The Crying Wind: Book One

Fifth

Arabella had managed to ruffle John just enough to embed her image in his mind. Throughout the last week, her beautiful face staring deeply into his was all he could think about. He hated it. He didn't like for there to be one thing burned into every single one of his thoughts.

She knew what she was doing. She had to. She was always half a step ahead of him. She was that gentle gust of wind that happened before his storm. She was always half a step ahead. Oh, how she bothered him.

"What's wrong, dear?" Juliette looked up from her grading papers, needing to finish reading the essays before school started in the next hour. He had just come back early that morning. He was only woke her up with a small, quick kiss. Not his usual homecoming sort of intimacy. No, something was wrong.

"What?" He questioned, staring blankly at the window. It was raining. "Something's on your mind. Future wives have an odd sense of those sort of things." She smiled. He decided to finally tell her the truth. Finally, his two secrets would be revealed to each other.

"I have a daughter."

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Arabella's last class of the day was her favorite, even though her teacher seemed to genuinely loathe her presence. At least it's Friday, she thought as she settled into her desk, taking out her notebook and her favorite pen.

While she quietly settled into her final class, Juliette's eyes could've burned holes in the poor girl. Before this morning, she saw here only as an idiot American with nothing but a ridiculous, relaxed Brooklyn accent keeping her charm. Now, she was the daughter of the man she was going to marry. Her stepdaughter. She was apart of her life forever, now.

The teacher felt like a fool for not having seen it before. Her stupid brown eyes mirrored the radiating halo of her father's bourbon colored ones. Her hideous face, in general, was as immaculately carved as his was. Her annoyingly wild hair was as dark as his. Her bratty lips were as full as his. There was no denying it, and she only understood it now.

Arabella could feel her burning stare. She looked up, their eyes meeting. She was confused for a moment. What did she do? The class hadn't yet started. Her lips parted, and her head tilted as she tried to decipher what her anger meant. And then she realized what the issue was. Arabella was always half a step ahead.

She had known of their engagement for a little while now. She had taken a notice to her massive diamond ring, and she had seen her Lock Screen on her phone once, just as she tucked it away into her pants pocket. It was a photo of the two of them. Jack's large arms held Juliette in front of him as he kissed her neck. They both seemed so very happy in that photo. Happy enough to make Arabella care less about his secrets. She hadn't made it known to him that she knew his secret, and she wouldn't until he told her himself out of respect for the couple.

But, now, she wasn't the only person on the world that knew his most major secrets. Instead of fighting against Juliette's gaze, she kept it. She sighed, leaned back in her desk, and with just a swift look of her beautiful brown eyes, 'I'm sorry you've been lied to, but I can't help who I am.'

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Throughout the entirety of the class, Juliette's deadly stare became increasingly frequent. Arabella couldn't read or write, the two basics of the class, without feeling uncomfortable under her eye. A life time of this is going to be terrible, she thought as the final bell rang.

Her delight to be done for the day quickly fell apart just as she was about to leave the classroom. "Arabella, we will be waiting for the same car today." She turned on her heels slowly, soaking in the image of her future stepmother, sulking with her arms crossed. "Alright." She said quietly as she sat back down in her desk. The awkward silence made her uncomfortable.

"Did he-did he say how long he would be, Ms. Garner?" She asked, her New York accent laid thick naturally. "Long. Not "l-awn-g." He didn't say." If she had to choose one thing to despise out of Arabella, it would be her accent. She hated it more than anything, and corrected her often. "Sorry." Arabella cleared her throat and began to play with her fingers.

"You need to be in speech therapy."

"I'm sorry?"

"You're incredibly improper." The teacher put away her laptop. "You need to be taught how to speak clearly."

"I-I-,"

"Stuttering is a sign of a speech impediment. I'll talk to John about getting you into some sort of therapy."

"I don't need to be put in-,"

"Stop talking." She sunk in the rolling chair, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're giving me a headache."

"This is going to be a really rough lifetime, isn't it?"

"Only for you, my dear."

A little while later, they were walking to the sleek, black car that waited patiently for them. "Hello, my love." Juliette slid into the passenger seat, and gave him a loving kiss, throwing on a smile only in front of him. "Your adjusting seems to be going well." He noted. Arabella was next to get into the car, wanting to give them a moment to greet each other. "Well, I think becoming a step mother will be good practice." She beamed. "That way when we have one of our own, I'll be readily prepared."

A wave of nausea hit Arabella at the thought of them becoming parents to a brand new child. Their do-over baby. She would surely hate her life, and there would be nothing else to do about it. She would have to wait until she could be on her own.

"Arabella." He nodded, in the rearview mirror. She forced a smile, but he was focused on her face far before she mustered the strength to hide her feelings. "Hello, John."

John? He wondered. She had only ever called him John once. "We've got dinner reservations in about half an hour." He said, still staring through his dark lenses at the girl in the mirror. She didn't respond, and instead looked out the window. It was raining. The storm raged wildly around them.

"Thank god. I happen to be starving. What about you, Arabella?" Juliette looked at her with a sweet smile, too sweet to be real.

"Yes." She smiled back.