Chapter 7

August 6, 2022

Nashville, TN

Lizzy/Izzy

My name is Isabella Bingley.

I have a loving family.

They have been desperately searching for me these past 18 years.

Oh and they are crazy rich.

I checked my phone for the 100th time since I finally laid down around midnight to try to sleep.

It's 3:08 am and the now familiar mantra is on repeat in my thoughts.

My new family or I guess my old family? Original family… I will need to work on what to call them. Asked me to stay with them at their house last night. Saying that it was my home and that I should be with them. Which I totally understand. But it just felt a little strange. Not that I don't feel welcome and very much loved by them. It's just the fact that I don't know them.

Jane thankfully sensed my unease with the situation and offered to drive me back to our apartment for the night.

After multiple hugs from my new sisters and brother in law, Charles and Will walked us out to Jane's car.

Charles gave me a quick goodbye hug and as soon as he pulled back, pulled me back in for another hug, this one a little longer.

"That's for dad. He wanted me to tell you he loves you and he will be here soon. Most likely in a few hours. I am sure he is already on his jet. Would it be possible for us all to have breakfast together?" Charles looks at me hopeful and then at Jane and Will.

We all nod in agreement.

"How about you text me when you are awake and we will make plans then. I am sure Marcus, your dad, will be ready to see you as soon as possible." Will says gently.

"Ok, sounds like a plan." Charles gives me a big smile and a final nod and then says goodnight to Jane.

Will opens my door on the passenger side, I get in and buckle my seat belt. He leans in and takes my hand and locks eyes with me.

"Try to get some sleep." He says quietly just for me to hear. I can hear the concern in his voice.

"I will try." I say while giving him a tight lipped smile.

A cough from behind Will interrupts our staring match.

I laugh at Charles and how quickly he has become my big brother protector.

Will rolled his eyes, closed the door and Jane and I headed back to our apartment.

But now after yet another check of the time it's 3:15 am and I am wide awake.

My mind races over all the events of the day.

What a crazy long day.

Hey, any chance you are up?

I text Lot, desperately needing to tell someone all this new information.

Sort of. You can text me but I might not answer back.

I laugh at his honesty. It's always been that way with us. We have always been eachothers sounding boards. He must sense I need to just spiel for a bit.

Deal.

So I get home from camp. I go see you at the shop. I meet Will again, but this time he is no longer the pompous jerk. This time he's sweet and kind. Still awkward though, but it makes me laugh and somehow it's super cute. Then Jane convinces me to be a third wheel on her date with her boss. We get to the restaurant and Oh wait Will is Charles' (Jane's Boss) best friend! But we're just beginning in the shock factor. Long story short, after a long revelation we realize that Charles is actually my brother.

I send the text and leave it at that. Knowing most likely that any second I would get a call from Lot. Even though he said he might not read it, I know he is too curious not to.

Not a minute goes by and my phone buzzes and a picture of an old school Lancelot pops up on my screen.

"WHHHHAAAATTTTTT THE HECK LIZZY!!!" He yells into the phone so loud I actually have to pull it back from my ear for a second.

"Yeah I thought you would be intrigued by that little tidbit." I say nonchalantly as Lot lets out a few curses under his breath.

"Yeah, just a tad. So is it for real, is his family your lost family?"

"Yep. It's for real. Not only do our stories match perfectly, they also showed me pictures of their… I mean my mom in her twenties and we look scary identical." I say thinking about that moment when they had busted out the old photo albums. They also had shown me pictures of me with my family before I went missing. I thought of the pictures I have from after The Bennet family had found me. The hundreds and hundreds of photos we have that were taken over the last 18 years. The small photo album The Bingleys had of me when I was young was nothing compared to the hundreds of memories I have with The Bennets.

So much time that was lost. So many memories that could have been. Would I have been a different person if I had grown up with the Bingleys? These thoughts attack my brain and I hear Lot trying to get my attention.

"I'm sorry Lottie I missed what you just said?"

"You said 'they' is the whole family there? Is it a big family?" He says with a yawn and I mentally berate myself for keeping him up. But I know I would do it for him if he needed it.

