My mother’s tone sharpened, instantly defensive.

“Leeching, is it?” she said. “I’m ashamed of you, Alden. He’s had a rough time. You wouldn’t understand what he’s been through. You’ve always had your life together. Hal needs a bit more support. As family, you owe him that.”

Rough time? My brother had two kids under five, with two different women, and didn’t bother supporting either of them. How was I supposed to feel sorry for him?

Before I could reply, my father grabbed the phone, his voice grating in my ear, even more annoyed.

“Alden, stop being selfish. You’ve got the money, the house, the wife. What’s the problem? It’s your duty to look after family. Hal’s staying.”

I nearly lost it. I almost let my anger take over. But that wasn’t my way. Hal might’ve thought he’d won, but I had a plan.

“It’s not about space, Dad,” I said. “It’s about respect. Hal can’t just live here without my okay. Sigrid and I worked hard for this home. And now my wife has to deal with this, too.”

From the couch, Hal snorted.

“Come on, don’t act all high and mighty. It’s just a house,” he said.

“But you’ve been mooching off Mom and Dad forever. Why should I trust you’d act any different here? Why not stay with one of your kids and their mom?”

I thought that would rattle him. But he didn’t even flinch.

“Because I’m family, that’s why. Why do you always treat me like an outsider? It’s my right to stay here. Mom and Dad said you’d be like this, but I didn’t think you’d be this harsh.”

I was done.

“Fine, Hal,” I said. “You want to stay? Sure. Let’s see how that goes.”

I was okay with being tough on my brother—someone had to teach him a lesson. But when I went upstairs to tell Sigrid about the phone call, she was furious.

“Alden, you can’t be serious,” she said, sitting on the bed across from me.

“I’ll fix it. I promise you, Sigrid. I’ll make this right. But I’m going to teach him a lesson first.”

“Well, I’m not sticking around for it. You have one week. Get him out, or I’m not coming back,” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I’m going to my sister’s, Alden. I can’t stand your brother, and I won’t stay here with him,” she said, packing a bag as she spoke.

“I’ll make this right, love,” I promised.

For the next week, I made Hal’s life miserable without ever raising my voice. With Sigrid gone, I had even more reason to get him out.

The first thing I did was cut the Wi-Fi. Hal, who spent his days glued to his phone or streaming shows on the TV, was completely thrown off.

He grumbled, but I just smiled.

“Oh, the internet? Yeah, it’s been acting up.”

Next, I turned off the hot water. Hal loved his long, lazy showers, but now he got icy water every morning.

“Must be a plumbing issue,” I’d say with a shrug when he complained.

Then, there was the food.

I filled the fridge with kale, quinoa, and the healthiest stuff I could find. Hal hated anything that wasn’t fried or greasy. Every time he opened the fridge, he groaned like I was starving him.

“You’re family, right?” I’d say. “I’m sure you can handle a little inconvenience. It’s for my health, so you’ll manage.”

To top it off, I started blasting workout music at 6 a.m. every day during my treadmill session in the gym room. If Hal wasn’t going to pitch in, he could at least get up early.

He hated it all, naturally. By day five, he looked like he was losing his mind.

“Alden, this is ridiculous,” Hal said one morning, his voice dripping with irritation. “I can’t stay here. How do you live like this? No Wi-Fi, no hot water, and no decent food. This is torture.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“I thought you’d be grateful to stay, Hal. You’re not paying rent or helping out. What’s the issue?”

He muttered something under his breath, clearly steaming.

“Forget it, I’m going back to Mom and Dad’s.”

As he stormed out, dragging his stuff with him, I couldn’t help but grin.

But I wasn’t done yet. I scrubbed the house top to bottom, stocked up on proper groceries, and cooked Sigrid a nice dinner. I’d already called her during the day to say Hal was gone.

“Come home, honey,” I said.

“I’ll see you soon,” she replied, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

While waiting for Sigrid to freshen up, I knew there was one last thing to do.

“Mom, Dad,” I said on the phone. “Hal’s out of my house. And he’s not coming back. He’s your problem again.”

My mother was livid.

“Alden, you can’t just kick him out! Where’s he supposed to go?”

“That’s up to Hal, Mom. He’s 42. If you want to keep babying him, that’s your call. But I’m done.”

After that, I heard Hal moved back to our parents’ place, but they made him turn the garage into his own space. They pushed him to get a job.

Hal was upset, of course, and they blamed me. But I was fine with that. Sigrid and I had our home back, and we were at peace.