An entire month went by.

  During that month, Harry and I had flown back to Philadelphia numerous times. We could have just stayed in the city, but he and I both didn't like being so close to my family and we wanted to spend time in London. London had quickly become a home to me. It was much more welcoming than Philadelphia. 

  "Babe, I've got your bag," Harry called out as we stepped off the private jet. "We're home!"

  "Thank the Lord," I groaned. "I missed this place." 

  We had been out of London for a whole week. During that week, the court met three times. We had to attend every single time, and every single time we avoided my family like the plague. Even though they shared the same room as us for the hour or two that we were in the courthouse, we acted as if they weren't even there. They were dead to me. 

  "My family should be arriving not long after we do," Harry said, glancing down at the watch on his wrist. "The timing isn't the greatest, but my mum is bringing all the food so we don't have to prepare anything. She just asked me if we could heat everything up at the house."

  "I'm nervous," I admitted. "I guess it helps that I've met Gemma before."

  "And she adores you, by the way. She talks about how cute you are nearly every time I ring her."

  I beamed at his words. It meant a lot to me that Gemma thought so fondly of me. I knew that family was important to Harry, so having their blessing and approval was crucial. It added more pressure to meeting his mother, Anne, and his stepdad, Robin. They still hadn't met me, but they had heard a lot about me. My only fear was that they would have preconceived opinions of me from all the complications I brought to Harry's life. 

  "Has your mom said anything about me?" 

  "She's excited to meet you, I think. She asked me about five times if you had any food allergies when she was preparing us the meal. Cooking is her forte, if you haven't noticed." I smiled at how fondly he spoke of his mother. 

  "But what about this thing with my family? She has to have some sort of opinion on that. She must think I'm crazy."

  Harry glanced over at me, sensing my worry. "Babe, if anything mum asks me about how you're doing. She thinks of you like you're her own. There isn't anything to be nervous about, promise."

  His words put me at ease immediately. He moved his hand from the middle compartment of the car and rested it gently on my thigh, the thigh that wasn't being occupied by a very fat cat. I laid my hand on top of his as the car went around a bend. We were nearing the edge of London, where his home was. It was a secluded and quiet part of the city. That's why Harry liked it so much. 

  "I love you." I said. 

  "And I love you," he said sincerely. "Just as my family will."

  We buzzed at the gate and rolled up the driveway. Harry left the Range Rover to sit on the pavement instead of pulling it in the garage. As soon as I opened the passenger door, Cat was bounding out of the car and running as quickly as she could toward the flower garden. Whenever we spent time in London, her favorite spot to be was in Harry's garden. It was one of the reasons why so many of the flowers were dug up or shredded. 

  "C'mon, Cat, inside now." Harry commanded. He scooped her up with one hand and pulled along his luggage with the other. I picked up my duffel and followed him into the house. 

  "Feels like it's been ages," Harry sighed. "I could go for a nap right about now."

  "I should shower off before your family comes," I said, glancing at the clock in the kitchen. "You should take your nap while I shower and then help me pick out an outfit."

  He smirked. "Or I could shower with you."

  "Right before your mother comes to visit? Didn't you say they'd be here at 5:30?" 

  "Yes." He grumbled. 

  I rolled my eyes and took his hand, leading him into the bedroom and all the way to our king sized bed. He plopped down in the middle of it before crawling under the covers. 

  My shower only took five minutes. I really just wanted to wash off my body, because I always felt gross after travelling. When I returned to our bedroom in a towel, Harry had propped himself up on some pillows and had the television on in front of him. He watched me intently as I made my way from the bathroom to our closet to pick out some clothes. 

  "Don't wear anything fancy, it's only my family," he called from the bedroom once I was in our closet. "Or you could just stay in that towel, if you'd like." 

  "Keep dreaming, H," I called back, a grin on my face. I shuffled through the racks of clothing before settling for jeans, a plain white shirt, and a bomber jacket. After getting changed, I returned to the bedroom. Cat had already fallen back asleep in Harry's lap, and when he started to get up off the bed she meowed in protest. 

  "Poor girl gets so tired of the travelling," I sighed.  

  "I'm thinking of letting Gemma house sit for us next week," Harry said, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at the grumpy animal. "By the way, she's bringing her cat Olivia over. She promised me they would be fast friends." 

  "I'm pretty sure Cat's only friend is you." I pointed out. 

  "Guess this should be interesting, then," 

  The front doorbell rang and I jumped at the sound. My nerves still hadn't completely settled. Harry smiled brightly and kissed me quickly on the forehead before grabbing my hand and leading me back through the hallway, toward the front door. 

  "Don't worry," he reminded me. "Just be yourself. They'll love you."

  Harry opened the front door and at all once the commotion began. Anne immediately introduced herself to me and gave me the biggest hug that I had ever received in my life. Robin, her husband, introduced himself as well and shook my hand firmly. Right off the bat I could tell that she was the more enthusiastic one of the two, but the smile that Robin had on his face told me that he at least liked me, which I was glad for. Gemma was a step behind them. As Harry had told me, she carried a black and white cat in her arms. 

