on my heel and marched from the kitchen, trusting that she would follow. She caught up to me in the formal dining room, and I quickly pointed out the other rooms on the main floor as we made our way to the staircase. She walked next to me as we climbed the stairs to the second floor and seemed to be surprised by the size of the house. We had grown up as upper-middle class, and our parents had done very well for themselves, but they had never lived as large as Ivan preferred. He worked so hard for his money, and after studying his—our—finances, it was clear that we could afford the level of lifestyle he wanted for us.
“So, we are on the other side of the hall,” I gestured toward the master suite. “I put you here, so you have more privacy. The windows look out over the backyard. It’s a very calming view.”
I pushed the door to her room open and stood aside so she could enter first. She walked to the center of the room and turned in a slow circle as she studied the space. She gave in to her curiosity and checked out the closet and bathroom. Wanting her to feel welcome and comfortable, I said, “I kept the décor simple so you can add or change things. I brought your things from the apartment. Some of them are hanging in the closet or are on the bookshelves. There’s a storage container in the closet with things for you to sort out when you’re ready.”
When she didn’t say anything, I nervously added, “We can go shopping later to get anything you need.”
“Why? So, you can rub all your money in my face?”
Whatever response I had been expecting from her, it wasn’t this. “What do you mean?”
She rolled her eyes. “Come on, Ruby. Don’t act so innocent. You know what I mean. You have all this.” She threw her arms out wide. “And I have nothing.”
“That’s not true. You have your trust fund coming when you turn thirty, just like me.”
Ignoring that fact, she barreled on, unleashing her frustrations on me. “I have to admit I’m really surprised at you, Erin. I thought you were the kind of girl who wanted to make her own way in life. Remember how you used to talk about going to college, buying your own house and your own car, and making your own way? Look at you now.”
“What about me now?”
She gestured toward me. “Designer clothes. Designer purse. Designer shoes. Diamonds and gold. Living in this obscene fucking mansion all alone with your husband.”
“Our home isn’t obscene.”
“His home, you mean,” she corrected, cruelly pointing out Ivan’s words from earlier. “You know, all this time I thought you were so boring and simple. You were just this annoying good girl who did everything Mom and Dad wanted. Who would have believed that you were just a gold digger in training the whole time?” With a curl of her lip, she asked, “What’s your secret, little sister? Huh? How do you get a man as rich as Ivan to keep someone like you? Are you that good at sucking cock or do you have some kind of magic pussy that he can’t get—”
“I’m not listening to this!” I cut her off angrily. Mouth dry, head pounding, I turned and headed for the door. I spun back toward her. “When you’re ready to act like my sister—m"
Ruby slammed the door in front of my face, ending our conversation on an ugly note. Reeling from the horrible shit she had said to me, I walked downstairs on shaky legs. My decision to bring her home with us seemed so stupid now. I should have known I was inviting trouble into my life and my marriage.
She’s my sister. I have to help her.
But not at the cost of my marriage.
Rubbing my face, I returned to the kitchen, ready to speak to Ivan about the awful turn our morning had taken. Everything we had discussed about Ruby’s first few days with us had gone out the window the moment he accused her of knowing about the parking lot attack. Why the hell hadn’t he just kept his mouth shut?
“Ivan?” I called out as I entered the kitchen. Not seeing him there, I left the kitchen and made my way to his office, ducking into other rooms and spaces on the way to make sure he wasn’t in them. When his office was empty, I