"It's our fault, really. Your father and I just didn't have enough. Between the $150,000 for the house, the $27,000 bride price, and the $30,000 wedding banquet, we're tapped out.

Maya needs a place of her own. You're her sister-in-law. Surely you can help a little!"

So marrying into this family had somehow turned them into charity cases?

I'd put up $75,000 of that house money myself, and I was the one living with them, not the other way around.

The $27,000 bride price? I'd matched it with a $30,000 car as my dowry.

The $30,000 banquet? He would've had to throw a wedding no matter who he married.

And yet somehow every last dollar of it had been pinned on me.

"Leila!"

Maya tugged at my sleeve, giving it a little shake, trying to act cute.

I turned off the TV. My voice was flat.

"Sure, I can lend you money. But this is my premarital asset. You'll need to sign a formal IOU with a repayment date and interest rate. I'll also need a guarantor and collateral."

The color drained from Maya's face. She looked to my mother-in-law like a drowning woman reaching for a life raft.

Laurel Henson shot to her feet, bristling:

"What do you mean, your premarital asset? You married into this family. That makes us one family. Why are you talking like we're strangers?"

"Making your own sister-in-law sign an IOU? If word got out, we'd be the laughingstock of every relative we have!"

I picked up an apple from the coffee table and began peeling it, slow and deliberate.

"I've been married for all of five minutes and I'm already dipping into my personal savings for my sister-in-law.

People who don't know better might think I was so desperate to marry your son that I'm buying my way in. Now THAT would be embarrassing."

"You..." Laurel's jaw clenched so hard the muscles in her cheeks twitched.

Maya grabbed her mother's arm just in time:

"Forget it, Mom. I'll figure something out on my own."

That evening, Joel came home from work.

He stood in the doorway in a white dress shirt, leaning against the frame. Broad shoulders, narrow waist, striking features.

In my past life, that face was all it took. I fell for him completely, loved him until it killed me.

He looked like he'd been out entertaining clients. Too much to drink. His gaze was slightly unfocused.

He loosened his tie and sat on the edge of the bed, squinting at me.

"Leila, the family's already poured all its resources into me."