Three days later, I found it outside in the rain. Carla had jammed the machine while rushing to finish curtains, forced the wheel until something broke, then returned it secretly because she was embarrassed to face me.
A repair shop said water had damaged the motor and electrical parts, and fixing it would cost $420. I confronted Carla and made it clear that the issue was not the machine’s resale value, but the fact that she had damaged something precious that I trusted her with.
Carla finally apologized and agreed to pay the repair bill in two installments. After the machine was restored, she stopped borrowing things and even replaced another item she had ruined before, finally understanding that borrowing someone’s property also means respecting the trust behind it.
