To My Uncle, With Hate

les at my brother's annual birthday banquet. I wore a simple black dress, a stark

he a

pertly in the other. They were a portrait of idyllic domesticity,

m Lu would be the fi

, he finally got his happy ending. A wif

e room, a heavy, suffocating wei

ctly to me. It felt l

he chatter around us. "Come and say hello to your Auntie Si

n me, waiting f

d, extending a hand. "Liam has told me so much. It's a common mistake for a young girl to confuse gratitude and familial affection with something more.

designed to humiliate. I could feel Li

as immature. I won't make that mistake agai

st. "The one where you got drunk and declared you'd only ever marry Liam? Or

Liam is a family man now. You need to show some respect for his future, and for you

nt, approving spectator to my degradation. In his eyes, I was no longer a perso

d to leave, the weight of thei

again, her act of contrition continuing. "

ce worn thin. "My feelings fo

ed, a strange, calculating look in her eyes. "H

in love with you," I said, risi

at? That he's i

oining room. Panic erupted. Before I could process what was happening, Liam was there, his face tight

for? Get out! Don't ca

e, disappearing int

linding, white-hot pain shot up my leg. I lay on the floor, the world dissolving int