LOGINShare
He Couldn't Handle Another Disappointment
Last Updated:
2024-12-19 14:05:21Related chapters
She's No Beauty Queen You Do? Really?
Edward thought this outing was going well even if he had been forcefully reminded yet again that he and his wife weren’t a regular couple. After everyone finished their ice cream and sat around talking for a while, he got involved in a conversation with Luke, the guy sitting next to Randi.He hadn’t talked to anyone new without the awkward, heavy air of greed, respect, or awe hanging about them like this since he met Angel. It was nice. He wouldn’t mind being invited along to an activity like this again, especially since it made her so happy.He was actually having a good time. How novel. He didn’t think it was possible to have fun without Angel or Aria.The former was sitting next to him but she was deep in conversation with Lily, Randi, and their friend Charis. Her attention wasn’t on him but he didn’t mind that for once. She might not be talking to him but she had still wanted him to come with her today instead of thinking he would drag her down. That was a huge deal.After sitting
Last Updated : 2024-12-19She's No Beauty Queen You Were My Sister First
Edward hadn’t realized his wife noticed. He thought he had been doing a better job of hiding his emotions than that. More surprising was her confession that seeing it was hard for her because she cared about him.Guilt would be one thing but that didn’t seem to be entirely the case. She appeared genuinely exasperated that he wasn’t consistently happy because she wanted him to be.“I’m sorry,” he said lamely.Angel was having a harder time than he was right now because of everything that happened. She shouldn’t have to deal with his mood swings on top of everything else. He couldn’t control his feelings though, only his actions. The problem was that she knew how to read him better now after spending more time together. She could see right through him no matter what he did.She sighed. “Don’t apologize, just do something about it. You aren’t going to be happy until I’m properly in love with you so give me a chance to test that out, alright?”Edward took a minute to process that. She was
Last Updated : 2024-12-19She's No Beauty Queen Tell Us About Yourself
Lily and Donovan were the closest in age so they had always been tight but after he moved out, she and Genevieve hung out a lot more. Feeling like her position as the favorite sister was being threatened wasn’t entirely unreasonable from her point of view.They were five years apart and didn’t have very many interests in common. Her thing was fashion. She spent a good chunk of her time sketching designs and even knew how to sew. She had made quite a few outfits for herself and her family members after saving up to buy the fabric she needed.She was deeply involved in her school’s drama program in the costume department and spent a lot of time out of the house as a result. Lily was more of a homebody by nature.That being said, they liked similar board and card games and TV shows for the most part. Lily could sometimes be persuaded to watch fashion documentaries in exchange for Genevieve watching ocean ones too.She didn’t have a problem with her sister’s interest the way she did beaut
Last Updated : 2024-12-19She's No Beauty Queen Complain Away
Thinking about Eddie’s job got Lily wondering how Mark ended up working for him in the first place. He never said.If he was a senior when she was a freshman and he started working for him when Aria was a baby, he was probably twenty-four. That would mean he got recruited straight out of college. No small feat considering who his boss was.Why was she thinking about him now, anyway? There was no reason for that!Lily snapped herself out of it. She needed to focus on enjoying her birthday since it only came once a year.Her mom had set up some dumb party games that everyone had fun with, even her guests who had likely never played them before. The company was good, the cake was delicious, and overall it ended up being one of her better birthdays even though she had been bored out of her mind at her internship earlier.It was nice having Angel at her birthday party. Now they had both spent their birthdays together.She couldn’t help but wonder if her twin’s birthday was her real one aga
Last Updated : 2024-12-19She's No Beauty Queen The Toughest Person I Know
Lily had a great time with her friends at the amusement park and, thankfully, there weren’t any seizures to worry about. The adrenaline high from riding all of those rollercoasters left her in an excellent mood that carried over to the next day.It was so apparent that Mark noticed immediately when he came to pick her up. He seemed surprised but smiled at her anyway. “Did something good happen? I’ve never seen you so happy.”Had she truly been so sour around him? She supposed it was because she was worried about Angel at first and because she felt awkward about their fight once she was safe.“Yeah,” she said a bit sheepishly. “I went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk with my friends yesterday and it was a lot of fun.”Mark laughed. “Let me guess…you rode every thrill ride in the park.”“You bet I did!”“And that doesn’t mess with your epilepsy at all?”Lily hadn’t thought he would remember that since it hadn’t come up in quite a while. “Nah. It varies from person to person but I’ve ne
Last Updated : 2024-12-19She's No Beauty Queen Do You Mean It?
