I followed the directions, only to spot Jane’s aunt, Lisa, from a distance. She was clearly not pleased with my late arrival.
She stormed over, scowling, “Why are you so late? You couldn’t have come earlier to help with the preparations?”
“I’m a guest, not a servant. Why would I be helping out?” I responded calmly.
Lisa was Jane’s aunt, and by extension, my aunt-in-law, as she had married my mom’s brother.
My mom, lacking a backbone, was a pushover for her family, always at the mercy of my grandmother and uncle.
Ever since Lisa married into the family, she acted as if she had some authority over my mom, bossing her around whenever she could. I’d had enough of her antics long ago.
Lisa shot me a sharp look. “If it wasn’t for your mom begging me to put in a good word for you with Jane, to help you find a wealthy man, I wouldn’t waste my time on you.”
I rolled my eyes at her.
Infuriated, her face twisted in anger, and she stomped off, muttering that she wouldn’t waste another second on me.
I was seated at the same table as Lisa and my cousin.
At the banquet, the seating arrangement clearly followed a hierarchy.