Her Serendipity

chapter three.

Anxiety was something that Yvaine dealt with growing up and was so sure that she had gotten better at dealing with it. Now, as she stood in front of familiar beige-colored doors that separated her and her reunion with her family, she was trembling with nerves.

Would they lash out at her? Would they be angry? Happy?

There were so many possibilities of what would happen when she knocked on those doors and walked inside. She just didn’t know what outcome she would receive.

With a trembling hand, she knocked on the door and waited.

There was stomping on the other side of the door before it was swung open causing her to jump. Three boys stood there, all with wide eyes filled with relief before they were pulling her in for a group hug.

“Eevee.” They all sighed in unison and Yvaine broke down.

Her brother’s looked the same just a little older now.

Lucian was the spitting image of their father, but he had dirty blonde hair with green eyes. He was more muscular now; he wasn’t as lanky and scrawny as he used to be. He was rocking a five o’clock shadow, but it somehow made him look older.

Atticus had their mother’s dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He was shorter the last time Yvaine saw him, but now he was a whole foot taller than her.

Lastly, her twin brother Sebastian had their father’s shiny blonde hair but their mother’s hazel eyes. He too was no longer as scrawny as she remembered him to be. He had grown, but that’s to be expected with time apart.

Uncontrollable sobs left her lips as she dropped her bag and sunk into their embrace. Lucian, Atticus, and Sebastian held onto her tighter, words of encouragement leaving their lips along with how they missed her.

“Yvaine.” A shaky voice spoke, and Yvaine pulled away to see her mother. “Oh, my baby girl.”

Yvaine didn’t hesitate to step around her brothers and ran into her mother’s arms. “Mom.”

Yvaine was the spitting image of her mother, Cynthia Deveroux. She had her mother’s dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Though as time passed, Cynthia was sprouting some gray hairs, but she was still very healthy for her age.

Cynthia held her daughter tightly, a sob of her own leaving her lips as she kissed the side of her head. “Look at you.” Cynthia cried as she pulled away to look at Yvaine. “You’ve grown so beautifully.”

“I’m so sorry.” Yvaine sniffled and Cynthia shook her head at her, wiping her tears away. “I shouldn’t have left.”

“You shouldn’t have.” A sharp voice spoke and from over her mother’s shoulder she could see that it was her father.

“Dad.” Yvaine spoke softly, not missing how her father’s hard gaze had softened slightly. “I’m sorry.”

Oliver Deveroux could only keep up his front for so long before he was sighing and holding out his arms. He looked the same, just a little older and his blonde hair was sprouting grays just like her mother’s, there were wrinkles where there used to be none, and his green eyes held a whirlwind of emotions.

Yvaine smiled and ran to his awaiting arms, hugging him tightly and relishing this moment of being reunited with her family.

“Welcome home.” Her father said while kissing the side of her head. “Tell me everything.”

So, she did.

Yvaine and her family all gathered in the living room; Yvaine sat beside her twin brother Sebastian, who was holding her hand the entire time as she told them about how she was treated while married to Maxwell.

She didn’t spare the details; it wasn’t like he abused her physically, but he did abuse her mentally and emotionally. She admitted that after one year of marriage, she knew that it was only going to get worse and the only way that she could deal with it was to convince herself that he would come around to loving her.

That didn’t happen.

She told them how she helped Maxwell, and his father William, create a business plan, how that plan took off and their success was all thanks to her ideas. How she thought giving them her ideas would make Maxwell just a little gentler or even kind to her, but that proved to be for nothing.

Then she mentioned Adaline and how the woman was apparently Maxwell’s first love and that she believes he never forgot her, so the fact that she's back meant they would more than likely get back together.

“Wait, Adaline Tate?” Lucian asked with a frown. “Isn’t that the woman who reached out to Killian to get an investment for Titanium Electronics?”

“Titanium Electronics is Maxwell’s company,” Yvaine said, and a dark look appeared on Atticus’ face.

“Killian reached out to talk about investing in that company. I told him that I would only invest in promising companies, and he assured me that it would be a worthwhile investment.” Atticus told his little sister.