Mark finished his performance with a dramatic bow for his cheering fans before heading back over to them. Lily still felt weird because of what Diego had said and wasn’t sure why since it wasn’t as if it was new information.“You ready to work on the next trick?” he asked.His eyes were bright and he looked unusually happy. He had a nice smile when he wasn’t all business. It took Lily a moment to find her voice to respond. “Yeah. Later, guys.”“Bye, Lily! Bye, Legend!” the group of skaters chorused.“Seems like you’ve won them over,” Mark noted when they headed over to an emptier section of the skatepark.“Pretty sure that’s entirely because I’m associated with you.”He shrugged. “Don’t shortchange yourself. You’re plenty charming on your own.”What was with all these compliments today?! Lily wasn’t sure how to handle them. She blew it off with a simple thank you and they got to work. Though she did know several new tricks now, she still had a long way to go before she was ready to at
Last Updated : 2024-12-19She's No Beauty Queen Don't Mind Me
Mark had heavily debated whether or not to get Lily a present at all but was very glad he did because she seemed much less reserved with him after that day. She even added him on Facebook and Instagram.Most of her posts on the former were shared from pages she followed and consisted of memes and social justice/environmental awareness articles. She didn’t make personal posts very often and if she did, they were about funny things that happened with her friends or family.Her Instagram consisted almost solely of pictures with them. Randi, who he had met at the bowling alley, showed up most frequently. If he had to guess, she was Lily’s best friend.As time went on, he noticed that she posted a lot of pictures with Angelina and Aria as well. His boss’s wife seemed much happier in those than she had in her old publicity photos. Good for her.Good for him too. Edward had practically been on cloud nine the past few months. It was a relief that he finally snapped out of his mood swings. Thi
Last Updated : 2024-12-19She's No Beauty Queen Gee, Thanks
Mark sat there mentally berating himself for being weak and falling prey to the worst possible emotion until Edward finished his call and came back in. He wasn’t at all fazed seeing his assistant there.“What do you need, Mark?”“You have more paperwork to fill out and we have a meeting across town in thirty minutes,” he informed him.Edward sighed. “I forgot about that. People have been calling me all morning about an unrelated property so it slipped my mind. If you drive, I can fill out the paperwork in the car but I need to go get dressed first. Angel, I’m going to be gone for a few hours.”Angelina looked up from what she was working on and gestured for him to come closer. “Alright. See you later.”He walked over to where she was sitting and bent down to briefly kiss her with a soft smile on his face. “Yep. Good luck with your paper.”“Thanks, I’ll need it!”Mark wasn’t even surprised at this point. He knew Edward was wrapped around his wife’s finger and that she had been extremel
Last Updated : 2024-12-19
Latest chapter
She's No Beauty Queen Incredibly Grateful
Lily and Mark had a small simple wedding at a garden venue. Angel convinced her to let her apply light makeup for the occasion with the rationalization that she would only be getting married once. It did make her stand out in the pictures so she supposed that was something.All of their friends and her family were there to support them. Aria was the most adorable flower girl ever and her nephew Hunter was the ring bearer. Angel was the matron of honor and Randi and Genevieve were her other bridesmaids. Mark’s best man was Eddie and two of his bowling friends rounded out the wedding party.They went on their honeymoon to Hawaii where they took another submarine tour and hiked what felt like every inch of the island of Maui. Lily was happy but exhausted by the time they got home.Despite experiencing a major life event, not much changed in terms of work or their general schedules for another year when she got pregnant with their son Damien. Her job was kind enough to let her take a year-
She's No Beauty Queen I Thought You Would Never Ask!
Lily inhaled deeply and let the smell of the salty air soak into her soul. It was impossible to worry about anything right now when she was this relaxed.“You certainly seem happy,” Mark noted with a smile as they bobbed in the water.“I am. No one ever wants to go swimming with me. Thanks, Mark. Today has been wonderful and it’s not even over yet. You spoil me too much.”“There’s nothing wrong with a little spoiling.”Lily knew it was pointless arguing with him so she let it go and closed her eyes as she floated there. The ocean was oddly tranquil today. There were hardly any waves at all, which was perfect for swimming.She wasn’t sure how long they stayed in the water like that enjoying the quiet and each other’s company but, eventually, they headed back to shore. He read a book on a towel while she took a nap and let the sun soak into her soul.When she woke up, she felt more at peace than she had in ages. Her boyfriend had planned the perfect day for her. At times like this, it w
She's No Beauty Queen That Wasn't Like Her
Lily’s ongoing struggle trying to be okay with Mark not wanting to move forward in their relationship became more difficult as time went on. On the rare occasions she tried to bring it up, he would quickly change the subject so she gave up after a while.That wasn’t like her. She was so frustrated she was ready to blow a gasket but didn’t want them to fight.So she ambled along expecting nothing knowing that was all she was going to get. It didn’t help that Angel was pregnant with her second child and very excited about the fact. She would be having a boy this time and she and Eddie had already decided to name him Eli.Aria had hoped for a sister but was still looking forward to having a baby to play with even if it was a boy. She was a good kid and Lily had no doubt she would be a great big sister.As much as she looked forward to meeting her new nephew, it got her wondering if she would ever be able to have a child of her own. Her twenty-fifth birthday passed recently and Mark still
