Page 35 of Innocent Union
“It’s important to me to have the wedding I want because …” I feel silly mentioning how inadequate I feel compared to my sisters, so I say something else. “Because I’ve always dreamed of a big wedding. I want that.”
“It just doesn’t seem like a big deal to me. My mom is dying, Mia.” His voice hitches. A stab of guilt hits me. “Why can’t we just do the wedding at the hospital?
“Why can’t we do both?”
“Because, as I said, I think it’s a waste.”
I huff and stand up, shoving the initiations away. “You’re not willing to compromise on this. It’s not fair.”
“Life isn’t fair sometimes, Mia.”
“I’ve had my dream future stripped away from me because of what my sister, Cecilia, did. I won’t have you to that to me, too.”
“I’m a part of this marriage, too.”
I scoff. “Well, I’m the one doing all the wedding planning. I want what I want.”
“Don’t act like a little brat,” he says, his brow furrowed.
“I’m not.”
“You’re acting like one right now. I didn’t agree to marry you just so you could act like a brat.”
I flinch back. “Is that why you agreed to marry me? Out of pity? Because no one else wanted me?”
He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. “Of course, it wasn’t out of pity. I do like you, Mia. Just … maybe not right at this moment.”
“Why?” I hate how pathetic my voice sounds. “Because I’m deciding to be selfish?”
“You are being selfish. My mom is dying. Why can’t we just have the wedding for her?”
“And why can’t we just have two weddings? One for me and one for you. It solves the our problem. You know money isn’t an issue.”
“I just don’t see the point.”
I suck in breath. “Do you not want to be seen with me? Is that why you’re so opposed to a large wedding?”
“No. it’s because I just don’t see the point of a large wedding. I’m a down-to-earth kind of guy. That’s not really my speed. Let’s do this for my mom. Please.”
“You don’t get it. You just don’t get it.”
“Get what?” he asks.
“How much this means to me!” I shout without meaning to. Killian steps back. “It means everything to me. And you don’t understand that. You’re dismissing it.”
My mom enters the room. “Is everything all right \?”
“We’re fine, Giulia,” Killian says.
Mom stands at my side. “I’ll let my daughter tell me if everything is all right.”
Killian shakes his head. “Unbelievable. Did you put Mia up to this? It’s you, isn’t it, Giulia? You don’t want Mia to have the wedding at the hospital.’
“Of course not,” Mom says, crossing her arms.
“You don’t get it, Giulia. You don’t get what hardship is and what this means to my mom.”
“Don’t talk to my mother like that,” I say, cutting in. “You don’t know what she’s been through, so don’t you dare say that. My mom has been through a lot of hardship. More than you could ever understand.”
