Elonzo was quieter, though he did insist on passing more food my way. The potatoes? The chicken? Sauce? When I declined, he sat back down and shot me a knowing look.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I should have known. It’s that time, isn’t it?”
I didn’t quite understand. “What do you mean?”
“Aversions.” He nodded knowingly.
I was flabbergasted. Aversions? Aversions to what?
And then it dawned on me. My head shot towards Sebastian just as he was beginning to comprehend what his brother was hinting at.
“Oh, and congratulations!” Laura whooped. She would have leaped out of her seat to come around to embrace me too if Sebastian’s dad hadn’t risen at that very moment.
“My son, you have brought such a blessing to our family. Children are the most beautiful thing, and you stepping up to fulfill your duty in marriage…”
Sebastian stood up too. “Father, wait—”
“Sebastian, dear, don’t interrupt your father,” Sofia scolded. “Especially, when he’s about to give you a blessing.”
“But that’s exactly why I’m interrupting,” Sebastian continued. “Elly isn’t pregnant.”
The room was stunned into silence. No one moved.
“Oh, but we thought…what with such haste towards the ceremony…and Elly just now running out…”
Sebastian pursed his lips. I could tell he was picking his words carefully. As he always did. Always trying to keep control over things.
“Like I said. We don’t want a long engagement. Especially…” At this, he looked at me. “…since we are sure about our decision.”
I remained motionless. He waited for my response, but when it didn’t come, he filled in the gap for me. “Understandably, what with the wedding being so close, we are both feeling a little overwhelmed.”
He sat back down. From stunned silence, the mood now felt awkward. As if congratulations were far from appropriate but ignoring the announcement was even more out of place. So, what happened next was not that out of line. It may have been the only thing that could happen to salvage what had now turned to be a sinking ship of a dinner.
Elonzo rose. “Well, brother, like you did for me, I too didn’t want to steal your thunder. But I have to say, you have been an inspiration for me. Your commitment to pursuing love, not hesitating, not letting time stop you. So, with that in mind, I…no, Laura and I…” Elonzo reached his hand to Laura. She was glowing, a smile from one side of her face to the other. “This morning, on top of Catedral de Santa Catalina de Alejandría, I asked Laura to be my wife.” And with this, Elonzo gave Laura a kiss on her cheek.
“And I said yes!” she squeaked out.
Despite the packed evening of announcements, the family were straight up on their feet, giving hugs and kisses and congratulations.
But one person was not participating in the festivities.
Standing stock still, frigid, Sebastian wore the expression of someone who had lost the reins of a galloping horse.
The race to the altar was back on.
CHAPTER32
ELLY
Iwas a pretty easy teenager. Maybe that was because I didn’t exactly have a lot of friends, what with the schedule I was running. Sure, I had the odd classmates who invited me to their birthday parties, workmates who read out wacky stories from those “real life stories” from magazines so the time would go by faster, and then the odd fellow tennis competitor sharing a bus or car seat on our way to tournaments. But someone that stayed with me constantly. No.
Ironically, even my agent, who was literally being paid to be with me, left.
A bridal dress fitting was difficult enough to have to go through without having to lie to the face of your soon-to-be mother-in-law. The guilt was making me feel ill.
Especially now that the lie would take away from the rightful inheritor of the company. The son who was truly in love. Elonzo.
I was despicable. Disgusting. Only thinking about my problems when I was about to be fully involved (or very much implicated) in destroying another person’s life. I was sick.