Chapter 8: : Chapter 8

“Don’t worry so much.” I tell my father as I straighten his golden Father of the Bride pin, glad it’s just the two of us in the room. Mom and Dad have done all they can to keep my grandfather and me apart while trying to be discreet about it, and I appreciate it more than they’ll ever know, but it wasn’t necessary. As it stands, Serenity’s list has occupied all my thoughts to the extent that seeing my grandfather hardly even registers. All I’ve been able to think about is the way she’s been avoiding me and the way she felt against me on the sofa—and then again in her bedroom.

“What if we’re just condemning Celeste to even more years filled with pure unhappiness?” Dad asks, his expression torn. “Have you seen her lately? I barely recognize her.”

I shake my head, my gaze drifting to the whiskey bottle on the dresser in his hotel room. “We’re not,” I reassure him. “Haven’t you noticed how she’s regained that fire in her eyes? She’s no longer listless, going through the motions aimlessly. Just being around Zane again makes her come alive. I’d take an infuriated Celeste over the version of her that wasn’t truly living.”

Dad nods and reaches for the bottle, staring at it for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. I can pretty much guess what he’s thinking. Zane, my sister’s fiancé, gave him that priceless bottle the first time he came over for dinner, many years ago.

Neither of us had been accepting of Zane and Celeste’s relationship, in part due to the years-long rivalry between our families and the resulting feud between Zane and Celeste growing up. They went from hating each other and continuously attempting to sabotage each other in high school, to falling in love shortly after Celeste returned from college overseas, and neither Dad nor I could quite understand it.

In hindsight, those years were the happiest I’ve ever seen either of them. If I could go back in time, I’d have been accepting of them sooner, and I’d have questioned them both a little harder when their relationship went up in flames.

“Let’s go have a chat with Zane before the ceremony,” Dad says, tightening his grip on the bottle before handing it to me. I nod hesitantly and put the bottle back in the bag Dad wrapped it in.

He seems conflicted as we walk to Zane’s room in his hotel, and truthfully, I feel the same way. I won’t admit it, but I’m just as scared we made the wrong choice when we pressured Celeste into this arranged marriage. After all, neither of us knows why they broke up. All we saw was the aftermath, the mutual destruction.

I take a deep breath before knocking, my mind made up. Celeste might hate us for this, but I’ll take that over watching her waste away.

Zane pulls the door open swiftly, both his movements and his expression betraying his irritation, only for shock to take over his features. It’s clear he was expecting his four brothers. Even after all these years, I can still read him the way I used to. After all, throughout the years that Zane and Celeste dated, he became my best friend. I was closer to him than I was to Ezra, and I always thought he’d become my brother-in-law. He was family. Still is.

“Can we come in?” Dad asks.

Zane nods and stands aside to let us in, and I hesitate before following Dad to the small seating area in the corner, not quite sure what to do or say. Zane hovers by the door for a moment, and then he follows us, sitting down next to Dad. “I didn’t expect…this,” he says, his voice softer and kinder than I’d anticipated. It’s clear he wants no part in this marriage either, but I suspect that, deep down, he knows he’d never walk away from a chance to make Celeste his wife.

Dad smiles and leans over, startling Zane as he straightens his bow tie and the rose boutonnière on his suit. “You’re about to become my son-in-law. It’s not so odd that I’d want to have a word with you beforehand, is it?”

Zane shakes his head, and I straighten in my seat, a tinge of hope settling in my chest. God, I hope he makes my sister happy. I hope he saves her from herself. No one but him can do it, and fuck, between the two of us, she deserves happiness most. At times, it’s like we’re both cursed, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to take on her pain, to see her smile again. “The day Celeste introduced you as her boyfriend, we took you out to the garden,” I remind him. “Do you remember what you promised us then?”

Something flickers in Zane’s eyes before he looks away—something that looks a lot like the love he used to look at my sister with. Back then, he promised us that he’d love her with all he has and that someday, he’d make her his wife. He promised us that he was going to make her happy, despite everything standing in their way. It’s a promise I need him to keep, now more than ever.

“I remember.”

Dad reaches for the bag we brought with us and pulls out the bottle of whiskey. The way Zane looks at it tugs at my heartstrings. It’s a bottle that belonged to his late father, and I know it wasn’t easy for Zane to part with it.

“I’ve been saving this for today,” Dad says, and the edges of my lips turn up slightly as I reach for the glasses Dad put in the bag for this moment.

Zane is quiet as Dad pours him a glass, clearly more overcome with emotion than he cares to admit. “It won’t come as a surprise to you when I tell you that you’ve let me down,” Dad says, and Zane instantly tenses. “I don’t know what happened between you two, Zane, but I know my daughter isn’t blameless. For years, I watched you try to hurt each other, and I know it won’t stop anytime soon. The only question I have for you today is this: Do you, underneath all that hatred I now see in your eyes, still love my daughter?”

I raise a brow, having expected that question about as much as Zane had. Zane remains silent and runs a hand through his hair, pure conflict crossing his face. He takes a deep breath before raising his face to look my father in the eye.

“Yes.”

This time, I can’t suppress my smile. Relief washes over me, and I lean back in my seat. I’d known he still loved her, but hearing him admit it is still reassuring. I nod at him and hand him a glass.

“Then this is what we’ll do,” I tell him, placing my full faith in him once more. “Each time we see you, we’ll share a glass. By the time this bottle is empty, you’ll need to have fulfilled your promise, or I’ll do what my sister doesn’t have the heart to—I’ll fucking annihilate you, consequences be damned.”

He nods slowly, clearly not wanting to make a verbal promise. I know what he’s like, and I know how much Zane and Celeste have hurt each other. He might think there’s no way forward, but I know he’s wrong.

Dad sighs and taps his glass against Zane’s, and I follow suit. “For real this time,” I tell him, reciting the same words I once told him. “Welcome to the family, asshole.”

Zane grins, no doubt remembering the first time I said those words. I just hope I won’t come to regret saying them this time.