Author's Note:
Rosalie and Vera are twin sisters (17)
Royce is not a rapist
There will be some insinuations of abuse and neglect
With that being said, please enjoy.
Rosalie POV
I hadn't managed to fall asleep the night before. The medication Dr Cullen had prescribed to relieve my anxiety had remained unopened and carefully hidden in a small hole in my mattress. They were supposed to help me sleep, I knew that, but I couldn't stand the groggy and out of control feeling I woke up to once they were in my system. And I couldn't afford to feel either of those things, not now while I was trying to ensure that everything in my life was going according to plan. I needed to stay in control.
"Rosalie, you need to be down here in a few minutes. Mrs Cullen and her daughter will be here soon to help plan the wedding" my mother called. I could hear the irritation and frustration in her voice, she usually did a better job of hiding how she was feeling but she had been slipping as the pressure piled on. My marriage to Royce was important to her too, it would mean that everything she had worked hard for would finally pay off. All the nights of no dinners so that we could afford better dresses, falling behind on rent payments so that we wore the best shoes, stopping the payments on our medical aid so that we could wear quality make up and have our hair done properly. She needed this to pay off, and marrying Royce would ensure that there was more than enough money to pay for what we needed. Being a King and not a Hale would mean that my sister and I were worth my father working two jobs and all the other things we had forced them into.
"How much do you want to bet that mama actually went grocery shopping for the Cullen's?" my sister asked, Vera barely contained her snicker. Our mother would never spend unnecessary money on food, she made sure that we were on a strict 'diet' at home so that we could eat at other people's homes. That was her idea of being a lady.
"She probably did buy food for today, she would lose her mind if either of us had too much of it" I reminded her. A cookie or a small slice of cake were okay on visits, but we would never hear the end of her whining if we overindulged today. "No, Rosa, she'd lose her mind if you had too much. You're the one who landed the millionaire, I'm still her 'work-in-progress'. Pretty sure she's given up on me though" Vera said solemnly, as much we hated our mother's focus on our lives we were both aware that it was much better than the way our father treated us. She gave us too much attention, he didn't give us any attention at all. The only time our father initiated contact or conversation was when we were in front of strangers, he loved to talk about his beautiful fraternal twin daughters-the beautiful blonde and the bodacious brunette. He was more than eager to marry us off to rich men.
"She hasn't given up on you Vera, I'll bet that today she watches the banana loaf to make sure you only take what you're supposed to. This meeting might be for my wedding but I know that she's going to invite rich single men to the party. For you" I assured her. We treated this all like a joke but we both knew that mama would never stop until we both made her rich and famous like she had always dreamed.
Mrs Cullen and her daughter Alice were both seated in the living room on one of the couches that mama said Vera and I had to stay away from. But on the other side of Mrs Cullen was the son that we had all heard about but had never seen, Emmet. Alice's older brother. He was just as big and scary and striking as I had heard he was, Emmet McCarty was certainly an attractive man. "Girls, look who Mrs Cullen brought over to see you today! Alice and Emmet" our mother beamed. Alice looked between the two of us with excitedly eyes, something I didn't truly appreciate or like, but Emmet had his eyes on Vera. His eyes would dart to her and then back to his sister so quickly that I wasn't sure if I was truly seeing what I had seen. Emmet seemed to like her. Mother would have a field day with this.
"It's so great to see you both, I hope that you don't mind me bringing my children over unannounced" Mrs Cullen smiled. She had always seemed so happy and motherly, someone that Vera called a storybook mother. I would bet that Vera was more than excited at the prospect of having Alice and Mrs Cullen around to force our mother to behave better.
"Of course they don't mind, Rosalie and Vera love to have visitors over, unfortunately Alice you would have to spend your time with Vera. I'm sure that she could find time to entertain you too, Mr Cullen" our mother smiled. She seemed to pick up on Emmet's interest in Vera.
Vera POV
"You must be excited about the wedding; Rosalie looks like she will plan something beautiful" Alice gushed. She looked excited, genuinely excited for someone she had never met before. Alice was sweet and kind, it was nice to be around someone who wasn't solely focused on Rosalie's beauty or using me to get Rosalie's affection. I knew that I was beautiful, but I wasn't as beautiful as Rosalie or even as confident as her. My sister was always my biggest cheerleader but I always knew that she was strong in ways that I was not and I tried to be strong in ways that she couldn't be. But Alice was someone that wouldn't be forced to be kind to me, she was just naturally kind.
"I am very excited for Rosalie's wedding, she deserves to be happy and I think that Royce will try hard to make sure that she is" I answered truthfully. Royce made sure to spoil Rosalie whenever he could, he delivered everything from flowers to decadent desserts to her personally whenever he could. "I hope that she ends up happy, your sister seems like a wonderful woman" she agreed.
