“I’d have to declare war against the angels, as that would be an attack against a family member of mine,” Daddy said, voice lightening with clarity.
“Exactly,” I said. “We did the paperwork and the ceremony as quickly as we could. I had to marry him, to save Charlie’s life.”
“So this is all just one big misunderstanding,” Daddy said in relief. “Once all this Elf business is taken care of, you can annul the marriage, and everything will go back to what it was.”
Charlie was really getting irritated. He couldn’t hold back his emotions through our bond even if he tried. I had to make this clear.
“Well, no,” I said. “We got married to save Charlie from the Underground, but this is arealmarriage. We realized we’re important to each other, and we’re in love. So we’re going to stay together.”
Daddy scoffed. “This is ridiculous. You’re too young to be married.”
“Bull crap! Mama was the same age as me when she married you!” I pointed out.
“That’s different,” Daddy stammered.
“How? By the ancestors, she was already pregnant with me by then. It’s not like I’m carrying a kid around.”
“Well—” Daddy grumbled.
Mama’s voice was nervous as she asked, “Sweetie, don’t take this the wrong way, but… you weren’t cycling when you made this decision, were you?”
“Absolutely not. Hemlock was the one who married us. She wouldn’t have done so if she thought I was in a manic state,” I insisted. “I married Charlie of my own free will, because I wanted to.”
Mama nodded. She believed me. “You have the authority to make your own decisions about your life.” Mama leaned forward and grabbed my hand. “If this is what you want, we’re behind you.”
“Are you?” Charlie asked scathingly. “Are you really prepared to acceptme?”
“Depends on your intentions,” Daddy said before Mama could speak up.
“I know I’m not the best choice for your daughter,” Charlie stated. “I’m a convicted criminal, and I’ve done a hell of a lot more bad in my life than good. But the one thing I’ve done right is this marriage. I love my wife. And if you accept me or not, fine. Nothing’s going to convince me to walk away. I don’t need to earn the approval of anyone else, because I have her. And her happiness is what's important to me.”
Oberi let out a loud whine and blinked at my parents with big black pupils. My dad looked totally guilty.Good job, Oberi, laying on the puppy eyes.
“You don’t have to earn our approval,” Mama said. “Family means everything to us. You know that, because you know Ava. Liam and I would never do anything to push our daughter away, and if she’s married to you, then we’ll consider you our son. There’s nothing else you need to do to prove yourself to us.”
Charlie relaxed a little. He wouldn’t let himself believe Mama’s words. But he wanted to, I could tell.
“The bottom line is, I love Charlie. He’s my husband now, so he comes first,” I stated. “And an annulment is out of the question, because we’ve already consummated the marriage, and we can’t take that back.”
Charlie moaned and slapped a hand to his face. He might think it was weird that I’d told my parents we’d had sex, but I didn’t. They needed to know I was serious about him.
Daddy didn’t look thrilled, but Mama gave me an encouraging smile. “You know your father and I are always ready to make our family bigger. There’s plenty of love to go around, especially for you and Charlie.”
I gave Daddy a pleading look, and he finally cracked. “If this is what you want, I’ll accept it,” Daddy finally said. “If my baby’s happy, I’m happy.”
“Thank you guys so much.” I leaned in to give both of them a hug. “You have no idea how important this is to me.”
“We might have an idea,” Mama said with a twinkle in her eye. “Your father and I had quite the battle convincing our tribe that we should be together. I never wanted my children to have to fight for the right to be in love. And I always thought there was something special between you and Charlie from the beginning.”
“I love you, Mama.” I kissed her cheek, then pulled away. Daddy had become really quiet. I wished I could read his mind right now, because his expression puzzled me.
“We want what’s best for you, and that includes a happy marriage,” Mama said, stroking my hair back.
“As long as you’re being safe,” Daddy added.
“We are,” I promised. “I wanted to be extra careful, after what happened with—”
I abruptly cut off when I realized what I was about to confess.
