Chapter Five
Julianna returned back to Huntsville at night. She went straight to her dorm room and went to bed. She would go and get the ticket from her aunt Georgia tomorrow.
The next morning, Julianna went to her aunt's house to get her ticket. She spend some time explaining to her why she went to Las Vegas without informing anyone.
Julianna had to lie that she had gone to attend her best friend Carol's wedding. It was a last minute decision and she didn't have the time to inform everyone. Thankfully aunt Georgia bought her story and handed her the ticket.
"Your flight's tomorrow morning. Pack up everything. Your dad has informed the college that you would be shifting to Austin. They will issue you a transfer certificate and a certificate to prove that you have completed two years studying their undergraduate course on finance and management," informed her aunt.
"But why am I being shifted now? Dad could have waited till I completed my studies, " said Julianna. Her friends would be worried if she left suddenly without even saying a proper goodbye.
"I'm retiring next month. I'll shift to New York, to live with Melania," said her aunt. Melania was her older daughter who married a rich man and lived in a huge mansion in New York.
"Oh, but I'm 20. Surely I could have managed 2 years on my own," Julianna said.
"Maybe, but Sienna had gotten engaged yesterday. Her wedding's coming up and your mom needs your help," said her aunt.
"Sienna's getting married? To whom?" She asked happily.
"Most probably to Geoff's main investor's son. What was the name, he said? Oh yes. Vincent. Sienna's getting married to Vincent Martin," gushed her aunt happily.
Julianna froze. She lost her ability to feel anything. She simply stared at her aunt dumbfounded by the news that she gave her. Vincent, her Vincent was marrying her sister? Didn't he say that he loved her? Didn't he say that he would wait for her?
"Oh, I'll start packing then," she said, expressionless and pale. She left her aunt's house and went back to her dorm room. Suddenly she didn't wish to go home anymore.
She just couldn't digest the news that Vincent was marrying Sienna. Maybe there was some mistake. She would have to find out the reality. Hot tears flowed down her cheeks nonstop. She had no control over them whatsoever. It seemed like her heart had been shattered to pieces.
She packed reluctantly and collected her certificates from the administrative office. She tried calling her friends many times but no one responded. So she sat down and wrote a long message and sent it to the group chat.
The next morning she vacated her dorm room and dragged herself reluctantly to the airport. The whole flight she stared at the note that Vincent had written to her four years back. Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she thought about how he could forget her so fast. How would she help with the wedding when it was wedding of the love of her life?
She reached Austin after seven long hours. It was already afternoon by the time she reached home. Strangely no one was at home when she reached there. Her parents were at work. She knew Jake was living with a friend close to his clubhouse. She didn't have any idea where Sienna was. She hated her and never kept in touch.
A neighbour opened her door and came out. "Julianna, you've grown up so much. Do you remember me?" She asked, smiling.
"Yes aunt Charlotte," she answered smiling. "How have you been?"
"Oh I'm fine dear. Your mom left the keys with me," aunt Charlotte said, handing her the keys. "So are you here for the wedding?"
"Yes. I'm not going back anymore, " said Julianna. It seemed that everyone knew about the wedding.
"Good for you. You can help your mom organise the wedding, " said aunt Charlotte and she smiled. However the smile never reached her eyes. After chatting some more, she finally could go into her house.
Everything was still the same as it was four years back. She went up to her room. Thankfully it was cleaned. She freshened up and changed her clothes. Going down to the kitchen, she ate some milk and cereal and went upstairs to her room.
She would have to forget Vincent. If Sienna was happy with him, she couldn't come in her way of happiness. Let her live her life and be happy with Vincent. She herself would never show her true feelings to anyone. Her parents knew of course but she couldn't confront them. She didn't know what changed in these four years. Maybe Sienna loved Vincent more than she did.
A tear rolled down her cheeks. No one could love him more than her. For four years she never looked at any guy. She had counted days when she could return to Austin, to her Vincent. She dreamt everyday about what Jake told her, that Vincent loved her and would wait for her.
More tears rolled down her cheeks. She slept in her own cosy, childhood room after four years. When she opened her eyes, it was already dinnertime. She slowly woke up and freshened up and decided to go downstairs to meet everyone.
As she approached downstairs, she could hear Sienna cooking in the kitchen. She was extremely lucky that grandpa had taught her cooking. Julianna was too young to learn. Grandpa died two years later and Julianna never got the opportunity to learn from him. She thought of learning from Sienna but she hardly ever spoke to her.
At sixteen she was sent away to a boarding school, so she hardly ever got a chance to learn cooking. At the college dorm, cooking wasn't allowed and everyone ate at the college dining hall.
Going downstairs, she found her mom sitting at her laptop and working. Her dad was sipping wine and watching the news. Hearing her footsteps, her mom looked up and smiled, "Come Julie, how have you been?" She asked, smiling as she stretched her hand out to pull her into a hug.
"I'm fine mom," she said stiffly. She didn't go to hug her. For four years she had been too busy with work to even pay her youngest daughter a single visit. She sat down at one of the couches and her dad turned to look at her.
"Shouldn't you have informed us before flying off suddenly to Las Vegas?" He said, giving her a look of disapproval.
"It happened so suddenly that I didn't have time to ask for permission, " she said and her dad rolled his eyes.
"I hope you have collected all your certificates before coming here?" He asked.
"Yes dad," she said.
"Fine, I'll enrol you in a college here in Austin," he said and Julianna agreed and watched the news with her dad.
Sienna came out of the kitchen and sat down with them. "How are you?" She asked curtly.
"I'm fine. Congratulations," said Julianna. She didn't want to sound jealous.
Her dad looked at her with an odd expression. Julianna knew that it was difficult to fool her dad. He knew everything.
Sienna rolled her eyes and walked out of the room. Julianna just couldn't understand what wrong she did. Why was Sienna always in such a pissed off mood around her?
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Featured picture: Barbara Palvin as Sienna McCoy
