Daniel’s face remained calm. “No. I protected Emily from people who measure love by bank accounts.”
That landed harder than shouting ever could have.
Mom rose from her seat. “This is inappropriate. You come into our home and embarrass us?”
I turned toward her. “You embarrassed yourselves when you canceled my engagement party, then booked the same place for Ashley.”
Ashley looked at Mom. “Wait… you told me Emily chose not to have one.”
The silence that came next was merciless.
My sister’s expression slowly collapsed. “Mom?” Family
Mom pressed her lips into a thin line. “We didn’t want tension. Emily always overreacts.”
I almost laughed. That had been her favorite line for as long as I could remember. When Ashley received a car at sixteen and I received a lecture about responsibility, I was overreacting. When Dad covered Ashley’s rent but told me to “learn struggle,” I was overreacting. When Daniel came to dinner and was treated like a passing mistake, I was overreacting.
Daniel opened the last document.
