Whenever Bernice was around, Valerie basically stopped thinking for herself. She decided Bernice was the smart one, so she hardly ever pushed back.

The way Valerie kept caving to her only wound me up more. I seized Bernice, dragged her to the door, and shoved her outside. "Get out! Show up at my place again and see what happens!"

Her terrified shrieking cut off when I slammed the door, and the apartment went dead quiet.

Valerie crept up beside me and whispered, "Wasn't that a little much?"

"She's literally trying to set you up with other guys, and you still expect me to be nice? Figures it's all about your little sister and not your husband. Want me to drag her back so I can be the one to leave?"

Valerie had never seen me this mad. Her eyes went red in an instant. "That's not what I meant…"

Looking at her, I realized I'd pushed it too far, and the anger bled out of me. I pulled her into my arms.

"You've got to set some boundaries with her. She's already trying to tear our family apart. How am I supposed to stay calm?"

Valerie finally let the tears fall. "It's my fault. But she's still my sister."

"You gave up finishing high school so she could stay in. Has she ever cared about what you went through? You're always bending over backward for her. Has she ever even thought about returning the favor?"

"I never expected her to," Valerie murmured.

I had no idea where this saint act came from, and I was just done. "So, you're fine with Bernice walking all over me? I'm nothing compared to her in your eyes, am I?"

She hurried to protest. "No, that's not what I meant. You're both important to me! You're my husband, and she's my sister. I want things to be good for both of you!"

Valerie was so anxious that her whole face flushed.

I knew she actually cared about me, and seeing her torn up over it made me cave. "She can stay with us, but you can't let her pull that again. Okay?"

Valerie nodded quickly. "I'll talk to her, I promise!"

Bernice was, after all, working in a city far from home, so for Valerie's sake, I decided to give her one more chance.

But she never came home that night. Her phone was still with me, so Valerie had no way to reach her.

We were about to call the police when Bernice finally returned the next morning with her husband, Mark Anderson, in tow.

They showed up with armfuls of bags and a trailing suitcase, like they'd meant to stay long-term.

Everything in me pushed back at it, but because of yesterday's promise to Valerie, I held my tongue.

As soon as Valerie gave Bernice her phone back, Bernice handed it straight to Mark. "You're working on your career. You can't look bad out there. Use this."

He made zero effort to be polite. One quick move and the phone was in his pocket.

That was when I finally looked him over. Long trip or not, he was wearing a black suit, and the tufts of hair on either side of his bald spot were slicked down with so much gel they nearly shone.

If I didn't know better, I'd have pegged him as a door-to-door insurance guy.

"So, what's Mark here to do in Galanor?" I asked.

Bernice was busy swooning over Mark, though I had no idea what was so charming about that bald spot of his.

She only snapped out of it when she heard my question. "Oh, please. Mark's here to build something big, obviously! Unlike yo—"

Valerie elbowed her, cutting her off.

Bernice caught Valerie's look and shut up. She curled her lip and muttered, "I didn't say anything wrong…"

Seeing that change in Valerie left me way less wound up than yesterday, so I let Bernice off the hook.

Over the next few days, Bernice and Mark were out from morning to night, and I had no idea what they were up to.

Maybe Valerie said something to Bernice when I wasn't around, because suddenly she wasn't nearly as mean to me as before.

If they wanted to crash here, fine. As long as it didn't mess with things between Valerie and me, I didn't really mind helping them out.

That was just me, too nice for my own good. Back then, I started dating Valerie because I saw that same kindness in her.

She and I believed that if we were genuinely good to people, they'd treat us the same. It turned out we were wrong about how the world worked.

It took me some time to see that the nicer you acted, the more people assumed they could just step on you.

About a month later, I came home from a grocery run and heard Bernice talking trash about me again. This time, I bit back my anger and stayed out of sight near the entryway, determined to listen to every word.

What I heard knocked the breath out of me. She actually tried to convince Valerie to put our apartment up as collateral so Mark could get a loan to start his business!

Sure, I wasn't hurting for property, but that didn't mean anyone could just set their sights on mine.

At first, Valerie told her no, but Bernice kept wearing her down until even Valerie started sounding unsure.

By then, I knew Bernice was nothing but trouble in my place. If I didn't use this chance to kick her out, there was no telling how much worse it would get.

I knew I was supposed to stay calm when things got tense, but with my chest on fire, only an idiot would stay quiet.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I yelled, storming toward them.

They both jumped, but Bernice recovered first. "Why are you eavesdropping on us?"

"You expect me not to listen in? If I hadn't, you'd already be halfway to selling my apartment!"

Bernice snorted. "So, you heard everything. Then there's no point pretending anymore."

She spread her hands. "Mark needs capital to start his business. There's no way around it. If you mortgage the apartment now and loan us the money, maybe when he makes it big, he'll even look out for you."

I shut it down on the spot. "Not happening! Mark needs money, so we're supposed to risk the place Val and I live in? So if he makes a profit, it's all for you two, but if he tanks, we're the ones who lose everything? Real convenient for you!"

I struck right where she didn't want me to, and her face lost all color.

"Listen to yourself. You're acting as if we'd never pay you back! It's just an apartment. Once Mark starts making real money, he'll pay every cent. Or are you just so petty you can't handle someone else trying to get ahead?"

Bernice realized she wasn't getting anywhere with me, so she went straight for Valerie. "Val, tell me I'm wrong. Look at him. He stays home every day. Does that look like a real man to you?

"Other men are out there working, hustling, doing something. And him? He's young, and he still just lies around. How's someone like that supposed to handle real responsibilities? And think about the future.

"When you have kids, what are they supposed to say about their dad? That he's unemployed? That he lives off his wife?"

Valerie looked ready to fight back, but when Bernice got to that last part, she just opened her mouth and swallowed it all back down.

The second I caught that flicker of doubt on her face, something in me iced over, and I didn't feel like saying anything anymore.

I might not have been clocking in anywhere, but day after day, I was making money gaming and doing all the cooking at home. I was never just sitting around.

What I never saw coming was that a few lines from Bernice were all it took to shake Valerie.

I was still reeling when the doorbell suddenly rang. Bernice hurried to the door and, to my surprise, she actually looked a little excited.

My gut told me something was off, and only when I saw who was at the door did I realize I'd stepped straight into a trap.