Happily Ever After: (A Cinder & Ella Novel)

by Kelly Oram

  Juliette’s jaw dropped, and Ana’s eyes bulged. Dad flinched, as if the news of his daughters’ new fame literally shocked him.

  Brian ran a hand through his hair. “Scott called a limo service for us so that we can all stay together. He said things are crazy enough out there that it would be best to let a professional driver worry about the crowd since you guys aren’t used to it. I’m really sorry.”

  It took my dad way too long to respond to this, and when he did, he couldn’t speak. He simply clenched his hands into fists and stomped off toward the bathroom. I’d never seen him so angry.

  “Well,” I muttered, “there goes my relationship with my father. Wonder how Dr. Parish will try to spin this one.”

  “Ella, I’m so sorry.”

  I smiled sweetly at Brian and kissed his cheek. “Not your fault.”

  When Dad came back, he was still not speaking to anyone—not even Jennifer. Brian and I decided to give him space and went to talk to the fans lined up waiting to see the film. Not that we were in the mood for it, but thanks to Max, who was schmoozing the crowd and kept calling out to us to join him, we really didn’t have any other option. Blowing them all off would have made Brian look bad.

  It took nearly half an hour for the limo to arrive, and when it showed up for us, two police officers came to escort us out. “Just hurry to the car,” Dad growled at the twins. “Don’t say anything. Don’t even look at the cameras.”

  “Ella and I will go out in front of you,” Brian murmured. “That should take the attention off the rest of you.”

  His valiant effort only earned him another nasty glare from my dad. I wanted to scream at my father. He was being totally unreasonable. None of this was Brian’s fault. None of it.

  “You ready?” Brian asked.

  I nodded as I sucked in a deep breath. “At least they have the crowd barricaded off this time so you won’t have to carry me.”

  Brian’s shoulders sagged, and he barely choked out my name. “Ella…”

  I shook my head. “It’s part of the package.” I forced a smile. “I knew what I was signing up for.”

  He pulled me into a hug and then wrapped his arm around me before nodding to our police escort to open the doors.

  The noise that had greeted Susanna had been crazy, but it was nothing compared to the chaos that erupted when Brian and I left the building. The sidewalk from the main entrance to the drive-up loop where the valet waited was only about ten to fifteen yards or so, but when both sides of it were lined with a mob of fans and reporters being pushed back by the good old LAPD, the walk to the waiting limo felt like an eternity. Especially because I was the world’s slowest person.

  I tried to hurry and almost asked Brian to carry me after all, because this crowd was crazy. The theater people had dragged a bunch of velvet ropes out to line the sidewalk, and the police were making sure the crowd stayed behind it, but I didn’t exactly feel safe. This crowd was a lot rowdier than either the group at FantasyCon or The Druid Prince premiere had been.

  These people had had a good two and a half hours to gather here. Every paparazzi in town was here as well as all the local news teams. There were a lot of random people there, too. They shouted how brave I was and how proud they were of me and how beautiful I was.

  That wasn’t so bad, but aside from the normal excited shouts, this particular crowd had a much more obnoxious side to it. The first woman to make me realize we were in for some trouble pushed herself against a cop and shouted, “Forget Ella, Brian! If she won’t fill your needs as a man, I will!”

  “So will I!” someone else shouted.

  “Me too!”

  “You can have us both!”

  Brian ignored them all and kept me securely tucked into his side. He remained 100 percent focused on the car ahead of us.

  Then, a group of college guys jeered and threw panties at me as we passed. “I got you a present, too, Ella!”

  “Model these for me, sexy!”

  “Forget the panties! Show us everything, baby!”

  Next to them, someone else shouted, “Forget that ugly, deformed bitch! Give me the sexy stepsisters!”

  “Hell yeah!” someone else chanted.

  “I got dibs on the slutty one!”

  A gasp behind me had me looking over my shoulder. Ana had stumbled to a stop and was gaping at the guy who’d just called out to her. When he caught her attention, he grinned at her and said, “Hey, Ana, why don’t you ditch your lame boyfriend and date a real man?”

