Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
ISABELLA
For once, my chest didn’t ache when I woke up. I still rubbed my fist over my heart absently and realized that I hadn’t needed to. Even with the letter that surely had to have come from William, I hadn’t had a panic attack.
I had gone out with the girls for our bachelorette party, with both Daisy, our friend who happened to own a security company, and Blakely looking out for me.
But we hadn’t let on that there was a worry.
Because Sophia deserved the best wedding we could possibly give her.
After all, she was the first Cage of our generation to get married. Which sounded surreal to me.
My baby sister was getting married. And from the way that she spoke about Cale, and every time he looked at her, I knew that their love match was something to aspire to.
He fit in with my brothers so easily. In fact, I’d been worried that he had been a little too passive since the Cages tended to have big personalities.
But instead he listened politely, and quietly added jokes when nobody suspected it.
He was just a nice guy who made my sister happy. What more did I need?
“Why are you thinking off in the distance?” Emily asked, and I reached out and patted my sister’s hand.
It was the night before the wedding, and we were having a calm and soothing evening with just the girls before we headed to our hotel rooms. Most of the wedding party was staying at the hotel that way we could enjoy a little more time together, while people like Weston’s family were still staying at their relative’s homes.
I could have stayed at my apartment with Weston, but as the maid of honor, Sophia had wanted me here.
And now we had champagne, decaf tea, and little cakes and desserts just to unwind for the evening. No male strippers as Dorian had threatened.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I finally answered Emily. “Honestly I’m just thinking about the fact that we’re going to have a married sister soon.”
“I’m getting married!” Sophia said as she held up both hands and did a pirouette in the center of the groupings of chairs where we all sat.
I clapped, my chest tightening in a whole different way watching my sister dance.
She had always been so graceful, elegant.
With her long neck and longer legs, she was the exact embodiment of a ballerina.
She had put her body through hell in order to make that happen, and when she had hit her pinnacle, she had retired.
But I knew she routinely danced in her studio to keep in shape—and because she loved dancing.
“Any special dance you have with Cale for the wedding?” I asked.
Sophia waved me off, smiling.
“We’re having a small wedding. No group dances.” She pointed at Emily and Phoebe. “And no flash mobs.”
“That was so ten years ago,” Phoebe said pointedly, and she and Emily burst out into laughter.
My mother sat next to Sophia, her eyes on her knitting project as she worked on what was possibly a blanket.
I didn’t know exactly what she was working on, but I was striving to be a stronger person.
I didn’t know what my mother had been thinking in lying to us for so long.
But all of this hate and resentment wasn’t going to get me anywhere.
In fact, it just proved to me that leaning into that worry and emotion just added to my stress.
“What are you making, Mom?” Sophia asked, following my gaze.
My mother looked up, her cheeks pinking. “Oh, it’s just a blanket.”
“It better not be a baby blanket,” Sophia said quickly, and I choked on my wine.
“Oh. Really?” I asked, surprised she was the one who brought it up.
Sophia snorted. “Cale and I are getting married quickly because we love each other. And we’d rather spend our money on buying a home and going on a trip rather than a long and tedious wedding. But no, I’m not pregnant. Hence the champagne in my hand.” She held it up to the light.
“It could be non-alcoholic for all we know,” Blakely said, fluttering her eyelashes. “But it’s not like we’re going to ask.”
“Seriously. If you were pregnant, you could have just told us when you wanted to. It is none of our business until it’s time for us to be aunties,” Emily said with a grin.
“It’s a marriage blanket. And at the rate I’m going, I should be done by the time you get back from your honeymoon.”
I swallowed hard, tears pricking my eyelids.
“Really Mom?” Sophia asked as she reached forward and gripped my mother’s hand.
“Really. You and Cale are just so happy together, and it’s a tradition in my family, at least with my grandparents, to have a blanket for the marriage bed.
And no, it’s not for good tidings and luck with babies and fertility,” she said with a small laugh as Emily and I gave each other a look.
We really didn’t want to think about fertility when it came to our mother.
However, it seemed that being fertile was not a problem when it came to my parents and even Dad’s other wife.