"Him and his two sisters are renting townhouses on the outskirts of the city. I met them both tonight. The eldest is married and has a three year old. The middle sister who is three years older than me is nice, but I'm not sure we will have a lot in common. But they were so welcoming and loving. They have been searching for me non-stop these past 18 years." I say still with disbelief. Unable to truly fathom that they wanted me.

"Wow. I mean just… wow. That is unbelievable. Are your parents.. Um are they still…" He tries to find the words to gently ask if they were still alive.

"Alive? My dad is, but my mom passed away just a few weeks before I went missing. I haven't seen my dad yet though. He lives in Chicago and was flying here on his jet. I will meet him and the rest of the family for breakfast in a few hours." I say looking at the time on my phone now reading 3:55 am.

"Um excuse me did you say jet! The man has his own jet?" Lot asks, completely shocked.

I let out a loud laugh. "Uh yep. I forgot to mention that part, they are crazy rich. You should see their houses. They are so fancy. They asked me to stay with them last night, but I just couldn't. It just felt too weird. It's just so completely opposite to the life I have always known. I mean the Bennets were not poor, but not at all like having this kind of money."

"Well don't let that be a reason you keep them at arms length. They sound like they really love you."

His words hit me. It's the truth, I was already putting up walls.

"Thanks Lot, you're right. Ok, go back to sleep now." I say running my fingers through my tangled hair.

"I want to hear all about your reunion with your dad. Also I want to meet them when things calm down." I hear him let out another yawn.

"Deal. Night Lottie."

"Night Lizzy."

My eyes finally start to feel heavy and I'm out not too long after.

August 6, 2022

Nashville, TN

Will

5:15 am

After staring up at my ceiling for the last hour trying not to think of Lizzy, I finally convinced myself I am not going back to sleep and to get out of bed.

An hour ago I was awoken by a text from Charles:

Hope this doesn't wake you, just want you to know my dads here. Come over to Lou's whenever you wake up.

I let out a small scoff at the fact that he did indeed wake me up.

I shower, make a cup of coffee and see that Mrs. Reynolds must have stocked the fridge sometime last night. I also noticed freshly baked blueberry muffins on the counter. I smile wondering if someone tipped her off with all the changes that are happening. She normally makes meals to reheat throughout the week, but baked goods are rare. Usually only on birthdays and when Ana's home.

I put my coffee in a travel mug, grab the platter of muffins and walk over to Louisa's house.

Charles opens the door practically jumping up and down with excitement.

"Has Izzy texted you yet?" He says as I come through the door.

I shake my head with a laugh. "Charles it's only 6 am, hopefully she is still asleep. Which any other day you would be as well."

He shrugged his shoulders, but then nodded in agreement.

We walked into the living room and I sat the muffins on the counter. I then noticed Marcus anxiously pacing back and forth.

He looked up at me and smiled brightly. I am not sure I have ever seen this bright of a smile on him before. I have been told that just like Charles his natural personality is light hearted and jovial. But since knowing him, he's always had that shadow over head. That dark pain that is always lurking close by.

He stops his pacing and comes over to shake my hand and with his other hand gives my shoulder a squeeze. "Hey Will, it's finally happened hu? Can you believe we actually found her?

I smile while nodding my head. "It truly is amazing. I'm so happy for your family Sir."

Charles and Marcus go back to pacing in the living room.

Charles stops and looks towards me. "Do you think you can text her? Just to let her know we're awake?"

I hesitated a moment. Part of me wanted very badly to reach out. I've stopped myself multiple times throughout the night from checking on her. Wondering how she was doing with everything. But the other part doesn't want to pester her.

"Why are you the one texting Izzy?" Marcus asked me with a confused look on his face.

I open my mouth but stutter a moment. Very unsure what to say.

"That's because Will here is dating your baby girl." Charles says with a wicked smirk.

I stare daggers at Charles.

After saying goodnight to the ladies last night we had a good long heart to heart about it. As much as he doesn't like seeing me with his sister, he also knows I'm not messing around. That if I asked her out, I really liked her.

So now Charles has decided to go back to best friend mode and tease me ruthlessly. Which would not be that big of a deal if it wasn't in front of her father.

Marcus' bright smile disappeared in seconds. "Fitzwilliam George Darcy what exactly is going on between you and my daughter?

My heart seized for a second. No one had called me by my full name since dad died 5 years ago.