  His friend elbowed him and laughed. “At least show us what you’re wearing under your clothes this time, you skanky little tease.”

  He made a really crude gesture with his fingers and tongue that made Ana gasp again and bury her face in her father’s chest. The crowd hooted, laughed, and whistled when Dad wrapped his arms around her. “Go!” I shouted to him. “Hurry and get her in the car!”

  My shout pushed my poor stunned family into motion, and they hurried ahead of us. “Damn, Ella,” someone shouted as they climbed into the car, “your stepmom’s a total MILF. Can I get her number?”

  My eyes burned as we kept walking, but I refused to cry. If they saw that they could upset me, things would only get worse. I kept walking with my head held high and a stony expression on my face, but I was sure Brian felt the way my body trembled. We picked up our pace, moving as fast as I was capable.

  The worst of it hit us when we neared the limo. A man who was probably pushing fifty had been standing against the red velvet rope nearest the car, and because he was so calm, the police were focused on other people. As we approached him, he smiled at me in a way that made me shiver. His leer alone made me feel dirty. “You want to see how sexy you are, baby?” he called to me.

  Before anyone could stop him, he hopped over the little velvet rope and jumped in front of us. He opened his jacket to show me that he already had his pants open and was fully exposed. “Here’s your proof. See what you do to me, baby?”

  It happened so quickly that I still caught a glimpse of him grabbing himself before I whirled around and hid my face in Brian’s chest. I tried to block out the lewd sounds the man made as the police knocked the pervert to the ground, but I couldn’t, and that was enough to break through my control. I started to cry as we waited for the police to tell us it was okay to get in the car.

  The man was still shouting horribly crass things at me as Brian climbed into the limo behind me and shut the door. I was shaking so hard that Brian had to buckle my seatbelt for me as we pulled away from the theater. He held me in his arms as tightly as our seatbelts would allow and whispered apologies to me over and over again. That he blamed himself for that mess only made me feel worse.

  Across the car, Juliette watched me with concern, and both Ana and Jennifer were crying. Dad had them both tucked into his sides and was holding them tightly, comforting them as best he could. The glare he flashed Brian and me over the tops of their heads assured us his calm facade was solely for their sakes. He blamed Brian and me for this.

  None of us spoke the entire drive home. It wasn’t until we all piled out of the limo, and Brian told the driver he could leave since he planned to stay with me for a while, that my father finally exploded. “Actually,” he said to Brian, “you can climb right back in that fancy car and leave. You’re no longer welcome in my home.”

  “Dad!” I gasped.

  Jennifer, Juliette, and Ana stopped heading for the house and turned to see what was happening. Brian asked the driver to wait a few minutes, and the man nodded, then kindly rolled up his window to give us a little privacy. When Brian turned back around to face my father, he looked surprisingly calm. I knew it was taking him some serious effort, though.

  He stepped away from the car, holding his hand out to me while never taking his eyes off of my father. My heart melted at the way he reached for me. Even with my father telling him to leave and never come back, he wanted me at his side. I happily indulged him, sidling up next to him and leani
ng into him when he put his arm around my waist.

  “Mr. Coleman,” he said, his low voice filled with apology, “I can’t tell you how sorry I am for what happened today. My father was completely out of line, and you have my word that I will never involve your family with him again. He and I will be having a long discussion later.”

  My father wasn’t moved in the least by Brian’s apology. “Well, that’s good for you,” he spat. “But I still don’t want you anywhere near my family ever again. It was not your father’s fault that my girls were exposed to that horror today.”

  “Yes, it was, Dad. Max posted our location online. He—”

  “Stop making excuses for him, Ellamara!” Dad glared at me so hard that Brian stiffened, and his grip on me tightened. “It wasn’t Max Oliver that made Erik Clarke come after you girls at the mall the other day. It wasn’t Brian’s father that has destroyed your life and stolen all of your privacy. You girls were bombarded today because of him.” He thrust his finger at Brian. “All of this has been his fault, and it ends now.”

