**Part 2**
I went back into the kitchen.
Nick walked in behind me.
She’ll get over it.
“You okay?”
I folded the dish towel in my hands. “Fine.”
He sighed. “Rachel says awful things when she’s embarrassed.”
He still had no clue what I’d heard.
“No.”
Nick frowned.
“No what?”
“You okay?”
“Nothing yet.”
I walked back toward the dining room.
Rachel was standing alone beside the table, exactly where I needed her.
“Rachel.”
She looked at me.
“What?”
“Rachel.”
“Did the boys decide to kick that ball themselves?”
Her eyes met mine.
“Of course they did.”
There was no hesitation, no discomfort, just a lie.
“You’re sure?”
“Why wouldn’t I be, Candace? They’re kids just trying to have fun in this museum of a house.”
“Of course they did.”
I nodded.
“Okay.”
She relaxed, which was the wrong move.
I found Nick.
“Kitchen. Now.”
He followed me.
I found Nick.
“What happened?”
“Your sister told Sam and Wyatt to break the TV.”
His face went blank.
“What?”
“I heard her promise them toys because they did what she asked.”
Nick pushed away from the counter.
“What happened?”
“I’m talking to her.”
“No.”
He stopped.
“Candace.”
“I’ll talk to Rachel.”
“But…”
“You and I are talking later. But let me handle this, Nick.”
“I’ll talk to Rachel.”
Something in my voice made him stay put.
For once, I didn’t need Nick to protect me from his sister. I needed to protect myself.
I found Rachel near the hallway.
“We need to talk privately.”
She rolled her eyes. “Can this wait?”
“No.”
“Can this wait?”
I led her into the guest room.
“Did you tell your sons to break my television?”
She stared at me.
Then she laughed.
“Are you serious?”
“Completely.”
“Did you tell your sons to break my television?”
“No.”
I waited.
Rachel shifted.
“You want to try that again?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I heard Wyatt ask about the dinosaur. I heard Sam ask about the big set. And I heard you tell them they’d done exactly what they were supposed to do.”
“You want to try that again?”
Her face changed.
Then came the anger.
“You’ve been waiting for a reason to make me look terrible. You’ve never liked me.”
“I’ve spent years trying to get along with you.”
“You’ve spent years acting better than me.”
“You’ve never liked me.”
That stopped me.
Rachel gestured around the room.
“This house. Your renovations. The new furniture. That ridiculous TV.”
“This is my house. How would you like me to behave in it?”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
“This is my house.”
“Then say it.”
Her mouth tightened.
“Everything works out for you.”
She hadn’t seen the bills or the things we’d postponed.
But defending my finances suddenly felt pointless.
“You don’t hate the television,” I said.
“Everything works out for you.”
Rachel scoffed.
“You hate what you think it says about me.”
“Oh, please.”
“And you used your children to punish me for it.”
“They knew what they were doing.”
“No.”
My voice sharpened.
“Oh, please.”
“They knew what you told them to do.”
She opened her mouth.
“They don’t owe me an apology tonight. You do.”
Rachel stared at me.
Then she walked out.
“They knew what you told them to do.”
Ten minutes later, she took Sam and Wyatt home.
I hugged both boys before they left.
They weren’t carrying Rachel’s mistake for her.
After the door closed, Nick found me clearing dishes.
“I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t break the TV.”
She took Sam and Wyatt home.
“I know.”
“But every time she insulted me and you said, ‘That’s just Rachel,’ what did you think you were teaching her?”
He looked down.
“I wasn’t trying to teach her anything.”
“Neither was I.”
Nick leaned against the counter.
“Neither was I.”
“When we were kids, if Rachel got angry, she’d drag everyone into it. Eventually, I learned that giving in made the noise stop.”
I thought about my own mother.
“Mine called that keeping the peace.”
Nick looked at me.
“And?”
“Mine called that keeping the peace.”
“There was never any peace. There was just one person swallowing everything.”
Silence settled between us.
Then I noticed the stack of napkin samples Rachel had left near the table.
Her birthday dinner was three weeks away.
At my house.
“There was never any peace.”
With catering booked in my name.
I picked up Rachel’s napkin samples and the guest notes she’d left for me.
Nick watched me. “What are you doing?”
“Packing her party things.”
“Candace.”
“She’s not having her birthday here.”
“What are you doing?”
He stared at me. “You’re serious.”
I opened my laptop. “Completely.”
“She’s going to lose her mind.”
“Then she’ll finally have something worth losing it over.”
I pulled up the catering reservation.
“The deposit’s still refundable.”
“You’re serious.”
Nick looked over my shoulder. “You’re canceling it?”
“The food and the house. Both were mine to offer.”
I clicked cancel.
Nick exhaled. “She’s going to lose it.”
“She should’ve thought of that before she lied to my face.”
I printed the confirmation and placed it in a box with Rachel’s decorations and notes.
“Both were mine to offer.”
Then I wrote:
“Rachel,
The catering has been canceled, and you won’t be hosting your birthday here.
You’ll need to make other arrangements.
I won’t keep opening my home to someone who deliberately disrespects it.
Candace.”
I sent the package via courier later that evening.
“You’ll need to make other arrangements.”
Forty minutes later, my phone rang.
“Candace, please! Cancel it!”
“Cancel what?”
“The cancellation. Call them back.”
“No.”
“I already told everyone the party was at your house.”
“Cancel what?”
“Then call them again.”
Her voice dropped.
“I can’t find another place this close to the date.”
I stayed quiet.
Then Rachel said, “You don’t understand. I just wanted one thing to look like I had my life together.”
It didn’t erase what she’d done; it only explained it.
I stayed quiet.
“Everyone thinks you and Nick have everything figured out. I wanted one night where I didn’t feel like I was falling behind.”
“I understand that feeling,” I told her. “I don’t understand using your sons to punish me for it.”
“Candace, please.”
“No. Your birthday is your problem now.”
I ended the call.
“Candace, please.”
Nick’s phone buzzed almost immediately.
“Rachel?” I asked.
He nodded. “She wants me to talk you into changing your mind.”
“And are you going to?”
Nick typed something, then set his phone down.
“I told her your answer stands.”
“And are you going to?”
I studied him.
“I checked the protection plan,” I said.
Nick looked up. “And?”
“I have to report exactly what happened. I don’t know yet what they’ll cover.”
“Then why make Rachel pay?”
“She’ll only pay whatever we’re actually left owing. I’m not making money from this. But she doesn’t get to walk away because we were responsible enough to protect the TV.”
“And?”
