Millie had never been more miserable in her life. Even when her father had died, it hadn't fundamentally changed her as a person. The hardship had fallen on her mother, who was now forced to live the rest of her life alone.

But now, it was all about her. So many things had happened over the past few weeks, it had turned her world upside down.

First, Freider had decided to keep his little brother in rehab for another few months, so the hope of having someone else to talk to fizzled and died. Instead, she got to meet her future mother-in-law. Used to her own youthful mother, it was shocking to meet Grace Grant. She was a tall, frail woman, her completely white hair wrapped in a tight bun. Millie guessed she had been beautiful in her youth, but her mouth was now set in a constant frown, as if everyone in the world had wronged her.

She guessed everyone had. Freider mentioned that she'd been away for her health for most of the year, trying to cope with the death of her husband. Once she finally returned, Grace seemed to reek of death. It gave Millie the creeps. What was even worse, she didn't seem to like Millie at all.

"Where did you find this one?" she'd asked the moment she saw her.

"Mother, I didn't bring you here to be critical," Freider chided.

"Then again, just seeing you with the woman is shocking enough. Where are your brothers?"

"We've talked about this, Mother." Freider got so easily exhausted by the woman and Millie couldn't blame him.

Her moods were all over the place. Sometimes, she was mellow and nostalgic, telling Millie stories about her late husband. During those times, she seemed to like her, even if Millie suspected he would've been just as nice to a telephone poll. Other times, she was angry and didn't wish to speak to anyone. Most times, she was stern and critical, looking for something she could attack. Millie was right there for the picking. If it wasn't her clothes, then it was her lack of a job. Millie didn't dare mention that she was a high school drop-out. She'd lied to Freider that she was twenty anyway and had no idea where to go from there.

"I don't know just where he found you," Grace said under her breath. "You are beautiful, I'll give you that, but what else?"

"I like to paint," Millie stuttered. "And play the piano."

"All droll but useless skills."

The woman's words hurt. "I want to be an artist."

"That's very cute."

Millie gritted her teeth. She wished she could leave, but once Max went to Texas, she'd moved out of the shared flat filled with strangers and in with Freider. At least she trusted him not to hurt her even if things were often awkward. He did spend most of his time at work, which, before Grace showed up, meant that she had the house to herself. She'd enjoyed those few days , but now she tried to occupy most of her time with wedding planning.

There weren't many people from her side. Just her mother and Max. Her father had been an only child, and her mother's relatives were all in France without any money to fly over. She'd already chosen a wedding gown, picked the flowers and the venue, so there was really not much for her to do except panic about her pregnancy. Her future mother-in-law definitely didn't help, so she found herself roaming around the house like a ghost, wondering just what she was supposed to do.

Her lost future and horrid past kept flashing before her eyes until she felt she was suffocating. She spent her time cleaning around the house and trying to learn how to cook. She wasn't very good at it, but nothing she whipped up was worse than Freider's sandwiches. While his mother scoffed, he seemed to really appreciate her efforts to be more domestic.

The bright side in all this was that living with Freider was not bad. He always had a smile for her, regardless of how tired he came home, and had the decency to let her know when he was running late and what he was doing. For a few blissful days, he spent his nights doing stake outs, so she could even avoid the unwanted sex.

But her relationship with Freider gave her hope. If they could get along now, they would surely get along after the wedding, and she was convinced that she would grow to love him. Her plan was good. If only her permanency wouldn't start showing before they got married.

"How vain are you?" Grace spat out.

Millie jumped. She had indeed been studying her reflection in the turned off tv screen to check for signs. She'd been doing that with every reflective surface in the house.

"I'm not vain," she mumbled, sucking her stomach in more.

"You can suck it in all you want. It's obviously there."

The words chilled her to the bone, and she moved away, refusing to look at herself more.

"If you get fat, what's your use then?" Grace called out after her.

Millie tried her best to ignore the cruel words and entered the home office. Keeping Freider company sounded like a much better alternative than being anywhere near his mother. As she walked in, she halted in the doorway.

Freider was there, but he was burning a piece of paper, his eyes fixed on the flames. The fascinated expression on his face reminded her so much of Davyn, she had to mentally shake herself to snap out of it.

"What are you doing?" she asked, closing the door behind her and taking a step forward.

Freider glanced up at her, and his lips quirked in a smile. It was a very strange smile, as if her presence amused her for some deep, dark reason.

"Just burning some trash," he said, his tone light. "Come in, sit down."

She did, her eyes fixed on the paper. There seemed to be handwriting on it, and for the fraction of a second, she was sure it was Davyn's. But the certainty faded the moment the flames swallowed the ink. She should really stop thinking about him.

"Um, do you like fire?" she whispered.

Freider's smile faded into a frown. "No. It does nothing but destroy things. But sometimes... Well, sometimes it's needed."

She agreed, but it was still great to see the flames die down together with the final ashes of whatever paper he'd burned. Ashes were harmless. They couldn't destroy anything.

"What was that?" she asked.

"In my field of work, I deal with confidential matters all the time. Often, it's good to get rid of things I don't necessarily need to hold on to. Things that could end up destroying all my efforts."

He made a perfectly good point, and even if he seemed pensive, it was an upgrade from his sulking mother. It was maybe the height of irony that meeting that woman made her appreciate Freider so much more for his calm demeanor and easy smile.

"What's bothering you, honey?" he asked.

The endearment had her pausing. He'd never used it before, and it felt strange that it was now of all times when he decided to cross that line.