  Maybe claiming that Brian had ruined my life was what broke the seal on Brian’s temper, but I suspect it was the fact that my father was yelling at me, taking his anger and frustration out on me, and, in not so many words, blaming me for what happened because I was dating Brian.

  “My fault?” he roared. “I may be famous, and I may draw attention to Ella, but what happened to her today was not my fault. Have you seen that video? I’m not the person who suggested Ella give up her virginity for Christmas. I didn’t drag her into a lingerie store and pressure her to push the boundaries of what she’s comfortable with!”

  “Brian,” I whispered, trying to settle him a little.

  He didn’t stop. “Who dragged Ella into that store and picked out a bunch of lingerie for her? Who was joking around with her boyfriend about letting him pick out sexy underwear for her at seventeen years old? Those perverts were attacking your daughters because of Ana’s bad choices! If she hadn’t been at the mall with Ella last week, Erik Clarke might have got a cute video of Ella joking around in Barnes & Noble or Wizards of the Coast. I’d have been outed as a big nerd, and that’s it. Nobody would be asking Ella to take her clothes off to make a statement for the world or throwing thongs in her face or exposing themselves to her. Today would have been nothing more than a few fans wanting to take pictures of us, and your family would still be blissfully obscure. If you want to blame someone for today’s mess, blame Ana. This was her fault, and, in fact, she’s been the cause of every horrible thing Ella’s endured since moving to your home. If you’re so concerned with your daughter’s well-being, where the hell were you for the last few months while your other daughter tortured her and made her life miserable, huh? Or is it only the twins you’re really concerned about?”

  “Brian.”

  I tugged on his arm to get his attention and snap him out of his rant. He flinched and took several deep breaths when he met my gaze. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay. I know you’re upset about all of this, but it wasn’t Ana’s fault. She didn’t mean for this to happen. She was ambushed and tricked as much as I was.”

  I cast a glance toward Ana. She, Juliette, and Jennifer were all gaping at Brian. Ana’s face was paler than I’d ever seen it. She noticed me looking her way, and instead of glaring at me like I expected, cast her gaze to the ground.

  “I’m sorry,” Brian said again. After another breath, he raised his voice a little louder and said, “Ana, I’m sorry. Ella’s right. It wasn’t your fault, either. I shouldn’t have blamed you; I’m just frustrated. I never wanted this to happen to Ella or to any of you.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have dragged her into your life,” my dad snapped. “As long as you’re dating her, you’re going to keep hurting her. You’re going to keep dragging her into the media, and you’ll never be able to control it. And now your fame is hurting the rest of my family. I don’t care whose fault today was. The truth is, if you weren’t dating Ella, none of this would have happened. I can’t stop her from seeing you, but I sure as hell can make you stay away from the rest of my family. I want you off my property, and I want you to stay away from my family. If you don’t, I’ll have a restraining order slapped on you, and I’ll have you thrown in jail any time you come near any of them.”

  “DAD!” I couldn’t believe this was happening. Yeah, my dad is a prosecuting attorney, but I never dreamed he’d use that to hurt someone I loved. “You’re being unfair.”

  “No, Ella,” Brian said. His anger was gone. He was calm again. He shook his head as he stared at my father. “The man has a right to protect his family. I will respect that.”

  I wanted to punch my father right in his smug face. My jaw quivered as I fought the urge to cry. “Brian, this is not your fault.” I took a breath and tried to get my voice to stop shaking. “Don’t let him make you feel like you deserve this kind of treatment. You don’t.”

  When Brian gave me a soft, sad smile, my heart stopped. I assumed my father had finally gotten to him and that he was going to break up with me for my own good. “Brian,” I whispered, as all the blood drained from my face. “Don’t listen to him, okay? I don’t care about the fame. I swear. You’ve brought far more good to my life than anyone besides my mother ever has. I need you.”

