Chapter Eleven
CHAPTER ELEVEN
NOW
“YOU KNOW,” ALEX STARTS but takes a sip of his beer, and I have a feeling I’m not going to like what follows. “For someone in an arranged marriage, you don’t seem too happy about getting out of it.”
“Alex.” Nick pinches the bridge of his nose.
“Look, someone had to say it!”
“He’s not wrong,” Finn adds.
The four of us found our way outside not long after we finished stuffing our faces with various pies and desserts. Nina was putting Elena to bed. Dad and Uncle Jim were watching the football game while Michaela, Mom, and Uncle Jim’s girlfriend, Tessa finished cleaning up the kitchen. Tessa is the owner of a local cafe in Winchester. Nina had introduced them two years ago, and they started dating a few months later. Just before I walked outside to meet the rest of the guys, Kai snuck off to take a phone call (because, apparently, business truly never stops) while Eileen played with Ophelia. And Elizabeth…Well, I’m not sure where she snuck off to.
“I know he’s not wrong,” Nick says. “But—”
“No, he’s right.” I sigh. “I’m not happy about it.” Shit, this is the first time I’ve admitted that out loud. What good would it do anyway? It’s not like she’s coming back. “I care about her—”
“Not enough to fight for your marriage,” Alex protests, earning a warning glare from his brother. Alex rolls his eyes and leans forward to say, “What? It’s not like you haven’t thought the same thing.”
Nick doesn’t respond though, he just stares into the distance, taking a sip of his beer.
“It was never going to last.” I sigh. “Elizabeth didn’t want this. If it had been up to her, she would have married William.”
“Yeah, okay.” Finn scoffs.
Finn forgets that Elizabeth and William were headed for the aisle in the next few years had she not been forced to end things because of this arrangement. Not only a Cain, but an adopted Villa child, marrying the son of the local congressman was a match made in heaven. It was everything Ethel Cain could have wanted for her daughter, everything Brina could have wanted for her, too. But then I had to come along and mess up those plans.
“Despite his shortcomings, Will was a good match for her, in terms of lifestyle and—”
“You’re leaving out the part where him leaving her high and dry on the dance floor wasn’t part of this ruse,” Finn says. “That was just him being an asshole. Oh, and let’s not forget, he planned on breaking up with her at the beginning of the year anyway. So no, William was not a good match for her.”
“Well, I think you should fight for it,” Alex says, taking another sip. “You guys are good together. I don’t care what you say, that wasn’t all for show.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I say, scratching at the wood arm of the chair. Elizabeth doesn’t need me anymore, she has Ryan, and she seems…happy. Despite how I feel, I won’t ruin her opportunity to be happy. I clear my throat and readjust my glasses, adding, “She’s already moved on.”
It’s Nick’s turn to scoff.
“Something you want to share with the class?” Finn asks.
Come to think of it, Nick has been awfully quiet this whole time. Does he know something?
Nick swirls his beer around the bottle and chews on the inside of his cheek. I can tell he isn’t sure telling us this is the right choice. Whatever he knows, I get the feeling his wife won’t be very happy if he decides to tell us. Thinking about it a second longer, he decides to do it anyway. “Ryan is a fucking douche. Nina hates him.”
“Funny, she seemed friendly enough with him,” I say, earning a confused glance from the others.
“What do you mean?”
Nina didn’t tell him about my trip down south? That’s surprising. I would have figured Nick would be her first call as soon as I left.
“When I went down to Charleston…Jupiter Beach…Wait, Nina didn’t tell you any of this?”
The confusion on his face confirms she did not tell him.
A humorless chuckle escapes me. “I went to Elizabeth’s house. I was going to…Well, I’m not sure what I was going to do, but I just knew I had to see her. When I got there, Nin answered the door, and then this guy showed up.”
“You met him?” Alex practically jumps out of his seat.
“Remind me why we don’t call Jerry Springer?” Finn asks.
I think he’s joking, but I also think he’s partially serious. Truthfully, we could probably get some good ratings with all the shit that goes down around here.
