Its All Your Fault
Mum, Dad, get the spare room ready. Im coming home. With my son.
Emily didnt askdidnt even suggest. She spoke with the sharp finality of a command. Her mother froze, phone clutched in her hand, while her fathers fork clattered onto his plate. Dinner was forgotten.
Charlotte, the elder sister, felt a familiar chill crawl down her spine. She knew this wouldnt be pleasantEmily hadnt spoken to them in three years. But even she hadnt expected *this*.
No. Their fathers voice was steel. Theres no space. You made your choices. You deal with them.
Oh, dont be ridiculous! Charlotte can move outshes not married, she can manage. Or shove a sofa in the kitchen for her. What, are you suddenly stingy?
Charlottes breath caught. Shed spent a lifetime weathering Emilys barbs, but they never stung less.
Despite their fathers refusal, Charlottes mind was already racing, hunting for flats. It was always this wayEmily *demanded*, and the world bent to her will. Charlotte? She stayed quiet. Avoided conflict. Let herself be steamrolled.
And Emily *knew* it.
Emily, love we cant, their mother said softly. Were still paying off your uni loans. Charlotte helps with the billsshe doesnt have to. We cant take on you *and* a baby.
So you dont care what happens to your daughter? Your *grandson*? Emily shrieked. Are you *heartless*?
Enough. Their fathers voice was ice. I wont be spoken to like this. The call ended with a sharp click.
Their mother sighed, murmuring that he couldve been gentlerbut the relief in her eyes betrayed her. The rest of the evening passed in suffocating silence.
Charlotte remembered how it began. In their family, there were two rules: Emily got what she wanted, or no one got peace.
She was six years older. Their parents loved them bothbut Emily was *indulged*. Maybe because theyd struggled when Charlotte was little, scraping by while she learned to want nothing. By the time Emily arrived, things were easierbut Emily took *everything*.
Her first tantrum came at ten. Shed wanted a puppynot just any dog, a golden retriever. Huge. High-maintenance. Their parents balkedthey lived in a tiny flatbut Emily wouldnt budge.
If you dont get me one, Ill *hurt* myself!
The threat worked. The dog arrivedand of course, Charlotte and their mother ended up walking it.
Then came the *Harry Potter* camp. A four-day themed retreatcosting *two thousand pounds*.
Sophies going! Why cant I? If you dont send me, Ill *run away*!
Go ahead. Theyll drag you back, their father muttered.
They paid anyway. Easier than the screaming.
At sixteen, Emily announced shed apply to Oxfordwith Sophie.
Im not rotting in this dump.
Charlotte had laughed. Emilys grades were *terrible*. No chance of scholarships, and the competition? Brutal.
But the laughter died fast.
Youd let your daughter stay *uneducated*? Want me to turn to *prostitution*? Because I *will* if I dont go! And itll be *your fault*!
They crumbled. Tutors were hired. Loans taken. Their father aged overnight; their mother lived on beta-blockers. Emily? She thrived.
Somehow, she got in. Six months later, she bragged to Charlotte.
Guess what? Ive moved in with my boyfriend. His familys loadedproperty developers. We eat sushi *every night*.
What about your degree?
Ugh, always nagging! Im living like *royalty*. Were meeting his parents soon.
Months later, her tone changed.
He flirts with everyone. Acts like Im some *pet*
Then leave.
And lose a man like *that*? He *spoils* me. Says Im the one.
Charlotte stopped listening.
Then, second year: the pregnancy announcement.
Youre *throwing your life away*! their father roared. We gave you *everything*!
And I *used* it. Just not how *you* wanted.
He wont marry you! What then?
*My* life. *My* choices.
Silence. Three years of it. Until now.
Predictably, Emily found another enablertheir grandmother, Margaret.
William, how *could* you? Your own flesh and blood!
She cut *us* off. Now she wants Charlotte *homeless*?
But *family*
Family doesnt *blackmail*.
Within weeks, Margarets calls cameexhausted, harried. Emily ruled her house, *still* vilifying them.
Their parents achedguilt, shame, the weight of judgment. But for the first time, they *stayed firm*.
And Charlotte? Shed never been prouder.
