Violet didn’t get a chance for one-on-one time with Nancy. Not with so many people eager to meet her. Also, where were her boyfriends? She could not find any of them to introduce to her mother, except Griffin.
Right now, Violet and Nancy were seated under a canopy that Lila had set up for them. Where Lila had gotten the resources? No one had a clue. But Violet and the others had learned never to question Lila’s ways. They would never understand them anyway.
It was Violet, her girls, Griffin, and Daisy’s brother Jack who sat under the canopy. After yesterday’s incident at the luncheon, Ivy’s parents hadn’t bothered to show up today. They didn’t approve of the company their daughter was keeping and claimed they were embarrassed by her choices. Chances were, they had already gone back to their district and wouldn’t bother with their daughter again.
Well, they could go to hell, as far as Violet was concerned. Parents who didn’t care about their child’s happiness didn’t deserve to be called parents. Which was why she and the other girls were determined to make sure Ivy had a good time. Not that there was much to do, Ivy was too wrapped up in Jack to care about anything else.
Daisy’s parents hadn’t made it either, blaming the distance. But Violet knew, deep down, it was because they couldn’t afford the trip. Daisy could have told them, and the group would have happily covered the travel expenses. But she didn’t.
The fact that Daisy hadn’t asked — knowing they would never refuse and would absolutely help — meant she didn’t want their money. Violet respected that and let her be. After all, she wouldn’t want anyone looking at her like she was dead weight either. She had her pride too.
At the same time, Violet wondered if Daisy knew Ivy was crushing on her brother. Honestly, it wasn’t that hard to see. Not with the way Ivy’s eyes lit up like Christmas had come early, and how she couldn’t stop gawking at the guy. And during one of their playful jibes, when Jack had casually flexed his muscles? Yeah, Ivy had practically drooled.
So, yes, it was obvious. But knowing Daisy, the girl had a high IQ, not so much EQ. Stuff like this didn’t exactly hit her radar quickly. And if Daisy had noticed, she wasn’t saying anything.
Violet couldn’t blame Ivy though. Jack was handsome, especially with that curly hair that kept falling into his eyes — beautiful brown eyes that Ivy clearly wanted an excuse to brush his hair away from.
The only downside to this was that Jack was a bit too old for Ivy. Six years older, to be exact. Not a huge gap, but still. Guys like Jack usually didn’t go for younger girls like Ivy; they tended to see them as easy flings or too immature to take seriously.
Violet could only hope this little crush didn’t end up causing drama between them. She wanted the best for Ivy’s love life, but from what she’d seen, falling for your best friend’s older brother rarely ended well.
And there was no telling if Jack even liked Ivy back. For all they knew, he probably had a girl waiting for him back home. The gods help them, because this had all the makings of a disaster.
"Here you are. Found you," someone said, snapping Violet out of her thoughts.
She looked up to see a handsome man approaching her mother with a smile, and from the way her mother immediately perked up, it wasn’t hard to guess who it was.
Ezra King. Her mother’s new mate.
Nancy hadn’t stopped talking about him; she was practically rapping praises since she arrived.
Violet adjusted in her seat, preparing to stand and introduce herself to her new father—ugh, no, scratch that—her mother’s new man. She had already opened her mouth to speak when Ezra leaned down and kissed her mother passionately, right there in front of everyone.
It was probably at that exact moment the reality of Nancy being Ezra’s mate finally sank in. Her mother had found someone the heavens had destined for her, and they were bound together forever.
Fuck. It was heartwarming and sweet. And gross. Especially watching them devour each other’s faces like that. Eww. Couldn’t these old people get a room?
Violet quickly looked away, clearing her throat, and unintentionally breaking up the moment. Nancy and Ezra pulled apart at once, both grinning at each other with goofy smiles. It was an expression Violet noticed and memorized, because honestly, she had never seen Nancy look that happy before.
To be fair, as happy as Violet felt for her mom, there was also a small stab of jealousy. Nancy had always reserved that kind of attention and love for her, but now she was giving it all to this stranger. And yet... Nancy seemed truly content.
"Grow up, Violet," she scolded herself inwardly.
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