Chapter 3: The Less I Know The Better

Caroline Forbes loved her daughter dearly but the name she was given was not her first choice. Hell, it wasn't even her choice at all. Her doting husband Klaus Mikaelson picked the name while she was under an intense amount of medicine - at her request. Her mother-in-law shamed her for not having her precious daughter naturally. It wasn't the blonde's fault she wasn't a woman of the past time. Esther having six kids without any epidural didn't make her womanhood anymore valid than anyone else's.

Anyways, Caroline loved Henretta despite her superficial tendencies screaming at her internally. At the age of three, her personality was already a great but scary mixture of her father's domineering presence and her mother's neurotic nature. There was not one mistake in her genetic makeup. Caroline was never Esther's favorite Mikaelson wife but her indifference to a weak dislike of the blonde disappeared once she had Henretta on an usual stormy California day.

Since her sudden liking to Caroline, she spent most of her free time at her bakery shop right on Sunset Boulevard. How Caroline scored the store was from a gift from Klaus. One night they were fussing about the baby and the argument expanded to deeper issues in their marriage; he was never spontaneous anymore. Shocked and quiet, the Brit grumbled before soothing his child back to sleep. Over the span of a week, he walked his blindfolded wife into an empty lot.

Luckily, Caroline knew much about running a business proving the color of hair to be nothing but a stupid myth. Even with all her knowledge, she couldn't predict the outcome. Sunset Boulevard was a very prominent place for her first ever business. Everything had been about done but she wanted a cute slogan which is why she enlisted her friend, Elena to help her. She was way closer to Katherine but the woman had already helped her pick the colors - which were pink and white.

All Sunny Cakes needed was a tagline and she'd be good to go. For inspiration, Caroline and Elena did a walk on the Boulevard where they chatted briefly or at least tried to keep the conversation light. Elena was a terrible and anxious driver hence her double parking outside of the bakery. It ticked with Caroline's head as they headed in finally to take a break. Elena had just gotten back from a trip from her mother's upstate.

"So, how's the old bitch?" Caroline asked, with a very loud voice making her clear dislike for Isobel very evident.

Elena shrugged, "She's still breathing, her flu was apparently just a stomachache, we went to her doctor which is funny enough, here, to verify."

"You did a hell of a lot of driving I know your nerves are super jittery," Caroline replied reaching her hand out to put over her brown-haired friend who nodded and moved her hand back quickly. Elena ran her fingers through her hair assuring she was fine. The woman across from her knew better, nothing about Elena's body language showed that she was. She suffered a great accident at the end of last year and those ordeals weren't a thing to be just 'fine' about.

"We all have to do it, drive that is," Elena said, trying to pick up some optimism, "I've got to move past it and I have."

"Are you and Stefan getting back together?"

"I-I don't know. Isobel kind of hooked me up on date with her doctor, I just stood there blushing not saying much," Elena said nervously, looking away.

"Hey, just do what makes you happy...In other married people news, Freya is asking me to open this place up the weekend before her wedding. It's just so annoying, I was here planning all of this first," The blonde exclaimed.

"Caroline," The brunette chuckled, "You're done, what is there to worry about?"

"I-"

Elena held her hand out jokingly and shushed her dear friend, "Exactly, nothing, just be. Let that lady and her soon-to-be wife enjoy their ceremony."

"Well, while it lasts," Caroline finished with an ounce of bitterness.

"Caroline!"

"It's totally not fair that he'll be on a business trip the weekend this place opens but conveniently will be in town for her wedding."

"That's his sister, he sort of has to be there for her since their connected by womb."

"I'm his wife, which means he's sort of connected to me by legal papers."

Elena laughed but it quickly vanished as her son's school appeared on her caller ID. She was subsequently informed that he had an allergic reaction to a food item at a class party. Before she could tell Caroline goodbye and flashing out of the bakery shop she was alerted that her husband picked Jackson up from school. Her heart suddenly stopped its charged beats knowing her little boy was okay. Still, she went home anyway to give her husband a call expressing her gratitude.