“Nina kept the interaction brief and ensured no one could ask too many questions, but she seemed happy to see Elizabeth moving on.”
“Nick,” Nina interrupts the conversation and all heads turn toward her. Her gaze is narrowed like she knows what we’ve been talking about. And she probably does. Who knows how long she’s been standing there? “Your dad is leaving. Pat and Jenny, too.”
“Right.” Nick sighs, rubbing his palms on his thighs before he stretches into a stand. “Probably best to call it a night, anyway.”
We walk back into the house, where Ophelia sleeps soundly on her father’s shoulder as he follows Eileen out of the house, careful not to wake her up. Michaela is telling Mom and Dad bye, since she and Finn are staying here until Sunday, along with Elizabeth. I offered them a room at my house, but Michaela preferred Nina’s guest bed. And I can’t lie, they are pretty nice.
Mom pulls me into a tight hug, tighter than the one I reciprocate. Sometimes, I barely recognize the woman in front of me and I’ve started to wonder if the woman I grew up with ever existed. She blended into the world of the Winchester elite without pause, while Dad still struggled sometimes. He was a simple man and didn’t require the glitz and glamor this world had to offer, but I know he wouldn’t trade it either. He loved his family, loved the life he’d been blessed with since Elizabeth and I were thrown together. But not Mom, she relished in her new status and all that came with it.
Dad only offers me a handshake. He and I haven’t talked much since the news broke about the separation. I don’t know if he knows—about the arrangement—but from the little interaction we’ve had since May, I think it’s safe to say he knows something. I haven’t brought it up because if he doesn’t know, I’m not sure I want to have that discussion. I’ve already disappointed one parent, I’m not sure I can handle disappointing him, too. Mom wasn’t thrilled about the separation, but she said she wasn’t all that surprised, either. I was out of my league with Elizabeth and I was lucky she’d stuck around as long as she had, even with the agreement in place.
Uncle Jim grips my shoulder and squeezes, and it’s a little comforting before he and Tessa follow my parents outside. Like Dad, I’m not sure if he knows the truth, and I haven’t asked. If they don’t ever know the whole story, I just might be okay with that. Nick and Alex join them to say their final goodbyes, leaving me and Nina for one of the awkward goodbyes that we’ve become accustomed to.
“Thanks for dinner, Nin.” She doesn’t respond, only offers a small smile, and I pull her into a hug. “I know this isn’t easy for you, and I’m sorry, but I just want you to know that I love you.”
She tightens her embrace a little before taking a step back. “We’ll get through it.”
Her words are so simple, but they mean a lot, and for the first time, I feel like maybe we will. Dinner was okay tonight; nothing eventful happened, and Elizabeth and I kept our distance for the most part. If things stayed this way, maybe we could do this after all. It will take some time for the awkward tension to subside, especially when she brings Ryan, but we can do it…I think.
Nina squeezes my arm one last time before heading back toward her bedroom to check on Elena.
“You off tomorrow?” Michaela asks, coming out of the guest room at the top of the stairs.
“Depends.”
“Lunch?”
“Only if you’re paying.” I smirk, earning an eye roll from my sister.
“Fine.” She nods and pulls me into a hug before sauntering off to the kitchen. From the sounds of it, she’s pouring herself another glass of wine.
Elizabeth is the only one that remains. Before I can say anything, she glances around the fireplace toward the kitchen. Satisfied that Michaela and Nina are preoccupied, she grips my hand and pulls me down the hallway off the foyer. “We need to talk.”
Talk?
“Sunday, meet me at Millers All Day.”
“In Charleston?”
Why the hell does she want me to drive all the way to Charleston to talk? The last time that happened…
“Shh! The last thing I need is your sister or Nina hearing.”
“Why can’t we just talk now?”
“ Because,” she snaps. “I don’t need any of them poking their nose in my business.”
Fair point.
“Sunday, eleven-thirty.”
What in the hell could be so important that I have to drive all the way down to Charleston again to talk about it? I want to say no, but from the look on her face, I know that I can’t say no.
“Fine, but make it one o’clock.”