My name was not written on any of the two hundred wedding invitation envelopes, even though the wedding was taking place in the house I had bought.
In the morning, in a suburb of Chicago, the cream-colored papers spread across the kitchen table mocked me strangely. Each envelope had my brother Dalton’s and Nicole’s names on it. Only one name was missing. Mine.
This house cost me seven hundred seventy thousand dollars. I worked for seven years at an architectural firm, refusing trips, a new car, and even the small apartment I dreamed of. Dalton was drowning in debt then and said that after marriage he needed a decent home.
I bought it.
The documents were in my name, I paid the taxes too, but I allowed Dalton and Nicole to live there free of charge for two years. And now they had filled the living room of my house with wedding flowers, while I was considered an unnecessary person on the guest list.
I picked up the phone and wrote to Dalton: “I saw the invitation. Am I coming?”
I waited three hours for a response. Finally, his name appeared on the screen.
“Siena, we have already talked about this. The guest list is limited. Nicole’s family has priority. Don’t take everything personally.”
My fingers went cold. I wrote: “The wedding is in my house.”
The response came almost immediately: “It has been my house for two years already. Everyone knows it.”
I stood up from the chair. The teaspoon lying on the table rang as it hit the floor, but its sound could not compare with the emptiness that had appeared in my heart.
I called Dad. I hoped he would at least say that this was unfair.
—Dad, do you know that they are not inviting me to Dalton’s wedding?
The noise of a sports broadcast could be heard from the phone.
—Siena, don’t start this now.
—This is my house.
—I gave it to Dalton. The matter is finished.
—You did not give it. I bought it. I pay for everything.
Dad sighed heavily.
—Let your brother be happy for once. Nothing will happen to you if you miss one party.
The call ended.
That night I walked around the house alone. Dalton looked at me from the pictures hanging on the walls: in childhood, in a football uniform, at his graduation, on the day of his engagement to Nicole. In every photograph I stood somewhere in the corner, as if I were background decoration in his life.
Two days later, my childhood friend Marissa called me. It was seven in the evening, and there was panic in her voice.
—Siena, I was at their engagement party yesterday. Someone asked Dalton whether he had any siblings.
My hand gripped the window handle.
—And then?
—He looked people directly in the eyes and said that he was an only child.
For a long time I could not say a word. Then I opened the computer. I had kept the old letters from the lawyer, bank transfers, and the house documents in one folder. The folder had my childhood nickname on it—“Little Captain.”
Dalton thought I would give up everything because he was family.
But this time family was no longer a reason for me to humiliate myself.
I called the lawyer and said only one sentence:
—I want to sell the house.
On the morning of the wedding day, when they set up white tents outside, the lawyer was sitting in my kitchen. He put a leather bag on the table, placed his hand on the lock, and told me:
—Siena, before you sign, you should know that after this there will be no going back.
I reached toward the folder, but just then a car horn sounded from the yard and someone knocked on the door with all their strength……
I opened the folder. My signature was on it, and below it was the buyer’s name.
—Are you really planning to sell?—the lawyer asked me.
—No. I am planning to take back what I never gave.
The music outside grew louder. Guests were laughing in the yard, as if my family were not falling apart in this house.
Dalton called me.
—Where are you? The ceremony is starting!
—At home.
—This is our house. Don’t disturb the guests.
—It is not anymore.
Silence fell for several seconds.
—What does that mean?
—You will find out soon.
I ended the call. The lawyer checked the documents again and held out a pen to me.
—After signing, the buyer will immediately receive ownership.
—I will sign.
The ink was still wet when the wedding car appeared in the yard. Nicole got out in a white dress, while Dalton stood beside her and smiled at the guests.
Then they came to the door.
I did not open it. The lawyer slowly opened the door and handed one sheet of paper to those standing outside.
Dalton read it. His face changed.
—This is a joke,—Nicole whispered.
—No,—I told her. —This is the answer to the day when you said you were an only child.
But just then Nicole opened the wedding bag clutched in her hand and said: —Dalton, they do not know the main thing……
Nicole took a small, folded document out of the bag. She looked at Dalton, but for the first time I saw not love in his eyes, but fear.
—What do they not know?—I asked.
The music stopped in the yard. The guests turned toward one another. The scent of white flowers froze in the heavy air.
Nicole handed the document to the lawyer.
—This is Dalton’s contract. He put the house up as collateral.
The lawyer knitted his brows.
—That is impossible. Siena is the owner.
—I know,—Nicole said. —That is why I brought it.
Dalton stepped forward.
—Nicole, be quiet.
—Two weeks ago I found out that he had debts. He sold the house and was going to put the money toward his debts. He planned to run away after our wedding.
I could hear the sound of blood in my ears.
—You knew?—I asked Dalton.
—It is not all the way it seems.
—Then explain it to me.
The lawyer turned on his phone. It was a recording. Dalton’s voice could be heard clearly, as if he were standing in that room again.
“Siena will help me anyway. If I lose the house, I will tell her that Nicole abandoned me. She always feels sorry for me.”
His laughter sounded in the recording.
Mother covered her mouth with her hand. Father lowered his head. Nicole stood motionless, her white gloves crumpled in her fingers.
Dalton turned pale.
—That is my voice, but the conversation was taken out of context.
—There is more,—Nicole said.
The lawyer played a second recording.
“Siena is an ATM for our family. If we do not invite her to the wedding, she will get angry, but in the end she will change her mind anyway.”
This time no one sighed. The silence was louder.
I looked at Dalton.
—Do you remember now, at least, that you have a sister?
His lips moved, but he could not find an answer.
The lawyer raised the documents.
—The house was legally sold this morning. Ownership was transferred to the new owner. Dalton no longer has the right to remain here.
Nicole lowered her eyes.
—I canceled the wedding,—she said. —Still this morning.
Dalton held out his hand to her.
—Nicole, please.
—No. For the first time, I am not the one asking you for anything.
She removed the ring and placed it in his palm.
I thought everything was over. But just then a message came to my phone from an unknown number.
“If you lose this house, you will lose something else too. Your brother has not yet told you what happened on the night Mother ended up in the hospital……”
I was looking at the screen, while Dalton slowly turned toward me. His face was no longer angry, but frightened……
დალტონმა ბოლოს საკუთარი ხმა მოისმინა და გაფითრდა…
მე მეგონა, რომ მხოლოდ სახლის დაბრუნება მინდოდა. მაგრამ ფინალმა დამანახა, რამდენი რამ დამაკარგვინეს ჩუმად.
„თავიდან დაიწყე. ოღონდ ჩემს გარეშე.“
და პირველად აღარ გავქცეულვარ მის გადასარჩენად.
👇 ისტორიის ფინალი უკვე გახსნილია
