I said, "If you’re going to claim I’ve brought a dozen men home before, show me your proof. When did they come over? What are their names? What were they like?"

Ruby pouted and said, "How would I know anything about the men you’re involved with? I’ve only heard that you bring several men home to stay the night every year..."

"Who did you hear that from?" I turned around and called out to my mother, Angie. "Mom, Ruby says that you told her I’ve brought guys home before to stay the night.”

Angie poked her head out of the kitchen, but before she could speak, Ruby got anxious and interjected, "I didn't say Mom told me.”

"That means either my Dad or Calvin said it, since who else would tell you that? Are you the only person who knows that I brought a man home for the night?"

Ruby argued adamantly, "I’ve just heard it from the grapevine. I wouldn’t falsely accuse you for no reason..."

I looked at her and interrupted her, "Hey, Ruby, I heard that you worked as a hostess in a nightclub before marrying my brother. People said that you liked to have threesomes, and you allowed yourself to be touched if money was on the table. You’ve had two abortions just to secure a bag. Wow! You’re such a player."

Ruby tried to interrupt me several times, but I continued speaking over her. She was furious as she scrambled to explain.

I smirked slightly and said, "Why are you so anxious? I’ve only heard it from the grapevine. I wouldn't accuse you randomly. Why would people say that about you and not others if it wasn’t true?”

Ruby was so angry that she almost attacked me.

Vincent sensed that the atmosphere had gone wrong. He quickly came over and sat next to me to smooth things over. He said, "It doesn't matter. I don't care how many people Cassie has dated as long as she’s willing to be with me now."

After saying that, he looked at me affectionately.

Livid, Ruby stomped back to her bedroom and almost broke the door with the force she slammed it with.

After a while, Calvin sent me another message: [Don't think that you’re safe just because you have a boyfriend. If you dare to bully Ruby again, I’ll beat you to death!]

I sent a middle-finger emoticon and furiously typed a reply: [I can hear your skull rattling from over here. If Mom had an ultrasound while she was pregnant with you, you wouldn't be here to yap all this nonsense in the first place.]

In the evening, Calvin and my dad, David, came back from work.

Calvin did not even look at me as he walked in. He rushed straight into his room. I could hear choked sobs coming from the inside. After a while, Calvin yelled through the door, "Cassandra Briar, come in here now!"

I grabbed a water glass from the table and smashed it against the door. The glass fell to the ground and broke into pieces. The sobbing inside stopped.

I turned around as if nothing had happened and asked, "Mom, is dinner ready?"

At the dinner table, Dad and Vincent were drinking and chatting, while Calvin held Ruby in his arms, trying to coax her to eat.

As the topic shifted to marriage, Vincent said sincerely, "My family wants us to get married next year. I’m willing to give Cassie 200,000 dollars, and Cassie’s name will be added to our house deed."

My family was a little surprised by this gesture. Before they could speak, Ruby clinked her utensils vigorously and chuckled. "Wow, second-hand goods can still be worth $200,000. You must be made of gold!"

As everyone turned to look at her, Ruby feigned innocence and said, "That’s just a quote from a TV series. I was just speaking aloud, so don’t read into it.”

With that, she left the table.

My parents quickly smoothed things over and told Vincent, "We don’t really care about the money. All we want is for you to treat Cassie well."

I echoed their sentiment and nodded.

Calvin suddenly kicked me under the table and winked at me with a frown.

I knew what he meant.

Ruby's family valued ​​boys over girls. In order to marry her, my family had paid 300,000 dollars. The money went to her parents and brother.

Now, it was my turn to get married. My parents did not want any money in return, and Calvin was greatly displeased.

I ignored him and was about to say something else when Ruby suddenly let out a scream from the bathroom. She pinched her nose and walked out with a pair of pink underwear in hand.

It was dirty, and its strange smell drifted over to the dining table.

“Oh my goodness, Cassie! I know you don’t really care about hygiene, but we have guests today! How can you have no shame? It smells so bad!” Ruby rolled her eyes several times and scoffed, “You’re not married now, so it's okay for Mom to wash your underwear. But when you get married, you can't just let your man wash your underwear, right? You should learn to handle your chores.”