The young mother walked into her house and called her husband, she looked around her empty house while she waited for him to pick up. It felt very chilly in the living room, no one had been there in days since her trip to her unrelenting mother's house. Elena sighed as she picked up a picture from the desk table of the three of them; Stefan, Jackson, and her standing at the door dressed in formal wear to attend church for a christening. She smiled at the memory of Jackson multiple questions about baptizing and Stefan answering them with such ease.

"Elena, hey I know you're just freaking out right now but he's fine."

"No, I'm not, I just wanted to say thank you. I just feel bad I couldn't get to him first, I've been out the whole week."

"Correction: You were unable to get out of the claws of Isobel."

Elena laughed, and lightly licked her lips, "Sure was. Should I head over to go pick him up?"

Stefan smiled, he made her laugh. One step, a million more to go to obtaining her heart again.

"No, you shouldn't be driving that much. Let me take him for the weekend."

"I haven't seen him all week, Stefan."

"And neither have I. Bonnie and Damon had him for the majority of this week, it's Friday."

"Fine, just don't let my son consume too much sugar, he promised the dentist no cavities this time."

"You're no fun." Click. Elena gasped staring at her phone that went automatically back to its home screen. He is so not getting the last word, she thought playfully.

Bonnie packed her Gucci luggage in the early morning hours on Friday. She wanted no interruptions while she picked out her outfits for the weekend. Her husband lied to sleep on their mattress not knowing she was leaving. She wanted to give him a bitter taste of his own medicine but failed to do so as her heels clicked loudly against the floor. The lawyer wasn't trying to do it purposefully.

She grimaced and did a swift turn as she turned to face Damon who was calling out her name. Sighing, she walked over to him cupping his face. God, he was so pitiful pouting like a dog not wanting its owner to leave for the day. The raven-haired man was shirtless and too much of Bonnie's liking he still treated his body like a temple. In his early 30s, the older Salvatore was still lean and handsome. If Bonnie hadn't known him beyond a surface level she would have stayed.

"You don't have to go," Damon slid his hand up her thigh, "Do you?"

Bonnie instantly slapped his hand away and her green eyes threatened his azure ones. "Don't touch me. I'm leaving, you'll see me Monday, Damon."

"But Bonnie-" She put a manicured nail to his lips stopping his sentence. He was completely dumbfounded and had countless questions as he ran his fingers through his hair in a lost frenzy. Then, she walked away. That's all Bonnie could give to him without completely losing it. A getaway is what she needed after dealing with everyone's shit except her own. Damon being needy wouldn't hinder her want to leave that house.

Where she ended up after hours of driving on a Friday morning was her grandmother's home in San Diego. Granted, it should have never taken the small woman hours but she was juggling a number of things mentally. She was planning on spending the weekend alone but she needed someone to talk to that she trusted without a doubt.

"My grandbaby," Grams greeted, pulling Bonnie in for a warm hug. The older woman examined Bonnie's expression. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Grams held a finger over her face, she wanted to see no crying. Bonnie hadn't even been in her home for more than five minutes. She tried staying strong for her grandmother but she covered her face with her land hand, tears were sliding through her knuckles.

"I'm sorry, Grams, I just-"

Grams pulled her into another swift hug, letting her grandchild's tears spill over her shoulder and patted her back slightly. When they released, she took another good look at Bonnie and used her thumbs to wipe off her tears. Whatever she was internalizing was eating up at her, appearance wise she wasn't lively as she should have been.

"First, we gotta get you out of this wig since I'm braiding your hair," Grams' fingers lingered on the short length of Bonnie's extensions. She nodded and began to walk her luggage upstairs. Grams called out, "And go by the sink I need I fresh head to start on."

it was just like old times as she sat in the chair in front of the mirror as her grandmother combed and part sections of her hair. Bonnie remembered being a little girl anxiously waiting for her hair to be styled in some way before she headed off for school. She was teased in her grade school years for her natural hair which is why when high school and then college where she virtually never showed her real hair for the real world to see. Even her own husband was marveled at the length of it whenever she took her extensions down.

