Phoebe's POV

"Hon, are you seriously planning to let our daughter take out a high-interest loan for Fiona?"

My mom's face was cold as stone. She kept lighting candles while replying, “Of course. How else is Fiona supposed to start her business?”

Hiding behind the tombstone, I shivered.

My dad glanced at my mom, clearly troubled by how firm she was. “But... honey, maybe we should think this through. A year ago, we secretly transferred our daughter’s house to Fiona. Now you want her to carry a huge debt too? Isn’t that too cruel? She’s still our daughter.”

——

It was All Souls' Day, and the whole family had come to visit our ancestors' graves.

I had just finished clearing the weeds around Grandma’s grave and dropped them off at the trash area when I overheard my parents talking.

“Have you lost your mind?” my mom snapped. “Fiona’s company is in financial trouble. If she doesn’t get another round of funding, she’s going bankrupt. Can you really stand by and watch my sister and her whole family end up with nothing?”

“She’s six months pregnant, too. What about the baby? Formula, diapers, childcare—it’s going to cost a fortune. If we don’t help her, who will?” she added, making it sound like it was the most natural thing in the world.

My dad nodded slowly. “Yeah, I know it’s tough for them... but it’s not easy for Phoebe either. She’s already 28, about to get married. What if she asks us about her house?”

He then added in a lower voice, “Back then, you tricked her into signing the insurance paperwork when she was drunk, remember? If she finds out the truth, she’ll hate us for sure.”

My mom waved the smoke away, clearly annoyed. “So what? I’m her mother. Why can’t I take a house from her? If she wants to get married, she can buy another one. Isn’t that Raven guy rich? Let his family pay for the new place.”

My dad looked uncomfortable, but he was used to following her lead and didn’t know how to argue.

Shooting him a look, she convinced, “Stop overthinking. The house is gone. And look, Fiona married Ted, right? He’s a college professor, well-educated, decent. They’re a happy couple, living a great life. That just proves we made the right choice.”

My dad seemed swayed. “Yeah, I saw them earlier. They really do look good together.”

As such, my mom smiled smugly. “Exactly. That’s why you shouldn’t worry about this. Phoebe was born to work hard. Fiona, on the other hand, was born lucky. The two of them are nothing alike. That’s just life. Some people are meant to carry burdens. Others are meant to live easy. You just have to accept it.”

Finally, my dad nodded in agreement and knelt down to bow before Grandma’s grave.

“Well then,” he said. “Let’s ask your grandma to bless Phoebe with more money and help Fiona’s business succeed. Hopefully, they can support each other.”

But my mom clicked her tongue, clearly displeased. “Support each other? Please. Fiona doesn’t need Phoebe’s support. Phoebe was born to serve Fiona.”

My dad nodded again, too timid to speak up.

Unbeknownst to them, I stood there behind the grave, tears streaming down my face.

These were my parents, and this was how they treated me.

They schemed against me again and again, like I meant nothing to them.

Thank God my fiancé was still at the trash area sorting out other things, so he hadn’t heard a word. If he had, his heart would’ve broken, too.

A year ago, I bought that house for our marriage, and the renovations were already done.

But since my fiancé, Raven Robson, had been sent overseas for work for a year, our plan was to get married when he came back.

Finally, he returned this February, so I brought him here on All Souls' Day to pay respects to my ancestors and also to meet the elders of the family.

What I didn’t expect… was that my parents had already sold our marital home to my cousin.

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.

Phoebe's POV

Besides, he was the man I love, and soon, he’ll be family. No decent person would speak about him like that, no matter what they thought.

I was just about to speak up when Raven gently pulled me back and shook his head. “Let it go. We’re with family. It’s not worth starting drama.”

Touched by his patience, I leaned into him and gave him a grateful smile, motioning for him to sit down. “Want some strawberries? I’ll wash them just for you. All yours.”

He smiled and nodded.

I rinsed the strawberries and handed them to him, then turned to finish cooking.

Suddenly, my mom’s voice rang out from behind me. “Those strawberries were for Fiona and Ted! And look at you two, sneaking them like thieves!”

Before I could say anything, she snatched the whole plate right out of Raven’s hands.

“Mom, I bought those strawberries,” I said calmly. “Yours are still in the fridge.”

Yet she seemed not to hear a thing. Instead, she shouted toward the kitchen, “Wash another batch!”

I couldn't make sense of it anymore.

Growing up, my mom had always favored Fiona. Every time there was something good to eat at home, she’d call my cousin over to get some.

One time, I bought my parents a massage chair to help them relax. The next day, my aunt had already taken it home.

I never understood my mom’s obsession with helping her sister’s family. We all had our own households now. Isn’t it normal to put your own family first?

I could put up with being treated unfairly, but I refused to let my husband go through the same.

Resolved, I marched into the living room and yanked the plate of strawberries right out of my cousin’s hands. “If you want some, wash your own. I cleaned these just for Raven.”

Fiona froze, caught off guard.

But my mom came over and smacked me on the back of the head. “Well, look at you! Got yourself a man and now you’re too good for the rest of us? All this fuss over some strawberries?”

She then turned to my cousin with a sweet smile and cooed, “I’ll wash more for you two. Just sit tight.”

Then she turned around and gave me a cold, hard glare. “What are you standing there for? Get back in the kitchen! Or do you want us to starve?”

My fists clenched in anger.

That was it for me. I was done with this place. This would be our last meal here. After today, Raven and I weren’t coming back.

When dinner was finally ready and everyone was digging in, I took the chance to bring up my house again.

“Mom, we need to start the interior setup soon. Don’t forget to give me the keys.”

Clueless, Fiona’s husband was cheerful as he invited, “You guys should come check out our place! We live in Willow Creek Drive, too. Guess we’re neighbors now. We spent seventy grand on the furnishings. Looks pretty good if you ask me.”

I smiled politely and replied, “Nice! What's the house number? I’d love to drop by and get some ideas.”

He was about to answer when Fiona quickly shoved a shrimp into his mouth. “Freshly peeled! Eat before it gets cold.”

Seeing I wasn’t letting it go, my mom’s expression darkened. “That house? I’m keeping it for retirement. Your dad and I don’t want to stay in the countryside anymore. You two can just buy another one.”

She then pointed at Raven with a smug look and taunted, “Didn’t he say he earns a lot? Let him pay for the new one.”

Raven’s face immediately turned grim upon hearing that.

But I quickly stepped in, “That house cost three hundred grand. And of that, two hundred grand was from Raven. He transferred it to me directly. At the time, he was working overseas and couldn’t sign in person. That’s why the property title only has my name. But we have all the transfer records.”

Humiliated, my mom’s face immediately dropped.

But my dad jumped in, trying to ease the tension. “It’s All Souls' Day. Let’s not talk about this today.”