A not so simple plan

Mathew couldn’t believe his eyes.

The woman standing before him—makeup flawless, curves accentuated by a breathtaking set of lingerie—was supposed to be the man who had hated him for as long as he could remember. Mr. Greg. His father-in-law. A man of stiff handshakes, disapproving glares, and silence sharp enough to wound.

And yet... there she was.

Lips parted with anticipation, eyes flickering with something between confusion and desire, breathing faster with every second of hesitation. The same soul that once sneered at his every word now stood trembling in his wife’s body, skin flushed, voice barely a whisper.

— "Don't just stare," she said, almost pleading. "You always treat her like she’s the most beautiful thing in the world. So treat me like her.”

And in that moment, Mathew didn’t know who was more lost—Greg, trapped in a body he didn’t choose, or himself, tempted by the very person he once swore he’d never let close.

Mr. Greg had always been a difficult man. Reserved, few words, and almost always loaded with veiled criticism—especially when it came to Mathew, his daughter Elizabeth’s husband. It was rare to see him without a look of disapproval on his face, ready to drop a bitter joke or a passive-aggressive remark during any family gathering.

Tired of the constant hostility, Elizabeth confided in Mathew one evening.

— “I’ve had an idea… something a bit out there,” she said, sitting beside him on the couch. “A friend of mine works with some pretty crazy stuff… magic. She mentioned something that got me thinking: temporary body-swapping.”

Mathew raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical.

— “You’re going to swap me with him? So he can see that my life isn’t the disaster he keeps acting like it is?”

Elizabeth laughed, but there was a determined gleam in her eyes.

— “No. I’m thinking something even more drastic. He’s always judging you because he’s never really tried to know you. So… I thought, what if I swapped places with him? That way, he’d be me, living with you as a husband. Maybe then he’d finally understand how amazing you are and how well you treat me.”

Mathew sat in silence for a few seconds, absorbing the madness of what he’d just heard.

— “That sounds completely insane… and he’ll figure it out right away. He’ll just go back to his house, lock himself in, and that’s it. Your plan falls apart.”

— “That’s where the genius part comes in,” Elizabeth replied with a conspiratorial smile. “We’ll do the swap without him knowing. And when he wakes up confused, I’ll convince him it’s best if no one knows what happened. I’ll tell him if anyone finds out, they’ll think we’re crazy and throw us into an asylum. He’ll agree. I know my father.”

Mathew shook his head, half amused, half uneasy.

— “It’s your call. It’s just… going to be super weird for me.”

— “It won’t be! Just stick to the usual plan. He’ll try to act polite, and you… just keep being yourself. Treat me with all the care, respect, and love you always do. He’ll see it. He’ll feel it.”

The plan was set. The next morning, Greg woke up in a body that definitely wasn’t his. Panic set in immediately—more delicate hands, a different voice, and the reflection in the mirror staring back at him was his daughter’s face. In desperation, he called “himself”—really Elizabeth, in his body.

As she predicted, it didn’t take much to calm him down and convince him to keep it a secret and just go about life “as if nothing happened.”

In the days that followed, Mathew remained gentle and attentive. He made breakfast, asked how “she” was feeling, and kept up with their usual routines. Greg, at first cold and visibly uncomfortable, began to surprisingly adapt to the role. And more than that—he seemed to start enjoying it.

By the weekend, Mathew did what he always did: made popcorn, grabbed blankets, and invited “Elizabeth” for a movie marathon on the couch. It was their little tradition. The two sat close together, and slowly, the air between them thickened with tension. A kiss happened, hesitant at first—but then returned with surprising passion. Greg—now in Elizabeth’s body—not only accepted the kiss, he pulled Mathew in for another, deeper one, filled with real emotion and urgency.

Mathew felt conflicted, confused, but didn’t pull away. There was something strange… but also something enchanting.

Sunday night came, and he assumed everything would return to normal. The swap would reverse. Life would go on.

But Monday morning, his phone rang. It was “Greg,” in full-blown panic.

— “Mathew! It didn’t work! The swap... it didn’t reverse! We were supposed to change back this morning and nothing happened!”

And then the truth came crashing down. Elizabeth had never mentioned one critical detail—whether by impulse or by strategy: if any form of intimacy occurred while in the swapped bodies, the transformation would become permanent.

Mathew froze. Everything suddenly made sense.

On the other end of the line, Elizabeth’s voice—coming from Greg’s body—rose in a furious shout.

— “DUDE, I can’t believe you did that with my DAD!?”