It has been almost two years since this whole situation happened, and I honestly thought I had moved on. But a friend recently confirmed something that made everything come back. She told me that Peggy really did get that tattoo because of what I said, and hearing the confirmation felt surreal.

Here is the real story.

Since you loved this post, you might enjoy these too:
• My Adoption Story: How a Messy 11-Year-Old Performance Convinced My Forever Family to Adopt Me
• The Lie That Launched a Career: Confessions of a Code-Wrangling Imposter
• I Was Forced, Ghosted, and Left to Pick Up the Pieces: Surviving a Violating Experience of Sexual Assault and Emotional Manipulation
• A Ghost from My Past: The Unspoken Secrets and Unresolved Pain of Losing My Best Friend


I was twenty five when I met Peggy through a mutual friend. She had just moved into a neighboring apartment unit and was introduced to our friend group. Right from the beginning I had a feeling we would not click. She gave me these strange backhanded compliments that felt more like tiny jabs, but I tried to be fair. I ignored my instincts and invited her to a game night that my friend and I were hosting.

Looking back, that was a mistake.

During a drunken game of sardines in the dark, Peggy pretended to fall and shoved my head into a shelf. She admitted it out loud in front of everyone and laughed while saying she pushed me because she found him first. That alone should have been my sign.

Then during Kings Cup she called me out during the never have I ever round for having gone through a divorce. Normally talking about it would not have bothered me. Everyone there already knew and had supported me through that painful period. It was the tone she used, the way she tried to single me out and embarrass me, that made it feel cruel. It was so unnecessary.

The rest of that night continued the same way. Awkward digs, weird tension, and petty behavior. By the end I was convinced she had some strange vendetta against me. It did not take long to figure out why.

One of our friends, Mark, was there that night. He is twenty eight, tall, funny, kind, and honestly very attractive. He is exactly the type of guy women like her go crazy over. At the time he and I were close friends and Peggy did not like that at all. For about six months, anytime Mark was around, she behaved in the most ridiculous ways. Little comments, weird competitive energy, constant attempts to embarrass me or push me out of conversations. It was draining.

Now here is where the tattoo story starts.

I had been planning a dragon tattoo for over a year. It was something special to me and my mom, and even though dragons are popular and trendy, the meaning behind mine was personal. My artist and I had already designed a version that included her favorite flowers and a style I loved.

About a month before my appointment, Peggy overheard me talking about it. She suddenly had a thousand questions. I swear I could see the exact moment she decided she wanted to do something with that information. Her whole face lit up in the most smug way. That was my lightbulb moment.

So when she asked where the tattoo would be and what kind of dragon I wanted, I lied. I told her how much I loved Spirited Away, which is true, and I rambled about growing up on it, my dad showing it to me, and how cool it would be to have Haku wrapped around my arm. Peggy had never seen the movie, so I encouraged her to watch it and ended the conversation.

Honestly, I did not think she would actually commit. I thought she would lose interest after realizing she did not even know the character. But she did not lose interest. She got the tattoo. And she did not get a small one. She got the exact thing I described, huge and dramatic.

Two weeks later she showed it to me. She probably thought she was hurting me or stealing my moment. I just stood there shocked. When I went home that night, I kept switching between feeling guilty for lying and laughing because the whole situation was so absurd. Even now, two years later, I still go back and forth between guilt and disbelief.

Recently I confessed the truth to a friend who was the one that actually went to the tattoo appointment with Peggy. That is when she told me the part that shocked me most. During the appointment Peggy said, word for word, that I would be so upset because it was exactly the tattoo I wanted.

For the record, the friend who went with her and I did not become close until later. At the time we were just acquaintances. She stopped being friends with Peggy for her own unrelated reasons, and over time we both realized we had similar experiences with her behavior.

Neither of us dated Mark. I had turned him down before Peggy even entered the picture. He is a great guy, but he deserves someone who feels strongly for him, and that just was not me. He eventually learned about all of this much later, long after the drama ended. He had no idea what was happening at the time and I did not need him to fix it.

Looking back, the entire situation feels like something out of a weird friendship drama movie. But it happened. And apparently she really did get that giant tattoo just to get under my skin.

Posts you may like too:
• My Adoption Story: How a Messy 11-Year-Old Performance Convinced My Forever Family to Adopt Me
• The Lie That Launched a Career: Confessions of a Code-Wrangling Imposter
• I Was Forced, Ghosted, and Left to Pick Up the Pieces: Surviving a Violating Experience of Sexual Assault and Emotional Manipulation
• A Ghost from My Past: The Unspoken Secrets and Unresolved Pain of Losing My Best Friend
• From Soft Start to Spiraling Down: Breaking Free from the Cycle of Addiction
• I Kissed My Best Friend: Unraveling the Mystery of a Night that Changed Everything
• Unpacking the Trauma: A Journey of Self-Discovery and Healing from Childhood Sexual Abuse and Incest
• The Secret Shame I've Carried for Years: How a Charitable Lie Destroyed My Soul
• The Secret I Buried for a Decade: My Forbidden Love Affair with a Married Mentor That Changed Me Forever
• I Destroyed the Best Friendship of My Life: The Crushing Guilt of Losing My Twin Flame