  He surprised me by pulling me into his arms and kissing my forehead. “I need you, too, Ellamara. Don’t worry; I am way too selfish to give you up.”

  Thank heavens the man was spoiled.

  He squeezed me tightly and then pulled back to look into my eyes. “I will respect your father’s wishes, because asking me to leave is his right. But…” He hesitated, a rare flash of insecurity crossing his face. He swallowed and reached up to tuck my hair behind my ear. “Will you come with me?”

  “Of course.” How could he think I wouldn’t? Like I wanted to have Christmas dinner with my father after what he just did?

  “No. I mean…will you come with me permanently? Will you agree to move in with me now?”

  My dad gasped. “What?”

  We both ignored his outburst. “You see what I mean about Vivian’s place not being safe for you, right?” Brian asked. “I love Vivian and her dads, and I wish you could go there because I know you would be happy and comfortable there, but you just can’t. I’m so sorry.”

  “I know,” I admitted with a shudder. “I won’t go to Vivan’s.”

  After what happened at the theater today, there was no way I was going to live somewhere where anyone could walk right up to my home and peek in the windows. Or break through them. And there was no way I’d even consider bringing that kind of drama to Vivian or her fathers. It was bad enough Juliette and Anastasia had been sucked in.

  “So will you come?”

  Before I could answer, my father took over the conversation. “No, she most certainly will not come,” he growled. “She’s staying here.”

  Brian closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying once again to keep a lid on his temper. “Your father’s place is better than Vivian’s. I’ll understand if you want to stay. But I would feel better if you came with me.” He frowned. “Especially since I’ve just been banned from the property.”

  At the reminder, I glared at my father. He jutted his chin out and folded his arms, unwilling to relent in the slightest. He was as impossible as this situation. “Fine.” I looked back at Brian and forced a small smile. “Okay.” I blew out a breath as the enormity of what I was agreeing to settled in. “Okay, yes. I’ll come with you.”

  Brian’s eyes widened just the tiniest bit, as if he’d been sure I was going to stay home. “We’re in this together,” I said, squirming with sudden apprehension. I wasn’t ready for this, but I didn’t have another choice. “I need you, and if you aren’t welcome here, well, then…” I took another deep breath, trying to settle my nerves. “My staying here isn’t an option.”

  The expression on Brian’s face right then was worth everything I’d been throug
h this week. It was a face I’d only seen on him once before—when we had dinner together at FantasyCon. It was the wonder-filled look of a man who thought all of his dreams had just come true. His tiny, overwhelmed smile took my breath way. As did the light touch of his fingers when he took my face in his hands. “Thank you,” he rasped, and brought my lips to his in a soft kiss. “I promise I will be a perfect gentleman.” He paused, thought about it, and a ghost of a smile crossed his face as he tacked on, “Most of the time.”

  A quiet, semi-hysterical bark of laughter bubbled up from my chest. Brian registered my fear and leaned his forehead against mine. “Don’t be nervous,” he whispered. “This isn’t about me, okay? It’s about what you need. You have nothing to fear from me.”

  “Okay.” Nodding, I gave myself a mental pep talk. I trusted him. I did. But I was still scared and completely overwhelmed by the idea of moving in with him. “Okay, just give me a few minutes to pack a bag. I can worry about everything else later.”

  He let go of me, and I took a small step back. I was really doing this. I was moving in with Brian Oliver. With Cinder.

  I met my stepsister’s eyes. “Hey, Jules?” I said quietly. “Will you help me pack a few things?”

  Juliette looked as overwhelmed as I felt. She looked sad but understanding and gave me a small smile as she nodded. I got one step before my dad stopped me. Judging from the look on his face, he still didn’t quite believe what was happening. “Ellamara, no. Juliette, don’t bother.” He shot her a warning glance and then shook his head at me again. His mouth flopped open and closed several times, until his face finally flushed with anger and he found his scowl again. “You are not moving in with him. You’ve known him less than two weeks. It’s…it’s…preposterous. Out of the question.”