"You're not tenderheaded like yo' mama but you just won't let that dry ass wig go," Grams noted.

"There's pain behind my dry ass wigs you hate," Bonnie said, touching her head to see how far her grandmother had gotten.

Grams tapped her with the comb and warned, "Watch your mouth." She continued parting Bonnie's hair and combed the small section out. She sighed and replied, "I know baby, but we gotta move forward and hold our head high." She gave a weak smile and used her accessible hand to rest on Bonnie' shoulder. The younger Bennett woman pursed her lips; Grams hadn't got far on her head at all.

"But you ain't come here for that," Grams said aloud, "What's going on with that husband of yours and his crazy ass family?"

"I'm not here to talk about Damon."

Grams simply ignored Bonnie's statement and looked her in the mirror. Her grandbaby was looking at her bare feet.

"You know your grandfather was much like your blue-eyed man. Had a wandering eye too."

"Well, my husband has a wandering everything, a baby by him is currently twisting itself in its own amniotic sac as we speak."

Gram's movements stopped abruptly hearing that. "Baby?"

Bonnie bit her lip, still staring down she was on the verge of tears. Talking about the potential love child her husband and his mistress conjured hurt. Some days she just wanted to scream and reveal her logs of justification of divorce. If she left Damon the goal was to rob him utterly blind. Maybe even boast about fucking Marcel in their bed in court if her husband wanted to fight it.

"Of course, the mistress is well put up. She's in the old apartments downtown he and I used to stay in. Let's just say she's hiding in plain sight."

"That man is underestimating you, Bonnie. He married a lawyer for God sakes! You dig up stuff all day to further help your case."

Bonnie wiped her eyes, she wouldn't cry. "Damon looked at me like he was scared I found out about it all," She said tearfully, "Like he was scared to lose me." Grams looked at her emphatically and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder once more. Bonnie laughed bitterly and said finally, "And for a split second, a weak moment may I add, I felt bad for him and I comforted him if and when that day comes." There was a longing pause then Grams just returned to finishing Bonnie's cornrows.

"Why?"

"Because no matter what, I'll always love that fool."

The weekend went smoothly over at Grams. Bonnie liked her braids more than she would admit. They sat on the porch like the women in the South do and drank lemonade. Bonnie's laughter filled the older woman's house and she enjoyed that since Abby had gone on another impromptu trip. The shaky Bennett mother said she needed to get out of the house and vented about how irritating Grams could be.

Trying to maintain her sobriety was hard enough and with her mother being maternal to the highest power would jeopardize everything she's kept in control. Bonnie just sat in silence hearing the reason why she left this time. This was over talked about over what Bonnie and Grams prescribed as porch talk. Even though her grandmother wore a hat and sat firmly, Bonnie could see the hurt flicker in her eyes. Abby caused so much damage in their family yet she was being selfish again.

"Where you think she's at now - if you had to guess," Grams asked on Sunday morning.

With a laugh, Bonnie replied, "Definitely Vegas livin' it up on the strip. Mom hates the wilderness."

Grams allowed the fun theory by nodding and took a sip from a lemonade. "I can't tell you to leave him but you can't bottle this resentment up, Bonnie, he has to know what you know."

"It's too late, I've betrayed him. We'd be at war if I spilled everything emotionally and honestly."

"Is it Marcellus?" Grams asked casually, taking a random guess at whoever her son-in-law would hunt down once he found out about Bonnie's mutual infidelity. Her granddaughter didn't answer and that alone told her everything she needed to know. Those two practically fell in love in her backyard throwing dirt at one another. Grams had been awfully close to the man's grandma which resulted in multiple play dates for their grandchildren.

When they hit puberty, their entire relationship changed. Marcel found his calling with sports leaving Bonnie to become engrossed in her schoolwork bringing in home A's for her mother and Gram's delighted eyes. Time had passed with their own cliques and crews throughout the majority of their high school years. The summer of senior year, they became close again. It was a very angry but passionate fight about Marcel leaving Bonnie when she needed to grow with him the most. They kissed before anything could escalate and the next day he showed up with flowers offering to take her on a real date.

