The midday sun hung lazily in the sky. The air was soft and warm, and everything about the day felt too calm.
Just as Dominic promised, today went smoother than Celeste expected.
Celeste sat in the backseat of the sleek black sedan, her fingers tapping nervously on the leather upholstery. She hadn’t seen since the engagent dinner.
That evening had felt like a production, one she hadn’t even auditioned for. Now, with everything unraveling between her and Dominic, it was ti to confront the woman who had tried to fast-track her into a role she wasn’t sure she wanted.
The car pulled into the circular driveway, its tires crunching gently against the gravel. The Cross mansion stood proud and dignified, with the vines curling around its walls like veins of history.
A housekeeper opened the door before Celeste could even reach for the bell. "She’s expecting you, Miss."
Celeste nodded, entering the grand hallway. The scent of lilac and aged wood filled her nostrils, as if the walls themselves rembered generations.
She had called Nana earlier, wanting to talk. She doesn’t owe Landon any explanation, but she owes Nana one.
Nana sat in the drawing room, dressed in an elegant navy-blue dress. Her white hair swept back into a bun. Her posture was regal, and her hands folded neatly on her lap. She looked up the mont Celeste entered.
"Celeste," Nana said with a kind smile. "You ca."
Celeste’s lips lifted into a polite curve. "I hope I’m not interrupting."
Celeste’s mood lifted, seeing the cancer hadn’t eaten much of Nana as she had expected. It was a miracle.
"Not at all. Sit."
The silence that followed as Celeste took her seat across from the matriarch was neither awkward nor hostile. It was reflective, and charged with unspoken things.
"You wanted to speak with ," Nana said. Her eyes were steady, and unreadable.
Celeste nodded slowly. "Yes. About the engagent."
Nana paused. She released a slight breath. "Go on."
Celeste swallowed. She drew in a long deep breath before she finally parted her lips. "I want to call it off."
Nana didn’t flinch. She tilted her head, her expression unchanged. "May I ask why?"
Celeste looked down at her hands. "Because I can’t walk into sothing I don’t fully understand_"
"Is this because of the news with Dominic?" Nana interrupted gently.
Celeste froze. She counted her fingers, to keep busy, and not throw up. Fuck the world, yes. But before Nana, she now felt like a slit for being with two n in the family.
She stamred. "Dominic and I—what we have—it’s not ready. It’s too complicated, too fragile."
Nana nodded slowly, eyes distant. "He’s... never been easy."
"I know. And I don’t want to hurt him. But I won’t marry Landon out of obligation or strategy. That’s not the kind of love I want."
There was a pause, longer this ti.
Then Nana exhaled softly. "I owe you an apology."
Celeste blinked. "What?"
"I pushed you into sothing neither of you were ready for. I’ve done that all my life. I see pieces and I try to fit them together before they’re shaped properly."
Celeste swallowed the lump in her throat. She hadn’t expected those words. She hadn’t even dared to hope for them.
Nana continued, her gaze softening. "When I looked at you, I saw strength. Composure. I thought—this is what Landon needs. Stability and grace. But I was wrong to assu you’d be content being soone’s solution."
Celeste’s voice was barely above a whisper. "I’m not."
Nana nodded, "I can see that now." Her voice turned into a whisper. "I know what Landon did to you, and I’m sorry."
Celeste simply nodded, and said nothing. Nana also said nothing, and the silence stretched between them.
"Are you in love with Dominic?" Nana asked, breaking the silence without breaking her poise.
Celeste hesitated. She bit her bottom lip. Her eyes locked with the woman who had seen through generations of sches and arrangents of wealth yet accepted her poor self without a class into the family.
"I don’t know what to call it," Celeste admitted. "But it feels like sothing that matters. Sothing real."
Nana didn’t smile. She didn’t smirk, nor gloat. She rely nodded. "Good."
Celeste blinked. "Good?"
"Because he needs sothing real. And so do you."
The confession sat there between them. Celeste wanted to ask so many things. Nana didn’t look surprised or shaken, so she wanted to ask how long Nana had known, how much she saw, and what she truly thought of Dominic’s feelings.
"Dominic’s heart is a locked room," Nana said, as if answering an unspoken question. "But I’ve seen you walk through its walls like mist. He looks at you like he’s trying to understand how the world finally gave him sothing he didn’t have to steal."
Celeste’s breath caught.
Nana reached for her teacup. Her hands were not as steady as they once were. "I don’t want to push anymore. My ti for that is done. But I must ask you this. Are you sure you want to be with Dominic?"
Celeste closed her eyes briefly. She saw him, not as the man with walls and fire, but as the one who waited in her silences, who bled in his pride, and who once held her like she was the last soft thing in his hands.
"I’m not sure about forever," Celeste said truthfully. "But I’m sure about him."
The teacup clinked gently as Nana set it down.
"That’s enough."
Silence returned again, this ti heavier with understanding.
"Does Landon know?" Nana asked.
Celeste shook her head. "No. I wanted to tell you first." She rubbed her sweaty palms together. "Landon thinks I’m with Dominic for the sake of revenge."
"Then allow to handle it," Nana said with a sigh. "He won’t take it well. But he will respect it if it cos from ."
Celeste blinked back the sting of unexpected tears. "Thank you."
"Don’t thank . Just be honest with yourself. That’s the only way you’ll survive in this family."
Celeste nodded.
She stood, smoothing her hands over her dress. Nana didn’t rise, but her gaze followed Celeste.
"One more thing," Nana added, and Celeste stopped entirely in her tracks. "If Dominic breaks your heart... I’ll personally poison his tea."
Celeste laughed.
"I believe you," she whispered like it was their little secret.
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