Phoebe's POV
The more I thought about it, the more something didn’t sit right.
I remembered how, last year, my mom had specifically called me and said, “Your cousin is getting married soon, but she doesn’t have a place to live yet.”
I couldn’t understand it. Who planned a wedding without even preparing a home?
Back then, she kept trying to convince me, saying, “Your place is already renovated, it’s just the soft furnishings left. Why not sell it to her family instead? You know Fiona only graduated two years ago and she’s still trying to get her business going. She doesn’t have much money right now. Just take a grand and five hundred for it. It’s more of a gesture, really.”
I was stunned. I’d paid three hundred grand in full for that place, and she wanted me to give it away for basically nothing? At that point, why not just say “gift it”?
Obviously, I flat-out refused.
“All these years, our family’s done more than enough for Auntie’s side. That house is mine and Raven’s. There’s no way I’m giving it away. If they want to get married, they can buy their own place. Can’t afford it? Then rent. But don’t even think about touching ours.”
My parents were furious because of that. Right there and then, they blew up and accused me of being ungrateful and not valuing family.
But two days later, they cooled off and came back around, acting all nice.
After that, my mom told me she felt something eerie in the house, so she asked a priest to come look at it and bless it.
I didn’t think much of it and handed her the keys.
I never imagined that they were setting me up the whole time.
Now, I was keeping my emotions in check, quietly working out a plan to get my house back.
After the cemetery visit, everyone went back to my parents’ house for dinner.
Seeing the family sitting around laughing and chatting softened me a little. So I decided to give my parents a chance to come clean themselves.
“Mom, Dad,” I said, “Raven and I are planning to get married in two months. Can you give me back the keys later? We want to start cleaning and decorating the house.”
As soon as I mentioned the house, the room tensed.
My aunt and cousin froze mid-movement and stared at me in shock.
My cousin’s husband, on the other hand, smiled brightly. “Wow, congrats to you and your fiancé! Where’s the place you bought?”
It was obvious that he had no idea what was going on.
So I answered casually, “At Willow Creek Drive, Silvergrove—”
Before I could finish, my mom abruptly cut me off. “Alright, alright, everyone’s hungry. Go start cooking, will you?”
I looked at her, but she wasn’t flustered. She wasn’t even guilty, just annoyed.
My dad, though, looked uncomfortable. Yet he pretended to go outside for a smoke.
Even so, I chose to hold back. I didn’t want to blow everything up just yet, not unless I had to.
So I headed to the kitchen, and Raven followed me in.
“Phoebe, I’ll help you,” he said gently.
My aunt, watching him from behind, clicked her tongue and commented, “Phoebe’s fiancé may not be handsome or classy, but at least he’s handy around the house.”
Both Raven and I frowned at that.
Before I could say anything, her son-in-law jumped in. “Mom, are you taking a shot at me? Saying I’m lazy? Fine, I’ll go help too.”
But before he could even move, my mom and aunt stopped him.
“You’re a grown man. What are you doing going into the kitchen? Sit down,” my mom said, half-laughing.
Looking at him with pure affection, she added, “Don’t get the wrong idea, Ted. She wasn’t insulting you. She was complimenting you. What she meant to say is, you’re handsome, elegant, and a university professor with a stable job. Honestly, you’re the kind of son-in-law most people only dream of.”
Then she glanced at Raven, and her tone turned sharp. “Unlike Phoebe’s choice… tall and skinny—just looks unlucky. Some people really are born to work themselves to the bone, can’t even wait to be told what to do—they just jump in to serve.”
That was it. I was done.
I could tolerate her criticizing me, but not Raven.
He had a master’s degree and worked in international trade. His monthly salary easily tripled that of a university lecturer.