Alice continued to ramble on about the various things that she had helped her mother with for Rosalie's wedding, I couldn't pay attention to all of it but it was clear that she was excited to be a decorator like her mother. She spoke of flowers and lights, place holders and placemats and they all seemed so very important to make the whole picture pan out. As much as she talks it doesn't bore me, my thoughts and my eyes wander but she becomes a comforting hum in the background, and I like that she continues to speak even if she happens to notice that I might have stopped listening too closely.
"Come on Alice stop, I'm pretty sure Vera could use a break now" Emmet admonishes, it's the first time that I've heard him speak. Ever, I realise. "Sorry, I know that I talk to much sometimes" she giggles. "Not too much…but maybe slow down just a little bit" I respond. Emmet and Alice barely speak after that, instead we all sit in a comfortable silence and patiently wait for Rosa, my mother and Mrs Cullen to finish with the wedding plans.
"You cannot be serious mother!" I hear Rosa shout, I don't know what has happened but I do know that Rosalie, like our mother, like to give the impression that nothing is wrong in our lives. Whatever it is that sets her off must be one of the things Rosa had put on her "Not up for discussion" list.
The list is very short: no forcing Royce to buy extravagant gifts, no forcing either of us to abide by our 'home rules' on her wedding day and that Rosalie does not want our parents to embarrass either of us by 'selling' me off to the highest bidder. I can't imagine what it is that set Rosalie off but I know that she wouldn't risk a scene like this if it wasn't something important.
"I should…go down and talk to her" I say quickly, but there are sounds of slamming doors and even more shouts of how Rosalie has always been selfish and that it isn't fair of my mother to make this day about her. "Maybe we should make sure that everyone is okay" Alice suggests. But I hear what she doesn't say, she wants to make sure that her mother is still okay and isn't left scarred or running for the hills.
Rosalie POV
"Esme, can I call you Esme? You can't imagine just how grateful we are to have you plan all of this for us. Rosalie has always wanted an expensive wedding ad we are so lucky that you can give this to us" my mother gushed. It is more than unsettling to hear her speak like this, if Mrs Cullen hadn't thought that I was a gold digger before then she would definitely think so now. My mother always thinks that she is helping while she does the opposite.
"I'm more than happy to help plan Rosalie's wedding, Rosalie and Vera are such sweet girls. I don't know them very well but I have heard such wonderful thigs about them both" Mrs Cullen smiles. My mother nods and does something that can always be interpreted as a bad sign, she pulls out her purse and takes out the professional photos of both Vera and I that she uses when she tries to convince a man that we are worth his time. "I couldn't help but notice that your young boy was watching my Vera, he seems to be taken with her" she says smugly. I don't even look at Mrs Cullen, I am more than embarrassed at my mother's behaviour. She had promised that she would not use my wedding to throw Vera onto the first 'suitable' man she could find.
"Mother, I'm sure that Vera could speak for herself, our focus is supposed to be the wedding plans" I remind her. But she doesn't seem to be interested in remembering the promise she made to me. "Nonsense Rosalie, you have found your happily ever with Royce King don't you want your sister to be happy too? Vera and Emmet are so very clearly in love" my mother insists. "You've made promises mother, do not forget that" I say through my teeth, I don't want to make a scene in front of Mrs Cullen but I will if it means that Vera won't feel forced to marry someone she doesn't even know.
I was lucky, even though Royce was chosen for me he tries hard to make me happy, and he definitely tries hard to make sure that we will have a good life together when we get married. But I know that I could handle myself if Royce ever changes, I know that he has a reputation for paying attention to more than one girl at a time, and I know that I won't lose any sleep if he decides that I am no longer worth his time. I will not take anything to heart if this doesn't work out. Vera is more sensitive than I am, I know that if she is ever cheated on it will break her heart. She will make his problems her problems. And I will not let her go through unnecessary danger.
"Rosa, are you okay?" Vera asks, she has the Cullen siblings behind her and I can see from her face that she, and the others, have heard at least part of our argument. "Yes, we're perfectly fine kids. Just a disagreement on the seating chart…your sister thought that we shouldn't add Emmet and Alice to our table, dear" my mother says. Rosa shakes her head in disbelief and holds her hand out for me to take. "That isn't what I was saying mother and you know it" she hisses, she wraps her hand around my waist and pulls me into her body for a hug.
"She wants you to end up with Emmet, but I don't want you to do it just because she says so. It looks like he likes you, it does, but she's not going to force you into this like she forced me" she whispers. I know that my sister wants to protect me and I can see that she doesn't want me to be stuck with our mother when she's gone.