#Chapter 430 – Breaking the News Ella
I shriek when I hear the tap on the door, jumping up from the bed and dashing towards it, so excited to see my sister that I can’t even think about moving slowly.
Behind me, I hear Sinclair stand up and give a little growl. Without even looking, I know he’s standing with his arms across his chest, his feet wide apart, glaring at the door. But! That’s Roger’s problem. Not mine.
I fling the door open and immediately throw myself into my sister’s arms. ” Cora!” I shout, laughing. “I missed you!”
“It was two days, Ella!” she laughs, shaking her head and hugging me back.
“Three!” I insist, frowning at her.
“Well, whatever,” she says, rolling my eyes. “We’ve spent longer apart than that.”
“Yes well,” I say, pulling back and grinning at her. “I missed you. Don’t go away again. It was boring without you.”
“I can’t believe that,” Cora says, frowning at me as we move into the room. “Didn’t you go to the camps and work? That’s never – ”
But I gasp, my hands flying to my mouth as soon as I see it.
Cora, surprised, turns to me with wide eyes and then starts to look around for whatever is wrong as Roger comes into the room as well, shutting the door behind him. Figuring it out first, Roger starts to laugh.
“What!?” Cora asks, looks between her mate and me.
“Cora!” I gasp, stepping forward and grabbing at the neck of her shirt, yanking it back so I can see –
Her mating mark – right there! High on her shoulder, almost on her neck!
“Oh,” she says, laughing and blushing a little, reaching up to run her fingers over it and then sending a little glare Roger’s way. “Yes, he decided to put it in a very noticeable place, didn’t he?”
“Damn right I did,” Roger murmurs, ducking down to give me a kiss on the cheek before moving over to Sinclair.
I ignore them – and whatever boy fight is going to immediately ensue as I throw my arms around my sister, shrieking again with happiness. ”
Cora!” I shout, rocking her back and forth in my arms, “I’m so happy for you! Congratulations! What – what happened! Tell me everything!”
“Wait,” she says, unable to keep from beaming with happiness herself, but she pulls away from me and shakes her head. “You’re – you’re not mad? That we we eloped, instead of doing the wedding you planned!”
“Cora,” I say, my shoulders falling in my disappointment, “I never cared about that – and even if I was disappointed, I’d never let it overshadow my happiness for you! This,” I say, gesturing again towards her mark, “is such a wonderful thing and you two waited so long and were so patient – ”
Unable to help myself, I cry out again and wrap my sister in another hug.
“Well thanks, Ella,” she says, hugging me tightly back. “We’re really happy. It was…a really special couple of days.”
“I want to hear everything,” I say, pulling back. I open my mouth to ask for more details, but we both turn- distracted when we hear Roger and Sinclair raising their voices at each other.
“You should have been here, Roger,” Sinclair says, his whole body tense, glaring daggers at his brother.
“You didn’t need me, Dom,” Roger says, throwing out a dismissive hand. ” Cora and I needed to do this -”
“Um,” I say, stepping closer to Cora. ” What do you say we steal the baby and go…somewhere else?”
“You don’t want to watch the fireworks?” Cora says, turning her head to the side and grinning at me.
“I want to concentrate on you,” I say, nudging her with my elbow and grinning. “Besides, they need…a minute to work this out. Come on.”
Then, quickly, I cross the room again as quietly as I can, reaching for the baby, who is laying in his pack-and-play, messing with some toys. He gives a little happy squeak when I pick him up, which makes me smile.
I turn to Cora then, nodding to a door on this side of the room. Frowning, because she’s never been through it before, she follows me with curiosity. I watch her face as I open the door and we pass through. I’m gratified when I see her expression move from curiosity to wonder as we enter a perfect little living room.
“Oh,” she says, looking around with raised eyebrows. “Oh wow, I had no idea this was here…”
“We just had it fixed up,” I say, closing the door behind me. “Damon’s taste was…” I grimace and shake my head. “But through here!” I continue, walking to the center of the room and pointing towards another door, “there are more bedrooms, for the kids! So, we have like, our own little family suite here, which I think is really nice.”
“I love it!” Cora says, laughing and sinking down onto the sofa, curling up her legs beneath her in a way that makes me smile, because she looks so cozy, and that’s precisely what I want. I know that we live in a palace and that there’s a sense of refinement to the entire place, but I really wanted to create a space within it where my family and I could feel comfortable, at home.
And Cora’s immediate reaction, curling up against the pillows? It confirms that I did well in my design.
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