Yvaine scoffed, “Yeah, if they still had my ideas to rely on then maybe.” She shook her head, “But Maxwell didn’t even understand the basic of things that I explained to him for the company to take off.”

“I’ll cancel it.” Atticus assured her.

“No.” Their father said sternly. “Don’t cancel it, don’t even act like you know anything about what he did to Yvaine.”

“But father, how-”

Oliver cut his son off, “We’re Deveroux’s, Atticus.” He reminded his son, “How do we deal with our enemies?”

“By taking what they love most away from them and reminding them just who we are.” Lucian recited with ease.

It was a motto that their father had instilled in them since they were young. Oliver and Cynthia Deveroux raised their children to be humble, to not flaunt their wealth, but that didn’t mean Oliver wanted them to be taken advantage of. So, he made sure that they remembered that they had the power to do just about anything that they wanted to do.

Including crushing those who went against them.

“Of course.” Atticus nodded his head, already catching onto what his father was thinking.

“I want to take back what was taken from me.” Yvaine finally voiced her thoughts, “I want to hurt him like he’s hurt me.”

Now, Yvaine was never one to want revenge or even humor it, but this was personal. She wanted him to beg for her forgiveness, to feel as weak as he made her feel for three years. She knew that she only had herself to blame for those situations, but he also had a choice about how he wanted to treat her.

This was the start of her revenge.

༻❁༺

Sebastian had decided to take Yvaine out for the remainder of the day. She would need new things to fill her bedroom and new clothes since she hadn’t taken anything before leaving Maxwell.

Lucian and Atticus would join them later since they had work to do, while their parents promised to meet them for dinner arrangements.

“Where are we going?” Yvaine laughed as he pulled her along excitedly.

“Shopping,” He told her, as if it was the obvious thing. “You’re home now Eevee and it’s time to dress the part.”

“He’s right.” The sound of Serena’s voice had Yvaine looking up surprised. “Oh, don’t be so shocked, we both know that I’m better at fashion than Seb.”

“Rude.” Sebastian said with an eye roll. “I called you here for moral support, not for you to judge my taste in clothing.”

Serena hummed before smiling widely and reaching for Yvaine’s hand. “Let’s spend all your brother’s money.”

Yvaine laughed and nodded her head, letting Serena and Sebastian lead her into a high-end boutique.

Yvaine couldn’t remember the last time that she had smiled or laughed this much. Serena and Sebatian were arguing over what color suited her best, their bickering causing people to laugh softly or simply shake their heads at their loudness.

“I’m her best friend, and I’m saying that red is her color.” Serena told him while holding the red jumpsuit in her hands.

“I literally shared a womb with her!” Sebastian argued. “Dark green is definitely going to make her eyes pop.”

“Guys.” Yvaine laughed, “I can get both.”

It was like they had forgotten that was an option. They both looked sheepish as they realized that she was right.

“Right.”

“We knew that.”

Yvaine shook her head, laughing as she took the two jumpsuits from them and headed into the dressing room.

The first one she tried on was the one that Serena had chosen; a beautiful bright red strapless v-neck jumpsuit that had wide legs, so the fabric didn’t hug her legs, which she liked. The v-neck wasn’t plunging so it kept its modesty, which she appreciated.

Changing Sebastian’s choice made her a little more self-aware. Sebastian had always helped her feel confident, so it wasn’t surprising that his choice hugged her a lot more.

The emerald-green jumpsuit fit her like a glove, it showed off her curves and it was backless. The material was soft and stretchy despite hugging her, but what shocked her was how much she loved it. She loved the drastic change it would be. Oh, and don’t forget the pockets.

She gave her approval on both pieces and knew that she would have to be a little more daring with her clothing, especially if Sebastian was the one choosing things for her. Not that he would choose anything that was outrageous, but he had always wanted her to feel confident in her own skin.

Many choices later and far too many shopping bags from different stores, the three began to make their way back to the car so they could meet up with Lucian and Atticus for lunch.

Only, Yvaine hadn’t expected to run into Maxwell and Adaline.