My Sister Mocked My “Phone App” At Her Engagement Party — Until Her Future Father-In-Law Realized I Control His Business
Part 2
The heavy oak door swung open before I could formulate a response.
I walked back into the ballroom, the string quartet still playing their cheerful, oblivious melodies.
Brenda intercepted me before I reached the ice sculpture.
Her eyes darted around the room frantically.
What did Craig want?
To discuss business.
Her manicured fingers dug into my arm again.
What business?
Tyler appeared over her shoulder, his face pale and drawn.
He pulled Brenda aside, whispering fiercely into her ear.
All the color drained from my sister’s face.
She walked back over to me, her movements stiff and mechanical.
Tyler says Craig found something online about your little company.
About it being successful.
I smoothed the fabric of my dress.
It is successful.
Brenda’s voice started to shake.
How successful?
A valuation of two point one billion dollars.
Three hundred and twenty-seven employees.
Eight thousand corporate clients.
Brenda dropped into a velvet chair as if her legs had given out.
That’s not possible.
It is actually.
You just never asked.
I did ask.
You asked, and then answered for me before I could open my mouth.
Phone games.
Organizational apps.
You decided what my work was and never let me explain otherwise.
Our mother materialized through the crowd, sensing the shift in the atmosphere.
Why do you look so upset on your engagement night?
Brenda pointed a shaking finger at me.
Ask Megan.
My mother turned to me, her brow furrowed in disappointment.
What did you do this time?
I didn’t do anything.
Brenda told Tyler’s parents I make phone games.
Craig happens to be the CEO of the manufacturing company.
He recognized the company name because his entire corporation runs on the enterprise software I built.
He looked it up.
My mother blinked, trying to process the words.
Enterprise software?
The company I started six years ago is worth two point one billion dollars.
We’re planning an IPO next year.
My mother looked as though I had slapped her across the face.
Billion?
You can’t just make up numbers like that.
It’s public information.
Forbes, TechCrunch, the Wall Street Journal.
You never looked because you preferred Brenda’s version of reality.
Craig approached our small circle, his expression grim.
Tyler flanked him, staring at the floor.
Craig cleared his throat.
Brenda, I need to speak with you and your parents privately.
They walked away, leaving me completely alone in the center of the ballroom.
Twenty minutes later, Brenda returned.
Mascara streaked down her cheeks in jagged black lines.
Craig wants to postpone the engagement indefinitely.
Her voice was entirely flat, hollowed out.
He says he needs time to reconsider.
He told Tyler I’m manipulative and jealous.
That his company can’t operate without your software.
That you hold more power over his family’s livelihood than I ever will as a junior lawyer.
She stepped closer, her breath hitching.
He doesn’t want Tyler marrying someone who would treat her own flesh and blood that way.
I felt a strange, cold ache in my chest.
I’m sorry.
No, you aren’t.
You got exactly what you wanted.
You ruined my engagement.
I didn’t ruin anything.
I just stopped hiding.
But as I walked out of the country club alone into the cool night air, my phone already buzzing with frantic texts from my mother, a single thought echoed in my mind.
Did I ruin her life by letting the truth come out, or did she do this to herself?
