The castle was quiet, but not in the peaceful, comforting way. It was the kind of suffocating quiet that only came before something big. The kind of quiet that wasn't actually quiet at all-because somewhere, a few floors down, the wedding staff was probably already up, making sure everything looked like money and perfection.

Izzy lay on her back in one of the massive, obscenely expensive canopy beds, her head slightly pounding from the champagne and the long-ass day. She could still hear it━━the distant hum of the party winding down, the faint sound of footsteps in the hallway, the occasional clatter of dishes being cleared from whatever was left of the reception after the boat thing.

Next to her, in the other bed, Shiv was still awake.

Izzy could tell by the way she was shifting against the pillows, the way her breathing wasn't quite even. She'd bet money Shiv was lying there, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the ceiling, chewing over something in her head like she always did. Then, finally-

"You up?"

Izzy exhaled, rolling onto her side, barely cracking an eye open.

"No."

Shiv let out a quiet, breathy laugh, then━━click. The bedside lamp flicked on, warm yellow light spilling into the massive bedroom, cutting through the heavy shadows.

Izzy groaned, throwing an arm over her eyes. "For fuck's sake, Shiv."

Shiv ignored her, sitting up, running a hand through her already-messy red hair. Her makeup was smudged, her slip dress slightly wrinkled from sleep, and she still looked like she was thinking too much.

Izzy turned her head, squinting against the light. "What, you nervous? Want to talk about your feelings?" She said mockingly.

Shiv let out a sharp, dry laugh. "Yeah, no. You'd fucking love that."

Izzy smirked, stretching her arms above her head. "You say that like it's not true."

Shiv rolled her eyes but didn't argue. For a moment, neither of them said anything. It wasn't awkward, but it wasn't comfortable either.

Izzy sighed, shifting slightly against the pillow. "Weird, right?"

Shiv hummed, tilting her head against the headboard. "Yeah. It is."

Neither of them had actually chosen to sleep in the same room. It had just... happened.

They had gone back to the party after everything, drank until their bodies felt loose, whispered drunken commentary about their relatives, and then━━because it was them, because it had always been them━━they had slipped away, just the two of them, hiding out in their ridiculously big, dimly lit suite. And because they were drunk and stupid and still kind of wired, they had ended up whisper-singing karaoke into the pillows, muffling their laughter like they were twelve again.

Shiv had tried to do Joan Jett. It was awful. Izzy had been slightly better at Stevie Nicks, but they had both hushed each other aggressively every time their volume got too risky. Somewhere between the fourth song and the fifth, Shiv had frozen, lifting her head off the bed with wide, glassy eyes.

"Holy shit. Do you think Mom's looking for us?"

Izzy had lost it, laughing so hard she choked on her own spit. Now, hours later, the alcohol had faded, but the weirdness of the whole thing hadn't.

Shiv sighed, rubbing her face. "When did we get old?"

Izzy smirked, eyes still half-lidded. "You're old. I'm hot."

Shiv scoffed, grabbing a pillow and chucking it directly at her head. "Fuck off."

Izzy caught it before it hit her, smirking. "No, but seriously. It's weird. You getting married. Me, already married. Like... when the fuck did that happen?"

Shiv tilted her head, watching her now. "When we weren't paying attention."

Izzy nodded, running a hand through her hair. "You sure about it?"

Shiv didn't answer right away. Which was an answer. Then, finally, she exhaled, voice quieter now. "I made my choice."

Izzy watched her carefully, then nodded once. "Alright."

Shiv was still watching her, though. Like there was something else. "I wanna ask you something."

Izzy arched a brow. "That's serious."

Shiv hesitated for half a second, then dove in. "Are you really, like really really okay with me and Tom?"

Izzy's expression didn't change. But the air did. Shiv caught it immediately. She let out a breath, tilting her head slightly. "Not that I care, but-"

Izzy cut her off before she could finish. "I moved on. You did, too. Everyone did." She exhaled, pressing her lips together before continuing. "I'm happy, Shiv. I have kids. I have Charles. And honestly?" She turned her head slightly, meeting her twin's gaze. "I barely think about it anymore."

