"Maeve!" Mirabelle darted toward me, wrapping me in a hug like she hadn't seen me in years.
"You're finally back," she whispered against my shoulder, relief dripping from her voice. "I thought you'd never come to your senses."
I pulled away, my gaze drifting to the long dining table. Aunt Aurora sat stiffly beside Aunt Matilda, her elder sister. On the other side was Aunt Genevieve, and next to her, Uncle Brown Orchard, Fred's father himself.
The whole Orchard clan were at the table tonight. Including Fred who didn't spare me a glance.
Something was very different tonight and I could tell. Aurora, who usually greeted me with warmth, now had her lips pressed into a hard frown.
One look and I could already tell, Mari had already worked her poisonous magic on them.
Fine. Let them believe her lies.
I straightened my back, heart steady. I wasn't here to beg for a place in their family anymore. Not tonight. Not ever again. I moved towards the table, a practiced smile on my lips.
"I'm sorry I'm late for dinner." I said calmly, picking a seat.
"You're the only married woman I know who can't even keep a place in her husband's house," Matilda sneered, her fork clinking against the china before she even touched her food.
"I'm not married anymore, Aunty," I replied evenly, though my jaw tightened.
Matilda leaned back, eyes narrowing. "Then I must have worded it wrongly. You're the only woman who gets married and fucks another man on the night of her wedding and still divorce her husband. What was your aim Maeve Davis!" She asked.
"I didn't do that on purpose Aunt Matilda, I was..."
"...Framed?" Genevieve sipped her wine delicately, her gaze sharp as glass.
"Do you take us for a fool?" She yelled.
"Aunty please, Maeve is right. She wouldn't do such to brother Fred." Mirabelle came to my aid like the good sister she pose to be.
"Oh stop Mirabelle, you're not your sister." Aunt Matilda said.
"That's enough you two. We already agreed she's forgiven no matter what has happened." Aurora suddenly said, shushing her sisters. She was defending me like she did in the past when they all rose to attack me.
The scandal has caused so much problem for them and the Orchard family too. They had every right to be mad at me. I would be shocked if they aren't mad.
"You have spoilt this brat a lot Aurora. You always support her no matter how wrong she is." Genevieve said furiously.
"Maeve." Aunt Aurora called and my gaze shifted to her. "You have loved my Fred since you were a child, how could you betray him like this?"
"That's enough mother. It's clear she's not remorseful, I don't want her back." Fred interrupted.
"Nonsense. No one gets divorced in the Orchard family. Not over a small matter as that. You two must settle your differences tonight. Unless you want me dead." Aunt Aurora said and I smiled.
She has always been this dramatic and sweet. I wondered how she felt when she heard the news of my death in the past. While the world ridiculed me, she was the only one that stood by me.
Maybe I would have gone back to Fred in the past. But not in this life anymore. In this life, I didn't want to be associated with death anymore.
"Alright mother." Fred said to her, then he turned to me.
"If you apologize right now Maeve, maybe I'll accept you back." He said to me.
The table turned silent as everyone waited for my response. When I hesitated, Mirabelle got off her seat as she moved close to me.
"Maeve, think of me, think of us before you make any decisions. Listen to everyone and apologize. This is not a time to be proud." She said innocently tugging her my sleeve.
I had no idea when I spoilt my sister so much. She was already 21 and still acting like a 16 years old.
"You're right Mira." I said with a smile. "I'm sorry Fred for the trouble I may have caused you and your family. Though I would never willingly cheat on you with anyone." I said.
"But I can no longer be your wife because I know you haven't forgiven me."
"Maeve!" Mirabelle called shaking her head gently.
"I came here today to let everyone know that I and Fred are officially over."
"Who says I haven't forgiven you Maeve?" Fred asked with a frown.
"You cheated on me with another man on our wedding night!" Fred's voice thundered through the dining room, rattling the silverware.
"I have endured a lot because of you. My family and business name had suffered a lot because of you."
My hands curled into fists on my lap, but my face stayed calm. "And yet here you are, still clinging to me like you own me."
"Since I've caused nothing but trouble, it's wise you stay away from me Fred. Our relationship is nothing more than a boss and his worker." I said calmly, ignoring the silent glare from all angles of the table.
"Such an ungrateful brat. It's your fault Fred for falling in love with such menace."
"Don't worry aunty. It'll all be over today." Fred said.
"This is your last chance Maeve." Fred leaned forward, jaw clenched. "You're the one who has kept chasing me from the beginning Maeve. There's no need pretending like you don't love me before my family." He smirked.
"I'll give you one last chance and you dare not leave me, Maeve. You have no one beside me. Without the Orchard name, you're nothing."
"Do you still want to be my wife?"
For a moment, the silence in the room was suffocating. Aunt Genevieve and Matilda both smirked at the question.
Mirabelle bit her lip, watching me with false concern. Aurora's brows pinched together, silently begging me to yield.
But I had yielded once before. In another life. And it had cost me everything.
"No" My voice was steady, almost amused. I could hear Fred's rasped breath.
"I'll ruin you!" He yelled. "I'll ruin you so much you would not know what hit you Maeve. If you think any other man would want you after that scandal, then you must be a fool." He barked.
"Is that so?" I pulled out my phone and, without hesitation, opened my Clouta account. My fingers danced across the screen as Fred's smug face burned in my memory.
One line. One shot.
"@ClaytonGrey, will you marry me?"