Chapter 5
With that, Dorian turned to my mom. “Let’s all calm down, huh? We’re family.”
My mom didn’t miss a beat. She shot back, “Family? Don’t make me laugh. My husband just tried to take back the gifts from our side of the family, and she assaulted him.”
Denise got nervous and grabbed Elysia. “You told me not to give any of the gift money to them. You said to keep it all together. He came at me out of nowhere. I just panicked!”
I immediately picked up on the key part of that and turned to Elysia. “Why didn’t you want us to have our share of the gifts?”
The guests murmured around us.
Elysia stammered. “That’s not what I meant. Denise, you misunderstood. I only said to be careful with the envelopes and not to hand them off to just anyone. I didn’t say not to give them their share.”
The sound of the ambulance siren echoed in the distance.
I seized the opportunity. “Mom, I know you’d never keep money from my side of the family. But since Dad’s hurt and we’ll probably need to pay the hospital soon, I’m just going to take our part now, okay?”
Chapter 5.
Elysia’s face turned beet red. She stayed silent.
11
I turned to Dorian. “Or is it that Mom can’t make that call? Then I’ll just tell you based on the log, our side gave over thirty thousand dollars. We’re taking it.”
J
Dorian hesitated, but saving face mattered more to him than anything. He said.“Lyra, you don’t need to ask. That money’s for you and Stellan anyway. Take it if you need it.”
I snatched the envelope bag from Denise’s hand. “Since you said it, I won’t be shy about it.”
I handed the bag to my mom, and she clutched it tightly. “Thanks, Dorian. That’s really generous of you.”
Seeing this, Elysia stood frozen. Rowena shouted, “You can’t just take all
of it!”
I looked at her like she was a joke. “Who the hell do you think you are, trying to tell me what to do?”
Rowena tugged on Stellan’s sleeve and whispered, “Weren’t we going to use the wedding gifts to help with the down payment? If she takes everything, can we still get the house?”
My mom and I both heard it loud and clear. She pointed at them. “Unbelievable. So my daughter was just your little cash machine?”
The ambulance had already pulled up outside. I looked at Stellan. “My dad’s hurt. We’ll deal with the rest later. But this marriage? I’m done.”
Gasps and whispers rippled through the crowd.
“They’re seriously trying to use the younger son’s wedding money to buy at e younger son’s wedding money to buy a house for the older brother and his wife? That’s insane.”
“And Stellan too? Doesn’t he know how bad it looks to be so close with his widowed sister–in–law? No wonder people say widows bring trouble.”
I turned back and threw out one last grenade. “You think that’s bad? They wanted Stellan to marry both of us. Once this wedding’s over, he was supposed to sleep with her too.”
The crowd practically exploded.
“Are you kidding me? Double–marriage? In this day and age?”
“They all look like decent, educated people. How can their minds be this twisted?”
“And that Rowena–she can’t find someone else to marry? Has to stick around and eye the younger brother–in–law instead?”
Stellan’s face turned crimson. “It’s not like that! Lyra, I told you–I never wanted both. Why are you saying all this now?”
2250
“Your mouth says no, but your actions tell the truth.” I shot back. “The way you’ve treated me–and her–you’ve been playing this whole thing from the start.”
The ambulance took us straight to the hospital. After running some tests, the doctor confirmed it was just a surface wound on my dad’s forehead. He prescribed some medication, and I went home with my parents.
