Becoming Mrs. Bryant

𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

Nova

April 10, 2023

I had told my mom that I was in Orlando, but told her that it wasn't some luxury visit, more like a "business trip." Because of that, my mom didn't bother me much, but she did ask that Aubrey and I touch down at her place before leaving. Aubrey and I weren't exactly in good standing, as you know, so I was scared to ask. Eventually, I just stated that my mom wanted to see us.

"Okay," Aubrey said casually, and that was that.

Nalani

Getting back on good terms with Celine was a hassle, given all that had happened last year with our daughters, and the not so nice things I said to her mother. But with our kids getting married, Celine's father dying, and the fact that we were of the few family members left in Orlando between both Aubrey and Nova, we figured we had no choice but to be tight knit.

So I was kind of upset with Nova upon hearing that she cheated on Aubrey. I can't say it was hard, or easy, to believe, because quite frankly I never actually paid attention to Nova's love life when she was growing up. I didn't know what type of lover she was, but given her kind, soft hearted demeanor, I figured she was a good one.

And Nova cheating on Aubrey might've just set Celine and I back a little. I mean, of course she was on her kid's side, and I have yet to hear mine, but I had to support Nova regardless. I wasn't gonna team against her and make her handle this on her own.

"Are you sure having her come here, having them both come here, with us four here is a good idea?" Aubrey's father asked. "I mean, you said it yourself Nalani, Nova doesn't even know her dad is back."

"We can slay one dragon at a time," I said in a light tone, though I wasn't sure if I was certain of that. Nova and Aubrey would be here any moment now, and Nova was 17 when she and her father stopped speaking. She was old enough to recognize him.

I heard a knock at the door, and sighed heavily. I looked back at the other three parents and made a "breathe in, breathe out" gesture, to which they followed.

"Hi mom!" Nova said excitedly as she came in, seeming to not notice Aubrey's parents or her dad. She hugged me tight, snuggling her head into my chest, and I started to feel real bad. This poor girl was gonna think she was set up or something.

"What are they doing here?" Aubrey asked, referring to her parents. "Who?" Nova peeled out of my grip and saw Aubrey's parents as well. "Oh."

"Hey honey" Nova's dad said, standing up from behind a chair that he'd been using to conceal his visibility. Nova's face wasn't exactly readable before, but right now? You'd think she had seen a ghost. Aubrey looked back and forth, trying to get some perspective of the situation through Nova's facial expression. "What's going on?"

"Honey, we just wanted to talk to Nova's parents about how you two have been as of late?" Aubrey's mom informed her daughter, to which her brows furrowed. "Why? I didn't ask you to do that."

"Why are you here?" Nova asked, still looking at her father and ignoring the conversation between Aubrey and her parents. Her voice was a low whisper and was shaky. Maybe this was a bad idea after all.

"I've missed you," Nova's father said. "I had been wondering about you for months. Hearing you're doing better than anybody could've imagined was honestly the highlight of my year. I'm so proud of-"

"Bro, shut up!" Nova hissed, as the room got deadly silent and everybody looked at her. "You left with little to no explanation. And I don't wanna hear 'that's between your mom and I,' because it isn't. It was mom that had to tell me what was going on, and she barely did. You eventually stopped picking up my calls. It seemed evident at one point, that you had blocked my number. Let me guess, the woman with three fantastic sons that you began seeing after mom, dumped you?!"