Reddit Stories - Cil UTILIZED my PAYMENT card to make a $3,000 PURCHASE at Sephora during...

Episode Date: December 6, 2025

Summary: Cil misused my payment card to make an unauthorized $3,000 purchase at Sephora. This incident has raised concerns about security and trust, leading to a confrontation over the misuse of funds. The experience has left me feeling violated and questioning my financial safety in shared environments.

I hope you enjoy this story. Sill utilized my payment card to make a $3,000 purchase at Sephora during her pre-wedding celebration without seeking permission, then proceeded to downplay the situation as insignificant due to my financial stability, so I canceled her free honeymoon at my beach house and she had a meltdown. In-laws can be messy, but my sister-in-law definitely takes the cake. I, Blake, 33F, come from a wealthy family and have a good job working in IT. I also trade on the side, which has helped me become more financially comfortable.

It started as just a hobby, but over time, I got better at it, and now it brings in a decent amount of extra income. My husband, Fernando, 35M, also works in IT. In fact, we met when we were both working at the same office. We don't work together anymore, but we're still in the same field. When it comes to our jobs, we earn almost the same, but because of my family background and trading, I have a pretty comfortable financial cushion. I wouldn't say I'm rich, rich, but I don't stress about money the way some people do. A few years ago, I used some of my savings to buy a beach house. It wasn't a crazy mansion or anything, but it was in a great location, right by the water, and had that perfect, peaceful vibe. I didn't buy it to rent out or make money off it,

just wanted a place to escape to when life got too hectic. Over the years, I've let friends and family use it for vacations, and it's never been a big deal. Now, this is where things get interesting. Fernando has a younger sister, Sophia 22F. She and I have always gotten along pretty well. We're not super close, mostly because there's a bit of an age gap, and we have very different personalities, but I wouldn't say we've ever had any major issues. She's the type of person who likes nice things, and she has expensive taste. But the problem is, she doesn't actually have the income to support her lifestyle. She works as an aesthetician, which is a good job, but not exactly one that allows for constant designer shopping sprees. She has a habit of

maxing out her credit cards, then paying them off just enough to use them again. It's this never-ending cycle where she's always spending more than she can afford, but somehow she never really seems worried about it. When Sophia got engaged, she went all out. And I mean all out. Big venue, designer dress, fancy decorations, the whole nine yards. I knew she didn't have the money for it, but her parents were helping with the costs, and I assume her fiancé was contributing too. Speaking of her fiancé, I honestly don't know much about him. He works in sales, but that's about all I know. We've met a few times, and he seems polite enough, but we've never had any real conversations. Sophia always made it seem like he was the one and that was that. So I just smiled and nodded

whenever she talked about him. Anyway, when she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids, I was a little surprised. I mean we get along, but I wasn't expecting to be part of the wedding party. Still, I accepted because it felt like the polite thing to do. The wedding planning was a lot. Sophia was very particular about everything, and it was clear that money was becoming a problem. She would complain about how expensive things were, but instead of cutting back, she just sighed dramatically and find a way to justify the cost. Then, one day, I heard through Fernando that Sophia and her fiancé weren't planning on going on a honeymoon. Not because they didn't want to, but because they simply couldn't afford it after spending so much on the wedding. I thought about it for a bit

and decided that, as a wedding gift, I'd let them use my beach house for a weekend. It seemed like a nice, thoughtful gift, and I knew Sophia would love it. When I told her, she was ecstatic. She hugged me and kept saying how perfect it was. She even talked about how she'd always dreamed of having a honeymoon somewhere by the water. I felt good about it, thinking I had done something nice that would make their wedding experience a little more special. So, issues began at her bachelorette party. I had already decided that I'd cover the bill for the night. Most of Sophia's friends were either unemployed or still in college, and since I was the oldest one there, it just made sense.

I wasn't expecting anything crazy, just a nice dinner followed by some dancing at a club. Nothing too extravagant. Dinner started off fine. The restaurant was one of those trendy places with dim lighting, overpriced cocktails, and tiny portions. You know the type. Everyone was in high spirits, laughing, drinking, and taking a million pictures for Instagram. I wasn't super close with most of the girls there, but I was being friendly and making small talk.

