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“Do you want to talk about it?” he whispers against the top of my head. We’re laying in my bed, my head resting on his chest, and I’m still dressed in the white dress, half torn, partly stained, and completely destroyed. The smell of sex lingers in the room, but he doesn’t seem horrified by that fact. I think the pity he feels for me at this very moment trumps it all.
I never went back downstairs. Elijah did me the favor of telling everyone to go home, that the party had been canceled, and I would explain everything soon. I wasn’t looking forward to that part, but I’m sure they could put the pieces together. Elijah told me he had to promise Scar and Jade that I was okay, and he would take care of me. Apparently, they weren’t convinced, but had no other choice.
I wouldn’t have stayed at my uncle’s estate if I had any other option, but I’m not ready to go back to the beach house and face my friends.
The light pink curtains of my old bedroom have been replaced by dark, gray black out ones, making the room incredibly dark. I can barely see Elijah’s shadow and if I weren’t lying on top of him, I would have forgotten he was here until he spoke.
Lifting my head from its perch on his chest, I stare in his direction, the whites of his eyes gleaming in the darkness. “Do I want to talk about how just a few hours ago, I fucked the boy who broke my heart, gave myself to him not five minutes after announcing to my closest friends I was engaged to another? To you.” I laugh, black mascara tears staining the stark white fabric of his dress shirt. “No thanks, I’ll pass on that one. Prove I have even a miniscule shred of dignity left.”
I turn away from him, but he shifts beneath me, a low steady grunt leaving him. “Come on Stella, I’m not judging you,” he mutters, tilting my chin up so my gaze meets his again. “I know this engagement isn’t real. I know you love him and don’t love me, and well, sorry Little Dove, but I don’t love you either. You needed that closure, and frankly…”
I roll my eyes at how easily his mood shifts from careful to carefree. His demeanor is mocking. How could he possibly be so understanding?
“Please drop it, Elijah. I’m sure you don’t want to hear about how, despite all of it, I regret not one moment.”
He sighs in resignation, knowing there is no way he’s going to win this argument. Instead, he leans his head back against my headboard. “What happens now?” he asks, but I don’t think he’s really expecting an answer. I give him one anyway, the only thing I know for sure.
“We get married and you take me far away from this town.”
“That simple?” he asks, raising a thick, dark brow.
I shake my head. “Nothing’s ever that simple, Elijah.”
???
As expected, the next few weeks pass in a frenzied blur, especially because of everything that’s occurred since my failed engagement party. Between confessing most of what’s been going on to Scarlett and Jade, except the insignificant detail of my uncle’s abuse and ultimatum, since they both went into premature labor and had the babies just a couple weeks ago and don’t need that kind of tragic onslaught, everything is now out in the open. While Scarlett almost made it to her due date and gave birth to an adorable dark haired and blue-eyed princess, Caeli, Jade went into labor a whole month before hers.
There were some compilations that had all of us on the edge of our seat. Specifically, the anxiousness made Scarlett’s water to break and caused her to have Caeli the same day Jade had the twins, Onyx, and Sapphire. Yes twins, two golden-haired beautiful babies, a surprise none of us saw coming, an amazing surprise. Now I not only have one niece, but two, and a nephew. It almost makes me want to stick around.
Almost.
Scar, Ace, and Caeli are all settled in, while Jade and Bass visit the hospital daily, since the twins had to spend a few weeks in the NICU. It worked in their favor since the entire nursery had to be redone to fit two babies. Luckily, Bass finished it in no time.
As for me, I've been holed up in my bedroom, avoiding them at all costs, and hoping to avoid my uncle Stephan for as long as possible. He hasn’t called, hasn’t checked in, and mostly, been MIA since I announced my engagement. At least that’s the silver lining in all of this.
It hasn’t been easy. Watching my friends play house has been nothing but a loud and clear reminder of everything I'll never have. More reason for me to leave as soon as Elijah and I get married, which I’m hoping won’t be long from now. Then I won’t have to witness my best friends love their partners, their children, every day while I spend mine miserable in a marriage I didn’t choose, with a man who is nothing more than a friend. Sure, I can learn to care deeper for him, eventually, but we’d never have kids. I wouldn’t bring children into a loveless marriage like the one I was born into.
“Are you ready to go?” Elijah asks, as he sits on the edge of my bed, meeting my gaze in the mirror while I brush out my hair. It’s wet, thanks to the hour-long shower I ended up having and had no time to blow dry and curl it like I usually do. I didn't intend to take such a long shower, but it was the only way I could mask the tears continuously flowing out of my eyes.
I’ve added a layer of dark shadow. Jade showed me how to apply once, hoping to hide the redness and swelling. It works, but the glossy look in my eyes doesn’t hide that I've been crying.
“Elijah,” I mutter, meeting his sharp gaze in the mirror. “Before we go, I need you to answer what I’m about to ask, honestly.”
He watches me with a curious expression, unsure of what I’m going to say next. I’ve gotten so comfortable with him and having him in my bedroom watching me get ready is like second nature. Of course, nothing even remotely romantic ever happens, and never will, but I will admit ourrelationshipis peculiar.
“I’m not sure I can do that, Stella,” he admits, not an ounce of hesitation or malice in his statement. He’s just being honest with me. It’s what I asked for.
I ask him something I’ve been wondering about since the day we went out on the yacht. “Why are you willing to marry me?”
He meets my curious eyes with a stern expression, but not before I catch him looking worriedly down at the Rolex around his wrist. An uncomfortable look flashes in his eyes, and I swear I hear him clear his throat. Elijah is nervous, anxious even. I’ve never seen him this way.
For a moment, I fear his reason is much worse than anything I could imagine.
He clears his throat, this time louder, as he stands and walks over to me. He places a hand on my shoulder, holding my gaze in the mirror. “There is a reason, Stella,” he mutters, keeping a placid expression, “One I’m sure you’d never guess, but also one I’m not privy to tell you just yet.”
I scoff, annoyed. “I don’t get it. Why would someone just throw away their future and marry someone they don’t love just because, Elijah? There is a reason, and I don’t get why you’re scared to tell me. Is it that bad? Do you not think I can’t handle it?”
I knew he was going to come up with some bullshit excuse, and frankly, I’m tired of everyone thinking I can’t handle the truth. I’m not this delicate damsel who needs to be taken care of. I’ve already been broken and don’t think it’s possible to fall any harder than I’ve already hit the floor.
