Chapter 4 - The Sunset Screaming Match
The chaos erupted the exact moment Diane turned around to position her family for the grand finale shot and finally noticed the empty spaces where Dylan, Leo, and I were supposed to be standing. Her eyes scanned the porch, zeroing in on me standing completely outside the formation, holding our packed diaper bag over my shoulder with our car keys resting visibly in my palm.
For a second, Diane’s brain struggled to process the rebellion unfolding before her eyes. Then, a primal wave of sheer fury distorted her carefully made-up face. She abandoned the photographer, stormed off the dunes, and came rushing frantically across the wooden deck of the beach house, her face turning an alarming shade of bright crimson.
The moment she closed the distance and saw the decisive look in my eyes, she lost all remaining composure. She pointed a manicured, trembling finger straight at my face and screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing across the quiet beach resort for all the neighbors and family members to hear:
"How could you do this to me?!"
The entire family froze in absolute shock. The photographer lowered his camera, his jaw slack. Dylan dropped his arms, sprinting over from the dunes with a look of utter horror as he realized what I was doing.
"Do what, Diane?" I asked, my voice carrying a terrifying, calm clarity that cut right through her screeching. "You made it abundantly clear all week that I am unwanted here, that my body is a joke for your amusement, and that my husband lacks the spine to defend me. So I’m saving you the trouble of looking at my postpartum figure for the rest of the week. Leo and I are checking into a wonderful hotel down the road. You can take your precious family photo without the person you’ve been mocking since we arrived."
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Diane sputtered, gasping for air as the humiliation she had dished out to me all week was suddenly thrown right back into her face in front of her entire extended family. "You—you can't just walk away! We have a schedule! What will everyone think?!" she shrieked, her mask completely incinerated.
"I don't care what they think anymore, Diane," I replied evenly, turning my gaze to Dylan, who stood stammering between us like a helpless child. "And Dylan, you can join us tonight, or you can stay here and comfort your mother. But when we get home, things are going to change drastically, or I won't be coming home at all."
