My Fiancé Kissed My Sister at Our Engagement Party and Told Everyone She Threw Herself at Him, So I Believed My Sister and Left With Her novel · Chapter 19 of 24

Chapter 19: What I Owe

My mother walked down the aisle of the Legion hall with her purse in front of her in both hands.

She looked at neither Dee nor me.

She stopped at our table and held out her palm to Maddie.

Maddie put the microphone into it.

My mother's fingers were shaking so hard that the cord whispered against her coat.

She turned to face the room.

"My name is Linda Kruse," she said. "I've sat in Our Savior's for thirty-six years. Most of you have eaten at my table."

Her voice cracked, and she waited until it didn't.

"On April twenty-third my younger daughter came to my kitchen and told me what Brandon Meyer did to her."

The room did not make a sound.

"I told her to sit down. I told her, 'Don't ruin your sister's wedding.'"

At the head table Dee said, "Linda."

My mother didn't turn around.

"The next morning I called Dee. On the second of May she gave me a check for fourteen thousand dollars, and I cashed it."

She breathed in.

"I chose the deposits."

Brandon's chair at the head table was empty.

I had not seen him go.

The hall made a small sound then.

"Last night my daughter left me a recording of that day. I listened to it four times in my kitchen." She wiped her face with the heel of her hand. "I'm not going to make her play it here."

She looked at Maddie for the first time.

"I'll tell you what's on it. It's me, being kind. I sound so kind."

Maddie put both hands over her mouth.

My mother opened her purse.

She took out a long white envelope and walked up the aisle to the head table.

She laid it in front of Dee's plate.

"That's a cashier's check," she said. "Fourteen thousand dollars. It's my husband's insurance, and I took it out of the bank yesterday. It's yours. I don't want any of it."

← Chapter 18 · All chapters · Chapter 20 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend