Chapter 4 - The Family Dinner Ambush
That evening, my father didn’t bother calling; he showed up at my small rented duplex with my mother sitting stiffly in the passenger seat.
He didn’t take off his coat when I opened the door, standing on the welcome mat with his arms crossed over his chest.
"You’re tearing this family apart over a few yards of cloth, Maya," he stated, his voice booming into the hallway.
Troy stepped out from the kitchen, wiping a dish with a towel and positioning himself right beside my shoulder.
"It wasn't a few yards of cloth, Mr. Miller," Troy said evenly. "Your daughter spent six weeks staying up until two in the morning while June made demands."
"Troy, this is family business, and you aren't part of it yet," my father snapped, dismissive as always.
"Maya, your sister is marrying into real money and influential circles. A connection like Gene can lift our entire family name in this county."
"How does that help me, Dad?" I asked, looking into his eyes and seeing only the reflection of June’s ambition.
"You want me to pay five thousand dollars so she can pretend I don't exist to impress a family that makes polyester blends?"
My mother finally stepped onto the porch, her eyes brimming with theatrical tears.
"She promised Gene’s mother that an exclusive European boutique designed that gown, Maya! She told them it was imported from Milan!"
The room seemed to freeze for three long seconds as the ridiculous truth finally spilled out into the open air.
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"She lied to them?" I asked, a sudden spark of dark realization hitting me.
"She told them she spent twenty thousand dollars on an Italian original so she wouldn't look common in front of his mother."
