Bonus Chapter One Queenie
Queenie watched as Quinn and Tenn talked to Killian with a frown. Something was going on there; she was sure of it. She prided herself on her ability to pick up on relationships between two people, and her sister was definitely more than just friends with this Tenn person. Not that she could blame her, the man was cute in a nerdy way and obviously took his gym time very seriously. She could also see just how happy and relaxed her sister was with him, in a way she’d never been with Joel.
Speaking of Joel, he was going on about something, and she smiled at him, but her focus kept drifting over to where Quinn stood with Tenn. Killian laughed at something she said and kissed her cheek before walking away. She didn't care about that. Queenie was four years older than Quill and Quinn, and Killian was eight years older than her, with a strict ten-year limit on age gaps. Plus, he saw her as a little sister and had bonded over their shared life experiences with their battles with anorexia.
Male models in the nineties were supposed to be almost as thin as women. While Queenie was genetically gifted with her father's tall, slender build and could eat whatever she wanted, go for a run, and not gain a pound, the only way Killian could stay skinny was to not eat. His body was naturally predispositioned to build muscle. She met him years after his retirement while walking in a show for his clothing line, and while she knew he had modelled in his youth, he’d never spoken to her about his experiences, just said while he was grateful for the experience and the opportunities it gave him with his clothing line, he would never have done it if he’d known what he knew now.
It came out eleven years ago when she heard through her parents that Quinn had been hospitalized again for her “dramatics” again. She and Killian had only been engaged for a few months, and he overheard her complaining about Quinn trying to steal the spotlight from her while talking to her mother and had asked her what was happening when she hung up. Queenie jumped on the chance to complain about her younger sister and dove into the story of Quinn's first hospitalization and what had happened.
“It's pathetic. She won't even talk to me and still needs to be the center of attention. Of course, Quill is eating it up. Mom and Dad are trying to talk to him about why he wasn't supervising their house renovations, and he told them to fuck off, it was their fault she's in the hospital, and if they wanted him to work on their damn house, they better back off and let him care for his sister.” Queenie rolled her eyes. “She can't stand not having his undivided attention.”
“What's wrong with her?” Killian had barely looked up from his sketches as she complained, and she frowned. She hated it when he didn’t take her complaints about her younger siblings seriously.
“She does this thing where she starves herself to the point she has to be in the hospital for months. Quill, Gramma, and Aunt Cathy blame Mom for it. Can you believe that?” She scoffed. “Like it's her fault Quinn can't keep food out of her mouth. We had to come back from New York Fashion Week when I was nineteen because she landed herself in the hospital. Aunt Cathy ended up taking her back to New York with her, I haven't seen or talked to her since, and now she's trying to get everyone's attention by doing it again.”
“So, she's anorexic,” Killian said slowly. “To the point that she was hospitalized for months at fifteen, and your Aunt felt she needed to be removed and kept from your family so she would get the proper care she needed.”
Queenie frowned. He seemed upset with her for some reason. “Her doctors said she needed inpatient treatment at an expensive facility, and mom and dad said it was ridiculous; she was just looking for attention. Aunt Cathy yelled at them and said she was taking her; they were terrible parents and didn't deserve to have a relationship with her. Quill was so upset he tried to go with them, but Daddy wouldn't let him.”
“Why would she starve herself for attention?”
“Because she's not tall, thin, and pretty like me.” Queenie shrugged. “Mom was helping me be a model, and Dad was helping Quill with his athletics. Mom tried to help her be a model, but Quinn would cry whenever she told her she needed to lose weight and tried to motivate her to do it.”
“How did she “motivate” her?” Killian's voice was strained. “Yell at her and call her names? Tell her to “just stop eating?”
Queenie nodded, getting nervous about how upset he was getting. “Yeah, but it was true. She's short and overweight.”
“So, your mother bullied her youngest daughter to the point that she stopped eating -”
“She didn't bully her!”
