“Well see about that!”
“No! As long as were living in this madhouse with your mum and Lily, therell be no wedding!”
“Emily, love, why so quick to burn bridges?” James sighed, rubbing his temples. “We could rent the dresstheres still time. Or postpone, if youd rather. Lets just talk this through.”
“You dont get it,” Emily snapped, arms crossed tight. “Its not about the dress. Its about feeling like Im trapped in a battlefield. Your sisters a grown girl with the mind of a child. And honestly? Margarets to blame for most of it.”
James bristledhe couldnt deny there was truth in her words, even if the delivery stung. Years ago, Margaret had nudged Lily against Emily, whether by accident or design.
Theyd met at university, their relationship slow to deepenneither had their own place back then. James still lived with his family. “For convenience,” hed say.
“Ive got Grans old flat. Mums renting it out for now, but when we need it, well fix it up,” hed promised.
A year later, they did need it. Degrees in hand, jobs secured, James decided it was time. “Well stay with Mum a few months, then marry and move. Six months tops, and well be on our own.”
Emily had been thrilledat first. It sounded mature, solid. Then doubt crept in: theyd never lived together, and now shed be tossed straight into the lions den with his mother. Would it ruin them?
Nearly.
Margaret wasnt the monster-in-law cliché. Shed even offered to help with the wedding, cooked generously, never picked fights. But her parenting was another matter.
Lily, the spoiled youngest, needed a gentler hand. Margaret wasnt gentle.
One evening, Emily overheard them at the kitchen table, Margaret flipping through Lilys schoolbook.
“Christ. Two Ds again? Was the poem really that hard?” She sighed. “Righthand over your phone and tablet. Youll get the phone back when youve memorised it. The tablet? After an A in English.”
Lily rolled her eyes.
“Fine. Take them. Ill just borrow Jamess.”
Margaret scoffed. “Think hell always bail you out? Hell marry Emily, have his own kids, forget all about us.”
“Well see about that!” Lily slammed her devices down and stormed off.
Emily winced, caught in the crossfire. She knew Margaret had gone too farbut who was she to say so?
“Margaret that was a bit harsh,” she ventured.
“And? Lifes not all roses. She needs to hear the truth.”
That “truth” backfired.
Emily had noticed Lily avoiding herskipping meals, leaving when she entered. At first, she thought it shyness. Then came the sabotage: hiding the AC remote in a heatwave, ruining Emilys makeup. When James installed a lock on their door, Lily wailed.
“How am I supposed to do my essays now?”
“Youll use the computer with me watching.”
“You never locked me out before!”
“Before, I lived alone. And you didnt rifle through my things.”
“Liar! Emilys poisoned you against me!”
Lily locked herself in her room, sobbing for hours. Emily didnt know what to thinkdisgusted by the girls antics, but wary of fanning flames.
“Shes just a kid,” James said.
“Shes twelve. James, lets just rent somewhere.”
“Come on, its only a few more months. Mum says well be out in four.”
Four months. An eternity to Emily.
She tried bondingbrought chocolates, asked about school. Lily took the sweets, muttered “fine,” and nothing changed. If anything, it worsened.
One morning, rushing out, Emily hung her bag by the door. Later, she found it rifled throughher keys gone. An hours wait for Margaret to let her in.
She knew where theyd gone. Whispered it to Margaret, who retrieved them after a row. But the damage was done.
Emily guarded her things fiercely after that. James didnt. Their fatal mistake.
The wedding eve was chaosdecorations, calls, last-minute checks. That night, Emily opened the wardrobe to admire her dressonly to find it slashed to ribbons.
Her hands shook. Fury choked her. She dragged James to the scene, speechless.
“You little brat!” Margaret screamed at Lily. “I ought to tan your hide! Youll pay for every penny!”
The thrashing Lily got didnt mend the dress. Or Emilys nerves.
No compromises. No rentals, no delays. She refused to bend.
“Em, sleep on it. Well sort it tomorrow,” James pleaded.
“No. Its too late. Either we live alone, or not at all. Im done waiting for your mum to hand over your flat. Done with your sister stealing my things. Love shouldnt be a war. Im not even your wife, and Im exhausted from fighting alone.”
She stuffed her charger into her bag, rummaged for her documents.
“Where are you going? The flats nearly ready”
She didnt listen. Every word sounded hollow now.
That night, she cried on her best mates shoulder, but the hurt lingered. Yesterdays bride, todays wreck.
James called a hundred times. On the third day, she answered.
“Em, this is bloody awful. Were shattered too. But dont throw us away. Well buy another dresstoday. Just come home.”
She wavered. James was decentkind, patient. A bit soft, perhaps. She loved him. But
“If we marry, its on my terms.”
“Which are?”
“Just us at the registry. No help, no crowd. Well host a dinner for close family after. And we rent a place. I wont live like a prisoner.”
Silence. Harsh terms, but she wouldnt budge.
“Alright,” he finally said.
The wedding was quiet. They signed the papers, took photos, then fled to the countryside for three daysjust them. No fuss, no feuds.
Jamess family sulked. Emily didnt care. This day wasnt for them. Some didnt even deserve an invite.
At the dinner, Lily was meeklikely scolded into submission. Emily didnt call it a victory. Shed never wanted war. But if pushed, shed hold the line. Child or not, well-meaning or notsome doors stayed shut.