Their grandmothers were pleased with the teens reuniting. With Bonnie's hard work the year before she was determined to still go to her primary university. Marcel thought he could convince her to change her choice to a school that was giving him a full-ride. He thought he and Bonnie were for the long-term, so after a tearful fight, they broke up a week before graduating. Grams never saw Bonnie cry but she heard the sink run in the bathroom while she was taking a 'long' shower.

After graduation, Bonnie never saw much of Marcel and she wouldn't allow herself to feel guilty. Maybe things would have been different if he never left her in the first place. His mistake at his young age caused him to lose the Bennett woman for what he thought was forever.

The sun shone brightly on the lady in question. Bonnie suddenly missed her straight hair she could run her fingers through coyly. Grams laughed and set her glass of lemonade on a coaster, "Your poker face is good, I'll give you that."

Bonnie's phone buzzed and she groaned before and after reading the messages.

I feel like you're the only person who hasn't talked to me about this whole bakery store crap. Besides, I saw your toes on Insta we could get mani-pedis at Tina's. Okay, not gonna lie I've already set the appointment up. See you at 3! Muah. From Caroline.

Do you think I can make my maids sign an NDA? I was planning Elijah's birthday dinner...like six months from now. But anyways call me. From Katherine.

The guys are planning...well a guy's trip. Klaus wants me to go but it seems like a certain husband will joining us as well. From Marcel.

I have been debating with myself for the past hour to go Stefan's to pick up our child, should I dress up...? Ugh, I don't want him to get the wrong idea but I don't want to look mom-ish nor desperate. From Elena.

There was also 3 missed calls from Damon, she knew he wouldn't leave a measly text message if he wanted to talk to her, he'd call her. The lawyer massaged her freshly braided hair, alleviating some of the strain on her head. Self-care was getting away from these people. Hers had lasted a good 36 hours. In no time she was giving her grandmother excuses why she had to go as she packed her bags. Grams just stood at the door frame looking at her grandbaby with faint sorrow.

"You really about to throw yourself back into them people's problems," She strode towards Bonnie who was packing in a hurry. "Listen to me," Grams held her face and continued, "Who's gonna take care of you when you're handling everyone's mess but your own?" Bonnie pursed her lips in a tight line, staring at her hands and sighed. No one was and that was the sad but honest truth.

"Grams, you've been a great help but I have to get back to Malibu, they need me. Not just them but I have a whole office I need to build and clients, God, I've been having my assistant hold them off for a while now."

The older Bennett wrapped her arms around Bonnie lovingly not quite happy with her leaving so soon. She still needed time to go over what they discussed. "Fine, but I'm just worried about your state of mind." They swayed back and forth for a while and Bonnie had realized that Grams was all alone in this particular house and that she was essentially choosing them over her. Both of them mutually benefited from the trip, it was a serene setting for Bonnie and a welcoming body for Grams.

Elena was supposed to do a simple honk outside of her soon to be ex-husband's apartment and waited for their son to pop out but plans had changed. In other words she spent the day procrastinating and choosing outfits to wear. The one she decided on had a bit of cleavage as the fitted black shirt she was wearing had a v-neck. Her high-waisted jeans fit snugly around her hips and thighs showing off her curves. Her mom always said that she'd always be thin and flat her whole life unless she ate McDonald's every day or had a kid. The latter had happened sooner than Isobel expected when her 17-year-old daughter appeared at her front step insisting she would be running away with her boyfriend despite the woman's objections.

Before the brunette drove off for good she checked her face and makeup one more time. Her golden hoops contrasted well with the dark colors she was wearing. Thank you, Caroline, she thought gleefully, shaking her shoulder watching the glimmer bounce from her earrings once again. Once her giddiness slowed down, she took a breath and began her drive to Stefan's. The bottoms of her heels clicked when she stepped in the elevator and she realized that these were the exact apartments Stefan lived with Bonnie and Damon. Her fingers brushed her lips weakly, she remembered being kissed in the elevator by Stefan.

