Chapter 1

At my engagement party with Ervin Rowe.

That was the first time I met Juliana Rowe, the older sister the whole family bragged about, a manager at a government agency.

She gave me a small nod.

Then tossed me a cash gift.

"Evelyn Lawrence, right? I hear you were pampered back home, that your mom raised you like a princess."

"Once you marry in, things are different. Nobody's going to coddle you. You'll have to adjust, so be ready for that."

The words grated.

For Ervin's sake, I said, "Of course. Understood."

After the engagement party ended.

I asked Ervin, "What was your sister getting at?"

He said, "That's just how my sister is. You'll get used to her."

Then he added, "As long as you go along with her, there won't be any trouble."

I caught the undertone.

His sister was out to make my life difficult.

1.

Back when I first met Ervin, I'd already heard he had a sister who was a manager at some government agency, the sharp, no-nonsense type.

Ervin was scared of her. He said she had a harsh tongue and never spared anyone when she laid into them.

Harsh was right. The engagement party had given me a taste of it.

Ervin also said his sister was good at whipping people into shape, that plenty of troublemakers at her agency had come out completely transformed after she got through with them. He'd told me this more than once.

I didn't understand why he kept bringing it up, and I didn't think much of it.

Before I knew it, our wedding day arrived.

Juliana ran the ceremony herself.

The moment the guests scattered, she called Ervin and me over.

"You two, once the honeymoon's over, you're moving back here to live."

I didn't follow.

"Juliana, we have our own place. Why would we move back here?"

"Your in-laws only have the one son. They watched Ervin grow up, and out of nowhere he won't be around. The house'll feel empty."

There was displeasure in Juliana's tone, as if I should already know this and had no business asking.

I turned to look at Ervin. He kept his head down and said nothing.

Once Juliana left, I asked him, "What are you thinking?"

"My sister said so. We have to listen."

"You go if you want. I'm not."

Seeing I wasn't happy about it, he hurried to explain, "Don't worry, it's only temporary. Once Mom and Dad settle in, we'll move back to our own place."

Temporary I could live with.

Besides, I'm not an unreasonable person.

"Fine."