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“No, I didn’t.”
Isabella sighed. “How did you find out?”
“Someone saw you two. They must have been filming you without you guys realizing it. I got the video sent to me.”
“Wow,” Isabella said. “That must have hurt?”
Aria turned back to the kettle. “It did.”
“Is it true? You and Grant are no longer together?”
“We’re not.”
“It’s not because of me, is it?” Isabella said. “Because I swear to you, Aria, nothing happened, not since I got married. This was before I did. Michael and I, we went through a rough spell, and no one else knows but we did separate. It was hard and I went out drinking because I didn’t know how I was going to tell Mom, and then I saw Grant. It was a one-time, and I mean, one-time thing. He didn’t even know my name. It was a giant mistake. One I do regret.”
Aria finished making the tea and hot chocolate. She turned toward her sister and slid the hot chocolate across the counter for her.
“Does Michael know?” Aria asked.
“Yes, of course he does. We’ve talked and he admitted that there was someone else during that time. We both made mistakes and it was when he realized he didn’t want to be without me.”
“I can’t imagine the two of you arguing. That picture doesn’t seem right inside my head.”
Isabella laughed. “It was about you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. It was after several Sundays of him sitting opposite you, watching what Mom did to you. The way she talked to you. He hated it. He hated her being so obsessed with weight. We argued. I said she didn’t mean anything by it and that you didn’t mind and Michael, he went … he was so angry. He made me see you and made me realize that everything she did affected you. I watched you and I saw he was right. He said he couldn’t marry into a family so cruel. That if I thought for a second he was going to allow her to give us a diet sheet for our children, I was very much mistaken.”
“How did he take the pregnancy diet?” Aria asked, a little warmed by the fact Michael had seen her.
“He burned it. When she came to us the other day and started to yell about you, calling you horrible names, I realized she had been doing that all our lives. I never really got to know who you were because she always kept us apart.”
Aria forced a smile to her lips. “That was her way. I wasn’t allowed to hang out with you, because I didn’t measure up to her standards.”
“She’s so awful and I am so sorry I didn’t see it before. I know this makes me a horrible person.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“But, it should. I never got the chance to be a big sister. We didn’t hang out in each other’s bedroom, talking about boys or our favorite movie star crush. Neither of us got to really know each other, and I hate that.”
“I don’t have one,” Aria said.
“What?”
“A movie star crush. I don’t watch a lot of movies. I like reading, romances mainly. I’ve got two dogs, Ernie and Bruno, who take up a lot of my time and I just love them. I work at the veterinary practice which is a job I love and hate, and right now I’m so damn miserable because I broke up with my boyfriend because he slept with my beautiful sister.”
Isabella’s eyes filled with tears. “No, we didn’t sleep together. It was a few minutes, that was all. It wasn’t great, I swear.”
Her sister got to her feet and started walking toward her. Aria was tempted to refuse the hug that was coming her way, but what was the point? Their mother had stopped them being close. She would no longer be the cause for them not being close. Wrapping her arms around her sister, she held on tight, not wanting to let go.
“I love you,” Isabella said.
“I love you too.”
“And don’t let what happened between Grant and I spoil you two. I saw you together on Thanksgiving. You both have a special bond. There is love there, and that kind of feeling shouldn’t be squashed. That should be embraced and cherished.” Isabella stepped back and stroked her cheek.
“I don’t know how the rumor spread.”
