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Jake slouched in his chair, staring at
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the fancy invitation to his parents'
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30th wedding anniversary party. It was
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supposed to be a big deal. Cousins,
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aunts, uncles, everybody coming together
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to celebrate Tom and Ellen's milestone.
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But Jake wasn't exactly pumped. His wife
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Sarah peeked over his shoulder, her face
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scrunching up as she read the card.
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Neither of them was thrilled about
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going, and it all boiled down to one
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person. Sarah's younger sister, Lisa.
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Jake knew the whole messy history
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between Sarah and Lisa. They'd never
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been close, even though they were just
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two years apart. Growing up, their mom,
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Ellen, ran the house like a drill
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sergeant, straight out of the military.
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Everything was a competition. Who could
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race to the bus stop faster? Who could
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make the kitchen sparkle more? It was
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always Sarah versus Lisa, no matter
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what. At first, it was just kid stuff,
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normal sibling rivalry. But it got ugly
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Sarah was a star at school, pulling
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straight A's, acing tests, bringing home
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report cards that made Tom and Ellen
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brag to the neighbors. Lisa, she was
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different. She loved running around
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outside, dreaming up wild adventures,
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not sitting still with a math book.
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Problem was, Ellen didn't get that.
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She'd hold Sarah up like some perfect
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example, always hitting Lisa with, "Why
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can't you be more like your sister?"
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When Lisa couldn't keep up, the
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punishments were harsh.
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Some nights she'd go to bed hungry.
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Other times she'd be stuck standing in a
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corner till her legs gave out. Jake
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could see the pain in Sarah's eyes when
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she talked about it. How much it tore
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her up to watch Lisa suffer. Ellen even
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forced Sarah to tutor Lisa, thinking it
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would fix her grades. Sarah gave it her
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all, but Lisa wasn't into it. The
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pressure from Ellen just made Lisa
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resent Sarah more. And Sarah, she wasn't
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loving life as the golden child either.
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She was terrified of screwing up, of not
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living up to Ellen's sky-high
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It was like both sisters were trapped in
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their mom's game, always pitted against
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each other. Things came to a head right
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before Sarah left for college. Lisa did
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something desperate. She downed a whole
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bottle of sleeping pills.
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Thank God Tom and Ellen found her in
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time and got her to the hospital. The
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doctors saved her, but it was like a
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bomb went off in the family. For the
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first time, Ellen and Tom saw how much
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pain Lisa had been hiding all those
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years. They started therapy with her,
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and from then on, they treated her like
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she was made of glass. One wrong word,
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one push too far, and she might break.
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They stopped expecting anything from
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her. No chores, no goals, nothing.
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And that's when things started going
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sideways in a whole new way. Fast
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forward to now. Lisa is in her 30s,
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still crashing at her parents' place,
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not paying a scent in rent, and blowing
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through their money like it's no big
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deal. She can't keep a job. Either she
3:00
skips too many shifts, or gets into it
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with her co-workers. It's the same old
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story. She gets hired, messes up, gets
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Ellen and Tom are retired now, their
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savings shrinking fast, but they're
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still covering Lisa's bills, food,
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clothes, her nights out with her party
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crowd. They even had the nerve to ask
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Sarah to send money to help out. Sarah
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shut that down real quick. No way was
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she bankrolling Lisa's carefree
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lifestyle while she contributed zip. But
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here's where it gets really weird.
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Lisa's got this creepy obsession with
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Jake. From the day they met, she's been
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way too flirty, standing too close,
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tossing out suggestive comments, even
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texting him late at night. Jake's never
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given her an inch, but she acts like
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it's all a big joke. If Sarah calls her
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out, Lisa just laughs it off like it's
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nothing. What's worse is how Ellen and
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Tom handle it. Or don't. They call it a
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cute little crush. Like Lisa's some
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teenager swooning over a pop star.
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They've even said stuff like, "Jake,
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you'd be a better match for Lisa.
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Can you even imagine hearing that?" They
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dropped that bomb on Jake and Sarah's
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wedding day of all days.
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Right before the ceremony, Ellen pulled
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Jake aside and asked, "You sure you want
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to marry Sarah?" Like she was hoping
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he'd ditch her daughter at the altar.
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Sarah was crushed when she heard about
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it. They had a huge blowout with her
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parents and cut them off for a while.
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Ellen and Tom apologized, swore they'd
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stop, but it was a promise they didn't
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keep. At Lisa's next birthday, they were
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back at it, trying to get Jake to stand
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next to her for photos, like they were
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setting up some cute couple moment. Jake
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wasn't having it. He said no, and he and
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Sarah bailed early, skipping the cake.
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After that, they stopped going to any
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family events where Lisa would be. No
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birthdays, no holidays, nothing. They
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were done dealing with the drama. But
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then this invitation to the 30th
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anniversary party showed up. Ellen
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begged them to come, saying all the
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cousins would be there, and it would
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look bad if they didn't show up. People
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would start asking questions.
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Jake had an idea, though. He told Sarah,
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"If we go and Lisa or your parents pull
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anything, we call them out right there
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in front of everybody. No more playing
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Sarah was nervous, but she was in. They
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were ready to face the mess headon. The
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night of the party started off all
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right. The venue was all decked out,
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twinkling lights, fancy table settings,
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the works. Jake and Sarah walked in and
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Ellen wrapped Sarah in a big hug,
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whispering, "I didn't think you'd come.
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I'm so glad you're here." Sarah just
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nodded, forcing a smile. For a bit, it
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was fine. Catching up with cousins,
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laughing over old family stories,
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clinking glasses. But then at dinner,
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things took a turn. Sarah's aunt Karen
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made a jokey comment about how all the
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cousins were married or coupled up
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except Lisa. She teased, "Come on, Lisa.
