On a rainy day, I gave my pregnant neighbor a ride home since it was on my way.

As a result, she became clingy and started insisting I drive her home every day.

When I refused, she teared up and accused me of lacking compassion.

Her husband even showed up at my door, demanding, "Why won't you take my wife to and from work? Are you looking down on us?"

In the end, I sold my car and moved to a new place. If I couldn’t afford to offend them, at least I could avoid them!

It was pouring rain when I drove past the supermarket and saw my pregnant neighbor across the street struggling to carry her shopping bags while waiting for the bus with a wobbly umbrella.

The wind and rain were relentless, and she was soaked.

I pulled over and offered her a ride, dropping her off on my way home.

Afterward, she got my contact information and said she wanted to send some money as a thank you. I declined; it was just a small favor, after all.

"Cindy, you're such a kind-hearted girl. Young people lack compassion nowadays, but meeting you is such a blessing!"

Her compliment made me feel a little giddy. When I got home and told my friend about it, she warned me, "Cindy Waters, you better watch out. If something happens along the way, she might hold you responsible!"

"Really? She seemed pretty decent to me."

"Decent? You don't get it. What if she claimed she got sick because your driving was bumpy? You're so generous."

To emphasize the point, my friend sent me a few links to stories about people who were scammed after helping pregnant women. Reading those cases made me sweat.

I decided to stop overthinking it. After all, she had a husband, and I was just a single young woman. It was not my job to take care of her.

Just as I firmed up my resolve, the neighbor messaged me.

[Cindy, what time are you heading out tomorrow morning? I'll catch a ride with you!]

Ah, here we go!

I immediately replied to her. [What about your husband?]

Their family owned a car, and she was not a widow. Why mooch off me?

[He can't get up in the morning. We're going the same way, so we can chat during the ride.]

Nice try. I refused outright. [It's not on my way, and I don't want to take you. Have your husband drive you.]

[Cindy, how can you say that? We're neighbors, and I'm pregnant! You're going to work anyway.]

I was speechless.

[You're pregnant, but it's not my baby. Why should I chauffeur you? This isn't a rideshare service. End of discussion, don't bother me again!]

Then, I blocked and deleted her contact. Thanks to my friend's timely reminder, I did not get suckered.

Just as I was about to shower, there was a knock at my door.

"Room 306, come out! 306!"

Looking through the peephole, I saw my neighbor's husband standing there, looking furious. I grabbed my phone, started recording, and opened the door.

"What do you want?"

"My wife asked you for a ride. Why won't you give her one? She's crying because of you!"

"Ridiculous! Am I her personal chauffeur? You're her husband. If you won't drive her, why should I? And crying? Are you serious?

"What are you looking at?! Harass me again, and I'll call the police!"

I delivered my rant in one breath, shut the door before he could respond, and left him fuming.

He vented his frustration in the neighborhood group chat, but before he could finish, I uploaded the video.

[You tell me. Should I have given her a ride?]

I even tagged the wife. [What's the deal? Trying to freeload? Even Uber costs money. Will you pay up?]

I also shared our chat history, and the group erupted in laughter.

[Letting her husband sleep in but burdening others, how shameless!]

[Sounds like a setup. Ignore her!]

[Exactly! She once told me to turn off my WiFi because it supposedly affected her pregnancy!]

Apparently, their antics were not new, though I was unaware of it.

The couple stayed silent, but it was clear they hated me.

To be safe, I ordered a few mini surveillance cameras and set them up around my place.

The next morning, my neighbor's door opened as soon as I stepped out of my apartment. She cradled her belly and looked like she was about to speak to me. I quickly put on a mask and headed downstairs.

She chased after me.

"Cindy, wait! I need to talk to you!"

I immediately started recording with my phone. "Don't bother me! I'm running late for work!"

Leaping down the stairs three steps at a time, I bolted for my car, started it up, and sped off, leaving her far behind.

As I turned the corner, I glanced back and saw her rushing out after me. It was genuinely terrifying.

Fortunately, I had left early that day. I arrived at work in time to sit and enjoy a calm breakfast.

My coworkers joked and said, "Cindy, you're early today!"

"Trying to climb the corporate ladder now?"

I sighed heavily. "Don't even ask. I've been targeted by a pregnant woman! She nearly scared me to death!"

Their curiosity was piqued, and they all gathered around. "What happened? Spill!"

I explained the situation, and they shook their heads in disbelief.

"Some people are just shameless and persistent."

"No normal person would chase someone's car like that, especially not a pregnant woman!"

"Cindy, maybe you should stop driving for a while. Just listening to this gives me chills. What if she fell while chasing you? You'd be in serious trouble!"

That hit me like a ton of bricks. They were right. If anything happened, it would be a nightmare for me.

