enied a dying woman her last request. "We sacrificed so much for Ethan. When he was starting out, David

ed convincing, if you didn't look too closely at the designer purse slung over her shoulder or the expensive watc

's arm as if to steady her. "They gave Ethan everything. He wouldn't be the man you married w

me, I was an ungrateful usurper who didn't understand the complex web of debts and ob

f the bedroom. He was trapped between his loyalty to them and his vows to me, and it was painfully clear which side he was leaning toward. There was

, leaving behind a cold, hard knot of disappointment in the pit of my stomach. I had married a man who wouldn't even stand up for m

pressed her advantage. Her fake sobs intensifi

. "I don't feel safe! She hates me, Mom. She's always hated me! She t

herself as the long-suffering victim of my supposed snobbery. It w

er and pleading. She took a step forward, reac

whisper. "Just for tonight. Let her have the room. It will make her f

toward the door, to make me concede through sheer pressure. The request was so unreasona

in-law's shoulder, a single, perfect tear tracing a pat

g the victim act for a moment to reveal the raw entitlement beneath. "But you don't. You're a selfish, s

s was about possession. In her mind, she had a claim on my husband, and by extension, a claim on