Chapter Four

Juliette had called me in the cab on her way to the Capp Manor, hurriedly explaining what happened. I tried to calm her down and let her know that I'd be there soon as backup. 

Honestly, I was just as, if not more terrified. I had never met Juliette's grandfather, but from what she had told me he was quite the intimidating man. Certainly he was stubborn, if he was able to force Juliette to come back home with him, when we had already made plans on moving to our own place. 

A sense of dread filled my stomach as I pulled up in front of the house. I felt like I was going to vomit. I kept telling myself to stay strong. It wouldn't do any good if we were both terrified. I could already hear them arguing, though, as I stepped out of the car.

"What are you wearing," Consort snapped.

"Um, clothes," Juliette said meekly.

"Are those any clothes befitting of a Capp heiress?" he hissed.

"Th-they're comfortable. Oh look, Ophelia's here."

He turned around to face me, seeming to scrutinize every inch of me.

I gulped.

"Hello, Mr. Capp."

He either didn't hear me or was completely ignoring me, I wasn't sure which one is better.

"Now that both of you are here let us have a little chat," he said walking towards the door not bothering to see if Juliette or I were following him.

Juliette looked defeated already. I walked up to her, taking her hand in mine and gave it a reassuring squeeze, as we followed her grandpa inside.

"You are Ophelia," he said.

I wasn't really sure if that was a question or a statement.

"Yes sir, that's me."

"I suppose you will do. At least you are not one of those Monty scum," he snarled, and with that, he turned away from me.

He turned to Juliette who was making small talk with her sister Hermia.

"Now that you are back home, and you have found someone to marry, we need to start planning the wedding right away. I can rent out the best venues and get maximum media coverage, rest assured."

"Grandpa, I don't want that. Ophelia and I don't need a big wedding. Just as long as our friends are there, we're happy."

"I will have to do a proper screening of your friends first. It would not do to have some nobodies or worthless peasants at the event,"

"Are you serious?" Juliette asked.

He waved a hand at her dismissively.

"Why of course I am serious. This is a momentous occasion, and I cannot have these so called friends of yours ruining it. 

Now, once the wedding is taken care of, I will need you start work right away. Your brother and sister, as well as your cousins Hal and Desdemona, have been holding down the fort, but it is time for you to return to your proper calling.

I assume Ophelia will be carrying your children because you cannot afford to take any time off. Not with the Montys gaining on us."

"Enough!" Juliette shouted.

Consorts face twisted in rage, making him appear somehow even more terrifying, if that was even possible.

"You will not take that tone with me girl."

"I have told you repeatedly that I am not running the company. I never had any plans to, ever. As such, Hermia is the next in line, and should take over in my place. I know that's what she wants to do. That way we'll both be happy."

"This is not about happiness, it's about honoring your grandmother's legacy, your own mother's legacy. They are probably both turning over in their graves right now."

Juliette's jaw tightened, trying not to show him that what he said bothered her.

"They would want me to be happy. They'd want all of us to be happy. I'm not dishonoring their legacy. The company will still be within our line of the family, only now Hermia will be running it instead of me. From what I can tell, she's been doing a fine job, though I doubt you've bothered to tell her that."

This only seemed to enrage Consort even more.

"You know what, fine, to hell with you. You go off and chase your dreams. You will end up penniless in the streets, and when you need money, don't come crawling back to me. You had your chance."

"Don't worry," Juliette said sharply, "I won't."

Hermia wrapped her sister in a hug.

"I'm sorry he said all those things to you, especially about mom. He didn't mean it."

"You and I both know he did," Juliette said sadly.

"I appreciate you sticking up for me, but are you sure you're ready to walk away from all this?"

"I am," Juliette said confidently, "I've been ready. I know that things will be in good hands with you in charge."

"If you ever need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to call me," Hermia said pulling Juliette in for another hug.

"The same goes for you. If grandpa starts giving you a hard time, let me know, and I'll give him a piece of my mind."

Hermia smiled.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine. Now go. Enjoy your life away from all this drama."