Shiv studied her, her blue eyes searching for a crack, for a tell. Then, finally, she nodded. "Alright."

That was how they worked. No dramatics. No big conversations. Just weird unspoken agreements. Shiv sighed, rubbing her temple before pushing the blankets off her legs. "We need food," she muttered, standing up barefoot, still in her slip dress.

Izzy watched her with amusement as she made her way to the minibar, crouching to scan the snacks. After a second, she pulled out a pack of Oreos and a jar of peanut butter.

Izzy grinned. "That's disgusting."

Shiv tossed the pack onto Izzy's bed. "You love this combo."

Izzy snorted, sitting up properly, already unscrewing the peanut butter lid. She dipped an Oreo into it, taking a bite, humming slightly. "The only thing we've ever agreed on."

Shiv smirked, sitting back down, grabbing an Oreo for herself. "The one unifying belief of our childhood."

Izzy nodded. "That, and Mom sucks."

Shiv laughed, actual laughter, real and light. "Yeah. That too."

They sat there, eating their gross-but-perfect snack, the awkwardness of things lifting slightly. Shiv licked peanut butter off her thumb, then tilted her head. "How are the twins?"

Izzy smirked. "You mean the mini-us?"

Shiv let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. "Yeah. One for you, one for me."

Shiv always joked about it, how she didn't need children because Isabelle birthed one for her in the process.

Izzy hummed, chewing slowly. "Yeah, well. Hopefully, one won't betray the other."

The joke landed too hard. There was a pause. Just a second too long. Then, they both laughed. A real laugh, the kind they only had with each other.

Izzy wiped the crumbs from her hands, stretching again. "Alright. I have a surprise for you."

Shiv narrowed her eyes. "Oh, God."

Izzy rolled her eyes, pushing off the bed. "Jesus, relax. You're so dramatic."

Shiv huffed, watching her with mild suspicion. "You've never gotten me anything in your life."

Izzy rummaged through her bag, pulling out a sleek, black velvet box and tossing it onto Shiv's lap. Shiv looked at it, then looked at her.

"...What the fuck is this?"

Izzy rolled her eyes, climbing back onto her bed. "Orgh, just open it."

Shiv narrowed her eyes, but she flipped open the lid. And then━━she froze.

She was still staring at the tiara, her fingers running over the edges, tracing the designs of it, the sharp corners of something that was supposed to be delicate. It was beautiful, obviously, because Izzy only made perfect things, but it was also... weird.

Weird because this was from Izzy.

Weird because there was a time, long before the resentment, before the distance, before they both learned how to fucking hate each other properly, that something like this would have been normal.

Shiv turned it in her hands, watching how the amber caught the dim light of the bedside lamp, and her chest felt tight in a way she didn't like.

She hated gifts. Always had. They were complicated, loaded, always wrapped in some kind of expectation. She swallowed. The pit in her chest was unfamiliar. She didn't like it.

She looked up at her twin━━her little sister.

Technically. Six months apart. That was the joke. That was the technicality.

But it had never really felt like she had a head start. It had always been them. Two halves of the same fucking thing, like Shiv hadn't really started existing properly until Isabelle was born.

They had come into this world already tethered. Already knowing that whatever was in them was made of the same material, already understanding that nobody else was ever going to understand them the way they understood each other.

And then somewhere along the way━━somewhere between their father, their mother, the war of being born into a fucking empire━━they had broken apart.

And maybe that was just what happened. Maybe that was how twins worked. Maybe that was how the world worked.

But fuck.

There were moments━━like this one, watching Izzy move, watching the way her hands folded in her lap, watching the way she had grown into someone so much like her but also someone she barely knew anymore━━where it felt wrong.