However, how could I stop driving? My commute without a car would take over an hour.

I spent the entire morning thinking about it. When lunch break finally came, my phone rang.

"Is this Cindy Waters? This is Peak Valley Police Station. We need you to come in."

My heart sank. I took leave from work and called a friend to come with me.

When we arrived at the station, the first thing I saw was my neighbor and her husband.

As soon as I walked in, the husband jumped up. "That's her! My wife nearly fell and miscarried because of her this morning!

"Officer, you must arrest her!"

I stared at him, dumbfounded, and then pieced together what had happened. Apparently, the wife had overexerted herself chasing me that morning. She leaned against a tree to catch her breath and was late to work.

Her pay got docked, so she called her husband to vent. Then, those two clowns tried to pin everything on me.

I burst out laughing. "Wow, this is rich! Why were you chasing me first thing in the morning? I already told you I was running late! And let's be clear—I never agreed to give you a ride. Anyone who doesn't know the story might think you're a widow! You have a husband, but you'd rather cling to me?"

I handed the printed chat logs, video evidence I had prepared, and footage from my car's dash cam.

"Officer, take a look. Tell me who's lying and who's trying to extort whom. I've seen some strange things, but this is something else!"

The wife's face paled as soon as she saw the evidence. She had not expected me to start recording the moment I left my apartment, so she immediately tried to play the victim.

With tears streaming down her face, she said, "Cindy, how could you say that? I just wanted to share a ride and chat with you on the way to work."

"We don't even work at the same company. What's there to talk about?" I rolled my eyes.

After reviewing everything, the police officers were equally stunned.

"This has nothing to do with the young lady," one officer said. "And as for you, you can't just cling to someone like this. She helped you out of kindness yesterday. Now, you're harassing her?"

The two of them still tried to argue.

"We're neighbors; what's wrong with asking for help? It's not like we don't have a car. This young girl is just being petty!"

She even had the audacity to complain about me! I had never met anyone so shameless.

Even the police could not take it anymore. "Enough! Stop twisting things around. If you keep this up, we'll charge you with provoking trouble. Don't think that being pregnant exempts you from detention. If this young woman decides to press charges after you give birth, you can still end up in jail."

After they heard that legal explanation, they panicked. When they realized they would have to apologize to me, the pregnant neighbor did so reluctantly.

I took advantage of the situation and glanced at their names—Peter Jeffords and Lisa Diaz. Knowing their names would come in handy later.

With the police backing me up, they both got a thorough scolding. When Lisa walked out, she shot me a glare.

"Cindy, you've gone too far!"

My friend said, "I've seen shameless people, but none this shameless. Even beggars know how to say a few kind words!"

She turned to Peter. "And you! What are you staring at? You won't drive your wife but expect others to do it for you? Lucky we're women. If we were men, other people might think she was carrying our kid!"

Her sharp tongue left them both fuming, faces dark as iron. I let out a cold laugh, got into my car, and drove off, leaving a trail of exhaust behind.

On the way, my friend said, "These two are troublemakers. You should think about selling your car."

"My office is so far away! If I rely on the subway, it'll take me an hour each way."

"Then, move. You're renting anyway. Find a place closer to work. And with your income, why not consider buying a small apartment? At least you'll be far from these pests!"

She had a point, but buying a place was not something I could do on a whim.

I sighed. "I'll think about it later."

After that morning's drama, I figured the couple would not dare bother me again.

That evening, I returned to work to cancel my leave. When I got home, things were finally peaceful.

However, I never imagined that the next morning, as I went downstairs, I would find a scratch running along the back of my car. It was deep enough to expose the primer and extended to the side door.

I was livid.

Lisa happened to come downstairs and saw the state of my car. She sneered, "Oh, my! What happened? How did your car end up like that?

"Cindy, why do you look so upset?"

I immediately pulled out my phone and called the police. Then, I notified the property management to check the surveillance footage.

As luck would have it, the cameras in my area were down for maintenance that week.

How convenient.

"Why wasn't this announced in the group chat?" I asked.

The staff looked apologetic. "We posted a paper notice downstairs, but it seemed like someone tore it down."

I knew that even if I sued the property management for negligence, it would go nowhere.

I could only report it to my insurance and arrange for repairs.

I had to take a taxi to work that day, adding to my already chaotic morning. By then, I seriously considered selling my car and looking for a new apartment.

Later that night, as I browsed for second-hand apartments on my phone, my surveillance system alerted me that someone was near my door.

When I opened the feed, I saw Lisa lurking outside my apartment. A few seconds later, she walked away.

Zooming in, I saw something that made my blood boil.

Lisa was holding a bottle of glue and squeezing it into my lock!