My Mom Called Me At 2 A.M. “Tomorrow, You Can Join Your Brother’s Fiancée’s Family For Dinner. BUT KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT.” I Asked Why. She Snapped: “Her Dad’s A Judge. Don’t Embarrass Us, You Always Do.” I Smiled: “Got It.” During The Toast, The Judge Suddenly Stopped Right In Front Of Me: “Hello, I’m Surprised To See You Here. Who Are You To Them?” The Room Fell ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Silent.

Dad came back with the dinner rolls but didn’t meet anyone’s eyes, while Judge Fletcher apologized to me if the situation was uncomfortable.

“It isn’t your fault,” I told him, but Mom snapped that there was no need to make me the center of attention.

“For what exactly?” I asked her, and the whole table shifted toward me as I decided I was done absorbing their insults quietly.

Mom told the guests that I could be intense and that I had always needed a lot of attention, which was a perfectly backward description of my life.

“That doesn’t seem accurate because Audrey barely gets to finish a sentence here,” Mallory said, defending me for the first time.

Cade exhaled and told Mallory that our mother was just being protective and didn’t want things getting competitive between us.

“Competitive with whom?” I asked, and Cade snapped that he meant competitive with me before he could stop himself.

The raw and ugly truth was finally plain, and Cade looked away as he realized he had revealed the family’s secret resentment.

Judge Fletcher asked what he meant by competitive, and Cade laughed hollowly while saying I always had something to prove.