It was one of those situations where you just go with the flow. Then, right as we were finishing up dinner, I got a notification. It was from my security system, saying that the smoke detector in my house was going off. My heart nearly dropped. Fernando wasn't home. He had gone out with some friends, and I happened to be closer to the house than he was. So, I had no choice but to rush back and check on things. Now, I obviously wasn't just going to leave the group hanging.

Since I had already promised to cover the bill, I took out my credit card and handed it to Sophia's maid of honor, Amelia 22-23F. I don't actually know her exact age. I told her to use it to pay for dinner and made sure she understood before I left. I practically ran out of the restaurant, my mind racing with all the worst-case scenarios. What if the house was actually on fire? What if something had gone horribly wrong? What if I lost everything?

It was a terrifying few minutes. Thankfully, when I got home, it turned out to be a false alarm. No smoke, no fire, nothing. The security system had just freaked out for no room. reason. At that point, I was already back home, and it was super late. I was exhausted from the stress of the whole situation, so I decided to just stay home instead of rushing back to meet the girls. I figured they'd be fine without me, and the night would go on as planned. I didn't think much about my card after that. I figured I'd just get it from Amelia the next time I saw her.

It wasn't a big deal, and honestly, after the stress of the false alarm at home, I just wanted to relax and move on. The next day, everything was normal. I woke up, made some coffee, got some work done, and went about my usual routine. I wasn't even thinking about the Bachelorette party anymore. Then, around 5 p.m., I got a notification on my phone. It was from my bank. A charge for $3,000 had been made on my card at Sephora. For a second, I just stared at it, trying to process. I remembered that I had given it to Amelia. I immediately called her, already feeling my blood pressure rise. She told me she had given the card to Sophia. That didn't make sense. Amelia was supposed to hold onto it and use it just to pay for dinner. I didn't understand why she would hand it over to Sophia, but

at that moment, I didn't have time to argue. I needed to find out what was going on with my card. I called Sophia right away. No answer. I called again. Still nothing. At this point, panic was setting in. I had no idea if my card was still being used. What if someone else had it? What if more charges were about to come through? I wasn't going to sit around and wait to find out. I called my bank immediately and reported the charge as fraud. They blocked my card right away, which was a relief, but I was still seething. About an hour later, Sophia finally called me back. She sounded completely normal, as if nothing had happened. When I asked about my card, she casually said that she had it, and when I brought up the $3,000 charge at Sephora,

she acted like it was no big deal. She said she had used it to buy some things for herself, assuming that I wouldn't mind. Apparently, since I had been covering the cost of the Bachelorette party, she thought this was just an extension of that. I was absolutely stunned. The way she brushed it off, like it was just a fun little shopping spree, made my blood boil. She even laughed about it, saying that since I was financially comfortable, it wasn't a big deal. She didn't seem to grasp the fact that taking someone's credit card and spending thousands without permission is fraud. I told her we were going to talk about this in person. I wasn't about to let this slide. I got in car and drove straight to her place.

On the way, I called my bank again and let them know it was a family member and a misunderstanding, just so she wouldn't get into any legal trouble. As angry as I was, I didn't want her to face serious consequences though at that moment, she definitely deserved some. All I could think about was how entitled she was to assume she could just take my card and spend $3,000 like it was nothing. This wasn't some casual dinner tab or a minor oversight. This was an intentional decision she made because she assumed I'd just be okay with it.

After the call, I went straight to Sophia's house. I was still fuming, but I was determined to keep my composure. At the very least, I needed to get my card back and deal with this in person. When I got there, she greeted me like nothing had happened. No guilt, no embarrassment, just her usual bubbly self. She handed me my card with a smile and then, to my absolute disbelief, she started showing me everything she had bought. There was no shame.

None. She actually seemed excited to show off her hall. Expensive perfumes, high-end skin care, a bunch of luxury makeup items, all things she definitely didn't need. I could tell that some of them were limited edition products, the kind of stuff beauty influencers hype up and people rushed to buy. This wasn't just a casual trip to Sephora for a few essentials. This was a full-blown luxury shopping spree.

