Oh my gosh, can you believe what my sister did? I just found out and I’m still shaking.
“How could you?!” Emily shouted, waving the crumpled document in the air. “How could you sign this rubbish without telling me?”
Elizabeth startled, set her teacup down, and slowly turned to face her sister. There wasn’t a trace of guilt on her face—just exhaustion.
“I signed it, so what?” She shrugged. “We have to sell the house anyway. You said so yourself.”
“I said we should decide together!” Emily’s voice trembled with anger. “Together, Liz! Not behind my back, sneaking around with estate agents! And you agreed to half the price we talked about!”
“Not half—more like…” Elizabeth started, but Emily cut her off.
“Close enough! Does it even matter? This was Mum’s house! For both of us! And you just decided you could make the call on your own?”
The kitchen went dead silent. Only the old clock on the wall ticked away—the one Mum had brought back from her holiday in Spain. Elizabeth stared out the window at the garden where they’d played hopscotch as kids.
“Do you even realise what you’ve done?” Emily went on, quieter now. “My son’s starting university—I need every penny. And your daughter’s getting married—don’t you need the money too?”
“That’s exactly why I acted fast,” Elizabeth turned around. “Buyers are interested now. If we wait, no one will want this old place.”
“But we had a deal!” Emily’s voice cracked. “You promised we’d decide together!”
“Yes, and then you vanished for a week!” Elizabeth waved a hand. “No calls, no answers. Buyers won’t wait forever—they’ve got options!”
Emily slumped into a chair and buried her face in her hands. The contract lay on the table like some cruel joke.
“I had to go to Aunt Margaret’s,” she whispered. “She was ill, all alone. I told you that…”
“Told me, didn’t tell me…” Elizabeth sighed. “It’s done now. We’ll get the money in a month, split it down the middle, and that’s that.”
“That’s that?!” Emily shot up. “You honestly think that’s it?”
Elizabeth poured herself another cuppa and sat back down, calm as anything.
“What else? House sold, money split. Fair, isn’t it?”
“Fair?” Emily gave a bitter laugh. “Was it fair not to ask me? Not to wait till I got back?”
“Oh, don’t be dramatic,” Liz rolled her eyes. “It’s just a house. Neither of us was going to live here anyway.”
“Not live here?!” Emily’s eyes flashed. “Who comes every weekend? Who tends the garden, fixes the roof? Who helps the neighbours keep an eye on the place?”
“So what?” Elizabeth shrugged. “That’s your hobby. Meanwhile, I’ve been paying the council tax and utilities all these years.”
“Council tax…” Emily walked to the window. “Liz, do you even remember living here? How Mum raised us? Doing homework at this kitchen table?”
“Of course I remember,” Elizabeth said flatly. “What’s your point?”
“My point?!” Emily spun around. “This is our past! Our childhood! And you’re selling it off to some stranger for peanuts!”
“Not peanuts—a fair price. And not a stranger, a nice family with kids. They need a home. We need the money. Simple.”
Emily slowly picked up the contract, flipping through the pages. Her face paled.
“Liz, what’s this bit?” She pointed to a line in the middle. “It says the seller is Elizabeth Margaret Dawson. Just you. Where am I?”
Elizabeth looked away.
“Just… paperwork. Easier for the solicitor since I’m in London and you’re out in Kent.”
“Easier for the solicitor?!” Emily’s voice ripped through the room. “Elizabeth, what have you done?! Legally, it’s your house now, and you’ll just hand me half out of the kindness of your heart?!”
“Stop shouting!” Elizabeth hissed. “The neighbours will hear! It’s a technicality!”
“A technicality…” Emily sat heavily, breathing hard. “Liz, we’re sisters. Same mother, same blood. How could you do this?”
“I didn’t do anything!” Elizabeth snapped. “Sold the house, getting the money, giving you your share. What’s the issue?”
“The issue is you don’t trust me!” Emily slammed a fist on the table. “The issue is you made this decision for me! Like I’m some idiot!”
