Chapter 2

Whenever Bernice was around, Valerie basically stopped thinking for herself. She decided Bernice was the smart one, so she hardly ever pushed back.

The way Valerie kept caving to her only wound me up more. I seized Bernice, dragged her to the door, and shoved her outside. "Get out! Show up at my place again and see what happens!"

Her terrified shrieking cut off when I slammed the door, and the apartment went dead quiet.

Valerie crept up beside me and whispered, "Wasn't that a little much?"

"She's literally trying to set you up with other guys, and you still expect me to be nice? Figures it's all about your little sister and not your husband. Want me to drag her back so I can be the one to leave?"

Valerie had never seen me this mad. Her eyes went red in an instant. "That's not what I meant…"

Looking at her, I realized I'd pushed it too far, and the anger bled out of me. I pulled her into my arms.

"You've got to set some boundaries with her. She's already trying to tear our family apart. How am I supposed to stay calm?"

Valerie finally let the tears fall. "It's my fault. But she's still my sister."

"You gave up finishing high school so she could stay in. Has she ever cared about what you went through? You're always bending over backward for her. Has she ever even thought about returning the favor?"

"I never expected her to," Valerie murmured.

I had no idea where this saint act came from, and I was just done. "So, you're fine with Bernice walking all over me? I'm nothing compared to her in your eyes, am I?"

She hurried to protest. "No, that's not what I meant. You're both important to me! You're my husband, and she's my sister. I want things to be good for both of you!"

Valerie was so anxious that her whole face flushed.

I knew she actually cared about me, and seeing her torn up over it made me cave. "She can stay with us, but you can't let her pull that again. Okay?"

Valerie nodded quickly. "I'll talk to her, I promise!"

Bernice was, after all, working in a city far from home, so for Valerie's sake, I decided to give her one more chance.

But she never came home that night. Her phone was still with me, so Valerie had no way to reach her.

We were about to call the police when Bernice finally returned the next morning with her husband, Mark Anderson, in tow.

They showed up with armfuls of bags and a trailing suitcase, like they'd meant to stay long-term.

Everything in me pushed back at it, but because of yesterday's promise to Valerie, I held my tongue.

As soon as Valerie gave Bernice her phone back, Bernice handed it straight to Mark. "You're working on your career. You can't look bad out there. Use this."

He made zero effort to be polite. One quick move and the phone was in his pocket.

That was when I finally looked him over. Long trip or not, he was wearing a black suit, and the tufts of hair on either side of his bald spot were slicked down with so much gel they nearly shone.

If I didn't know better, I'd have pegged him as a door-to-door insurance guy.

"So, what's Mark here to do in Galanor?" I asked.

Bernice was busy swooning over Mark, though I had no idea what was so charming about that bald spot of his.

She only snapped out of it when she heard my question. "Oh, please. Mark's here to build something big, obviously! Unlike yo—"

Valerie elbowed her, cutting her off.

Bernice caught Valerie's look and shut up. She curled her lip and muttered, "I didn't say anything wrong…"

Seeing that change in Valerie left me way less wound up than yesterday, so I let Bernice off the hook.