A/N: This story was up about a year ago, but my notes got too fluffy and it didn't seem worth it, so I changed that this time around. It's the same premise, but a different approach to conflict and character development.

So, welcome to both new and old fans. All rights belong to Aimee Carter. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Homecoming

(Kate's POV)

The wind whips through my long and tumbling mousy brown curls as James steers the topless Cadillac through miles and miles of woods and trees. I pull down my sunglasses as it blinds my vision, him taking advantage of there being no one else on the road. His favorite CD from The Beatles pours in from the speakers into the silent air, disrupting it for only a moment as we breeze by, arguing that we control nature and the universe anyways.

Well she was just seventeen
You know what I mean
And the way she looked
Was way beyond compare
So how could I dance with another,
Oh, when I saw her standing there

His shocking blonde hair is newly trimmed and sways only slightly in the windshield at his driving antics, a leather jacket and white t-shirt covering his torso to the creeping chill of fall in its first few hours, destined for my arrival back to Eden and the Underworld. A pair of massive headphones hang around his neck despite the blasting music, dipping his fingers into the bag of sour cream and onion potato chips that sits open on my lap every once in a while, his other hand centered on the bottom end of the wheel, making jokes that I try to laugh at beneath the stress.

This trip was the one thing I had been dreading for months, but I had to do it sometime.

Just like that last time with my mother, her head leaning on the door, hands pressed against the glass, the hedges appear and soon so does the fence, strong and prominent in the middle of nowhere. Fresh green surrounds the teal vintage convertible, making me close my eyes and breath in its crisp pine perfume as James pulls over beside the dark cast iron metal bars, watching them part as if commanded by the Gods, because they were.

But, just as soon as the back bumper makes it in, James stops the car, turning off the music and pulling out the keys.

"Sorry. Henry's rules. No tires on the driveway," he says, opening the door for me, extending his hand. "The only reason he even lets it in this far is so the barrier protects it from the street view. Mortals ask too many questions."

Every pair of eyes is on me the second my foot steps on Eden land. No one continues their work. Sure, they try to appear as though they are, hedge clippers still holding the enlarges scissors limply with one hand, other plants receiving way too much water or losing their tops. Guards keep their bodies stiff and straight, but their eyes trace me as James goes around to open the trunk with our two suitcases, leaving most of the things we bought there at the Greek residence. But, their mouths are a different story, gaping and hung like wet laundry, eyes wide and disapproving like they're reading a gossip magazine. And I know exactly why.

I can feel the burning red A brandishing my chest with its crimson fabric.

"James, everyone is staring at me," I whisper, pushing my vintage round tinted sunglasses back up into my hair. I watch them as they gossip quietly, all pretending to look away as I stare them in the eyes, making our way down the mile-long driveway of cool concrete.

"No, they're not. You're barely even noticeable," he lies, without even looking at me, both bags in hand.

"James, I'm wearing a gray bodycon dress and jean jacket," I say, clenching my jaw. "Everyone can fucking tell!"

"Kate," he assures, putting down the bags by his sides and grabbing mine. "Take a deep breath." And so I do. "Everything is going to be fine. Henry loves you. That's never going to change. And you love him too, right?"

I nod my head as my eyes water, wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes, stress overtaking everything. Inside, I'm shaking and he knows it. He takes me into his arms, making it even harder to keep the waterworks to a minimum. It's times like this that I'm glad I'm not into makeup, my eyelashes now wet and clumpy, my vision blurred.

"I am always here for you, Kate. Okay?" he assures, holding me at arm's length, looking me deep within the eyes. "Greece is not your fault. It's Calliope's doing and if Henry doesn't understand that, then he doesn't deserve you, then you're better off without him. Okay?"

I nod again, wiping off my cheeks and fixing my hair, but I'm still scared; scared of doing this alone, scared of being in a loveless marriage, scared of losing one of the only people I have left.

A group of identical blonde tall and beautiful girls resembling nymphs throw pale pink rose petals on the ground as get closer to the french doors, something James assures me is a tradition considering my entrance signals the end of summer and growth. The front guards don't look at me as they open each slab of mahogany to reveal myself to the inside, gazing right over my head and into the kissing sun.

The lines of stature are set, the cooks and dress-makers and maids and chief guards standing to greet me in order of their profession, Henry at the far right end of the lavish hall. My heart aches for him and I raise one hand from below the kicking peak of my stomach to my chest as everyone says "surprise," except him. They do as they're told, but he uses his heart. He sees me and I see him.

The crowd dissipates quickly, some giving their congratulations and others just walking away, minding their own business. Unlike the gardeners, these are the people that I'm with every day, that know me, that know when something isn't right and about to explode in front of them. They politely sneak away to continue their work, contracted under discretion and privacy. This is that. His eyes of disappointment are what and make my heart ache, this time in a different way, for I know how he hurts and I know how he loves me and I know what she did; Persephone, the one who slept with James first. But I am more like my sister than I thought.

Henry said that I didn't have to be faithful. He said to have fun with no obligations and restrictions that traditional marriages would bring. He said that things would be different when I came back, in a good way. He said that he would understand, but inside wished that I wouldn't, that I would come back to him as I was, that I wouldn't do the same as she, who broke his heart first and married him first. But this she didn't do.

He walks toward me slowly, as if in slow motion, as if not knowing what to say, but doesn't go all the way.

"Congratulations," he says, stopping in front of me with a smile I know isn't true, walking away as I call his name. He turns around to say that he has to get back to work, but I know it isn't true. He's gone.

A/N: SCANDALOUS?! Review. Tell me what you think. This chapter was short, but I'm very excited for where this is going. I have so much planned.