The audacity of her words made my blood boil. The room felt suffocating, filled with people who were supposed to be my family but were acting like strangers. I felt cornered, betrayed and overwhelmingly angry. But I also felt a cold, steely resolve harden within me. This was my home, my life and I would not let them take it from me without a fight.
"It's okay, she won't be angry," Harris insisted, his eyes pleading with me to keep the peace.
He and Susan were clearly aligned in their efforts to placate their beloved goddaughter while simultaneously trying to silence me. They hoped to settle the situation and then step in as peacemakers, gaining a reputation for being fair and reasonable. It was a clever maneuver, effectively killing three birds with one stone.
"Yasmine, let's eat first," Chris asked, his voice awkward and strained. He glanced between me and his parents, clearly uncomfortable with the tension in the room.