Her pleasant teenage memory is interrupted by the zing of the present as the elevator takes her to the floor she requested- the fifth one. Elena cleared her throat, smiled, and put her most positive foot forward. She felt better knowing this wasn't the same floor that Stefan lived on before but his choosing of buildings was definitely profound. Even though Elena was solely over at his place was to pick up Jackson she wanted to ask why. When she told him to leave and didn't care at the time she didn't mean the building they fell in love in. Well, their former school was the primary building where the falling occurred.

An aroma of oregano and tomatoes and beef - most likely steak made Elena's eyes widen after her nose caught wind of them. Her husband stood before her with a smile and an apron, "Hi." Elena stood there, mouth slightly agape and closed it nervously and smelt the blend of vegetables emanating from the kitchen. The dirty-blonde man before her, confused and then tried stifling his laughter. Classic Elena getting all flustered again, he'd give her the chance to respond as they exchanged blank eye contact.

"Um, hey I see you cooked, I told you I was picking him up today."

Stefan motioned for her to step in the apartment and she followed, sighing as she did so. He swiftly explained that Jackson had gotten hungry and he subsequently started dinner after his first complaint. If the worst came and Elena couldn't pick him up today that he could still take him to school Monday morning. It was true that Elena did take her sweet time getting there she knew spending more than five minutes there was not a good idea. Elena scanned the kitchen until she saw in the mini dining room area her son who she hurriedly ran up to hug and kiss him.

"Mommy is never going to leave you for that long," The brunette said tearfully over her son's shoulder, she cupped his face tightly and said, "You hear me?" Jackson nodded and Elena noticed the length of hair dramatically was shorter. The first thing she did was glare at Stefan who held his hands up.

"Okay, I'm guilty," Stefan admitted, "Do you want the clippings of his hair in a bag to be preserved in a Ziploc bag forever to soothe your pain?"

She stood up angrily and said, "Don't be an ass, Stefan. You should have consulted me first."

He simply shrugged not quite interested in arguing over hair that their kid would just grow back. Stefan heard the oven's timer beep and rushed over to take the bread-sticks out. Jackson said something to his mom about not yelling out bad words to which she said, not promised, she'd stop doing it at any given impulse. The youngster didn't want to see his parents over a topic so trivial. Jackson eagerly ran back to the dinner table as Stefan brought the bread-sticks over.

"You're more than welcome to join us," Stefan said as he casually pulled out a chair for her with a smile.

"Mommy have dinner with us, please."

Elena pulled out her phone to check the time, it was nearing 6:30. "Fine, whatever," she announced eyeing her Jackson discreetly, "But after that, you and I leaving mister." He nodded quickly and responded with an ounce of playfulness, "Yes ma'am." She returned a cheesy smile and went back to look at her plate. Stefan must have just anticipated her staying longer because her plate was filled graciously.

The dinner went well, they still had good banter left in them. She maybe laughed at one or two of Stefan's corny jokes. In her persistent defense, she told him her laughter stemmed from pity and not from finding the humor in anything he said. Stefan caught her looking at him from across the table, finally loosening up, finding herself in that space where she can be comfortable in his presence. Jackson clapped happily, breaking the two's doting gaze. In his head, this meant his dad was one step closer to moving back in.

Elena laughed and told him to go get ready, it was time to go. She got up and tucked in her chair, stacking up their plates. Stefan reached for the plates to take from her and their fingers touched, she looked up through her eyelids at him and finally let go of the dishes.

"You're my guest," Stefan said while he loaded the dishwasher, "I don't want you to sweat when you're here...well unless you want to." Okay, the cliched punch to the arm wasn't that surprising after that comment. However, he still winced in pain maybe too loudly. Elena's eyes had this sassy glare in them and her arms were crossed as he watched her. "Walk me to the door," she commanded, covering her chest with arms. She was right in front of him so, discreetly, he took a glance at her backside and noticed she was wearing heels.