  "Is this Olivia?" I asked. 

  "This is she." Gemma smiled before pulling me in for a quick embrace. "Was the flight alright?" 

  "Yeah, it was fine. I think we're both getting a little sick of flying back and forth, but next week should be the last time we have to fly to Philly in a little while." 

  Harry hugged Gemma and she took a few moments to play with his hair. Anne asked her son where she should put the dishes of food and he led her into the kitchen. The rest of us naturally followed them. Gemma let Olivia down on the ground and I watched as Cat suspiciously stared at her from the bottom of our staircase. 

  "You'll have to excuse her behavior, she's not used to having to share the attention." I said. 

  We all gathered around the island in the kitchen and Anne put her food in the oven to reheat. As we waited for our meal to be ready, Harry caught them up with the things we had been up to. He skimmed over some of the details concerning the trial, which I was thankful for. He draped his arm over my shoulder as he recounted about how we had initially met each other. Anne and Gemma would chirp in every so often with an "aww" or a sweet remark. It seemed that I had already gotten their approval before they had even met me. 

  At dinner Harry continued our story. It was the first time that I realized how much we had been through together. Surely it all could have easily been written down in a book somewhere. It seemed that the tale was definitely lengthy enough. 

  "So let me get this straight," Gemma interrupted. "You met her at a bar, then decided to crash her wedding?"

  "Well, yes. But my intentions were good." Harry defended himself before biting into his garlic bread. 

  "And why did you never tell us that you got arrested?" Anne asked. 

  "Mum, we were protesting. And before you blame it on Mia, it was entirely my fault. I was the one who suggested that we protest at SeaWorld." 

  "Now where is this picture of you holding the snake? I never got to see it." Robin piped up. Harry searched through his phone, then slid it across the table so he could look at it. The three of them laughed at the terrified expression on Harry's face as he blushed and grabbed for his phone. He was clearly embarrassed. 

  After nearly two hours of Harry retelling our story, the mood had seemed to shift. Of course, there were bits about my family and Matthew that Harry couldn't just skim over. They already knew that our whole journey hadn't entirely been smooth sailing. They had to have known what the charges against my husband were. It was difficult hearing Harry recount it all. His hand was rested on my leg under the table. Our physical connection kept me from going back to those dark times in my life. Still, it was uncomfortable to be so vulnerable when meeting his family for the first time. 

  "That's terrible." Anne remarked. 

  "I'm so sorry you had to go through it, Mia," Robin apologized. 

  "You're a modern day hero in my eyes," Gemma admitted with a small smile. "And I'd love to write about you sometime." She glanced over at Harry, who had an unreadable expression on his face. "Seriously. You've got an important story to tell that could help a lot of women who face similar situations. It would be really cool to get your message out there for the world to hear." 

  "I'm not sure." I admitted honestly. 

  "She doesn't have to say yes, Gem." Harry said gently. 

  "No, of course not!" Gemma replied quickly. "Don't feel like you have to do anything. It's understandable that it will take time for you to heal. You've been through a lot. But if you ever want to spread some awareness or shed some light on things, I would be happy to help." 

  I only nodded. I was still recovering. It would take time before I was ready to open up to the public about the life I was forced to live with Matthew. However, I also knew that my story shouldn't stay hidden forever. 

  "Well," Anne cleared her throat. "It seems to me that the two of you really are made for each other. I knew it from the moment Harry called me and spoke about you so fondly over the phone. You two are lucky to have one another." 

  "Your son has been a big part of my life. If it weren't for him I don't know where I would be right now."

  "He's got a big heart, that's for sure." Robin said. 

  And so we sat around the table, playing cards and enjoying each other's company. It hurt to know that I would never have something as special with my family that Harry did, but it was comforting to know that Harry's family could easily take the place of my own. They were loving and kind and everything that a family was supposed to be. 

  Eventually, Cat and Olivia began to bond. They laid under the table at our feet. It seemed that they shared a love for napping, and a friendship between the two was born. Gemma kept peeking under the tablecloth to check on them and take the occasional picture when they did something especially cute (which seemed to be every five minutes).

  At around 9:30, right before Harry's family was about to leave, his phone rang. He frowned at the caller I.D and pressed it to his ear. The conversation was short, but the shocked expression on his face told me that it was serious. When he got off the phone, there were knots in my stomach. 

  "What is it, H?" I asked impatiently. 

  "That was our attorney. The judge has a verdict... and we need to get back to Philadelphia."

a/n: Winter Storm Stella has prevented me from leaving the house, so I got a lot of writing done! Also, this story is ending soon... which makes me so sad. Can you believe I've worked on this since the end of 2014? (You probably can, considering my updating schedule is literally the worst). 

  -Delilah