Chapter 120: Chapter 120

Amelia's POV

Seeing the wedding decorations I felt so envious of Anna. She was indeed lucky to be a part of such a gem of a family. I knew that I should be happy for her but somehow a strange sense of melancholy gripped my heart. Why wasn't Tristan marrying me already?

Cassandra came to call us, so we went where everyone was gathered on a private deck of the executive suite. Finger foods and appetizers were served along with some aperitifs. There were adequate seating arrangements and everyone chatted and laughed together. I sat beside Azura as she shyly greeted me. Tristan went to have a talk with Stefan and dad.

"I love the freshness of this place, far from all pollution," I said as Azura smiled, agreeing totally.

"I know right? I miss the country life having lived on a Texas farm since birth," she said, her eyes looking dreamy as she reminisced.

"Oh, You are from Texas. I love Texas. I visited with my family when I was 6 years of age." I told her. "Did you shift here recently?" I asked her with curiosity.

"No, I shifted when I was 8 years old, just after my father's death. Mom sold the farm and we came here," she said, her expression changed to a poker face. It seemed as if she was in pain at the thought.

"I know how you feel. I've also gone through shit in my life. I don't have any contact with my family now. Mom, dad is no more, only my brothers and they don't give a shit about me. " I said. It felt odd, talking about my brothers to someone else. Ever since I had settled down, I had no contact with them for nearly a year. They never bothered to know if I was alive or dead and therefore the feeling was mutual. I didn't care about them.

"Yeah, life has never been as beautiful as it was when my dad was alive. After coming here, mom worked at a departmental store and we could hardly make ends meet. I started working at a cafe at the age of 15, to provide for my own studies. Mom always would be angry with me, she always avoided me, coming home late, and some days she didn't return home. Then when she left, we went back to Texas, to my nana's house. I stayed on to work and send money home for my siblings," she told me unhappily. It seemed as if she had faced a very difficult childhood. Hearing of her hardships, my pain seemed too small in comparison.

"It's all in the past now. Forget it all and move forward. I'm sure you will do well in life, so just look ahead, work hard and succeed. If you need any help ever, feel free to talk to me. Believe me, I too struggled a lot, all alone, to reach where I am today. I didn't take any money from my dad and brothers after I turned 18," I told her, holding her hand and giving her hope.

"You're admirable, Amy. I want to be like you," said Azura and I smiled at her. She was so young and naive.

"I am a lot older than you. When you reach my age, I'm sure you will be," I consoled her and her eyes brightened up with hope.

"Thanks, I loved talking to you," she said looking hopeful.

"You can talk to me whenever you want to, Azura. Give me your number, I'll save it," I said and we exchanged numbers as Claire came and sat with us.

"Where's Alexander?" I asked her.

"I just fed him and left him with Jason. He's showing him the animals here," she said. "So, what serious discussion are both of you up to?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing much, just the hardships that we faced," I told her with a smile.

"Yeah, everyone at some point in our lives faces some hardship or the other," she said, "No one has a perfect life," she shrugged. We both stared at her. We had only one question on our minds. Being born into such a rich and beautiful family, did Claire too face any hardships? We had our doubts!

"Have you ever faced any hardships?" Azura asked Claire. Claire nodded to our disbelief.

"Yes, I have," She said, "I had a very tough time when my parents fixed my marriage to a total stranger. I ran away from home. Those were very difficult years of my life, but the only good that came out of it was Jason. I met him and we fell in love," she smiled happily at the memory.

"It's all destiny. We cannot escape it but at the end of the day we have to be happy with what we have," she said and we agreed. It was the absolute truth. You can't complain about your shi**y past all your life. At one point in time, you need to make peace with your past and live in the present.

We both smiled at Claire. We connected to one another so well, although we were not connected by blood. We opened up to one another more than I ever did with my family. I was glad that I met them, I was glad to be with them. From now on Tristan's family was mine. I didn't need my brothers at all. I can put everything behind me and move on now.