I stood there in complete disbelief. I was trying to process the sheer audacity of it all. It wasn't even just the money. Though, let's be real, $3,000 is no small amount. It was the entitlement. She genuinely didn't think she had done anything wrong. I told her, as calmly as I could, that this was completely out of line. She should have never used my card, let alone for a massive shopping spree. But instead of

apologizing or even acknowledging that she had crossed a major boundary, she just shrugged. She actually said something along the lines of, well, you always help out, and you said you wanted to do something nice for me. As if that somehow justified it. As if me offering her a honeymoon stay at my beach house meant that she had free rein over my bank account. I couldn't argue with someone who clearly didn't see a problem. So I just took my card and left. I didn't raise my voice. I didn't make a scene. I didn't waste any more energy trying to explain basic morality to a grown adult, because I already knew exactly what I was going to do. I decided right then and there that she wasn't going to the beach house. But I didn't say anything. I didn't fight about

it. I just let it go. For now. The wedding day arrived, and I played along like everything was fine. I smiled, I took pictures, I made small talk. I even stood beside her as one of her bridesmaids without a single hint of what was coming. I wasn't about to cause drama on her big day. That wasn't the time or place for it. The wedding itself went smoothly. The venue was beautiful, the guests were having fun, and by the time the reception was winding down, I was honestly just waiting for the moment. And sure enough, it came. Sophia found me, beaming, and casually asked when I was going to give her the keys to the beach house. She was so sure that I was still going to let her use it. She had no doubt in her mind that I had just moved past the whole credit card

situation and that her honeymoon was still happening exactly as planned. I looked her right in the eye and told her, it's not happening. I told her that the luxury shopping spree she took on my credit card was my wedding gift to her. The shift in her expression was almost instant. It went from confident and happy to pure shock. Like it had never once crossed her mind that there would be consequences for what she did. And then, she lost it. I mean, full-blown meltdown. Right there at the wedding. In her wedding dress. She started crying, yelling, about how unfair I was being, about how I was ruining her honeymoon. She was sobbing about how she had been looking forward to this and how I was being petty over just some makeup. The guest

started noticing, and suddenly, everyone was watching this grown woman throwing a tantrum at her own wedding reception. Her new husband was trying to calm her down, but she wasn't having it. Her mom got involved, pulling me aside and asking me what was going on. When I explained, she actually had the nerve to say, but it's just money, and you have plenty. That's when I realized that the entitlement wasn't just a Sophia problem. I stood my ground. I told them that I had been more than generous by offering my beach house in the first place, but Sophia chose to take advantage of me.

I wasn't about to reward her for it. Of course, words spread fast, and soon, I had family members coming up to me, trying to convince me to just let her use the beach house. Even my husband pulled me aside and said that I was being too materialistic. He actually said, it won't cost you anything, so why not just let her have it? I was stunned. I asked him if he really thought it was okay for Sophia to steal from me and still expect a reward. He just sighed and said, it's done now. Just let her have the house so we don't keep dragging this out. And that's when I knew, I was completely alone in this. This was yesterday, and I still have Sophia

bombarding me with calls and texts. Even Fernando is telling me to let this go. What should I do? Update 1. Hi everyone. I know it's been three months since my last post, and I just want to say thank you for all your comments, advice, and support. It was honestly overwhelming to see how many people agreed with me and told me I wasn't overreacting. It made me feel a lot better about my decision. Now, for the update because things have not calmed down. First, I want you all to know that I didn't back down. Sophia never got to use my beach house, and I have zero regrets about that. At first, Fernando wasn't really on my side, and I'll admit that part hurt. I really thought he was going to keep pressuring me to just let it go, but after a few weeks, he finally saw where I was coming from.

He admitted that he hadn't really thought about it from my perspective and was just trying to keep the peace. Once he realized how insanely entitled Sophia had been, he agreed that I had every right to say no. It took him a while, but at least he got there. Sophia and her husband did end up going on a honeymoon, but let's just say, it was not the luxury getaway she had been dreaming of. Instead of a beachside villa with ocean views, they ended up going on a road trip to a national park and staying at a motel. Now, don't get me wrong. There's absolutely nothing wrong. There's with a National Park honeymoon. Plenty of people do that and have an amazing time.

