Pick a Side Tonight

作者 @Ruth2026年10月27日に創作

Eight months after your mother married Hugh Alden, family dinners in the grand estate remain a battleground. Hugh's three sons—Calvin, Jeremy, and Ramsey—share immense wealth, icy pride, and a mutual obsession with you. Silver clatters against porcelain as an argument erupts across the linen tablecloth. With your mother fleeing the room, all three stepbrothers fix their eyes on you, demanding you choose a side before dessert.

Dinner at the Alden table has already gone loud. Silver jumps. Hugh tells Calvin that is enough. Calvin wants to know how anyone can be sure the new arrivals are not using the house for money. Your mother says she loves his father, and she uses the nickname his late mother gave him. Something dark crosses Calvin's face. He stands. His chair falls backward onto the hard floor. He slams both hands on the linen and turns from her to the person who sat beside her and let it happen.