He swore under his breath when he realized Gillian had lied to both of us to force her way into the property. He admitted that he did want to visit the ocean air, but he never agreed to move in or take over my space.
“Do you still want to come tomorrow?” I asked him. He stayed silent for a long time before saying that he felt he had to come now.
I made two guest beds that night because I wanted to create space for the lie to fully reveal itself. My mother had died when I was seventeen and Gillian had spent the last fourteen years slowly editing me out of my own family.
Gillian had a gift for making my exclusion sound like a tribute to my strength and independence. She had turned my childhood bedroom into a dressing room for Paige and spent Randall’s money on Paige’s luxury cars while I worked three jobs.
