A Beast Sees No Beauty

Chapter Twenty-Five

The moment Vincent saw responses to the invitations arrive he felt panicked. Did he regret it? Possibly. For this one split moment in time, Vincent McCoy regrets ever taking Juliet. He felt guilty for the countless lives he ruined or set back. Because if he had been kind and if he ignored the debts owed to his father, then none of this would be happening.

Then again, he would never have met, Juliet. He would never know what it was like to belong with someone and to be accepted for who he was. Everything he discovered about himself after meeting Juliet was worth all the pain and heartache. He'd do it again even if it meant he'd give her away and never see her again.

Juliet however, was completely ecstatic to see her siblings' responses. Not only that but everyone was taking the time to come in, all except her father. His letter was apologetic, but he did not feel inclined to join them that evening, and he was confused by the entire situation. How was it that she left with a stiff upper lip, bravely venturing off into the unknown months ago, and now she was happily inviting him to join her and Vincent McCoy (of all people!) to join them in a celebration?

She almost wrote her father back, ready to explain everything in vivid detail, but when she lifted the pen to the paper, Juliet found that words failed her. What was she to say? Here she was sitting in what was once her prison, happily munching on fresh cookies from the kitchen as she planned a special party to celebrate her recovery (none of that was stated in the invitations of course, nor would it ever be mentioned to her family)?

Suddenly Vincent chuckled from his desk, causing Juliet to forget her stupor. "What is so funny?"

Vincent merely shook his head, refusing to answer at first. His lips quirked upward as he reread it all. "I doubt you'd find it humorous, but your neighbors seemed to misunderstand these invitations."

Juliet stood and briskly made her way over the Vincent, casually leaning over him and snatching the parchment out of his hands. She eagerly read through the short paragraphs, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. They were excited to join them for such a joyous occasion... blah blah blah. 

"I don't understand, all this says is the typical acceptance of the invitation. What's so funny?" Vincent beamed up at Juliet, taking in her knit brows as her eyes narrowed to read word after word again and again. To him, this was all too perfect. 

"Darling, did you bother to read the top introduction?" It was so rare for her to miss such a small insight, but Vincent would rather savor this moment for eternity than spoil it by directly stating the obvious. He'd rather let her eyes find the detail on her own.

"Yes, it says Dear..." Juliet's eyes bulged as she chocked on air. Of all the misunderstandings, this one took the cake. How had they come to such a conclusion after receiving invites to a party?

"'Dear Mr. and Mrs. Vincent McCoy,'" Vincent recited from memory and chuckled, watching as Juliet fished for words only to come up empty-handed. "'We would be honored to celebrate with you on this joyous occasion.' Juliet, you should have told me we were getting married, I shouldn't be seeing you so soon before the wedding."

Juliet let out a half-hearted chuckle as she set the paper down, walking away from him before he took such an awful joke too far. "Oh, come now darling, it's far too late to disappear now. Whatever bad luck we've attained isn't going to go away now."

Juliet bit her lip to stop herself from snapping. She wanted nothing more than to wipe that silly grin off his face. Would he even stop pestering her if she raised her voice at him? If she told him how he wasn't funny and they should fix the misconception? No, he loved messing with her. He loved finding things that made her tick and using them against her day in and day out.