Chapter 1

At my brother and sister-in-law's wedding, all I said was that I hoped they'd have a baby soon, and the new bride slapped me seven times across the face in front of everyone.

My brother chose to look the other way. My parents played deaf and mute.

Everyone told me to be the bigger person.

I didn't make a scene. I swallowed every ounce of it in silence.

I only waited until the wedding was over, then had the new house I'd paid to build for the two of them leveled to the ground.

1

The wedding was winding down when the host called us family and close friends up onstage, one at a time, to give the couple a word of blessing.

When it was my turn, I said, "Wishing my brother and his bride a precious little one soon."

I never expected it. The smile that had been on my sister-in-law's face a second earlier vanished. She walked straight up to me and swung both hands, slapping me seven times, back and forth.

My face went red and swollen in an instant, and blood welled at the corner of my mouth.

"How dare you jinx us! You know perfectly well your brother and I both want a daughter, and you go and wish us a precious son. What are you playing at?"

I stood there staring at her fury, dumbstruck.

I looked at my brother. He had his arm around her, gazing at her, smiling.

I looked at my parents. Both of them wore that reproachful expression, blaming me for ruining the lovely mood of the wedding.

Not one person spoke up for me.

The host came over to smooth things over. "Tell you what, let's give the little sister another chance. Go ahead and say it again."

The microphone came up to my mouth. To keep my family from losing face, I forced myself to say, "Wishing my brother and his bride a precious little daughter soon."

The others went on with their blessings, as if nothing unpleasant had happened at all.

But the burning sting in my face kept reminding me, every second, how humiliating this was.

The ceremony ended, and my sister-in-law hurried off to change into her toasting dress.

My brother came over to me. I thought he'd come to apologize on her behalf.

Instead, this is what he said.

"Denise Barnes, you know full well how much your sister-in-law hates the idea of having a son, and you still say something like that at our wedding. You had that slap coming."

I pointed at my own face. "So I deserved to be beaten like this?"

"Anyone who's been through nine years of school knows that wishing someone a precious little one just means hoping they have a baby soon. When did I ever curse you to have a son? Stella Fox did that on purpose, to put me in my place and humiliate me."

Mom laid a hand on me. "Denise, you know how sensitive your sister-in-law is. It's a happy day. Don't go pulling faces. It makes everyone look bad."

Dad chimed in. "For your brother's happiness, just put up with it."

Then they both turned and went off to greet the guests, without a single thought for how I felt.

My best friend Monica Swanson came to my side. "Denise, are you okay? Stop crying for a second, I want to show you something."

Monica opened her phone and pulled up a video.

"I just went to the restroom, and I happened to pass your sister-in-law's dressing room, so I filmed it."

She hit play.

In the video, the stylist was fixing Stella's hair, and standing beside Stella were her two best friends, who were also her bridesmaids.

Stella looked thoroughly pleased with herself. "Was I fierce up there or what? I slapped Denise seven times and her family didn't make a peep."

"You scared me half to death back there. But over one little congratulations, wasn't that a bit much?"

"I hit her on purpose!"

"I'm marrying her brother and she didn't even give a wedding gift. She runs a company in the big city, she's got money, and when her own brother gets married she doesn't chip in a cent!"

"Seven slaps is letting her off easy. The fact that I didn't have someone throw her out of the hotel, that's me being generous, remembering we're family."

"And you weren't afraid she'd hit back, that you'd end up brawling in front of everyone?"

"No chance. Denise cares about her family more than anything. She'd never make them lose face at an occasion like today."

"And even if she did dare hit back, her brother and her parents wouldn't let her lay a finger on me."