Chapter 1

My brother married a crybaby. If I stayed over for an extra meal, she would cry.

She’d say, “This family only cares about their daughter and doesn’t give a damn about their daughter-in-law!”

When I bought a house with my own money, she cried again.

She’d say, “How could she, just a girl, afford a house? Your parents must have helped her!”

Then she went even further, spreading rumors that I was some rich man’s mistress and slept my way to the top.

It wasn’t until my brother got kicked out trying to defend her that she finally had nothing left to cry about.

“How could your sister, just a girl, afford such a nice house all on her own? Your parents must have secretly given her money!” Delilah’s voice was sharp, dripping with suspicion.

“Babe, you’re overthinking it. My parents already told me, they didn’t give her a dime,” Eliot replied, trying to calm her down.

“You thick-headed fool! Do you think they’d admit it if they did? That would just make them look biased!”

I had been on my way to call Eliot and Delilah for dinner when I accidentally overheard their conversation.

What was so wrong about buying a house? I bought it with my own hard-earned money.

And even if my parents had chipped in, so what? I’m their daughter, isn’t it normal for parents to help their own kids? Is that a crime now?

I didn’t interrupt them. Something made me stand there and keep listening.

I heard Delilah’s voice, bitter and angry, “I don’t care. If your parents had the money to buy Sienna a house, then they better do the same for us. You’re their son, after all, and they’ll need you to take care of them when they’re old. A daughter will get married off eventually, and she’ll be someone else’s problem.”

Eliot’s voice softened, clearly not agreeing with her. “You’re thinking too much, Delilah. Sienna’s my sister. And our house is already big enough. We don’t need to waste money like that.”

Delilah wanted to keep arguing, but Eliot cut her off. “Enough! Today’s about Sienna moving into her new place. Stop bringing up this nonsense.”

As I heard Eliot’s footsteps approaching, I quickly turned and slipped away.

Even though Delilah was always a bit unreasonable, at least my brother still had my back.

When we all sat down for dinner, Delilah still looked sour, acting like she was owed something. Eliot gave her several warning looks, but she didn’t tone it down.

My mom couldn’t take it anymore. After the other relatives left, she pulled Eliot and Delilah aside for a talk.

“I know what’s going through your head. You think we gave Sienna the money for her house and you’re feeling upset about it, right?”

Delilah thought she had figured everything out and immediately launched into a tirade.

“Isn’t that exactly what happened? How could a young girl earn enough money to buy a house? Honestly, Marjorie, Gerald, you’ve been so unfair! Eliot and I are the ones who’ll take care of you when you’re older. Your money should be spent on us, not her!”

“Sienna’s going to get married and leave the family anyway. Why buy her a house? That’s just going to benefit some other guy. Honestly, you two are way too clueless.”

“Eliot, you coward! You won’t speak up, so I have to!”

My brother tugged on Delilah’s arm, telling her to stop, but she just went off even more.

My mom slammed her hand down on the table, her voice cold, “Don’t anyone stop her. Let her talk.”

Anyone who knew my mom could tell she was on the verge of blowing up.

Delilah shrank back a little, her tone not as strong as before. “Did I say something wrong?”

When Delilah first married into the family, my parents bent over backward to make sure she felt welcome. They sold their old house and, with their savings, bought a beautiful Victorian-style home in Savannah.

And they asked Delilah what she wanted. If she didn’t want to live with them, they would’ve bought her and Eliot a nice three-bedroom house. If she liked big houses, they could all live in the Victorian home together, and my mom could help take care of future kids.

The choice was Delilah’s, and my parents had always made it clear that I’d always have a place in their home, whether I got married or not.

At first, Delilah was sweet and warm, always so kind to me. I was thrilled—I thought I’d hit the jackpot with such a wonderful sister-in-law. No issues between us at all.

But after just six months, her true colors started to show.

It began with her constantly nudging my mom to set me up on dates.

“Sienna’s not getting any younger, it’s time for her to settle down,” she’d say.

My mom made her stance clear: if I didn’t want to get married, it was fine. Even if I never married, they’d support me.

That must have been the breaking point. From then on, Delilah saw me as a threat to her interests.