e still lingered in the air. I hadn't eaten anything at the "celebration," my stomac
with foil. My hand reached for it, but anoth
doing?" my father's voice
gry," I
moving to stand between me and
e," I pleaded. "I j
e stunt you pulled tonight, you're lucky to be u
nd backhanded me across the face. The force of it sent me stumbling backward. My head hit the edg
the back of my head. Through a dizzying haze, I saw my father
, before turning his back on me
at me on the floor, then at the pie on the counter. She didn't move to help me. She didn't say a word. She j
osed in, and I
d matted my hair. I pushed myself up, my body aching, my head throbbing. It w
r my cousin. The idea of "family," of their "love," was a lie I had been telling myself for years. The blind hope that i
ect. A tool.
ept down the hallway toward their bedroom. The door was slightly ajar.
g. "She made a scene. He said the price mig
y. "Kevin's wedding is next month. His fiancée's family is expectin
k wants to marry her. He's willing to pay a fifty-thousand-dollar 'dowry.' That's enough
a night. They were selling my entire life to a disgusting old ma
of cold calculation. "She's a good girl, deep down. She just needs t
fying it as my responsibility. In that moment, listening to their quiet, monstrous plotting, a new feeling took root in my heart, replacing th