One year later after 7th wedding anniversary, Regina didn't pay attention to her personal life and went busy as usual. She didn't realize that her life was falling apart since their wedding anniversary. It just happened when she got home from work daily. The brunette woman got herself in a wake-up call when she saw herself in her mansion.
Regina stared at the foyer and walked through to the living room then kitchen. She looked around herself to see the furniture being different than she bought for Emma's birthday or kids' Christmas gifts. The brown-haired woman dropped her leather case on the kitchen counter and explored in the living room.
The living room was different than before. There were no toys and video games. It got her out of the blue when she arrived. The furniture was white before but now it was black leather couches. The coffee table was glass then it was wooden table. The television resized bigger. Everything changed since she got there to see it.
The brunette mayor turned around to see the dining room and the table was resizing smaller. Last time, she was dining with her family and it was bigger to have ten chairs. Now, it was four chairs in a square table. Regina blinked several times and decided to escape toward her shared master bedroom.
After arriving in the master bedroom, the bed was made but untouchable. It put Regina into a shocking moment. She looked around in the room and it was no change at all but Emma's clothes were still there but half of them were missing. She thought that the blonde sheriff got them as her spare clothes in the police station.
Regina finally looked at their shared couch and saw the red leather jacket lying on the arm. She reached to touch on the leather and rubbed on it. The brown-haired woman exhaled deeply and almost walked out until she spotted the picture of her family. Emma was not smiling while the kids were beaming their smiles at the camera at the fair. Regina looked closer on the date and it was few months ago.
It hit her like a tornado was coming to her. She missed everything in a year and went to focus on her mayoral business as usual. The brunette woman didn't pay attention to the blonde sheriff's needs and even the kids too. It made her heart go up in her throat and caused her to walk out of her bedroom until she passed to see her son's bedroom.
Henry's bedroom was changed. The bed was twin bed until it was a full bed with the black headboard. The desk was very neat. The bookcase was full with the writing books and chemistry books. It was just his books and homework. No comic books and toys or video games in his bedroom were there. The wall was same in a blue color. There were the pictures of Henry's board. It was the picture of his family and the girl who was kissing him.
Regina covered her mouth by using her hand and retreated out to her daughter's room. It surprised her out of the blue. It was changed too. Before the bedroom was changed, it was a lot of the princess things. Remma changed everything to the art bedroom. She didn't realize that she didn't give her a permission to paint the walls with her art. The pictures were same as Henry's and Emma's. The quote was above the black full bed. It said, 'I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality. – Frida Kahlo.'
It hit her pretty hard when she remembered she was caressing her daughter while she was having a bad dream. Now, she was not there for her kids. Regina retreated again to the stairs but heard the footsteps and voices in the hallway toward the kitchen. It was her family. She smiled at her memory when the family yelled for her name and they were home to smell the dinner. Now, it was this time when the family didn't call for her. Regina felt upside down and missed the feeling when her family informed her that they were home.
She went downstairs to check in the kitchen and entered. Henry, Remma and Emma looked up at her with their shocked faces. Regina looked at her kids and wife with a perplexed face. Remma was a little bit taller like her wife. Henry was like her height but a muscle and thin man. To her wife, she looked beautiful but her hair was cut to be shorter. Her clothes were now pantsuit and there were no sheriff's badge and gun holster.
Regina blinked several times and stared at her wife's belt. She looked up at her wife's blank look. Remma was dropping her backpack and turned around to pick the vegan meal from the diner. Henry picked up his vegan meal and looked back at his mama then gathered his sister to the dining room. Emma dropped her meal on the kitchen counter and turned around to get their drinks.
The brown-haired woman was confused when her family was currently eating the vegan meals but there were no meat or seafood. She looked up at the cabinet when Emma opened and it was full of vegan meals. She realized that she was missing every moment in the kitchen with her kids and wife.
Emma glanced over at her and grabbed her dinner to the dining room with her kids. Regina sighed and went to get something from the refrigerator. She opened the door and saw everything in a vegan meal until she saw the salad. The brown-haired mayor grabbed it and searched for a dressing. There was a balsamic but no Italian or ranch at this time. Regina dressed it up in her salad and picked her fork from the dry rack. Before she entered the dining room, she heard the voices from the kids.
"Mom, are you ok?" Remma asked.
"Yes, mom. Are you?" Henry said.
"Yes, sweethearts, I'm good. Tell me about your day?" Emma spoke lightly. It got Regina relieved and knew that everything was okay. She finally entered until the kids looked up at her and went silent. Emma got a little tense after her wife came to sit down beside Remma and Henry.