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You got a guy stashed somewhere. When
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you going to settle down?" Lisa just
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blushed and gave an awkward smile.
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Before she could say anything, Ellen
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jumped in all giddy and said, "Oh, Lisa
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doesn't need a boyfriend. She's got a
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big crush on Sarah's husband." She
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pointed at Jake and laughed like it was
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the funniest thing ever. Tom cracked up,
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too. And Karen, not reading the room,
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asked Jake, "Got any brothers for Lisa?"
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The whole table started chuckling and
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Lisa just sat there soaking up the
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attention, not saying a word to shut it
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down. Jake felt Sarah tense up beside
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him. Her face was red, her hands
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gripping the tablecloth.
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She'd had enough. She stood up, her
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voice steady, but loud enough to cut
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through the chatter. "How dare you talk
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about my husband like this?" she said,
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staring Ellen down. The room went dead
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quiet, forks frozen midbite.
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You both promised you'd stop this
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nonsense. You swore you'd respect us,
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but here you are laughing about Lisa's
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crush like it's cute. It's not. It's
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She turned to the table, cousins, aunts,
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uncles, all staring, and kept going.
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Do any of you think it's okay for
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someone to flirt with their sister's
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husband, to send him creepy texts at
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midnight, to act like this for years,
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and for the whole family to laugh like
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Nobody had an answer.
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Then she looked at Lisa. You've been
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inappropriate with Jake forever. You
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stand too close. You touch him when he's
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uncomfortable. You text him even though
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he's told you to stop. And you act like
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it's all a game. Lisa's face crumpled,
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but Sarah wasn't done. She turned to her
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parents. And you two? You've been
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encouraging this for years. You said on
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my wedding day that Jake would be better
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with Lisa. Do you know how messed up
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that is? Not just to me, but to him. The
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silence was heavy, like the air had been
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sucked out of the room.
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Karen looked stunned, like she just
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realized how deep this went. Tom's face
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was beat red, his fist clenched on the
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table. Ellen tried to laugh it off, her
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voice shaky. Come on, it's just a joke.
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It's an innocent crush. We've always
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teased about Jake and Lisa. It's not a
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That's when Jake couldn't take it
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He leaned forward, his voice calm but
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sharp as a knife. If everything's a
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joke, Ellen, then I guess your affair
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with the neighbor was just a fun little
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prank, right? Why don't we all laugh
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about that? The table froze. Years ago,
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Ellen had cheated on Tom with their
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neighbor, a dirty secret they'd swept
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Jake only knew because Sarah told him,
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and he'd kept it quiet until now.
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Ellen's eyes went wide, her mouth
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hanging open. Tom looked like he'd been
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slapped. Lisa started yelling, "You're
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ruining the party, Sarah. You always act
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like the victim." But Sarah wasn't
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backing down. She turned to Karen.
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Would you ever say this stuff about your
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daughter's husband? Would you let your
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kid act like this towards someone else's
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Karen shook her head, looking
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embarrassed. Jake stood up, his voice
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steady. You crossed the line a long time
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ago, making me the punchline of your
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weird family jokes. Lisa's not a kid
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with a crush. She's a grown woman who
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needs to get it together. And you all
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need to stop acting like this is normal.
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Ellen started crying, trying to play the
9:33
victim, but nobody was buying it. Sarah
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and Jake grabbed their coats and headed
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for the door, tossing one last line over
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Don't call us unless you grow up. And if
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you don't, don't even reach out when one
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of you dies. They walked out into the
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cool night air, leaving the stunned
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silence behind. Things got crazy after
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Relatives started texting Sarah and
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Jake, most of them backing them up. Even
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Karen sent a text apologizing for going
10:01
along with Ellen's joke.
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But Lisa, she didn't stop. She started
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sending Jake creepy love letters, even
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after they warned her they'd get the
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Then one evening, Jake pulled into their
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driveway and saw Lisa sitting on their
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porch waiting for him. His stomach
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dropped. She stood up trying to talk,
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but he jumped back in his car, peeled
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out, and called Sarah and the police.
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With the letters already on record, the
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cops arrested Lisa for violating a
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restraining order Sarah and Jake had
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filed. Ellen and Tom bailed her out, but
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she's facing a misdemeanor charge and
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the restraining orders locked in tight.
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The fallout didn't stop there. Tom
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finally hit his breaking point. Between
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Ellen's affair being aired out in front
10:50
of the family and Lisa's behavior
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dragging their name through the mud, he
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filed for divorce. Ellen stuck
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supporting Lisa, who still doesn't have
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a job. And the legal fees from Lisa's
11:01
trial hit them hard. They had to move a
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few towns over after losing their house.
11:06
and Tom took off to another state. The
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rest of the families pretty much cut
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them off. No loans, no invites, just
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radio silence. In their small town, word
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spreads like wildfire. Whispers at the
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diner, gossip at the grocery store.
11:22
Ellen and Lisa's names are mud now, and
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social media has made sure everyone
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knows the story. 6 months down the line,
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Jake and Sarah are in a good place.
11:31
their new parents over the moon about
11:33
their little one and the restraining
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orders keeping Lisa at bay. She's got a
11:38
record now and even she's not dumb
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enough to risk more jail time. Ellen and
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Tom left a couple of voicemails sounding
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calmer than expected, but Jake and Sarah
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aren't ready to talk. That anniversary
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party was a mess, but it was the moment
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they finally stood their ground. On the
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way home that night, they stopped at a
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burger joint, laughing over fries about
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how they'd ripped off the band-aid. For
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the first time in years, they felt free,
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like they could breathe again.
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Life's not perfect, but with their new
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baby and a fresh start, they're looking