Chapter 8
The first person to apologize was my cousin Daniel.
He did it badly.
“I didn’t know it was that serious.”
I stared.
“What would have made it serious?”
He had no answer.
Good.
He tried again.
“I thought Delia was just making her work.”
“She slapped her.”
“I didn’t see that.”
“You saw her hands.”
Silence.
He looked ashamed.
I continued.
“You saw Lily sleeping beside a sink while her mother worked at her own daughter’s birthday preparations.”
His face fell.
“I should’ve asked.”
“Yes.”
That was enough.
No dramatic forgiveness.
No speech about family pressure.
Just truth.
One by one, the others admitted why they laughed.
Fear of Delia.
Desire to stay close to Marcus.
Dislike of Sofia’s background.
Jealousy.
Habit.
One woman gave the ugliest answer.
“Everyone else reacted.”
I nodded.
“Thank you.”
She looked confused.
“For what?”
“For saying the real thing.”
Cruelty spreads easily when nobody wants to be the first person who looks uncomfortable.
I removed all seven from family events involving Sofia and Lily until Sofia decided otherwise.
Marcus laughed.
“You’re letting your wife run the family now.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
“She decides who attends?”
“Who attends around her.”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
I leaned closer.
“You keep confusing access with authority.”
He stared.
I understood then why he and Delia fit so well.
Both believed being close to me entitled them to everyone connected to me.
Sofia.
Lily.
Staff.
Properties.
They called it family.
May you like
What they meant was access without consent.
That ended tonight.
