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“Yes, but that’s only part of it,” Chloe replied. “My parents always strived for the best. My dad works in finance, and my mom’s in business management. They both had to be the best at what they did. It was an obsession. My parents were hardly home, and even though they’re still married, I barely saw them together. So I thought that’s what relationships were supposed to be, that you were supposed to find someone who could elevate your status. That’s the only reason I dated Ryan. He commanded respect the way I did, and I thought together, we could be this power couple. But we didn’t have anything in common, and we barely got along. I didn’t understand what a relationship was supposed to be.”
“Until you met Miles,” I teased.
Chloe smiled. “Miles actually treated me like a person, not just some trophy to put on display. Sometimes I feel like my parents had me for their image, because having kids is what they were supposed to do, rather than because they wanted a kid. They pushed me to be my best. I had tutors growing up so I’d get the best grades. I even had private lessons with a dance instructor so I’d be at the top of the team. I didn’t realize until later that the other girls weren’t getting one-on-one time with the coach. But it wasn’t enough. Everything in my life had order, whether it was my schedule or the shoes in my closet. But there was so much shame around all of it. If one thing was out of place, I felt like I’d failed my parents. Maybe that’s why I got so angry when you came to town, because for the first time in my life, that order was thrown out of whack. My future was suddenly uncertain, and I couldn’t predict what you’d do.”
“You were right to be angry,” I told her. “But I don’t think that was either of our fault.”
“No, it wasn’t,” she agreed. “We shouldn’t be held responsible for what our grandparents did. Can you guess what my parents said when I told them about you? They said the curse was my problem, and that if I wanted something done about it, I’d have to deal with you myself. My dad acted like he was the one who forced your mom out of town, and that I should be able to do the same. But from what I’ve heard, it sounds like your mom went more willingly than he lets on.”
“She was just protecting herself,” I said.
Chloe rolled her eyes. “And yet my dad took all the credit. He taught me people only understand one way of communication and that’s through force, but you taught me it doesn’t have to be that way. I learned you don’t need everyone to help you. You just want the right people helping you. All my life, I was pandering to the wrong crowd. I wanted respect, and I learned from watching my grandmother that I had to command it. But I learned from you that it’s better to earn it. I think it’s possible to be authoritative and kind.”
I stroked the top of Isa’s head as I listened to Chloe’s story. “That’s really kind of you to credit me, but you’re the one who put in the work. You could’ve chosen to follow in your grandmother’s footsteps, but you didn’t.”
Chloe chuckled. “Boy, am I glad. My grandmother taught me that I couldn’t trust people to do the right thing. She told me that if you don’t force people to do the right thing, they won’t, because we’re all inherently selfish.”
My eyebrows shot up. “It sounds like your grandmother is insecure in her own empathy.”
“For sure,” Chloe agreed. “My grandmother believes that people are inherently lazy and that they won’t do anything productive if they aren’t suffering. She believes people will always make bad decisions and thinks we have to work extra hard to be righteous, as if you have to make an effort to be kind. Maybe this has to do with growing up cursed, but I thought it was normal to go around wanting to do bad things, and that people just didn’t because they’d be punished for it.”
I felt really bad for Chloe that she’d grown up this way. “It takes a lot of determination to change your belief system like that.”
“Yeah, but that belief system has to be challenged to begin with,” Chloe replied. “You did that for me. I hated you. Despised you, really. I’ve come to find it’s hard to do good in the world when there’s hate in your heart, and I had to hate you to learn that. I think suffering requires people to make big changes, but I also think people can do really good things when they aren’t struggling for survival. If you and I can get along, there’s hope for the coven.”
I nodded. “Absolutely. I think you’re here to change lives, Chloe. I know you’ve changed mine. You’ve taught me to be more assertive and made me realize I have to go after the things I want. You’ve taught me not to jump to conclusions and judge people so quickly. Most of all, you’ve taught me that we all want the same thing, but we look at it in different ways, and so we need to come together and work together, even if our methods differ.”
“That means a lot to hear you say that.” Chloe let out a deep breath, like confessing all this had lifted a huge weight off her shoulders.
I eyed her curiously. “Why are you telling me all this now?”
Chloe gazed down at her hands. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking these last few months. Verla gave me a past-life regression, and since then, I started diving deeper than ever before. I’ve been meditating to uncover the old stories I’ve told myself. I’ve only started to realize the impact it had on me. I understand myself better now, and I guess I wanted you to understand me, too. I see now that I had to be born into my family to show me what I didn’t want. I know how these people think, and I know I don’t want to be like them.”
“That’s a really interesting take on it,” I said. “I’m really glad you’re discovering who you are.”
Chloe offered a light smile. “Thanks. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth it.”
Chloe hopped off the desk and stood. “Anyway, I’m hungry. Are you?”
I laughed. “With these pregnancy cravings? Always.”
Isa hopped off my lap, and Chloe grabbed my hand to help me stand. I’d be twenty-nine weeks pregnant tomorrow, and with two little kiddos in there, I felt huge already. It was definitely getting harder to get around. A lot of my energy had returned in the second trimester, but we’d just hit the third trimester, which meant we were already in the home stretch.
Everything had been going really well so far. I visited Luana weekly, and I took Onyx along to every appointment so she knew what was going on with the babies if I ever needed her help at home. Everyone had been super accommodating, and I couldn’t imagine a better pregnancy. I couldn’t wait to meet our little boys.
“How are the pregnancy cravings today?” Chloe asked.
I crinkled my nose. “Is it weird that I want jalapeños dipped in ranch dressing?”
Chloe gave me a weird look. “Are we talking deep fried jalapeños or straight off the plant?”
I opened the door to the library. “Straight off the plant.”
“That’s gross,” Chloe teased as we started down the hall. Marley followed us, but Isa and Oliver ran off to another part of the house. They’d been sneaking off together a lot lately, and I didn’t know what they were up to. Lucas thought maybe they were grumpy that we were having babies and would have less time for them.
“It’s a nice day. Why don’t we eat in the sunroom?” Chloe suggested.
“That sounds like a good idea.” I entered the kitchen and started toward the refrigerator, but Chloe got there first.
