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    They've been here for half an hour, and so far, nothing has been mentioned about the wedding. Not much has been mentioned at all, just the common niceties about the weather, what they've been up to since last we saw each other and how much they enjoyed the cakes.

"Talking of cake," I start. They all look at me. I can tell they're waiting for me or Cameron to mention we're seeing each other, but that's not coming out just yet. "I got off the phone to the estate agent this morning; a second cake shop is being opened in Southampton. They accepted an offer I put down for a retail outlet."

Dad grins and stands up immediately, engulfing me in a hug so tight I might stop breathing. "Congratulations, sweetheart."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Closer to home," Mum says. "Congratulations, sweetheart." She grabs me in a hug as soon as Dad lets me go.

"Thank you."

Luke's next; he stands and kisses my cheek before hugging me even tighter. "That's amazing, sis."

"It'll take a few months for the store to be ready with the fitting and everything, but we're both moving there when it opens—" I take a breath, anticipating all their eyes to move to Cameron. "—so we can get the business moving and stuff. Hopefully, if it takes off, we're hoping to open a restaurant for desserts and stuff. I've got some ideas for this new store, and nothing quite like it there, so I'm hopeful."

"So... elephant in the room time," Luke says, and his fingers move between us. "You two are... together?"

I look at Cameron, who stands up from the sofa and stands beside me. "I guess we can tell 'em."

"It's pretty obvious, to be fair," Luke answers.

"We're dating. Not official or anything. We're also business partners, so... yeah. And no, I didn't leave Courtney or do what I did to be with Cameron," I say.

"That's not what anyone but Lily and Courtney thing," Mum says.

I shrug as we all sit back down. "It was Cameron who saw them together and told me about them having an affair. So he helped me get out of the wedding and sort myself out. We went on what was meant to be my honeymoon together, sorted out the shit we needed to sort out, and we sort of agreed to see where this goes."

No one says anything.

"You mentioned Lily and Courtney. Are they together?" I sigh. Technically, I don't care, and good luck to them if they are, but the nosey part of me also wants to know. Surely this would be what they wanted?

Both Mum and Dad look uncomfortably at each other, but it's my dad who clears his throat and says something.

"Yes. They're living together now, in Bournemouth. Lily is really hurt by what you did to them at the wedding ceremony. I guess, in a way, no matter what they did, those photos shouldn't have been leaked. Have you seen how it's doing the rounds on the local news?" Dad says.

"I'm not looking at the news. If anyone is looking for an apology, I won't give them one. I'm the hurt party here, Dad, no matter what happened at the ceremony. I poured money that I could've saved for my business into that wedding; money and time into making the cake, and the dress, and I came back to Bournemouth to do it. I don't know if anyone realises but six years ago, I fled for a reason. All of that came back every time I was there, especially on that beach. I just... no, no one deserves an apology but me."

Luke sighs. "We're not even here to discuss this, guys."

"Come on, Luke, after that, of course it'll be discussed," Mum chides.

"I mean, it's done nothing but good for Dad. He's now the leader of the party," I point out. The other candidate pulled out last week with no support, so Dad's now the leader, hoping to be prime minister at the general election.

"It could've done so much damage, though, Kenna. You're lucky it didn't." Dad wipes his face. "It's a stupid thing for me to ask if this is worth losing your sister over because if I were in your shoes, I'd feel the same as you. But the photos were not a good move. It's done, and everyone is going to drop the subject from now on. I think we, as a family, should move forward. If that means you don't want to be involved with Lily, we can respect that."

"Rob—"

"No, Sarah, we have to accept it," Dad cuts Mum off.

"He's right, Mum," Luke adds. "Especially if she's with Courtney."

I stay silent during this exchange. Cameron's hand grabs mine and squeezes for support. This is what I wanted; my family's support despite the shit. I love them all so much, and I still love Lily deep down, but what she's done is so horrible that for now, I can't forgive it. Maybe in the future.

"Okay," Mum says.