"I, um... " Everything bothered her, so she had to pick something. "I'm nervous about the wedding."

He raised his eyebrows. "Having doubts?"

"No. Actually, the more I stay with you, the more I'm convinced that we'll get along just fine."

He frowned at this. "I hope we'll do more than get along."

"I meant that we'll live a happy life together."

This got a nod out of him. "I'm sure we will. I love having you around and sharing the house with you."

Yes, the two of them were fine, especially since he was away a lot. She squirmed in her chair. "I don't think your mother likes me."

He leaned back in his chair and let out a deep breath. "To be fair, there are very few people in this world my mother ever liked. I think you can see for yourself that she doesn't like me much either."

Unfortunately, that was true, and it made Millie feel even worse about the fall-out with her own mother. Sophie had loved her and nurtured her. She was a lovely person, unlike Grace. Poor Freider must've had a crappy childhood. No wonder Ron was doing drugs. He had the money and the trauma for it.

"So," Freider continued, "don't beat yourself too much over it."

"She's living here. I'm forced to be around her, and I find it rude to stay in our room and have her in the house by herself."

He smiled again, the warmth in it pleasant. "You're very thoughtful, but I don't believe my mother deserves that kind of consideration. We won't be living with her for long, anyway."

She tilted her head. "She has another place to go?"

"Not exactly, since this is her house, but I'm thinking about selling this place and using the money to buy her something smaller where she can live out her days in peace. Once we start a family, she definitely can't be here."

His words had Millie untensing. She definitely wouldn't want her unstable mother-in-law around when she had the baby. Which meant she'd be moving out much sooner than anyone expected.

"That's very nice of you."

"It is, isn't it?" Freider leaned back in his seat, joining his hands behind his head. "I usually end up doing that. No matter what life throws at me, I somehow end up being nice to people who don't deserve it."

Millie shifted in her seat, unease creeping up on her again. This was obviously the beginning of a very deep conversation she wasn't sure she was ready for. But changing the subject didn't feel appropriate either. After all, he was doing his best to make her happy, and she was very aware she couldn't just take advantage of that without returning the favor. So, instead of shifting the conversation in another direction, she just waited.

For a while, he just stared into space, his expression shifting every few seconds in accordance to some memories he was most likely browsing through. Finally, it settled on a bitter smile.

"Are you having second thoughts about the wedding?"

She jumped, panic grasping her. "What? No. Of course not." But this question couldn't be coming out of the blue. "Are you?" When he didn't answer right away, she felt as if she would suffocate. "I mean, I know it all happened pretty fast, but..."

His chuckle silenced her. "It was fast, but I was honest. However, that was all before my mother graced us with her presence. Pun intended."

She tried for a light laugh, but it was hard to pull off when every fiber of her being was still on high alert because of his question. He watched her with a smile, the warmth in his gaze washing away her doubts. At least until he became pensive again.

"If you're going to be part of my life and my family, maybe it's better if you know some things. I wouldn't want you to be shocked by them later."

She almost breathed in relief. Yes, his family wasn't picture perfect. She'd been aware of that ever since she'd found out about Ron and his mother.

"Life is not pretty in general," she said, her tone filled with grown-up wisdom.

"That's true." Freider straightened in his seat and turned to her. "And it's not only not pretty. It's ironic, sarcastic, and cruel. It has a way of giving and taking away. And sometimes, you just have to go for what you want before it disappears."

Millie nodded. She knew all about that. It was exactly what she was doing. Grasping an opportunity before it vanished. Maybe she and Freider were more alike than she'd first realized.

"You see, I think you've gathered by now that my childhood wasn't amazing. This cold, cruel version of my mother is the one I remember growing up. She mellowed out considerably after she had--"

He faltered, and she felt the need to grasp his shoulder for comfort, but she didn't want to stand.

"Ron," Freider breathed. "After she had Ron. But you see? It was all in vain. Ron did not turn out alright. Nothing in this family ever did, until now." The intensity of his gaze had her shivering. "You are the one right thing that just seemed to fall into my lap."

"Almost literally, I'd say."

Her affirmation drew a smile out of him. "I'll forever blame those books. But this is it. You are it. My chance to turn everything around, Maxi."

"I feel the same way about you," she said. And it was the honest truth. He was her best chance at a happy life.

"So it's very important to me that we do get married like we agreed." His fingers moved to the ashtray and starter ruffling the ashes.

She watched him, wondering why the movement of his hand was making her nauseous. But she swallowed down the unease and forced a smile.

"It's very important to me, too. And I was a little worried that your mother not liking me might sway you."

He let out a laugh. "I never cared what my mother thought and I'm not going to start now. Oh, no. We're getting married and then she's moving out of here."

Perfect. Just perfect. "I can't wait!"

"Have you picked up a wedding dress?"

"I'm done with everything actually."

He nodded. "Only one week to go. And then nothing can stop us."

He was right. Nothing could stop her plan now. Not even his infuriating mother.

♣️♣️♣️

Well, Grace is out of the asylum and has apparently decided being a cranky old lady is the way to go. You might just recognize her as the grandma you loved so much if you've read the series. If not... Well, hardship has a way with people.

I know not much happens in this chapter, but I enjoyed building up Freider's motivation and creepiness. Maxi is being so dumb to get what she wants. I'm sure she won't regret it.

Next chapter will be the last of this part, and you get back to Davyn and the gang which are honestly a lot more fun.

Thanks for reading!