One man moved to a remote island for a new job, only to discover his cheating ex-fiancée was his only coworker. At a funeral, a family learned their grandfather had secretly maintained two families for over 40 years. A childhood bully grew up to run a nonprofit, and the person he once tormented forgave him. Someone quit their job for a new position, only to find out their boss had applied for the same role and didn’t get it. A neighbor who once asked for food turned out to be the interviewer for a dream job.

A woman secretly edits her mother’s photos to boost her confidence, and it works wonders. A beat-up cookbook turned out to hide coordinates to a buried family heirloom. A man was tricked by his wife into thinking their child wasn’t his, only to discover years later that she lied to punish his lack of trust. A bride ended her marriage just three hours after the wedding when her groom insulted her instead of helping her up. And two rival car dealerships were revealed to have been owned by the same man all along.

Real life doesn’t just surprise us—it outdoes any story we could make up.