I take a big breath. "We are not dating exactly, Sir. I asked Lizzy to go on a date a few hours before Charles met her and realized who she was." I let out another big breath. "But I want you to know that I do think very highly of her. I like her a lot." I say the last sentence with every genuine bone in my body. Trying for him to realize just how serious I am.

Marcus continued to glare at me, but towards the end of my speech seemed to relax a bit. "Will if it was any other man, I would shut this down now. I know Izzy is an adult, she is going to date whoever she wants. But In my eyes she is still my three year old baby girl. You are like a son to me Will and I know your intentions are true. Can I ask one thing of you though?"

"Of course, anything." I say while taking a drink of my coffee. Hoping to help settle my nerves.

"Please don't rush into anything. Give us time. Give us time to be together as a family." He must sense my dejection and rushes on. "That doesn't mean you can't date her. It just means, give us time before you rush off and marry her." He smirks at me, looking just like Charles in the process.

I let out a small laugh. "Like I said Sir, I like her a lot. But we barely know each other. It will be a while till we get to that place. Also I want to respect her space right now. I know she has so many different emotions going on right now."

He smiles brightly at me once again. I mentally pat myself on the back, apparently passing the test.

I pass the muffin platter around and Charles refills our coffee. But we don't have to wait to much longer till I get a text from Lizzy:

Hey Will, we are up! I know it's still early. So I totally understand if you guys want to wait a bit till we meet for breakfast.

I can't stop the smile that spreads across my face as I read her text.

"You got a text from Izzy didn't you! What does she say???" Charles basically jumps on the couch beside me to look at my screen.

"She says they are awake, but she knows it's still early so they understand if we want to wait a bit till we meet for breakf-." Before I can even get the word out fully, I hear a chorus of NO's fill the house.

Louisa appears out of thin air and yanks the phone out of my hands. I watch her find Lizzy's number and call it.

"Hey Izzy it's Lou. I stole the phone from Will." She laughs at something Lizzy says. Charles and I unconsciously lean towards her trying to hear Lizzy's side of the conversation.

"Ha, yeah those silly boys.." We look at eachother with raised eyebrows, definitely wondering what is being said now. "Hey, why don't you and Jane come back to the townhouse? We have plenty of stuff for breakfast here." She is quiet for a moment and Louisa gives us a smile and a wave of her hand. Clearly trying to get us to move on and not pay attention to her every word. "Ok. Great! You are welcome anytime!" Another laugh, a goodbye and she ends the call.

Louisa looks back at all of us men that are eagerly awaiting what her decision was. "They will be here as soon as they can." She says with a bright smile.

Charles let's out a loud "woo hoo!"

Bella who was quietly watching cartoons on Marcus' lap, copies him and lets out a "Woot!" and a set of giggles.

We all laugh and await the lady of the hour.

Marcus

My heart beats rapidly as I watch Izzy walk in the door. I am frozen in shock. All of my kids have warned me how similar she looks to Laura, but seeing her before me. It's unbelievable. It's like within a second I got both of my girls back.

She stares at me as well, awaiting my reaction. But all I can do is wrap my arms tightly around her. Never wanting to let her go again. She is tense at first, but soon her arms relax around me. I pulled back after a long minute and noticed the tears racing down her cheeks. I do my best at wiping them away and smile brightly as I take in her features.

"Oh Izzy, you are so beautiful. Just like your mom." I gently cupped her cheek and she leaned into it. Like we have been doing it that way for these past 18 years. "Izzy the day you went missing, part of me died. I tried my best to move on. I tried to act like everything was ok. But I knew we would never be whole till we found you." Another round of tears rushed down our faces.

Mrs. Harper the Hurts' housekeeper came in and announced that breakfast was ready. She typically only helped with big events, everyday meals Louisa liked to take care of herself. But she must have given the older lady a call knowing she would have more mouths to feed and wanted to spend her time with Izzy not being distracted with cooking and dishes.

"Wonderful! I'm starved!" Charlie announced, leading the way to the dining room with Jane at his side.

Bella was already entangled in Izzy's arms, beaming up at her with a huge smile. Their identical eyes staring happily at each other. I watched them walk to the dining table. Giggling the whole way. I felt like a stalker as I observed my baby girl as she interacted with everyone around her. Her bright smile pierced my heart. Will had sat down beside her and I watched as they had shy smiles for each other. It was good to see that they really were at the beginning stages of getting to know each other. Though it wasn't hard at all to see the attraction between them. It gave me a little peace to know I wouldn't be losing Izzy to Will anytime soon. That made the whole situation a little easier.

