Chapter 1
As a wedding gift for my daughter, Maggie, I buy her a house outright with cash.
My niece, Emily Lane, who's lived under my roof for the last nine years, is right there. She watches me sign the papers, seeing the whole transaction go down.
Her eyes start to well up, but those aren't tears of happiness for her cousin. That is the glint of pure envy.
When we get back to the house, she is waiting, blocking the doorway with a pale face. "Aunt Linda," she snaps. "Did you forget something?"
"My wedding fund," she clarifies, her tone turning sharp. "How much have you put away for me?"
I am speechless.
*****
"Aunt Linda, this place is huge! It's almost as big as our place."
My niece, Emily Lane, had her arm looped through my daughter Maggie Jackson's as they wandered through the bare-bones structure of the new condo. Her voice was bright, but there was an undercurrent I couldn't quite place, something that made the hairs on my arm prickle.
Our place? The words echoed in my head, rubbing me the wrong way. Since when was it her place?
For nine years, Emily had lived in my house, eaten my food, and worn clothes I'd bought for her. I had been more than generous.
But my home was, and always would be, my home, not hers.
My husband, Richard Jackson, was across the living room with a tape measure, muttering to himself about the dimensions for a new sectional and the best wall for a flat-screen TV.
Maggie's face was practically glowing as she imagined the life she would build here.
"Mom, thank you," she exclaimed, running over to wrap me in a tight hug. Her voice was sweet and full of affection.
I smiled, patting her back, "Silly girl, who else would I do this for?"
She was my only child. Every penny I'd saved over my entire life was for this exact purpose: to give her a foundation, a place of her own where she would never have to depend on anyone else's charity or bend to anyone else's will.
The real estate agent stood by, grinning from ear to ear. "You are just an amazing mother," he gushed. "Not many parents can buy a home for their daughter outright in cash these days. Your girl is one lucky lady."
I waved it off, claiming, "It's what any mom would do." But a wave of pride washed over me.
What parent doesn't want to see their child thrive?
The moment I signed the last check and the sales contract was placed in my hand, a colossal weight lifted from my shoulders.
But on the drive home, the happy bubble popped. The air in the car grew thick and heavy.
Richard drove in stony silence.
Maggie, in the passenger seat, was glued to her phone, though every so often she'd glance back at me, her mouth slightly open as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
In the back, Emily hadn't said a single word since we left the sales office.
She just stared out the window, with her jaw set so tight you could bounce a quarter off it. She looked like someone owed her a million bucks.
I sighed inwardly.
That girl was becoming a black box of simmering emotions.
Nine years ago, my sister, Julia Lane, Emily's mother, went through a nuclear divorce. It was a total disaster.
Afterward, she announced she was moving to another city to "find herself" and build a career, leaving a ten-year-old Emily on my doorstep.
"Three years, tops," she had promised.
But three years turned into six, and then nine.
Besides the occasional phone call and a trickle of money for "expenses," it was as if Julia had vanished off the face of the earth.
I did resent it.
But one look at Emily's face, a mirror image of my sister's, and one timid "Aunt Linda," and my resolve would melt.
I couldn't just turn a child away. So I raised her.
I just never imagined I was raising an ungrateful wolf in sheep's clothing.
The second we walked through our front door, Emily dropped Maggie's arm.
She stood stiffly in the entryway, not even bothering to take her shoes off, blocking everyone's path.
"Aunt Linda."
Emily opened her mouth to speak, but her voice came out all scratchy and breaking.
My heart gave a little jolt.
"What is it, sweetie?" I asked, trying to keep my voice soft.
Richard and Maggie paused, fixing their eyes on her.
Emily looked up, and her eyes were all red and watery. You could tell she was trying so hard not to cry.
"I'm so, so happy you bought Maggie a house for her wedding. I really am," she began, her voice trembling.
She paused, swallowing a sob.
"But... did you forget something?"
I frowned, a knot of unease tightening in my stomach. "Forget what?" I asked.
"Me!" she shrieked, the tears finally breaking free and streaming down her face. "You forgot about me! I'm almost old enough to get married, too! You bought Maggie a wedding house. So what about me?"
The air in the room turned to ice.
Richard's face hardened.
Maggie's jaw dropped in disbelief.
I looked at her, tears all over her face, but the look she gave me was just full of blame and "how-could-you." I didn't know what to say.
Her last words rang in my ears like a shrill, unending siren.
She stared right at me, her voice shaking with entitlement.
"How much have you saved up for my wedding?"