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“And?”
“And?” Mom repeated incredulously. “That girl has deprived you enough over the years. She gave that other boy a white-dress wedding, she can do it for you. Like she was supposed to all along.”
“I’ve had enough of your bullshit today, Layla,” Aunt Harper snapped. “You have either run your mouth or sat there like some spoiled little brat who isn’t getting her way. This isn’t about you! You’re lucky that you were even invited, but Violet wanted to include you because she loves you. Too bad the same can’t be said for how you feel about her, because obviously, the only thing you care about is causing drama.”
Mom jerked to her feet, but when she did, Aunt Harper and Aunt Dallas stood in unison. Lucy, Aunt Lana, and Aunt Emmie quickly got to their feet, putting themselves between the others. “This is supposed to be a beautiful day!” Lucy hissed. “Please think about what you’re doing. Is bloodshed how you want to remember this moment?”
“Not having my child sobbing her heart out in the goddamn dressing room is how I wanted to remember this day, but that hope has already been quashed,” Aunt Harper snarled, pushing closer, getting past Aunt Lana. It didn’t look like Lana was doing much to stop her friend from getting to her sister, but she was at least pretending. Knowing Lana, she probably wanted to cause a little bloodshed of her own where Mom was concerned.
“Seeing her in a white dress was my hope for the day,” Mom snipped, not backing down. “Looks like neither one of us is getting what we want today.”
Setting Love Bug on her feet, I used my own hands to cover her ears in order to keep her from being scared. Once her ears were protected, I unleashed all the frustration and rage that had been building.
“Enough!” I bellowed.
Mom flinched, and everyone but Aunt Emmie jerked back at the sharpness of my voice.
“Luca, this isn’t just her wedding!” Mom argued. “You deserve—”
Lowering my head, I met her gaze head on, letting her see every ounce of fury that was bubbling in my blood. “Vi is getting whatever dress she fucking wants. Because our day doesn’t revolve around a motherfucking dress. That’s just a piece of fabric to cover her up as she walks down the aisle. Our wedding is about the love we have for each other, the family we’ve created together. The life we plan on living side by side until we take our last breaths.”
Breathing hard, I glared at the woman who had nearly lost her life bringing my brother and me into the world.
Where the hell had that selfless woman gone, and why was I looking at someone who felt like a complete stranger now?
Chapter 7
Violet
“Vi, it’s okay,” Mila called through the door. “Don’t worry about what Layla thinks. As long as you are happy with the dress, nothing else matters.”
I leaned back against the dressing room door, no longer able to keep the tears in check after the last dress I’d put on and walked out in to show the others. My mom had been all smiles and happy tears, gushing over how beautiful I looked in the gradient purple dress that started out a lighter shade on top and ended in a purplish, blue-black at the bottom. Aunt Dallas had held Mom’s hand, and the two of them had openly wept over how beautiful they thought I was.
Lucy and Aunt Lana were nodding and whispering about how gorgeous the varying shades went with my eyes, making them practically swirl with purple the way Luca’s did with brown. Aunt Emmie had given her nod of approval and said it was one of the most beautiful dresses she’d ever seen on any bride. Meanwhile, Shaw, Mila, and Love Bug had all been dancing with excitement over how pretty it was.
Love Bug couldn’t wait to have a dress just like it—because Daddy said she could.
Then came Layla’s huff and the scathing way she’d raked her eyes over me from head to toe. My heart had sunk into my stomach, and it took every drop of self-control I had not to burst into sobs then and there.
Stupid pregnancy hormones.
Disappointed, I’d gone back to the dressing room. With Shaw’s and Kayla’s help, I’d tried on the next dress. After one look in the mirror, I’d known without a shadow of a doubt this was the perfect dress to wear when I married my soul mate. The lighter purple on top blended into darker shades by the time it reached my hips, and then the many layers blended from dark purple to a purplish, blue-green that ended in a soft teal at the bottom. It reminded me of a mermaid, and I knew it was perfect not just for me, but that Love Bug would adore it as well.
And I just couldn’t do it.
I couldn’t go back out there and let that woman see my perfect dress and hurt my heart all over again. Only this time, it would shatter completely because this was it. This wasthedress. There wasn’t a single thing about it I would change—with the exception of the waistline as my belly grew with my pregnancy.
Once that realization hit me, I’d kicked Kayla out, pushing Shaw through the door behind her. The moment the door clicked shut and I flipped the lock, I was finally able to let go and have the cry I’d been fighting all morning.
“Damn it. There’re no windows in there. I can’t shimmy through one to get to her this time,” Shaw grumbled, making me almost want to laugh. She was the best bestie in the history of besties. When I’d tried to hide from the world, she’d scaled my parents’ roof, nearly fallen to her death, and then crawled through my bathroom window to comfort me while I’d had a mental meltdown.
But the memory only caused a sharp pain somewhere in the center of my being. Gasping for my next breath, I was helpless to stop the sob from escaping, and I slid down the door until I was a soggy pile of beautiful silk and tulle on the dressing room floor. Pressing my face into my hands, I let it all go.
“Vi, please,” I thought I heard Shaw beg brokenly. “Let me in.”
Ignoring her, I cried until my throat felt raw.
“Enough!”