While the two sisters were talking outside, Consort turned his wrath towards me. He jabbed me in the chest, eyes blazing angrily.

"You! You're the reason why she is acting like this. She was a perfectly good girl before she went off to university. You somehow warped her mind. You made her think this is what she wants, that she actually has a chance at being a famous musician. Bah! I should have  never let her leave."

Mustering up all my courage, I spoke in what I hoped was a calm, level voice.

"No, I did nothing of the sort. If you think that Juliette had always wanted to run the family business before she left, then you didn't know your granddaughter at all. I'm glad we're leaving. I don't want my future wife or our children around a rude, judgmental, old man like you. You make me sick, bringing up her mom to try and guilt her into staying."

I took a deep breath before saying my final piece.

"I hope you end up all alone. You don't deserve Juliette or the rest of your family's support. Maybe then you'll realize what a mistake you've made. I doubt you will, though. You've been bitter and selfish for this long. An old dog can't learn new tricks, they say."

He sputtered, "Get out of my sight and out of my home."

"Gladly."

All the adrenaline from the encounter was starting to wear off, and I felt anxious and shaky. I quickly found Juliette, and we drove off to our new home, leaving Veronaville far, far behind us.

"Are you okay?" I asked pulling her into a hug once we arrived safely.

"Y-yeah," she said, her voice shaking, "I'll be fine."

"That stuff he said about your mom being ashamed of you, you know that's not true right?"

Tears welled up in her eyes.

"I know. Still it was just hard to hear you know?"

I rubbed her back soothingly.

"I know. Listen, we're safe now. We're away from him, and he can't get to you anymore."

"I was more worried about you," she said, "Did he hurt you?"

"Honestly, not really. I manged to even surprise myself and tell him off."

Juliette let out a shaky laugh.

"I wish I would've been then there to see it."

Glancing around at our new home, I let out a sigh. It was nowhere near as glamours as the Capp estate.

"Are you sure you're okay living here? Most of the rooms aren't furnished, and we don't even have a fridge. We're gong to have to order take out for tonight at least."

I looked down at my shoes.

"I just don't want you to have any regrets."

"I don't have any. Anywhere is home as long as I'm with you."

"Even if there's no paint on the walls?"

"Even then," she said smiling softly.

I sighed in relief. I really hope she meant that. I know she did, but I just really wanted to give her the best life I could. I loved her, and she deserved only the best. 

I shook those doubts away and picked up my phone.

"Who's ready for some pizza?"

"Sounds perfect."

After dinner, Juliette browsed the wanted ads. She was able to find a job in the Entertainment career. It wasn't her dream job, but she figured it would get her foot in the door for possible music gigs in the future. 

I felt guilty that she couldn't have her dream job right away, since we were so low on cash. She reassured me that she would be fine. That was one of the many things I loved about her. She understood my anxiety, and she would keep calming me, no matter how long it took.

Even though it wasn't much of a house, we still had a little fun. Gotta break in the new bed and all that.

It wasn't long before our wedding day arrived. The venue we rented out was much smaller than what her grandpa had planned, I'm sure, but it was perfect for us. When I looked out into the crowd, I was happy to see that my friends from Strangetown, as well as our friends from university were able to make it.

I felt an unbelievable amount of nerves, but I guess that was typical for a bride on her wedding day. There was a tiny bit of fear in the back of my mind, trying to push it's way forward. What if she leaves me? I was getting better and better at pushing that kind of fear away, though. I knew Juliette loved me, and I loved her. 

Sandra and Marla helped Juliette get ready, while Jill Smith and Jules helped me. They all made sure we didn't see each other until we arrived at the alter.

"You look incredible," I said taking in the breathtaking view that was my soon to be wife.

"Not half as incredible as you."

"Flatterer," I said smiling.

"But also the truth."

"Well," I said nervously, "I guess it's time."

"I'm more than ready to become your wife."

