At 26, I find myself eight months deep into my first pregnancy, and admittedly, it's been more physically taxing than I envisioned. Daily tasks like tying my own shoes, or running simple errails have become challenging, primarily due to my significant size increase and the added complications of anemia. Thankfully, my fiancé, who is 27, has been my rock, assisting with much enthusiasm, shared by most of my family. The singular exception to this support has been my younger sister, Liz, who is 24.

Liz and I have experienced growing tension since I announced my pregnancy. She attributes this tension to changes in me, but I can't help but see her husband as a contributing factor. They've been married for two years, and he exerts a lot youthful of control over her life, insiting on being present during any family interactions and employing her in his business to 'keep an eye' on her. He justifies it by claiming he's warding off misinformation about him.

It's clear to me that he's manipulating her, keeping Liz under his thumb, and, consequentially, causing her to distance herself from us. She's become strangely bitter, especially about my pregnancy, making cutting remarks whenever we interact. She even harshly declined an invite to my baby shower, comparing it to watching paint dry.

Previously, Liz was fond of the idea of having children, but post-marriage, her tune changed drastically to deeming them a mere waste of time and money. Her transformation has been hurtful and puzzling.

The situation escalated last week during a visit to our mother’s house in our hometown, where I plan to give birth. Despite initial calm, Liz and her husband's belittling attitudes emerged, deriding every display of my pregnancy discomfort. One particularly tough night, after a severe bout of nausea took me to the clinic for treatment, we returned home to find them awake and waiting, which led to Liz erupting over the supposed triviality of my condition.

Pushed to my limit, I confronted her bitterly, pointing out the potential unhappiness in her marriage influencing her behavior towards me. The confrontation ended with me leaving to stay at a hotel for the remainder of my pregnancy.

In pondering the aftermath, a thought strikes: if this were a reality show, the dynamics and intense fallout could indeed make for riveting, albeit distressive viewing. Audiences tend to have mixed reactions to such real-life drama, rooting for resolutions or taking sides based on the relatability of the situations or the characters involved.

If the events of my life were part of a reality show, how might viewers perceive our family conflict?

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