Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve
JASMINE'S POV

Breakfast passed somewhat amicably. I didn't eat much, I already had breakfast, but it was not so bad, to sit and listen to Liam and Damien interact. I knew Liam was Damien's Beta, but I didn't envision that they were so close.

"so, I hear wedding bells are in order?" Liam said out of the blue, after a momentary lull, and both our heads, Damien's and mine shot to him. I was shocked, of course. But Damien looked somewhat peeved.as though of all the things Liam could say, of all the crazy things, that didn't have to be one of them.

"I didn’t think we would make a big deal of our bond, Damien." I said off handedly, surprised where it came from, but empowered by the look of surprise Damien gave me.

"we aren’t." he said quickly.

"we aren't ?" I asked.

"you're not?" Liam asked, with some surprise and Damien pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, and sighed deeply.

"the pack members will be present of course, the elders, the doesn’t qualify as a big wedding, does it?"

"what about my family?" I asked, somewhat concerned about how they would take my sudden nuptials.

"your family." Damien responded quietly, "well the truth is, I haven’t given it so much thought. Seeing as we're keeping the whole you staying here a secret and all."

I blew out a breath. I hadn't given it much thought myself. But the idea of getting married and not letting any of my loved ones know, didn’t sit well with me. I truly hated the situation of things, and was willing to fight it.

"can’t you meet up with them secretly? Bring them here, secretly? Let them know that their only child will be getting married?"

"and what else would I have to explain to them? How about why you're here ,hiding? Who you're hiding from? And why you suddenly have to get married to me, why I suddenly have to get married to you? Because no way on the is earth are they going to believe that you fell in love with me and are just dying to tie the knot in such little amount of time." Damien said, hitting each pint carefully. And I understood him, I really did.

It's just that, my family was really all I had, and I just couldn't fathom how I was supposed to get married to Damien, without any of the people I loved being present.

"excuse me." I said, rising from my seat, "I need a moment, some air. Both." and then I fled from the dining table. I felt their eyes on me as I left, but I didn’t dare turn around. Just kept moving until I was outside the house.

I sighed when I reached Damien's beautiful garden, took a seat, and finally let the tears come. Some would say I was being too sensitive about the whole situation, but I truly believe that my reaction was perfectly normal. For one, I was never the person who wanted to elope. It simply was not  my thing. Two, and most importantly, amidst the new changes that I never saw coming, that I never truly wanted, I really missed my parents. I truly missed the life I lived before.

"hey." I sniffed and dabbed at my eyes, to find looking down at me with compassion.

"hey." I said, trying to play off my crying.

"can I sit?" he asked, pointing at the space beside me and I nodded.

"I'm sorry I brought that up." he said, after some time, "I was trying to tease Damien, get him all riled up, but I didn’t stop to consider your feelings. I didn’t stop to consider the fact that all of this is new to you, all if this is could be also very hard for you."

"I know you didn't that to get to me. And until we pressed on with the conversation, I wasn't aware It could get to me as well. But here we are." I said  and rose my hands to the air, let them fall to my lap, "here I am."

He was quiet before he spoke again, "what is it about all this that hurts the most?"

That was easy, I didn’t even have to overthink it,

"my family not being here."

"phew. I was beginning to think it had everything to do with marrying Damien."

I chuckled, and he smiled, and I felt grateful that was his aim.

"I don't have plenty problems with marrying Damien. I just have problems adjusting to this new life, adjusting to this new reality that is my life. "

"you'll get the hang of it eventually. As long as you aren't fighting it."

"I'm not fighting it. But you can't expect me to just suddenly want this life, to be okay with it. My ex vampire boyfriend's people wanting me dead, I have to lie about my whereabouts to everyone I know I love, I can’t go back to the life I know. And on top of all that, at the top of all that, I can't have my parents to the wedding that I never even planned for, to a man I barely even know." I said, and felt the sting of tears at my eyes while I recounted my situation. But somehow, saying it all out loud gave me a bit of clarity.

Liam blew out a breath.

"I suppose all of that is surely a whole lot to have to deal with , in such little time. But I want you to know that I'm here for you if you ever need to rant about it, or whatever it is you might need. And Damien might not act like it, but he really does care about how you're taking all of this in."

Emphasis on, "may not look like it." but I said nothing, just nodded.

"thank you, Liam."

"anytime." he said, and patted me awkwardly on my shoulder, making me snicker.

"nice talk."

He smiled, "like I said, anytime."