"You look great," he said without thinking.

"Thanks, I guess. But you're not so bad yourself Salvatore," she eyed his torso, "Even when you're in a pasta smeared apron."

"Hey, you're the one messing up Jackson's diet with all your takeout and TV dinners, someone has to cook out of the two of us."

She smiled, looking down momentarily, it wouldn't be a lie to say that she missed his cooking. He was leaning against the doorframe, staring at her. There was never a day where his heart didn't beat faster when she was enjoying herself in his presence. He dreamt for so long that she would eventually call off the divorce and jump into his arms again. He'd forgiven her long ago for yelling out she wanted a divorce in front of all their friends back in June - at her birthday party. The exact hoops she was wearing were a gift from the ever bubbly Caroline.

"You're staring," she commented, not removing her chocolate orbs from looking into his green ones.

"No, I'm gazing," he corrected, taking her hand, she didn't pull it away, "Elena, I-"

Everything he wanted to say or even needed to end up dying on the tip of his tongue when he saw his part-time lover. Damn it, Ivy you could not have better timing, Stefan thought frustratingly. Elena, who was waiting for him to make this grand declaration of his love for her, stood confused as her husband broke his gaze on her. Ivy saw that she may just interrupt something but then eyed Elena. She was for sure the wife she looked even more beautiful in person. Elena turned back to see who Stefan was staring at.

"Um, it's okay," Ivy began talking, "I can totally go." She knew she delayed Stefan's attempts with his wife.

Elena looked at Stefan and then back at Ivy who's eyes were widened to see what would happen next. The nice woman was wearing a white blouse and pencil skirt along with pearls. Her social status was high for sure wearing that sort of jewelry. She was a working woman and from what Elena could tell it seemed like she had just gotten out of the office. The brunette eyed her husband who swallowed nervously and rolled her eyes, detaching herself from him.

"I'm Elena," She introduced kindly, "I was just picking up my son for tonight and," the brunette yelled back in the apartment, "And as soon as he comes out we're on the road."

"I'm Ivy, a friend of Stefan's, I usually call first," She turned to face him and a mouthed a 'sorry' and he nodded stoically. Elena could see how awkward was getting and pulled out her phone checking her apps. Stefan turned to face her, "We could back in-" She placed a finger to his lips while her eyes were still glued to her phone, "I'm okay." Elena knew she was being incredibly rude but she didn't care. Jackson came trudging back with his backpack of clothes. "Are you ready mommy?"

The brunette removed her eyes from her phone, what she was looking at was not even a modicum as important as her little one. When he saw Ivy, he got worried because of his dad's anxious face. Stefan poked at Jackson, "Man, where's my hug?" He really wasn't sure when the next time when he would see him so the embrace between father and son was meaningful. Jackson promised that he'd behave well now that the dud week without his mom was over. Elena used all the maturity in her heart to wish Ivy and Stefan a good night. Then she grabbed Jackson's hand and they began to walk towards the elevator.

In a last-ditch effort, Stefan ran after them just stopping the elevator to meet Elena's eyes.

"Elena, please let me explain." He pleaded.

"Let go of that door, we want to go home right, Jackson?" The young boy was between a rock and a hard place.

"Yeah, but can you let him talk?" The child asked, nicely.

"No," she responded sternly not looking at Jackson, "Goodnight, please let the door go."

"She's just a friend, Elena, I promise."

"Stefan, frankly, I don't give a shit, we're divorcing so you have every right to explore your options."

He sighed and reluctantly let his hand go taking her curt tone seriously. "I'm sorry for it, all of it."

"Don't be," Elena finished as the doors closed she screamed out, "My mother was right, I can do so much better without you."

Stefan just shook his head knowing he might as well call the lawyer tomorrow if his wife was actually taking to heed to any advice Isobel Gilbert was giving her.

A/N: I really didn't want the update to be so long but as this is an ensemble story, cutting things out didn't seem right. There's just so much to cover with all their insane history. Next chapter is the guy's trip and then after that I think I'll jump to the Mikaelson wedding.