"Ophelia, you're like no one I've ever met before. You're so kind and honest. You have so much love in your heart for everyone around you, and you'd do anything for those you care about. I've spent most of my life as a hopeless romantic, dreaming of a fairy tale romance. To have something like my parents had, but you've given me something even better. You inspire me. You give me the courage to follow me dreams because you actually believe in me. I'm completely and always will be in awe of you."

"When I came to Academie le Tour, it was to start over. I planned on keeping my head down, getting through the next four years, and figuring my life out. I never thought I'd meet my best friend and the love of my life along the way. You have this presence about you. You're just so warm and comforting. I feel safe with you. Safe enough to open up about even my darkest thoughts. I never thought I'd have that with anyone. You make me feel loved and cherished, and I'm so thankful everyday that I found you."

Loving but sappy vows finished, now all that was left was to kiss my bride. I couldn't wait to start our future together.

"I can't believe it," Ripp rushed up to me after the ceremony, "You're married. And it's actually to someone who isn't Johnny too."

I laughed nervously, a pit of guilt forming in my stomach.

"Not so loud, his sister's right there."

"I don't care," Jill said, "You look so much happier now than you did with my brother. It's not like I resent you or anything. Why would I even come to the wedding?"

"I just thought-"

She laughed, "Seriously, don't worry. I'm happy you're happy, Johnny or no Johnny."

I breathed a sigh of relief. It was always good to see my old friends, but I was always afraid of that touchy subject coming up. At least Jill wasn't mad at me. Hopefully that meant Johnny had found happiness of his own somehow. I didn't want to spend too much time dwelling on my past, however. Today was my wedding day, and all I wanted to think about was my future with Juliette.

That future started out with a lot of creative ways to try and get money. We spent countless hours digging for treasure in our yard. Mostly, we found rocks or hit a pipeline, but occasionally we turned up something useful we could sell for cash.

We were at least able to make enough for our house to start coming together. Sure it was just a shell, and we needed some more windows and paint and furniture, but it was ours.

Juliette's work in the entertainment career paid off. She was able to get noticed by some musicians, and she spent her days promoting them, hoping one day she'd be a part of that band herself.

Though she was earning decent money, a lot of that money went towards paying the bills. In the early days, we were barely squeaking by. We came dangerously close to getting visit from the repo man quite a few times.

Even as we managed to start furnishing our house, it didn't mean we were able to by top notch appliances. There was always a clogged toilet or leaky sink. Fixing them became part of our daily routine.

As winter, or first winter as Sandra let us know, fell upon Riverblossom hills, we had to give up digging for treasure as a money maker. The ground was soon coated with a thick layer of snow, making it impossible to dig. From what our friends that grew up here told us, it didn't look like digging was a thing we could go back to any time soon.

While Juliette was trying to climb the ranks and follow her dreams to be a musician, I came up with various other hobbies to keep myself busy and make money. I tried my hand at pottery, painting, and writing. 

My paintings were mediocre at best, and I don't really want to get into my writing. Let's just say I was having a hard time finding anyone to publish my stories. They were a little too dark for self help books, I guess, but I always thought you should go with what you know. I will admit it made my self confidence waver a bit. Pottery though, now that was something I was able to do. I was just making plates now, but I was able to sell them for a decent amount. Pottery, like dancing had during university, give me something to occupy my mind and keep out the bad thoughts.

Just because it was winter, didn't mean the weather could stop our friends from getting married. Sandra and Jules, who were used to Riverblossom Hills' impossibly cold climate, managed to convert Sandra's grandmother's green house into a makeshift wedding hall.

Dirk and Dustin held their wedding at their house. As they, like the rest of us, didn't have any kids yet, the upstairs remained empty and had more than enough room to host us all for their wedding.

Marla and Jacob had the most daring wedding, by hosting it completely outside, no cover, heat, or anything. Thankfully, the wedding was quick, and we were ushered to a tropical themed reception hall.

I noticed during the hustle and bustle, that Juliette was feeling a bit queasy. She kept clutching her stomach and excusing herself to the bathroom. Thinking it was food poisoning, I suggested we should head home, so she could get some proper rest.