"I have one question to ask," Dad asks. "Six years ago... what the hell happened, Kenna? What is so fucking bad that you don't want to be at home anymore?"

My brows furrow. This feels like that moment before with Cameron. I can go two ways here, I can tell them all the actual truth, have it out there and be done with it. That, however, opens the floodgates for everything to come out to everyone – including Patty and Leo. That's something I don't want to happen, but gives everyone the truth once and for all. It's my truth now, not Elliott's in a way.

Or I could keep silent like I have for six years and just shrug it off.

"Well, it's obvious. Elliott died, Dad, and... I couldn't stay there anymore." I sit up. "It's not about you guys or the place. It's about what happened and how I'm reminded every time I go back. It's the memories and the hurt. He didn't just break up with me, or whatever. He died – killed himself. It hurts every time, and I was nineteen. I don't think I'll ever stop grieving over it, and that's okay. You might not understand; I don't expect anyone to, and I hope no one does because it means they'll have experienced it."

"Why did he do it, Kenna?" Luke asks. He wipes his eyes; clearly, talking about him hurts like it does for everyone else. "I know you know. It's time we all knew the truth."

My eyes fall to Cameron, who sits forward and inhales. On his exhale, he says, "I don't think that's anyone's right to know unless Kenna thinks it's appropriate."

"I assume you know, then," Luke retorts.

I go to defend him, but Cameron stops me by interrupting. "No, I don't, actually. It's absolutely none of my business. Kenna told me she knows, but also said Elliott left her a letter saying he wanted no one to know. We should respect it; we know what we need to know."

I hate he lied, but I appreciate and get why he did it.

"It's clearly been haunting you for six fucking years, Kenna. Forcing you away from your family; what the hell happened?" Luke demands.

"Luke, leave her alone," Dad cuts in.

I look down, wiping the tears away from my face. To be fair, Luke's got a point. It's affected everything in my life and forced me to run away from home. The secret forced me and Cameron apart, even as friends, it forced me to not be able to go places I used to go, and not look at people the same way I used to. 

For so long, it's been the bane of my existence, but since telling Cameron the truth – he could've been anyone – it's freed me. I'd rather not go back to Bournemouth to live because the knowledge and experience still haunt me, but it doesn't hit the same way it used to. My life feels unfrozen now, thawing out fully so I can move forward and not be trapped. I guess, in a way, my life has been stuck on ice until I told someone the truth.

Had I been braver before now, I could've saved myself so many years of torment, but in a way, I guess I needed it. I needed to work through it, grieve, and forge this path I've made for myself in his memory. I've made this work, and it was because of being stuck, now the path is being cut and paved better for me.

But that also doesn't mean people need to be hurt by the truth. That's collateral damage, and it's not fair. No one else needs this burden of knowledge.

"Kenna would've said something before now if it was anyone else's place," Cameron says.

I stand up and shake my head. "No one else needs to know."

"What about Patty and Leo, huh?" Luke argues.

"No. Elliott left me in charge of this information and I decided they don't need to know."

"You've changed, Kenna." Luke sighs. "This isn't the sister I used to know."

They say the truth is a bitter pill, right? It's not meant to taste nice or be digested as well as you'd think. People always ask for it but never enjoy it. The problem is, I know the truth, and I know Luke's right. I havechanged, but not in the way he thinks.

"Yeah, I have," I agree. "But you know what? You might think that's a bad thing, but you have no fucking idea what I went through. All of you don't get it. Elliott wasn't just my boyfriend, he was my best friend. You didn't see what happened – even I had no idea what happened to him and why he did it for a long time. While I was in the dark, I saw him change before my eyes and I hated it. You're lucky you don't know. I needed to run away and have these six years to get my head around it."

I take a breath. No one answers me, I suppose there's nothing to say.

So, I carry on. "But I'm someone new now. Someone who doesn't get buried by it, someone who doesn't want to burden people with the truth. I'm sorry I did what I did at the wedding, but I needed to free myself and that was the only way I knew how to. From now on, my new life begins and I don't... I've moved on from the past, and while I will never get fully over what happened to Elliott, I will accept it and move on. Everyone needs to because it happened whether we like it or not. I'm happy with this life, with Cameron."