“Calling someone names isn't bullying?” He glared at her. “Telling her that her natural body is wrong isn't bullying? Do you think that's okay? How would you feel if your mother did that to you? Anorexia is a serious mental disorder, and your mother, father, and you caused it to develop.” His voice rose until he was yelling at her. “And she's being dramatic? If you don't want me to take that ring back, you better pull your head out of your ass real fucking quick and do some damn research. I also want you to read my interview with Men's Health. And after you've done all that, if your response is anything but to apologize to your sister and show genuine remorse, the wedding is off. Now get out, and don't come back until you're done.”
Terrified he was going to call off the wedding and she would have to tell everyone why, Queenie did what he asked her to, and what she found horrified her. She reached out to Cathy, who had been very reluctant to talk to her but eventually agreed to have coffee with her. Her aunt showed her a bunch of pictures of Quinn in the hospital. Queenie hadn't visited her because she was angry about missing Fashion Week and had no idea how bad it was, but seeing it made her feel like her stomach was turning inside out. She cried when her aunt explained how close Quinn came to dying.
She reached out to Quill, who initially didn't want to talk to her, which hurt, but eventually, he agreed to arrange a meeting with Quinn. She had Killian come with her for support, and he spent some time after her apology talking to Quinn about it and teaching her coping skills. Then, he gave her his number and told her to call if she ever needed help or if she felt like she was spiralling.
He agreed to continue the engagement when they left, but he wasn't the same. After they got married, they fought a lot about everything. She cheated; he caught her and agreed to a second chance. When he caught her the second time, he didn't say anything; he just had an affair and didn't bother to try to hide it. She felt like she couldn't say anything, and soon, their marriage was only still going because she refused to leave. She cheated several more times, and he continued with the same woman, who was short and built like Quinn. He told her two weeks ago he was filing for divorce.
When Quinn met Joel, he encouraged her to reconnect with her family. Queenie thought he was charming and attentive to Quinn, and she was instantly jealous of how much he adored her. She began to flirt with him jokingly, but he was conscientious and mindful of only doing it when Quinn wasn't around and asked her to stop doing it in front of Quinn for her mental health.
Queenie was surprised but very happy when Quinn asked her to be a bridesmaid. She actually really liked her younger sister when she got to know her. She was funny, kind and caring despite the way she had been treated growing up. She found she was jealous of Quinn and Quill's close relationship, and while she attempted to get closer to them, they remained slightly closed off to her, which Killian had put down to them being twins. During the reception, her mother told Quinn she looked like a whale, and Quill had kicked her and their father out with Killian's help while Queenie comforted her. Killian had made her wedding dress, and it was designed to accentuate Quinn's great qualities, and she was honest when she told her she was a beautiful bride.
As time passed, she became jealous of the way Joel treated Quinn versus how Killian treated her. She knew Joel was cheating; she ran into him in New York while he was with his side piece. But he met her for coffee and explained it was purely sexual; he had some kinks and respected and loved Quinn too much to ask her to participate in them with him. This was his outlet; he would never leave Quinn or let her find out about it and begged her not to say anything.
Queenie didn't think he was doing anything wrong; he still loved Quinn and did his best to respect her while still getting what he needed, so she agreed. It made her like him more that he was discreet and didn't rub it in Quinn's face. Watching Quinn with Tenn, she knew something was up. Tenn had barely noticed her, but he couldn't keep his eyes off Quinn, and he barely looked at his wife, who Queenie recognized as the woman Joel was having an affair with.
“Joel.” She interrupted him and laid a hand on his arm. If Quinn didn’t want him, she’d take him. “If you and Quinn ever divorce, give me a call. Killian and I are divorcing, and I've always had a crush on you.”
He smiled at her. “I don't think that will happen, but I'll keep it in mind.
Queenie nodded. She didn't say anything out of respect for Quinn, but she was sure she knew what was happening. She walked over to Killian.
“Stealing her husband before he knows he's about to be divorced?” He tutted. “That's a new low for you.”
“At least he hides his indiscretions.” She muttered.
“He didn't hide them that well, did he?” Killian snorted as Tenn began speaking, and they fell quiet as they watched the slide show. Killian's face twisted, and he shuddered. “That's the kind of guy you want?” He shook his head in disgust. “Good luck with that.”