Okay, prepare for the rollercoaster of drama. I work multiple jobs throughout the week — I clean houses, work as a personal assistant, and do artwork. One of my clients, whom I’ll call “Michelle,” owns a few Airbnbs, so I used to get called about 3–4 times a week to clean the properties, as most stays are around 2–3 days. All her properties are pretty big. She has a lake house with five bedrooms, which is the one that gets rented the most. Even though I always felt she wasn’t the most generous when it came to payment, I took the jobs because they were consistent and I really needed the money. At first, it was fine — very straightforward — but I was always paid late, sometimes even up to two weeks. Fast forward to Christmas, her parents and sister hired me to clean their houses too. During that time, I spoke with her sister and mentioned that I also do art for a living. She loved the few samples I showed her and ended up commissioning a painting of her two pets along with a sonogram, since she was pregnant. I finished the painting, and she loved it. But Michelle found out. She asked me to paint a portrait of her beloved parrot, who she’d had for 15 years but had recently been killed by her cat. She wanted me to do it for free, arguing that it was because of her that I got the commission in the first place, since she recommended me to her family. I told her I was really grateful for that and could offer her a discount, but I couldn’t do it for free. She gave me an annoyed look. She knows my mom is sick and her treatment is very expensive — insurance doesn’t cover everything — and she’s fully dependent on me. Michelle knows I work multiple jobs to support her because she can’t do much herself. Michelle got annoyed. She said one painting wouldn’t hurt me and that I was ungrateful. She even said what my mom had wasn’t that serious, and questioned whether all my hard work was even worth it. I had worked for her for two weeks and hadn’t been paid yet, and she told me she wasn’t going to pay me unless I did the painting, because she didn’t like that I was being “ungrateful.” I thought she’d come around, but she kept calling me to clean her Airbnbs like nothing happened. I told her I wouldn’t go unless she paid me. She repeated that she’d pay me if I did the portrait, and I said no. I hung up the phone. The next week, she called again and said, “Okay, I’ll pay you.” I stupidly believed her. She gave me a check. I deposited it and cleaned for two more days — then realized the check had bounced. She had reported it stolen or something. At that point, I was furious. I had been counting on that money. She tried to play it off, saying maybe it was “destiny” trying to convince me to do the painting for her. I told her fine, I’d do it — but since it was free, I’d decide what to paint. It was petty, I know, but I painted her bird being eaten by her cat. It wasn’t gruesome or anything. It was subtle, but the message was clear. I finished the painting and sent her a photo. She called me immediately and said I was heartless and vengeful. Apparently, she told her family. A couple of days later, her sister called me and asked to see the painting. I was skeptical at first, but I agreed. She laughed when she saw it and asked if she could buy a copy. She wanted it printed large. What I didn’t know at the time was that Michelle and her sister don’t get along — Michelle had slept with her sister’s husband a few years back, and their relationship has been strained ever since. Her sister framed the print and put it front and center in her living room. Then she sent a photo of it to Michelle. Now Michelle is furious. She’s been calling me an asshole and a heartless person, saying that parrot meant the world to her. She says I “teamed up” with her sister to mock her, and that selling the artwork just made it worse. She’s been begging me to take it down. Her sister told me to tell Michelle that I wouldn’t — not unless she paid me — but Michelle still refused. Now she’s threatening to sue me unless I take it down. I know what I did was childish. I told my Mom about it and she thinks I’m the one in the wrong and should apologize because we are already dealing with a lot and she might end up paying me. But I still think she won’t and I should be paid for what I worked. New account so friends don’t know it’s me.