As it turned out, it was not food poisoning. Our first child was on the way!

"Ophelia, I'm nervous," she confided in me one day, "Do you think we'll be good mothers? Do you think we can provide a good home for the baby?"

It was my turn now to reassure her.

"I know we can. You and I will love this baby more than anything in the world. They'll grow up surrounded by love, and they'll have," I trailed off getting choked up, "They'll always have the both of us here looking out for us. That's a promise."

"I think we should start putting our money towards building a nice nursery for them. I know the rest of the house needs some work, but it can wait. I feel better talking to you, and I know we'll love this baby so much, but I still want a nice little room for them."

I smiled at her.

"We can definitely do that."

We began to work on the nursery buying the best cribs and toys we could afford.

For some silly reason, I ate some old takeout. I'm not sure why really, other than I thought it would last longer, and we were still trying to save as much money as we could to not only go towards the house, but the nursery too.

At least when I threw up, I knew it would be over in a day or two. It really was food poisoning, and not morning sickness.

Or so I thought. It turns out, on top of having food poisoning, I was also pregnant. No wonder I had felt so drained.

Juliette, who hadn't learned the news yet, was trying to make me some soup using her grandma's old recipe. She swore it would make the sickness just melt away. 

Unfortunately, she wasn't as good of cook as she thought. Thankfully, this fire didn't result in any casualties. It still left both of us quite shaken up. Juliette haunted by the way her parents passed, and both of us would never forget that horrible day at uni when both Juliette and Dirk were temporarily lost.

"I'm just glad you're okay," I said as I tried to swallow down the burnt soup.

Juliette sighed laying her face in her hands.

"We-we were just promising that our baby would always have both of us, and I put myself in danger. What if something horrible had happened?"

"I would have found a way to bring you back, just like Dirk," I replied shakily, "It's over now, and neither of us are hurt. It looks like our babies will have their moms around for quite a while."

"Babies?" she asked in surprise.

I smiled, "Yes, babies. I found out that I'm pregnant a few hours ago."

"I can't believe we're about to have two little ones in the houses. I'm excited yet terrified at the same time," Juliette said after giving me a quick kiss.

"You and me both, but I think we can get through this together."

"I sure hope so. Two babies, so close together, they'll practically be twins!"

"That means they'll never be alone," I said happily.

I was glad my babies wouldn't be growing up an only child like I was. Granted, I had needed someone to provide comfort for a horrible situation our children would hopefully never be in. It was still nice, though.

As Juliette's pregnancy progressed, she spent more and more time in bed. When she wasn't sleeping, she was rotating between the bathroom and the kitchen. She felt guilty for taking time off work, but I only wanted her and the baby to be healthy and happy. I was able to convince her that staying at home for the final days was the right decision. She could be really stubborn when she wanted to be.

I felt guilt of my own that my pregnancy was much easier. I would do anything to take away some of the exhaustion and sickness she was feeling. 

It wasn't long before we welcomed little Helena to the family. She was the apple of our eye. Everything she did was fascinating to us. We could both just spend hours watching her giggle and blow bubbles or play with the toys we bought her.

Just a few months later, we welcomed Tamora to the family. I, of course, had to go into labor in the most inconvenient place, the bathroom. None of that mattered as soon as I held Tamora in my arms.

Busy with work and child care, the days seemed to fly by. Soon it was time for Helena to become a little older. We couldn't believe our little girl was growing up so fast!

We opted to have a small party just the four of us. Once Helena was a little older, we'd invite our friends over for a party. They understood as they were beginning to start families of their own.

Once Helena was fed and settled, Juliette and I looked upon her with pride. We couldn't wait to see what kind of person our child would grow up to be, and we knew Tamora wasn't too far behind.

With the children growing up so fast, it made me long for another one. I wondered if it was too early to talk to Juliette about trying for another baby. I'd save that conversation for later. I knew we both wanted a large family, so more babies would surely be in our future.