. It was the perfect networking event for Jack.”

My mother was silent for a moment.

“And as for the other thing, Mom, come on. Jack and I have known each other for years. Since way before Clara and Jack even met. He’s my friend, and he’s close to me. But do I want anything else from him? Not a chance.”

My mother looked stricken.

“I knew it,” she muttered. “I had to ask, darling. Clara has been driving your father and me nuts. She was adamant that you got what you’ve always wanted, to ruin her.”

“I wanted to teach her a lesson,” I said. “That’s all. She needs to grow up, Mom.”

So, I might not be the perfect sister. But I am the honest one. And that’s more than enough for me.

What would you have done?