Henry looked up at his mother and sent her a small smile then went to eat his vegan meal. Remma played around with her quinoa rice and green vegetables then ate it quickly. Emma exhaled deeply and ate her vegan meal consisted of Pasta with Green Olive Pesto. Henry's vegan meal was Smashed White Bean with Avocado Club. The blonde woman looked up at her kids and continued.
"Remma, tell me about your day?"
"My day was great. Guess what?"
"What?" Henry said while nibbling on the avocado. Emma smiled at her daughter and nodded. Remma glanced over at her mother, Regina and spoke lightly.
"I just asked her out for a spring fling date."
"That's great!" The brunette man gently punched on his sister's arm and she chuckled with a nod then looked back at her blonde mother.
"Can I go?"
"Yes, sweetheart. You can go with your girlfriend. I'm happy you did. When is it? I am getting confused with your two events. Henry, you are having a prom soon. And yours, it is a spring fling."
"My prom is next two weekends. Hers is next weekend." Henry explained. Emma nodded with a thanks. Regina was surprised that she missed every events between her kids and kept eating her salad meal while listening to her kids' days. The blonde woman smiled at her daughter and looked up at her son. He chuckled while chatting with his sister and dropped a club sandwich on the plate then explained.
"I just asked my girlfriend to be my prom date. She said yes."
"Duh, she is your girlfriend. I am happy. What are you wearing?"
"I don't know, sis. It's a theme that is bothering me."
"What is the theme?" Regina asked. Henry and Remma looked back at her. Emma gently cleaned her mouth with a napkin and continued.
"It's a Winter Wonderland this year. Henry, I hope you have your blue or white tuxedo in your closet. I can sew or bring it to Kathryn."
"Thank you mama." Henry voiced while staring at his brown-haired mother. Regina felt uneasy when her son was staring at her. Remma cleared her throat and looked back at Emma with a reply.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you that I am having a sleepover today with my friend, Ali. Is it ok if I can go?"
"Yes, it is a Friday and sweetheart, I don't forget it. Her mother called me this morning while I was at work."
"Great! I finished my dinner and I'm going back to my bedroom to pack up. Please let me know if Ali get here." Remma explained while getting up to get ready. She kissed on her blonde mother's cheek and gave a nod to Regina then left the dining room. Emma looked back at her son with a questioning look.
"Sure. What about you, Henry?"
"I am supposed to pick up Violet and we go back to high school for the football game. It's a final game." Henry broke his eye contact with his brunette mother and continued.
"Go." Emma said. Henry stood up and gathered his sister's and his plate to the kitchen then ran upstairs to get ready for a night. The blonde woman got up and gathered their drinks then went back to the kitchen. It left Regina alone in the dining room. She exhaled deeply and finished her meal then went back to the kitchen. Emma was drying the microwave plates and continued.
"It's been a year. Where have you been?"
"Work and Home." Regina said.
"No, you're drifting apart after our anniversary." The blonde woman turned around to face her and voiced. The kids stomped their footsteps on the way to the front door and closed it. The ladies heard it and the brunette mayor scratched her hair then stated.
"What happened to us?"
"No, it happened to you."
"Well, yes. I see that. And, it is not helping –" Regina paused when she saw the woman walking to them. Emma looked at the black-haired woman with a smile. The brunette woman was feeling uncomfortable and looked at her wife then back to her. The black-haired in a floral dress was smiling at them and continued.
"Hello Mrs. Swan-Mills, I've been cleaning up in the garden and it's cleared. It's taken care of. So, what's else do you want me to do?"
"It's fine. Thank you for looking over at our house, Maria. You've been generous today. So, you can take a week off to spend your time with your family." Emma said. Maria nodded with a smile and looked at the brunette woman with a nod. She finally left the kitchen to leave the ladies alone. Regina stared at Maria's retreating and back to her wife.
"Maria is Remma's nanny and our gardener since I hired her last year."
"So, what's going on around this house?"
"You missed a lot of moments since you've been away to do something." Emma said while retreating out until they heard the doorbell. She walked to answer the door and found her smiling. Regina followed her along until she was surprised that it was Ursula, her dearest friend.
"Hello Emma! Are you coming with us for Ladies' time?"
"Sorry, I've been busy lately so, perhaps another time."
"All right. Oh, I didn't see you! Hello Regina and it's been a long time."
"Ursula!" Cruella de Vil yelled from the black Land Rover Sports SUV. Regina looked over Ursula's shoulder and went surprised as well. Emma chuckled and yelled back.
"Cruella!" Ursula laughed and looked back at her with a reply.