She's No Beauty Queen An Irreplacable Existence
Patience wasn’t Lily’s strong suit. Mark hoped Donovan got back to her quickly because he didn’t want to prolong this more than necessary. Mark didn’t want to ruin the surprise either though. If she knew what he was planning in advance, she might get suspicious.Thankfully, Donovan’s family was available two weeks from then. And so were two spots for what Mark was planning to take Lily to do. He booked the tickets immediately so now all he could do was wait.He already knew his girlfriend would accept his proposal but he was still anxious. Who wouldn’t be asking such a loaded question to the person that mattered to them most?At least she didn’t seem to have caught on yet. She chatted normally on their longer-than-expected drive down to L.A. due to traffic. They didn’t arrive until nearly 2 AM so it was a good thing Eileen told them where the spare key was kept in advance so they could let themselves in.An air mattress had already been set up for them. All they had to do was flop ont
She's No Beauty Queen Alright Then, Be Mysterious
Talking to Angelina about her seizure frequency being pregnant only made Mark feel worse because he knew Lily wanted multiple kids. She would be putting herself at risk more than once and he wasn’t sure he would be able to live with the anxiety. As it was, he wasn’t sure how Edward was able to do it.Maybe that was who he needed to talk to in order to ease his fears. Someone who had been in the position he would potentially find himself in twice.Mark knew that it wasn’t fair to leave Lily hanging forever. He wanted to spend his life with her, he truly did, but he needed to get his fears under control first.“How do you handle knowing your wife could have a seizure any time?” he blurted when he and Edward were in the car on their way to a meeting the day after his conversation with Angelina.He didn’t seem terribly surprised by the question. It seemed that she had told him what they talked about yesterday. “I don’t know. I guess I’m used to it by now. She did have one within five minu
She's No Beauty Queen Her Heart On Her Sleeve
They exchanged numbers and Angelina excused herself to get back to work. She should be able to focus now that she had gotten a bit of a break. It was nice knowing that at least one of her former associates was doing well these days. She hoped they were all able to find things that made them happy the way she had.Mark didn’t even look up when she came back in. He was that focused on his work. She wasn’t able to catch his attention at all until she called his name three times after finishing what she needed.“Sorry, I was in the zone. Are you ready to go?” he asked sheepishly.“Yeah. Thanks for sticking around.”Angelina felt a bit guilty to be inconveniencing him like this but at least he already knew Eddie was a worrywart when it came to her. That was why he wasn’t letting her drive on her own.He didn’t say anything until they were nearly back at her house. “Hey…um…do you always have seizures when you’re pregnant?”That was completely out of the blue. Why would he ask about that?“T
She's No Beauty Queen Small World, Isn't It?
Over time, Taylored’s customer base did grow, if not as quickly as the owners wanted it to. Genevieve and Lita got a huge order to make costumes for a local theater company’s production of The Music Man and that kept them pretty busy for a while but that wasn’t the only big thing happening.After a few months of actively trying, Angelina found herself pregnant again. It was a much happier experience this time and everyone was excited about it. Particularly Aria. She was thrilled at the prospect of having a little brother or sister because a lot of her friends had them.She asked a million and one questions about what she dubbed “our baby.” It was adorable.Though her emotional state was much better, things weren’t too different physically than they had been with Aria because she had to change her medication again and that took getting used to. At least she was planning on it in advance this time and did it before getting pregnant rather than after.She was fairly miserable but hated b
She's No Beauty Queen Me Too
Angelina had been rather busy preparing herself for the grand opening of their shop Taylored and didn’t notice her twin’s distress. Lita’s son was named Taylor so it was a sort of play on his name and the fact that they were tailors on top of designing custom clothes.By the time Genevieve graduated, everything was just about ready to go. Their grand opening was the week after and they had already gotten an impressive amount of advertising done so there should be a decent turnout. It didn’t hurt that they had a great location where they should get a lot of traffic.Having a real estate mogul for a husband could be surprisingly helpful. Before this, she never thought she would utilize his skills for finding great locations.Angelina went to the grand opening for a while since Aria was playing with Emma. Preschool was out for the summer and she missed her friends already. She was such a social little thing.She thought it went pretty well, all things considered. A lot of people came in
She's No Beauty Queen You Know I Thrive On Chaos
Genevieve caught a real break when Angel met Lita. She never would have suggested going into business otherwise but the three of them got on like a house on fire.Lily had been surprised to say the least and asked her twin about it. She smiled softly as she explained that all she ever wanted was to make a difference for people like her and this gave her the chance to do so without taking her away from her family for long stretches of time unlike her original dream.She certainly seemed excited about it. Talking about her potential business venture made her much more enthusiastic than usual. It was cute.Angel had made her own friends too in the various clubs and classes she had joined trying to figure out what she wanted to do so she joined Lily’s friends maybe once a month these days. Lily was happy for her. She deserved to have a life of her own after living someone else’s dreams for so long.Lily looked forward to seeing where this clothing business went. She had already commission