But for Sophia, this was basically the worst thing that could have happened to her. This is the same girl who acts like she's allergic to anything that isn't five-star luxury. The idea of her staying in a motel instead of a fancy resort is really funny to me. I can only imagine the meltdown she must have had when she realized this was her honeymoon. And from what I've heard through family, she's been telling anyone who will listen about how I ruined her honeymoon over a few dollars. A few dollars? She really has the nerve to act like I threw a tantrum over pocket change,

when she literally stole thousands from me. The way she's spinning the story, you'd think I canceled her honeymoon over a $20 meal instead of a massive Sephora Hall. Apparently, she's been going around playing the victim, telling everyone that I turned into a different person and that she never expected me to be so cold. I've had a few relatives reach out, trying to guilt me into apologizing and making things right. I have no idea what version of the story she's telling them. But I'm guessing she conveniently left out the part where she committed credit card fraud. But this wasn't even the biggest issue. Apparently, Sophia's credit card debt is so much worse than what I had originally thought. Like, I knew she was bad with money, but I didn't realize

just how deep she was in the hole. And the worst part was that she didn't tell her husband. He had no idea how much debt she was sitting on until just a few weeks ago. She basically just, didn't mention it before they got married. I guess she thought he wouldn't find out? Or maybe she planned on magically fixing it somehow before he noticed. I have no clue what her thought process was. But now he knows.

And, unsurprisingly, he's not happy. From what I've heard, things are really bad between them right now. They're fighting a lot, and from what one of our relatives told me, it looks like they might have to move out of their apartment because they can't afford the rent and pay off her debts at the same time. The place they're living in isn't even anything crazy. It's just a regular two-bedroom apartment, not some luxury penthouse. But the problem is that Sophia lives way beyond her means

and clearly thought she could keep doing that after getting married. But now that her husband is seeing the reality of, the situation, he's not on board. I honestly feel bad for him. I barely know the guy, but I can only imagine how blindsided he must feel. I mean, can you imagine thinking you're starting a stable life with someone, only to find out that they're buried under a mountain of debt that they didn't even warn you about? That's rough. I don't feel bad for Sophia. Because this is her fault. Honestly, before the whole credit card theft incident, I probably would have helped her. I mean, I wouldn't have given her money, but I definitely would have set up some kind of loan

so she could at least avoid those ridiculously high interest rates. I know how bad credit card debt can get, and I would have been willing to help her in a way that made sense. But after what she did, I can't help her. I won't. Not after she stole from me. Not after she acted like it was no big deal. Not after she spent months trashing me to anyone who would listen, just because I didn't let her use

my beach house. Update 2, hi everyone. I know it's only been two days since my last update, but things just keep unfolding, and honestly, I need to vent. Because oh my God. So, as expected, Sophia and her husband had to leave their apartment. They couldn't keep up with the rent while also dealing with her insane debt. And guess where they ended up? Lucia's 56F. House. They moved in with my mother-in-law. Now, I need to give a little background on Lucia for this to really make sense. Lucia is very particular. She's the type of person who has her routines, her space, and her way of doing things.

She's not the warm and fuzzy type, and she doesn't really like people messing up her house. She likes order. So the fact that she's letting both of them move in is huge. I'm pretty sure she only agreed because, at the end of the day, say, Sophia is her daughter. And no matter how much of a mess Sophia makes, Lucia will always try to help her clean it up. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Because Lucia isn't the type to just quietly deal with things. If Sophia starts pulling her usual nonsense, like buying things she doesn't need, making excuses, or acting entitled, Lucia will call her out. And knowing

saying Sophia, she's not going to take that well. Honestly, this whole situation is even worse than I thought. Because on top of her massive credit card debt, it turns out Sophia also took out a personal loan to cover wedding expenses. I have so many questions. How? How did she even get approved for a loan with her credit history? How did she think this was going to work? How was she planning to pay it back after maxing out her credit cards? I mean, At some point, logic has to kick in, right? At some point, a person has to look at their finances and say, okay, maybe I shouldn't be spending thousands of dollars on unnecessary stuff. But no. Sophia just kept spending. And now she and her husband are back at Square One, living with Lucia, trying to get their credit card situation under control.