"Daddy!" Bella yelled out as Aaron walked sleepily into the dinning room. He shaved his hair off as soon as he started losing it in his early thirties. But to make up for it, he had a thick dark brown beard. It was a crazy mess from sleep and he almost resembled a wild bear. I chuckled at the sight. He bent down to kiss his daughter on the cheek, then leaned over and kissed his wife on her temple. I was a little unsure of Aaron when they first started dating. He came from old money and had a tendency to be a grump around large groups. But one thing was for sure he loves my daughter and their daughter fully. He also has become a hard worker. I watched then as he whispered something into Louisa's ear and she let out a soft chuckle. He ended up sitting on the other side of Bella. Reaching for the carafe of coffee as quickly as possible.

I took another glance at Izzy who had been watching the whole scene with a sweet smile on her face. I just can only hope she is feeling comfortable here and loved. My thoughts wander to her life with the Bennet's. I've heard from Jane how much they loved her.

"Izzy, have you let the Bennet's know yet?" I ask while putting strawberry jam on my toast. Hoping she can hear my genuine interest and not feel like I was holding any kind of grudge. She gets a strange look on her face and I decide to carry on. "I would very much like to meet them. I want to tell them how thankful we are for taking you in and loving you so well. I want to hear everything, all the hundreds of stories I missed." Her unsure look is replaced with a bright smile.

"Jane and I called them last night. They were over the moon excited for us." Izzy says while looking over towards Jane on the other side of her.

Jane smiles in remembrance.

"Izzy you a dolly!" Bella says excitedly with pancake syrup sliding down her chin. We all let out a loud laugh at her cuteness and her random comment.

But I noticed Izzy was still a little confused. "She named her doll Izzy after Charles said it looked like you." I said trying to help her along, Izzy nodded with a smile now understanding fully.

"Awe. Well now you have two Izzy's to have fun with." Izzy leaned over and tickled Bella's toes to emphasize her point. Bella giggled loudly.

"Can we just have one morning where I am not woken up at the crack of dawn!" Caroline said crankily as she walked in wrapped in her pink fuzzy robe. But looking all to put together for just waking up as she was claiming to have done.

She walked over and kissed my cheek "Hey daddy." I shook my head at her antics, but let out a chuckle. We all knew her bark was way worse than her bite.

She sat down beside me and grabbed the coffee carafe that Aaron was still hogging.

I noticed her glance at Will and Izzy and give them a fake polite smile. Clearly uncomfortable with the two of them. Which makes sense, she has been crazy about Will since she was a girl. I can only imagine the frustration going on in her head. Also the fact that she was always at odds with Izzy and the attention she got. I silently say a prayer that she is able to let it go and not make unnecessary drama at this time.

After breakfast Charles suggested a tour around all the houses and we all agreed happily.

Lizzy/Izzy

"How are you doing, Lizzy?" Will asked me while we walked side by side around a path that winded around their large backyard.

I looked up at him with a smile. My heart clenched at hearing my name.

"You still call me Lizzy." I said with a wide smile, not realizing how much I missed hearing it. Though Izzy sounds just like Lizzy. It's different.

"I think you might always be Lizzy to me." He says looking down at me fondly. Clearly thinking of the first time we met.

"I like it. I know my name is Izzy, but I've been Lizzy for so long. It's sad to see it go fully." I say hopeful that he will continue using it.

"Well then you will always get to enjoy it from me." He smiles brightly at me. "Now that doesn't answer my original question, How are you doing Lizzy?"

A hundred butterflies flutter off in my chest when he lingers on my name for an extra second.

I take a moment, clear my thoughts and really think about his question.

I noticed that the group was all scattered in front and behind us. I tried to pretend they weren't all watching my every movement. I laugh a little to myself at the thought.

Will catches my eye. "What is it?" He says looking amused and extra cute with his curly hair tousled from being outside.

"I was just thinking about how everyone keeps staring at me like I'm at an exhibit at the zoo." I let out another laugh. This time a little louder and I was happy when Will joined in. At that same time several heads turned to look at us. Which made us laugh even harder.

