At my stepsister’s engagement party, my parents humiliated me by the entrance until the hotel manager shouted, “Boss, why are you here?” The music stopped, faces turned pale, and everything flipped.

“Of course she didn’t,” Chloe snapped, then quickly forced a smile. “Why would you do this today?”

“I didn’t,” I replied calmly. “I followed instructions. I showed up. I sat where I was told.”

My mother stepped in, voice syrupy. “We were only trying to help, sweetheart. You can be… intense.”

Intense was what she called me when I wouldn’t shrink.

The manager leaned close. “Do you want me to clear the room?” he asked quietly.

“No,” I said. “This is Chloe’s night. Let it continue.”

Chloe’s eyes flashed. “Then why are you here?”

“For family,” I said. “And business.”

I turned to the manager. “What’s the status on the vendors?”

“Resolved,” he said quickly. “But there’s one issue—the suite charges.”

My mother snapped to attention. “Suite charges?”

I met her gaze. “You billed everything to my account. The penthouse. Spa packages. The bar upgrade.”