Chapter 1 – The Toast That Changed Everything
Alex had just raised his glass when his mother stood and announced that our new apartment should belong to his sister.
Until that moment, our housewarming had felt perfect. The two-bedroom apartment was bright, comfortable, and finally ours—or so I had believed. My parents had provided the down payment as a wedding gift. They had attached no demands, only the hope that Alex and I would build a stable life together.
Three months after moving in, I cooked for days and invited both families. Then Barbara took over the toast. She praised my parents before turning toward Katie, Alex’s sister, who was raising three children alone.
“Katie needs a place like this more than you two do,” Barbara said, smiling as though she were suggesting we share leftovers.
I gave an uneasy laugh. Nobody joined me.
Alex set down his glass. “We could stay with Mom for a while, Mo. Your parents helped once. Maybe they’d help us again.”
Katie stared at the floor, but the hopeful expression on her face told me this conversation had started long before that evening.
I looked around at the table I had set, the walls I had painted, and the husband who had apparently volunteered my security without consulting me.
Then my mother calmly folded her napkin beside her plate.
“I taught my daughter to be generous,” she said, looking directly at Alex. “I did not teach her to let people make a fool of her.”
She nodded toward me, and I walked to the desk drawer where an envelope was waiting.
