"Leila Simmons, I found this cute little two-bedroom over in Riverside. Could I maybe borrow some money from you?"
It was after dinner. I was sitting on the couch, flipping through channels with the remote.
Maya Henson, with an encouraging glance from my mother-in-law, settled onto the cushion beside me and tested the waters.
My head snapped toward her. I locked my gaze on that perfectly made-up face.
This was exactly how it had started in my last life.
Joel Henson and I had barely been married a month before Maya came asking for money.
Back then, her excuse had been a $60,000 car she wanted for her commute.
"I can probably scrape together $45,000 at most!"
That was what I'd told her in my previous life.
She never paid back a cent. Not in ten years.
Something in my stare must have been too sharp, because Maya flinched. She twisted her fingers together and inched back on the couch.
"I know it's a lot to ask, but when you married my brother, it pretty much wiped out the family's savings.
I just graduated, and I want a place closer to work. I don't know anyone else I could turn to, so you're kind of my only option."
My mother-in-law swooped in with a warm smile to back her up: