"Now, are you going to invite me in, Asher? I am a guest after all," Tina repeats, as I look back at Ash.

He just has the mortified look on his face, like nothing's changed from his teenaged years. I don't blame him, considering this is the woman that completely ruined his twin. She's the woman who basically drove Colin to ruin me in so many different ways. I feel a new sense of determination to show her who's boss. If she can ruin Colin's life like that, and cause Ash to basically lose his other half, then she doesn't deserve any ounce of respect.

I step up a little bit, and say, "You don't deserve to be invited in. You've done everything that's worthy of you being considered a criminal. Now please, get the hell away." Ash looks at me with a somewhat grateful smile, and then we look at Tina, who is just unfazed. In fact, she looks a little bit annoyed at my slight bravery. She looks like she still wants to be able to control Ash and his choices on what he does. We both know that's far out of her power, because of the fact that she's not their mom anymore, yet the look in her demonic eyes is nothing short of controlling.

"Oh, shut up, little girl. You know nothing about Asher. I know him better than you do. Also, you have no place in his life. You're worth nothing to him. I was worth more. I was his mother at one point. You're probably his side chick who he just uses when he wants to. Plus, this is between him and I, so I suggest you take your huge nose and stick it somewhere else." My eyes widen at her nastiness, but I'm otherwise unfazed. I feel surprised, but at the same time, I didn't expect anything less. I knew she was nasty, but not this nasty.

The fury in Ash's eyes is intensifying by the second. I can tell that his temper is hanging by a very fine thread. One more word that comes out of Tina's mouth and he's going to lose it. And possibly get charged with battery. "Don't you dare talk about Nicole that way. She's made my life better than you ever had. And you were never my mother. Just because he was married to you doesn't mean that I would ever consider you my mother. You're a straight up Satanist. It's because of you that Colin abused her throughout the three years they were married. You treated all of us, including my father, like crap."

Tina raises an eyebrow, and then looks back at me, with a cocky smile. I can feel her scrutinize every aspect of me in just that simple stare of hers. I feel slightly uncomfortable, but I swallow the lump at the back of my throat and try not to buckle under her gaze. Her opinion is worth less than the dirt on the bottom of my shoe. "Oh, this is your sister in law? Ash, falling in love with your sister in law? Shameful! Very shameful! Colin would be very disappointed."

I cross my arms, and say, "Ex sister in law. I'm getting my marriage to Colin annulled. But that's not the point. Our point is, get the hell off of Ash's property, or we'll call the cops for all the abuse that we didn't report."

Tina gives me one last sneer, and then walks away from the door. I prepare myself just in case she decides to turn back and kill us all. Thankfully, she does, and leaves kind of peacefully. But not before saying, "I'll be back. Watch your back."

Ash slams the door behind him, and then huffs over to the couch. He plops down on it, while burying his face in his hands. I can't tell whether or not he's sad, angry, or perhaps a combination of both. I'm unsure as to whether I should go over to help him, or if I should just let him process this on his own.

However, after looking at him so distraught for about 30 seconds, I walk over to the couch, and sit down next to him. I place a hand on his shoulder, and say, "Ash, don't beat yourself up for it."

He takes his face out of his hands, and then rubs his forehead with his fingers. There are no tears running down his face, but I can almost feel the sadness chewing at his heart. "I just... I hate her, Nicole. I hate her so much. She basically ruined my whole family. And now she's back. I basically put my sisters' life in danger. I can't let her touch them. I don't care if I die doing it. Their safety matters more than mine."

My eyes widen a little bit, and then I shake my head. "Ash, no, don't say that. She's not going to hurt you guys." Even I don't know if I'm telling the truth at this point. I feel like she isn't what she owns up to be, but you never know.

Ash looks at me, with the "Are you serious?" look on his face. "Nicole, she ruined my family, Colin's mental health, and basically turned my dad into a psychopath. I don't have very high hopes for our safety."

I give him a slightly disappointed smile. "Can't you like file a restraining order against her or something?"

"Can't. My dad's going to find the best lawyer he can and crush us in court. He's got so much more money than I do. He'll crush us in court, and who knows what the hell he will do if we even try to go against Tina?"

I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion. That means no sense. If Isaac divorced Tina, why is he still so attached to her? "Wait, didn't your dad divorce Tina?"

"Vice versa. Actually, it was kind of mutual. My dad found out that she was cheating on him, so he agreed to it. Tina had already bled him dry anyways. She got everything she wanted. So they both agreed to it. He never fell out of love with her though. Yeah, she really screwed with his brain, hm? That's why I hate both of them. And the fact that she talked to you that way? She just has no filter whatsoever."

I hug him slightly and rest my head on his shoulder. "She's not going to hurt you. I promise that."

I feel Ash smile, and he just rests his head against mine. "You're the best, Nicole," he says, and I just smile. The feels are strong here.

(One and a half months later)

The wedding plans are in full swing. We've got the wedding venue, Lara's got her dress adjusted, and I'm trying to help her as much as I can. Thankfully, my hands aren't breaking under the amount of enormous pressure.

I've got Elena, Roy, and our dad to help us out. And Ash, who is like a brother to Dom, is helping out as well. We're helping with the catering, decorations, and making sure everything goes smoothly and everyone doesn't go bankrupt and insane.

Everyone is trying to make everything perfect. We've got the order of how it's going to go down. We know how everyone's going to walk down the aisle, and we've got the rings ready. I've got my bridesmaid dress, and I've helped keep track of Lara's many family members who were invited. Stress is one of those things where we're trying not to let get to Lara,  because of the fact that's carrying Dom's baby in there.

With one month to go, it's wedding season for all of us. And it's also the time where Dom gets so excited, because with each day that passes, the baby is closer to arriving. Seeing him so excited about becoming a father melts my heart into a gooey puddle. The amount of happiness going through the air is just so amazing.

But with happiness comes disappointment. Mostly for me, rather than the others. We've been getting all negative responses, as all the publishers who have replied don't want to work with us. It's really heartbreaking, because I've worked so hard on my book. But, Lara tells me to never give up hope. It's easier said than done.

"How was the appointment?" I ask, as Lara and Dom walk through the door.

"It was great," she says, and Lara makes an almost immediate beeline for the kitchen. I laugh a little bit, as Dom sits down on the couch.

"It was great. The next appointment, we'll find out the gender of the baby, and we'll see if Lara was right all along," Dom tells me, as we hear Lara rummaging through the kitchen.

"I'm right, Dom! I know it's a girl!"

Dom gives me a slight smile, and then yells, "We'll see about that, babe!" We both start to laugh, as Dom grabs the remote. I set my feet up on the table, and Lara goes outside to probably to check the mail. Dom goes to the kitchen, probably to get himself a glass of water, before noticing that the can of  condensed milk is half empty.

He looks at it, shrugs, and says, "The condensed milk lasts longer than Elena's relationships. I'm telling ya. I don't know how Roy has stuck with her for that long."

I chuckle, and Dom walks out with a glass of water. He sits down, and I say, "Well, miracles happen, you know."

Lara runs back in with a stack of mail, and sets it down on the coffee table. She hands me an envelope, with a slightly excited look on her face. "Open it! We got another response!" I take it, and then rip open the top so that I can read the letter inside. I pull it out of the flap, and then start to read it excitedly.

When I read it, however, I'm disappointed, yet again. I set the letter back onto the table, and then sit back, disappointed as usual. Lara raises an eyebrow, and says, "Nothing yet?" I shake my head. Lara has a sad look on her face, and then places a hand on my knee.

"Nicole, don't get discouraged. We still have more agents that are really excited to work with you."

I raise an eyebrow at Lara. "How much longer is it going to be, Lara? I'm so tired of waiting. I just want to get it out to the world. I'm losing hope," I admit, and Dom just places a hand on my shoulder.

"Nicole, we still have more agents waiting. Wait for those. One of them will reach out to you," he assures me.

I give them both a smile, because they both help my mood a little bit. Then, Lara's hands fly to her stomach. My eyes widen, and Dom and I both snap to attention. "Everything okay, babe?" Dom asks, as he scoots in closer to her.

Lara's hands move around her stomach. "I-I think the baby just kicked," she says, excitedly. Dom's eyes widen, and our hands both fly over to her stomach. Surely enough, we feel a little kick under our hands. It's so light, almost like a flutter, but we can feel it run throughout our entire body.

The excitement is so evident in Dom's eyes. He gives Lara a smile, and then leans his head on her stomach. "Hi! Kick again, please!" he says excitedly, and Lara just chuckles.

"Oh my gosh, there's another one! Hi!" Dom squeals, like a teenaged girl, and I just smile. Lara gives me that signature smile, which just says, "This is just too cute." I just can't wait for the baby to arrive, but I also can't wait for the wedding. This may be one hiccup in my writing journey, but the other happiness in my life makes up for that.

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It looks like Tina is just being a total try hard and not really doing much. Thank gosh for that, because we know how detrimental she was to the Mitchell family altogether. Especially to Colin. Do you think that this will continue? Let me know.

Hey everyone! How's life? I'm finally publishing the first three chapters of my mystery book tomorrow, which is going to be SUPER fun! It's something that I'm very excited to share it!

Also, random question. Milk or dark chocolate? I like dark chocolate, and my friends find it too bitter, aha.

That's all I got. Hope you guys liked this chapter!

Please vote/comment/share/follow/message if you like my work! See you all next Saturday with a new chapter of Phoenix, and tomorrow with the first couple of chapters of The Secrets of Confessions, my mystery book! Have a great week!

Love you guys,

Shree