No one says anything. I guess what can you say to that? They need to get over it, and they know they do. As a species, humans have a curious nature, and they don't like it when they know there's information they're not privy to, rightly or wrongly. And, now I'm looking between my parents, Luke and Cameron, I realise that all these years, it's been my truth – and Elliott's – that's been my bitter pill. Now I've matured and grown from it, it's everyone else's because they don't get a say in hearing it.

They say a problem shared is a problem halved, but in this case, that is not true, and I love these people enough not to keep sharing what happened because it'll break their very foundations like it did mine.

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They all leave later after we all agreed to move forward and stop thinking about every aspect of the past. The only thing bad between everyone is Lily and me – and that's not going to be mended anytime soon. Somehow, I think Lily is distancing herself from everyone simply because she's with Courtney and knows no one likes that.

I also just don't care anymore. Somehow, I don't think I ever did, not about Courtney, anyway. For me, it was the principle and the actions – or inaction – of my sister with the bond I thought we had.

I pack away the rest of the cakes into a tub. They look good enough to sell as stock in the shop, so I put them away in the fridge to take in tomorrow.

It's when I turn around that I see Cameron leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, and a smug grin on his stupid face. Though, I must admit, it makes him look even hotter with the stubble around his mouth.

"What?" I ask. "You look proud of yourself."

"I'm proud, yeah, but not of me." He gestures towards me. "Of you."

I close the fridge door again and scoff. "Of me? Why?"

He stands properly in the kitchen. "Because of what you said in there, to them. About the whole not telling them thing. For a moment, I thought you might tell them, and that's your choice, but the way you told them all you were a new woman and everything... it was amazing."

I shake my head with a smile. "Shut up."

"I'm serious, Kenna. Look at how far you've come. When you fled, after the night we slept together, it was... you were completely broken. I get why, obviously. But you were this hollow shell of a person. Even every once in a while, I saw you when you came home with Courtney, it was like seeing this hollow person again. You were never the same. I didn't expect the same Kenna I watched grow up before he died. But seeing how you've bloomed since, it's amazing. Even since you found out about Lily and Courtney, it's been amazing watching you grow and realise your worth."

I stop in front of him and kiss his stubbled cheek. "You're being cheesy."

"Nah, I'm telling the truth."

"Thank you. I feel like someone new, almost like telling you just made me someone new. That sounds so selfish because I've burdened you with it."

Cameron shakes his head and pulls me into his hold. He smells like his usual deodorant and it's like home is enveloping me. "It's not burdening. It's the truth, and though it's not nice to know, it is what it is, and thank you for trusting me with it." He kisses my forehead. "I have to ask you something."

I know exactly what he's going to ask, and I don't want to stop him. Hell, I want him to ask. "Hm, what's that?"

He grins before kissing my forehead. "It's been a few weeks now, and I wanna ask where you are on the relationship front. Are you... ready?"

I find myself giggling. Maybe it's being thrust into the spotlight, so to speak, or maybe it's because I was expecting him to ask differently.

"Something funny, Kenna?" He's now laughing too.

"Nothing, literally. I think I'm just nervous." I look into his eyes. "Last time I was in a proper relationship, it turned out badly. I suppose we've been living in a relationship, though, so nothing much will change."

"That's the thing. We've been in one without the label. I promise you now, I'm in this forever. You and me. No cheating with your siblings or whatever. After everything we've been through, this is the one good thing."

"You don't have to convince me this is a good thing, Cameron, I know it is. Of course I'm ready, I'm just having a funny moment. Quite literally." I giggle before he kisses my lips.

"Then, will you, Kenna Taylor, be my girlfriend?"

I nod. "Of course I will."

We kiss the agreement, and though I didn't feel ready, now this feels so right and like I'm ready to start my new life. 

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