“I don’t think you’re an idiot!” Elizabeth scoffed. “I’m just more practical. Always have been.”
“Practical…” Emily gave a hollow laugh. “Remember when Mum was ill? Who took her to appointments? Who sat with her in hospital? Who bought her medicine?”
“And who worked two jobs to pay for it all?” Elizabeth shot back. “You were free to be there—I was earning!”
“Free?! My husband had just died, Liz! I was alone with a child! And I still went to Mum’s every day!”
“And I paid for her treatment!” Elizabeth’s voice rose. “While you played nurse, I was breaking my back!”
“Played nurse…” Emily whispered. “Where were you when Mum was dying? Remember that?”
Elizabeth went still, staring out the window.
“I was on a work trip. An important one.”
“A work trip!” Emily laughed, harsh and broken. “Mum kept calling for you. Her last days: ‘Where’s Lizzie? Why isn’t Lizzie here?'”
“Stop.” Elizabeth’s voice was thin. “Just stop.”
“No! I won’t!” Emily smacked the table. “She waited for you, Liz! Kept looking at the door…”
“Shut up!” Elizabeth screamed. “Shut up right now!”
“Why?! Because it’s true?!” Emily stood over her sister. “Mum died waiting for you. And now you’re selling her house like it’s nothing to you!”
“It *is* something!” Tears streaked Elizabeth’s face. “Of course it is! But I can’t—I can’t come here! It hurts! Everything smells like her, everything reminds me!”
“And it doesn’t hurt me?!” Emily’s voice was raw. “You think it’s easy for me? You think I don’t cry when I hear her voice?”
Elizabeth wiped her eyes with her sleeve, turning away.
“Then why fight the sale?”
“Because it’s our home!” Emily sat beside her. “Because our history lives here. Because Mum wanted us to decide together!”
“And what did Mum want when she wrote the will?” Elizabeth whispered. “Remember?”
Emily frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The house was left to both of us. But the garden plot—just to you. Recall that?”
“The garden?” Emily faltered. “Yeah, I remember. So?”
“So the plot’s worth more than the house!” Elizabeth stood abruptly. “Land in our area’s gone sky-high! And Mum gave it only to you!”
“Liz, what are you on about?” Emily shook her head. “Who cares who got what? We’re sisters!”
“Sisters, sisters…” Elizabeth scoffed. “But when we sell, the plot sells too. And its money? All yours!”
Emily was silent, absorbing this.
“You think I… wanted to cheat you?”
“Didn’t think—knew!” Elizabeth spat. “You never mentioned it! Never told me the land was worth more! Planned to keep it all for yourself!”
“I didn’t even know!” Emily cried. “How would I? I’m not a bloody estate agent!”
“Could’ve looked it up,” Elizabeth muttered. “Hired a surveyor.”
“Liz, what’s got into you?” Emily stood. “I’d never cheat you!”
“Wouldn’t you?” Elizabeth gave a bitter smile. “Mum made sure you got the plot. She knew you were there more, helped more…”
“Mum didn’t mean to hurt anyone!” Emily interrupted. “She just thought… it made sense!”
“Sense for you!” Elizabeth’s voice cracked. “What about me? I’m her daughter too! I deserved my share!”
“You do!” Emily nodded fiercely. “Of course you do! Liz, let’s just sit down, talk properly—”
“Already talked!” Elizabeth cut in. “House is £300K, the plot’s £600K. You walk away with £450K. I get £150K. That your idea of fair?”
“Where’d those numbers come from?” Emily frowned.
“From the estate agent!” Elizabeth shot back. “The one I signed with. He crunched the numbers.”
Emily sat, thinking hard.
“Liz… what if we split it differently? I’ll share the land money—”
“I don’t want your charity!” Elizabeth snapped. “That’s why I pushed the sale. House money split down the middle. Plot’s yours—They stood there, hugging in the middle of the kitchen where their mum had once taught them to share, and though the house would still be sold, somehow it felt like they’d kept the most important thing—each other.