"They are beside themselves wanting you to be happy and wanting to know exactly how you are doing." He says almost taking my hand and then deciding against it. From a look that my dad gave him earlier, I am guessing they have already discussed our unique situation. If it was any other time I would have gone ahead and grabbed it. But I can tell he's trying to be respectful. I'll let him be… for now.

Bella runs up and grabs our hands. We swing her up a few times. But eventually she settled in between us. Our eyes lock and I think how thankful I am for him. Having someone that I can connect with that is outside of the situation.

We all land in the lounge area and relax a bit. It's still August so the hot humid air is still in full force. I am sure we won't last too much longer. But the covered area with a fan does help quite a bit.

"Izzy I was thinking, you should call the Bennet's and see if they are available for dinner. I know we all would love to meet them." Louisa says while passing out some flavored sparkling water they had in a small fridge in the lounge area.

I smile and nod. "That would be great thanks, would it be ok if I invite Uncle Ed and Aunt Maddie? They actually have some paper work for you to fill out. My uncle is the Police Chief in Gallatin where my paren- uh I mean the Bennet's live. Uncle Ed and his wife who also works in the department have been on my case from the beginning." I say rushing the words out and hoping that I didn't offend dad by calling them my parents.

Marcus got up from his seat and came directly over to me. He bent down and held my hand, locking eyes with me. "Izzy, do not think for a second that I would be upset at you calling the Bennet's your parents. They have been your family and I hope that never changes. I only hope we can share that place in your heart now." I can only nod. From the sob forming in my now tight throat. The fact that not only do I now have a loving family, but they are also willing to accept my Bennet family as well. It's unbelievable.

"Izzy this is your home, I hope you feel welcome to invite whoever you want." Louisa says sweetly, but I can tell she is getting worn out. She mentioned last night that she was about 10 weeks pregnant. I am sure this heat is getting to her.

"Thank you Lou. Why don't we go back inside, Bella, didn't you say you wanted to show me your room?" Bella jumped up with excitement. But before I could take one step towards the house Louisa hugged me tightly.

"You called me Lou! You have no idea how happy that makes me." She looked at me with a bright smile on her face and we all headed inside.

Caroline who had been mostly quiet all morning sidles up next to me on our way. Most of the group was in front of us, a few feet ahead.

"Well Wizzy, what's going on between you and Will?" She smiles at me. The same fake smile she gave me and Will this morning at breakfast. It suddenly hit me, she must have a thing for him. Here I am encroaching on her territory. But if Will and her are not dating and they have known eachother since they were kids, I am guessing he's not interested and never will be.

My heart hurts for her.

"I'll be honest Caro, we just decided to start dating right before I met Charles. I can see you have feelings for him. I don't want him to be a problem between us. You are my sister, I would never have accepted if I had known you were interested." I say trying to convey my heart fully. Praying she sees my truth and is not blinded by hurt.

I noticed Caroline glance over at Will who looked back at us with concern in his eyes.

She stopped us and looked back at me. She had a few inches on me and her hair was mostly blondish red. None of the brown highlights that filled my hair. But there were a lot of similarities between us.

"I'll be honest, Wiz. I want to be mad, I want to stop him from dating you. For him to date me, like has always been the plan. But then I see him look at you, he's never once looked at me like that. I can tell he really cares for you. I know now that's what I truly want." I take her hands in mine and give them a loving squeeze.

"I want that for you as well Caro!" She hugs me tightly and I feel for the first time I see the real Caroline. She covers it up with sass and designer clothes, but she truly has a heart underneath.

We join the others and soon Bella finds me and leads me to her room.

*Authors Note*

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for all the lovely comments. It makes my heart so happy to hear that you all are loving this story.

I do want to say a special thanks to a lovely guest reviewer who defended me and other writers from those who like to publicly bash writers on grammar issues.

I'll be the first to agree with the guest reviewer that left multiple comments about my grammar. You are 100% correct. I do struggle with it. Next time feel free to private message me and let me know of my mistakes. I will happily fix them. I get very excited about my story and forget to double check my mistakes. It is something I am trying to work on.

That being said if anyone does want to be a beta for this story, I will happily accept it.

I hope you all continue to enjoy this story as these families get to know each other better. Have fun friends!