"I will be there soon. Be patient, sweetheart."
Cruella waved her hand and looked through the window. The blonde woman waved her hand. Ursula gave them a farewell and ran back to the passenger seat. The ladies drove away from the driveway. Emma shook her head and closed the door then heard Regina's voice behind her.
"Is Cruella and Ursula together?"
"Yes, they are married."
"Wow."
"See, you have been away for a year. We took it as a hard time." The blonde woman said while retreating to their bedroom upstairs. Regina followed her along until they entered. The brunette woman sat down on the bed and looked up at her wife with a retort.
"I see you leaving your red leather jacket. No sheriff's badge and gun holster."
"I resigned last year and took my time to take care of our children plus a new job. I handed my position to my father."
It went silent. Emma was doing her things to change her clothes and went to bathroom to freshen her face and brush her teeth. Regina stared at her wife's back and watched her doing anything until the blonde woman's voice was heard in the bedroom.
"I'm a CEO of my business outside of Storybrooke. I have my flexible schedule since I got home daily to see our kids in the afternoon. Henry's duty to pick his sister every day. I come home to take care of them when Maria is not here. Sometimes, she stays there until I get home at late afternoon. I've been doing this one for a long year since you are not there to help me."
"I'm sorry." Regina said.
"Sorry doesn't cut you back. To be honest, what happened to you? Where is my wife? Where is their mother? We surely needed you at most but now, we don't need you since we took care of ourselves from now on." Emma stated while putting her grey sweater. The brunette woman looked down at her hands and saw her engagement ring. It was three birthstones consisted of Remma, Henry and Regal's birthday month. Her wedding ring was shining brighter and it was Emma's birthstone with the embraced diamonds around the oval design. It put a thought in her head and voiced her concern.
"Where is Regal?"
"She died last year due of a tumor." The blonde woman stated while writing on her paperwork in her guest bedroom. Regina didn't pay attention to herself while she was following her wife along until they were in their guest bedroom and blinked when she was in it.
"This is a guest bedroom."
"Yes, now it is my bedroom since last year." Emma explained while doubling-check on the financial budget. The brunette woman looked over at their shared bedroom and continued.
"Why aren't you in our bedroom?"
"I couldn't sleep since that night you were not home. So, I decided to sleep in here and got used to it. What's else?"
"It is annoying when you don't use our eye contact while we are talking." Regina said. Emma looked up with a small smile and dropped her pen on the paperwork then raised her eyebrows. The brunette mayor sat down on the bed and continued.
"Tell me what's going on with you?"
"I don't tell you what's going on with me. You tell me what's going with you." The blonde woman retorted back. The brown-haired woman growled while throwing her hands in the air then continued.
"I was busy as a mayor and coming home."
"No. you were not home since last year. You stayed there in your office every night. I came up to check on you every day before I went to work as a sheriff. Now, you are here for the first time when you got home today. Our kids suffered because of you and your business as a mayor. They needed you as a mother. I needed you as my wife. But you aren't home as our mother and wife."
"What?" The brunette woman stated.
"Yes, you were not home at all. You closed yourself in there. Until few weeks later after our wedding anniversary, I halted to come for you in your office to check up and I left the police station to resign my position. You didn't care to check up on the paperwork that my father handed you on that day. You didn't come to our family dinners as usual. We changed our meals." Emma continued with a chuckle. She was staring at her brown-haired wife. Regina shook her head and inquired.
"I noticed. There are no meat and seafood."
"We are vegans since you aren't home. Maria was there to take care of our kids since the beginning. Also, you missed our eighth wedding anniversary, by the way." The golden-haired woman spoke lightly while looking down on her paperwork. The brunette woman gasped after hearing their wedding anniversary. She felt doomed and escaped to her shared bedroom. Emma didn't bother by looking up at her or hearing her footsteps stomping on the way to their bedroom.
Regina barged in the bedroom and looked around until she saw the calendar on the wall near the nightstand. She came closer to look on the date and it said, December 15. The brunette woman slapped her hand on the wall and missed their eighth anniversary on December 12. She exhaled deeply and sat down on her bed with her hands in her face.
Emma heard the noise in their shared bedroom and stared at her paperwork. Her tear was dripping on her cheek. She continued to work through the paperwork until Henry came home to tuck himself in the bed. The blonde woman finished her work and went out to see her son in his bedroom. The brunette man kissed on his mama's cheek and they bid them good nights. She walked out and strode to her bedroom but halted herself to see Regina crying alone. The blonde woman backed herself off and went to the bed alone.
A/N: It's not going to end yet.