As soon as we stepped out of the car my mother was standing in front of us.

She pulled us into the small building connected to the kitchen.

She handed me my lipstick and then put her attention on Ana.

"This is not as bad as I thought it would be, good job." Mother smiled as she fixed Ana's mascara.

"You and me both." Ana laughed. "I think it's just really good mascara."

I pulled out my phone to text Ronan.

He had her out the door before I even reacted. He didn't just behave himself, he also got rid of someone who wasn't invited almost painlessly.

For us at least.

Me: That was a quick reaction earlier.

Ronan: I know a deranged parent when I see
one.

Me: Well, you've gained my trust. Who knows what would've happened if you weren't there. Thank you.

Ronan: If I knew throwing a homophobic bitch against a church exterior would gain me your trust I would've done it sooner.

Me: Ha.

I turned slipped my phone into my pocket. Ana was about ready now.

"What flavor cake did you end up deciding on?" I looked at her.

"Seriously Rosa?" My mother scolded.

"Did you see the church ceremony, that was all me? I don't care about the cakes." I stared at her.

She wanted me to be more involved in the wedding.

"I hope I forget that you said that." She started to fix my hair.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled.

"It was a joke dear. We don't apologize after jokes, we laugh."

"If it makes you feel better Valentina she did come to the cake tasting. She even left me a list of the ones she liked." Ana smiled.

Mother smiled. "Good."

"It's the chocolate one with raspberry filling." Ana leaned against me carefully.

"Ooh. That one was my favorite." I smiled.

"I know." Ana giggled.

"How? I didn't tell you." I looked at her.

"When you really like something you smile, I managed to catch that one before you hid it." She walked away from me and did a small twirl.

"We're dancing before dinner right?" I glanced up at Ana.

"Yep." She nodded.

"Mother don't you dare." I stared at her.

She frowned. "Are you happy?"

"Very." I smiled.

"That's good enough for me then." She sighed.

"What are we waiting for again?" Ana walked up and wrapped her arms around me.

"We walk in after everyone gets here." I kissed the top of her head.

"Then why did we leave first?" She mumbled.

"I don't know." I laughed.

"Do you want me to go see how many people are here? I can give a rough estimate for time." Mother smiled at me.

"That would be great, thank you."

I ran my hands down Ana's back. "You okay?"

"Did I ruin it?" She sniffled.

I pulled her back to look at her face. "Hey, no crying. What are you talking about?"

"The wedding." She waved her hand in front of her face to try and dry her tears.

"How would you have ruined the wedding?" I rubbed her shoulders.

"My mother." She wiped a tear away.

"Hey, that was not your fault." I placed my hand on her cheek. "I don't even think that ruined it. I would've preferred it didn't happen, but everything's okay."

"Okay." She nodded.

Mother walked back over to us. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Ana exhaled. "Everything's fine now."

"We're just waiting on your brothers and Cat. I don't think it will be long."

"Okay." I nodded.

The door to the room opened and a man I didn't recognize stepped in.

My father stepped in behind him. "I think you should head back to the reception Valentina. You can come get these two when the others arrive."

Ana almost ran behind me. Mother shook her head once and stepped out.

It hurt but there was nothing she could do. She was still married to him, she still lived with him.

He gave me a dark smile. "Congratulations."

"Leave."

He almost looked offended. "Fine, I understand I'm not wanted here. I just came to remind you that this is still a secret. If a single soul outside of the people you know finds out, she's dead." His gaze turned to stone.

"Fine. I won't wear my ring out. Now go."

"As you wish." He sighed. "But remember Rosa; as long as this stays hidden, I am not the enemy."

"I'll keep it in mind, please go. You're scaring her." I tried to keep my voice even.

I was seconds away from lunging at him.

He nodded once and walked out.

The guard stayed behind for a second. He lifted up his sleeve and showed a small tattoo of a lavender sprig.

Then he winked at me.

He was gone before I could say anything.

I turned to Ana. To my surprise, she started laughing.

I placed my hands on her face. "What's so funny? Are you okay?"

"Have you ever heard of the lavender club?" She laughed.

"No. Ana, please. Are you going into shock?" I pushed some of the fallen hair from her face.

"No." She giggled as she shook her head. "He's gay. You have an ally in your father's personal guard."

Mother walked in. "They're here."

"We can discuss this later." I rubbed Ana's shoulder.

"What was that about?" Mother grabbed my wrist.

"Nothing new. It's disgraceful and sinful and the world must never know." I sighed.

"Like father like daughter." Ana grabbed my hands and pulled me past my mother out the door.

"What?" Mother stared at her.

"Ana." I sighed.

"I'm changing my name for you. Let me make some jokes about it." She rolled her eyes.

It wasn't so much the name as it was the teachings I was born with.

"As much as I'm enjoying this conversation, it's time to go." My mother smiled at me.

"Right."

...
We made our big entrance. People clapped.

I found it stupid and boring but Ana seemed to enjoy it.

We sorta danced. Ana wasn't very good at it so we did more of a slide in rhythm.

She smeared the cake all over my face after she cut it.

I found it quite hilarious until Jesús informed me he had pictures.

I danced with Ronan a bit when Ana was with her brothers.

We promised we'd marry each other if the world ever became one where our kind of love wouldn't be allowed.

We'd discussed this before. He was surprised to see I still agreed sober.

He was a nice person to talk to.

I'd never had a friend like him before. The very few conversations we had revealed how much we had in common.

All the names my father had called me, everything he did to me. They had happened to Ronan too.

He just heard it from the world.

Thankfully we had some positive things in common too.

Our exit was almost as grand as our entrance.

The plane ride was long. I never slept well on planes, even in first class.

By the time we got to the beach house, I was exhausted.

"We should go to bed. To avoid jet lag." Ana leaned against me.

"It's only eight." I smiled.

"You're a walking zombie." She laughed as I pulled her towards the bedroom.

I smirked. "I guess I'm not so different. It's just not brains that I'm hungry for."

Her face turned bright red.

I pressed kisses along her jawline as I shoved her against the wall.

She fumbled with the clips in my hair and managed to get it down.

I pulled her off of the wall and tackled her down onto the bed.

She laughed as she tangled her fingers into my hair. "How about you have some fun this time?"

...
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