"You coming back to Ma's is for the best, I promise. You'll see." Jax was positioned directly behind Kylie as she gazed at herself in the bureau mirror of her childhood bedroom.

It was the morning of Jess and Elijah's engagement party.

She heaved a sigh of relief as she finally finished outlining her pouty lips and ensured each and every strand of hair on her head was flowing down just above her waist in perfect waves. As she placed her lip pencil down, she realised how funny it was that people considered the eyes the gateway into the soul. Maybe that was true but for her and Elijah it'd been the way their lips latched onto each other that had betrayed their bodies and given them insight into what lay buried within the two of them.

Kylie turned her head towards her older brother and nodded in agreement at his words. Everything would get better now. It had to, didn't it?

She patted her hands against the material of her dress, making sure nothing looked out of place. The dress that Jess had chosen for Kylie wasn't exactly what she would class as her usual choice but it was stunning in its own right. It was satin-black in colour which surprised Kylie. She wasn't sure if the odd colour choice was the result of the chaotic rush Jess had been in whilst organising everything or if it followed some theme that Jess had just decided on last minute. She rolled her eyes – the latter seemed the most likely.

As she had slipped the dress up and over her shoulders, it shared the similar feel of a sheer slinky sheet but as she glanced at herself in the mirror, even she couldn't deny it; it adorned her figure rather well.

Lust was the first and only word that sprung to her mind as she took in all its intrinsic details. The neckline hung slightly too low on Kylie's small frame but she wasn't sure if this had been the intention.

The dress felt intimate and even impaling as it clung to every curve of her toned and supple body; a dress that one may think was manufactured precisely with the art of seduction in mind.

"Black though? It's a tad morbid for an engagement party, isn't it?" Jax scrunched his nose up in scrutiny, "not that you don't look great in it. It's just a strange choice for tonight. It's an engagement party, not a bloody funeral."

"Jess chose it, not me. Can't argue with the bride-to-be, can I?" She chuckled softly, swivelling around and perching down onto the edge of her bed. "You look good too, Jax." She mockingly winked at her older brother.

"I mean the real question is... when don't I look good? But between you and me, these trousers are a little too tight...although if I look on the bright side, I guess they enhance my package well." Jax responded a little too seriously whilst fixing his tie.

"Ew Jax, you're so gross!" She squealed as though she were genuinely repulsed by her brothers' crude words but then couldn't help but burst into fits of laughter. Only Jax, she thought to herself. Only Jax had the sheer ability to make her forget each and every one of her woes by making her laugh so hard that she'd have cramps in her abdomen even hours after the joke was over.

Jax was dressed nearly top-to-toe in a classic black suede suit, except for the tiny handkerchief poking out of the side pocket which was a stark crimson colour. Jess and Elijah had chosen a theme that meant that the closest male family and friends of the bride and groom-to-be would be dressed nearly identically to Elijah, with the same suede black suit and the stained crimson handkerchief folded with precision into the tiny pockets.

"I feel like I'm wearing a fucking uniform though. I was born to stand out you know, but instead, every Tom, Cock and Harry will know I'm somehow related to Elijah." Jax moaned almost childishly, jumping down onto the bed beside his younger sister.

"Tom, Cock and Harry? Really Jax, really?" She spluttered bursting into laughter all over again. Somehow, laying on the crummy little loft room bed made it feel as though they were twelve and fourteen again. She could just picture it now, her desperately attempting to download a movie from some dodgy website whilst Jax wouldn't shut up gossiping about who was banging who in secondary school. It almost made all those years seem like they hadn't been so bad.

Jax grinned ear-to-ear watching his sister, "Kylie?"

"Hmm?"

"It is over, isn't it?"

"What's over?" She pretended to play dumb. Instead of directly addressing Jax's question, she played with the hems of her dress. She knew exactly what he was asking and she certainly knew what he wanted to hear her say. It had to be over. 

It was over. 

But then why was it so hard to forget about it? Why couldn't she act like it'd never happened like every other fling she'd ever had? Why couldn't she just pretend they were same Kylie and Elijah who absolutely loathed each other and bickered about nearly everything as kids?

Why had her feelings towards Elijah changed in such a way that she knew there was no going back for either of them?

"Kylie..." Jax sat up suddenly disturbing her thoughts, his tone of voice stern this time.

"It's over, I promise." She gave her older brother a small smile before pinching his nose as she would do when they were younger and she desperately wanted him to change the topic.

"Ow! Ow, Kylie get off." He said half-joking half-serious, gently pushing his younger sister away.

"Wow, Kylie you really haven't changed at all, have you? How long's it been now – five, six years?"

Kylie halted immediately and whirled around towards the doorway in response to the oh-so-familiar voice behind her.

"Seb! Oh my god. Why am I only just seeing you now?" She shrieked, almost galloping towards her brothers' boyfriend and engulfing him in an all-encompassing hug.

She'd only met Seb a handful of times, for him and Jax had only first got together months before she'd left for Ireland when she'd been eighteen. He was nearly eight years Jax's superior and she'd thought Jax was absolutely bonkers dating him; she recalled how she'd slip the word "man-cougar" into the conversation every single time she'd meet him.

But Seb was an honest and kind man and her brother was absolutely mad about him in all the best ways and as far as she was concerned that meant he was perfect.

Even now, at the age of thirty-three with the tiny lines of experience deepening on his face; he was still handsome as though his kind soul shone through each pore on his face.

She swirled around suddenly, hands-on-hips in an as serious tone as she could possibly manage, "four months, Jax. Four months I've been back and I'm only seeing him now. Where've you been hiding him all this time, huh?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! The truth is... I didn't want him to see how beautiful my sister has become and leave me for her...I can't help being so insecure, you know with our family history and that." He put his hands up in mock surrender.

"Shut up, you!" She rolled her eyes and feigned being offended. But all three of them were stifling laughs. Jax had always been able to make a light of their lousy childhoods; something that Kylie had never learnt to do and maybe, just maybe that would be a part of her downfall.

As Kylie, Jax and Seb continued their act of bickering, they remained completely oblivious to a quiet Valerie stood just outside the door. Hands clasped tightly together and tears pricking the back of her eyes.

"My perfect little family." She whispered to herself. Her perfect family was finally complete.

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Authors' Note: So this was a little bit of a filler chapter but I feel it was really needed before the actual events of the engagement party and I think you guys will understand why I chose to write a filler chapter once the 'engagement' chapters are over! And, also, I realise I introduced this 'new' character a little late into the story. He was mentioned earlier but this is the first time we're meeting him but dw guys, it'll all hopefully make sense in the next few chapters which I'm so excited for you guys to all read!

Also, new cover! What do you guys think??

I realise the chapters are slightly short but I'm planning on making the next few chapters a tad bit longer. How long do you guys like your chapters? Is this too short? Let me know!

And thanks for reading and please vote if you enjoyed :')