And I wasn’t going to think about that anymore then I already had.
“My mother never made one for me for obvious reasons. And no, we don’t need to talk about that at all. However, I wanted to continue the tradition. So, you don’t have to use it or put it near your bedroom. But it’ll be for your home.”
Sophia’s face pinked as tears slid down her cheeks.
“Oh Mom. I love it already. Thank you.”
“You’re so welcome. You and Cale are going to be happy, and I cannot wait to see what you have in store for the rest of us. Between the dance studio, your new home, and your wedding, you are such a bright light for your future.”
Phoebe cleared her throat. “Well, now that I’m crying, does anybody want another glass of champagne?
” she asked, moving around quickly. I knew Phoebe would be next, and then most likely Blakely, even though she wasn’t technically my sister.
But she would be when she married Aston. Everything was coming full circle.
And I wasn’t going to let panic attacks that hadn’t happened in a while or letters from a man who scared me to no end ruin it.
“Is something wrong?” Blakely asked, muttering under her breath.
“No, why would you think that?” I asked, only partially lying.
“Because I know you better than anyone in this room, even your sisters. What’s going on? Beyond that letter.”
I looked sharply around the room, afraid someone had heard, but Blakely only squeezed my hand.
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just excited for the wedding.”
“I keep thinking about what would happen and what would I say if Aston asked me.”
“Really?” I asked, a small smile playing on my face. “He wouldn’t just order you?”
Blakely laughed, and I squeezed her hand right back. “He might order, but it’s still my choice. And of course I would say yes. I never really thought I would get married.”
My brow shot up. “Why?”
“Because I sucked at relationships. However, I realized that those poor dating experiences and exhaustion from them had nothing to do with me, rather than me not picking the right person. And Aston’s my right person.”
“When do you think he’s going to propose?” I asked.
“You know, he is your brother. I could have you ask for me.”
“There is not enough champagne in the world for me to ask my brother anything along those lines,” I said dryly.
“True. Though maybe I should be the one to propose to him,” Blakely teased.
“Please do it. When you’re ready, please get down on one knee and just startle him.”
Blakely threw her head back and laughed. “As if he would let me get away with that.”
“He might,” I said softly.
“I don’t know, I think he has a plan. He’s being secretive, but in a fun way.”
“I’m so happy for you. And Phoebe, and Sophia. My family keeps growing.”
“If our family continues to grow, we’re going to run out of room even at Aston’s place,” Emily said dryly. “As it is, the new big brothers haven’t even been to my apartment. Our immediate family can’t even fit in my apartment,” she said with a laugh.
“You’re just starting out,” Mom said, clucking her tongue. “And do not compare yourself to the others. They had a different upbringing.” Mom went back to her conversation with one of Sophia’s friends, as if she hadn’t just dropped another bomb, reminding us of everything that had happened.
I drained my glass of wine, knowing that no matter what happened next, I was going to have to find a way to get along with my mother. Because I loved her, even if I didn’t like her in that moment.
“So, what is this I hear you’re dating a man from Cage Lake?
” my mom asked, and I froze, wondering how on earth she could have heard that.
Of course, the rehearsal had been that day so it wasn’t as if I had hidden my relationship.
But I had barely seen him all day. I’d had wedding things to do, and he had hung out with my brothers.
Cale had his own set of friends, so none of them were in the wedding party.
But they had taken Weston and his siblings in as their own.
So while I wasn’t hiding it, I hadn’t come out and said I was dating anyone to my mother.
And we were dating. He was my boyfriend.
Which sounded like such a trivial word because I didn’t know what I was doing.
We had been so good at not talking about labels, that we had foregone the idea of a label altogether.
I didn’t know where we were going in the future, because it wasn’t as if we lived similar lives.
They were parallel to the point I wasn’t sure when else they could cross.
But panicking like I had in the past wasn’t going to help anything, so I let out a slow breath, allowing Blakely’s hand on mine to anchor me.
“His name is Weston. We knew each other from before,” I said, hoping my voice sounded pleasant, and not as if I was on the verge of another panic attack. Because I wasn’t going to be. Damn it.