“Hannah.”
I folded two pairs of jeans and set them inside. Then three sweaters. A dress. Underwear. Socks. Toiletries. My laptop charger. Passport. A folder with copies of our property agreement and bank documents. I moved carefully, not quickly, because I had learned years ago that calm frightens people more than shouting when they know they are wrong.
Liam stepped into the room. “You’re not actually leaving.”
I opened the jewelry tray on my dresser and took my grandmother’s watch. “Yes, I am.”
“Because my family is visiting?”
“Because you gave away my home.”
His face reddened. “Our home.”
“You just turned it into your mother’s lodging plan without asking me.”
“I thought you’d understand.”
“You thought I would give in once they were standing on the driveway.”
That sentence stopped him.
Only for a second.
Then he recovered. “They’re already here. You want me to embarrass my mother in front of everyone?”
I zipped the suitcase.
“No,” I said. “You already did that. You just expected me to pay for it.”
He looked genuinely confused.
That was the worst part. He did not think of our credit card, my cooking, my cleaning, my groceries, my time, my privacy, or my sanity as things that could be spent. He thought of them as air. Always available. Always assumed.
I rolled the suitcase to the hallway.
The front door opened before I reached it. Sharon swept inside with the smell of expensive perfume and birthday flowers.
“There she is,” she sang. “Our hostess.”
Behind her, the entryway filled with bodies, coats, gift bags, and cheerful voices. Someone set a box of pastries on my console table. A little girl dragged a pink suitcase over my hardwood floor. An older aunt hugged Liam and said, “Your mother said Hannah has everything ready.”
Sharon looked at my suitcase.
Her smile tightened by one careful inch.
“Going somewhere, dear?”
I met her eyes.
“Yes.”
Liam gave a short, nervous laugh. “She’s upset. We just need a minute.”
Sharon stepped closer, lowering her voice enough to sound private but not enough to keep the nearest relatives from hearing.
“Hannah, don’t start this today. It’s a family milestone.”
“It is,” I said. “Enjoy it.”
Her face cooled. “People have traveled a long way.”
“They should have confirmed where they were staying.”
Sharon’s mouth opened.
I did not wait for the reply.