I don't know what their plan is, but I have a feeling it's not a very good one. update three oh my god you guys i just had to share this there's no big update or anything but i saw something today that actually made me laugh out loud so sophia is trying to become a luxury lifestyle influencer the same sophia who is drowning in credit card debt the same sophia who had to move back in with her mom because she literally can't afford rent the same sophia who maxed out my credit card for an unnecessary Sephora Hall. And she's out here giving financial advice. I cannot. Her bio is peak comedy. Helping women manifest financial freedom plus plus DM for coaching inquiries coaching inquiries. What exactly is she coaching? How to spend money you don't

have. How to max out your credit cards and call it investing in yourself. How to get kicked out of your apartment in three easy steps. Her feed is the best part. It's so fake. I swear, every single picture is staged to look like she's living this high end. Glamorous life. Fancy hotel lobbies. Luxury shopping bags. Drinks at rooftop bars. Except, I know for a fact that Sophia doesn't own half of the things she's showing off. It's all just a facade. And then there are her captions. I wish I were kidding when I say they sound like something she found on a Pinterest board for girl bosses. Here's some of my personal favorites. Success is a mindset. If you believe you're wealthy, wealth will come to you. Okay, tell that to

your landlord. I built my empire from nothing. No handouts, no luck just pure hustle. Built what empire? The empire of unpaid bills and bad financial decisions? Stop living paycheck to paycheck. me to learn how you can afford the lifestyle you deserve. I literally had to sit down when I read this one. Girl, you don't even have a paycheck right now. You live with your mom. What exactly are you teaching people? I honestly don't know whether to be angry or just impressed by the sheer delusion. Like, how do you preach financial freedom when you're one missed payment away from a financial disaster? I showed Fernando, and even he couldn't defend her this time. He just sighed and was like, well, at least she's trying something. Trying what, exactly? Scamming people into

thinking she's rich? Anyway, I'll be keeping an eye on this nonsense because I have a feeling it's only going to get funnier from here. Update 4. Hey everyone. It's been six months since my last update, and honestly, not much has changed. But I figured I'd check in since some of you might still be curious about what's going on. So, here's the rundown. Sophia is still living with Lucia. Six months later, and she's still in her mom's house. No surprise there, honestly, Lucia hasn't said much to me about her either, which is probably a bad sign. Knowing her, she's already tired of having Sophia in her house.

I wouldn't be surprised if she started dropping hints for Sophia and her husband to leave soon. I don't think Sophia has much of a choice at this point. From what I've heard, her dead is still a mess. but at least she's finally doing something about it. Apparently, she's on a complete shopping ban. I nearly passed out when I heard that. Sophia? Not shopping?

That's like saying the sun isn't going to rise tomorrow. But yeah, it looks like she's finally realized she can't keep living in a fantasy world. No more random Sephora halls. No more treating herself with money she doesn't have. No more pretending to be rich on Instagram. It's about time. She even took up a second job waitressing.

I did not see that one coming. Sophia is working a customer service job. Sophia, who once said she could never work in a restaurant because she hates taking orders from people. I would pay good money to see her trying to stay polite while someone sends their food back. I don't know exactly where she's working, but I heard it's some small diner. So yeah, she's definitely not living the luxury lifestyle she was trying to sell on Instagram. Also, that whole luxury influencer thing is dead. Her page is still up, but she hasn't posted in months.

All the boss babe captions are gone. No more manifesting wealth nonsense. No more fake deep posts about building an empire. It's like she's pretending that whole phase never happened. I guess reality hit her like a truck. We are still not on speaking terms. We haven't talked since the wedding drama. I don't hate her or anything, but I also don't see any reason to reach out.

She made her bed, and now she has to lie in it. To be honest, I feel a little bad for her. Not bad enough to help her, but still, it can't be easy going from spending thousands on luxury shopping sprees to waiting tables and living with your mom. I hope she's finally learning something from all this. From what I heard, she's also trying to sell off some of her designer stuff. Bags, perfumes, maybe even some of the things she bought with my credit card. She probably realized that a Gucci bag isn't going to pay her bills. That's pretty much it for now.

If anything major happens, I'll update again. But for now, Sophia's luxury lifestyle era is officially over.