Shiv could feel it, this deep, uncomfortable ball sitting in the pit of her stomach, the kind that made her want to drink something strong and make it go away.

She should have kept a distance. Should have been okay with the distance that already existed. But instead, before she could stop herself, before she could convince herself it was a bad idea, she asked.

"We're good?"

It wasn't an I miss you. It wasn't an Are you okay? Because they didn't say that shit. They asked other things. Izzy didn't hesitate. She didn't blink, didn't shift, didn't even look away. She just exhaled, slow, steady. "Yeah."

And Shiv could tell-this time, she meant it.

That was the thing. Shiv had spent her whole life learning how to read people, how to tell when they were full of shit, how to tell when they were lying to themselves. That was the reason she was good in politics, not life, just politics.

Because it wasn't like Izzy wasn't a liar. She was. A good one. Maybe the best one. But this wasn't a lie.

And that should have been enough. It should have been a relief, shouldn't it? Knowing that Izzy━━who, at one point, had been the closest thing to a second fucking heartbeat in her body━━was fine. Was good. Was happy.

So why did it feel like shit?

Why did it feel like the scales had finally tipped all the way, like the balance had been shattered and this was the last time it would ever be just them?

Shiv swallowed, looking down at her hands. She could feel something ugly twisting in her gut, something she wanted to kick to the back of her mind before it became too real.

So, instead, she exhaled sharply and reached out, flicking Izzy's arm.

"Alright, come here."

Izzy frowned. "What?"

Shiv rolled her eyes. "I'm hugging you, dumbass."

"We hugged earlier, remember?" Izzy hesitated. A full beat too long.

Like the idea of touching each other now-in a way that wasn't competitive, wasn't forceful, wasn't fucking hostile-was a foreign concept.

Then, after a second, she caved.

It was weird.

Fucking weird.

Shiv barely remembered the last time they had hugged. Probably as kids, when they were still each other's favorite person. Before they figured out how to hurt each other the right way.

But now? Now, it was too much and not enough all at once.

Izzy smelled like champagne and perfume and something expensive, but mostly, she smelled like home. Not the house, not their father. Her. Them. The fucking them that had existed before all of this.

For half a second, Shiv let herself sink into it. Then, before it could get too much━━too fucking sentimental, Izzy pulled back first.

Shiv let her go, but before Izzy could move away completely, she narrowed her eyes slightly.

"If you ever tell anyone about this, I'll ruin your fucking life."

Izzy smirked, her face still close, still warm from the hug. "You can try."

Shiv huffed out a laugh, shoving her lightly back onto the bed.

For a moment, everything was easy. Like none of it fucking mattered.

Like the wedding wasn't in a few hours, like their lives weren't about to change, like they weren't about to walk into different futures that had no fucking space for each other anymore.

Shiv sat back, stretching out against the pillows, trying not to feel the feeling of it. Izzy sighed, shifting under the covers, getting comfortable again. After a few minutes, Shiv reached over and clicked the lamp off. The room sank back into black, quiet, perfect stillness. And for a while, there was only the sound of their breathing.

Then, from the other bed, in the dark-

"Iz?"

A pause. Then, muffled into a pillow-

"What?"

Shiv swallowed, staring up at the ceiling.

"...Still fucking weird, right?" There was a long silence. Then Izzy laughed. A small, real, honest fucking laugh. "Yeah," she muttered, voice low, tired, distant. And then━━quieter, almost like she wasn't even talking to Shiv anymore-

"It is."

Neither of them said anything after that. And in the deep silence of the castle, with only the distant murmur of a world getting ready for something bigger than them, they finally, finally fell asleep.

--------------------

The family stood in formation, the photographer directing them into place with the kind of patience only a well-paid professional could manage. Logan stood at the center, his presence setting the tone, while his children arranged themselves around him like it was second nature. They had done this before━━enough times to know where to stand, where to look, how to hold their expressions just neutral enough to pass for warmth.

Annie and Hallie stood with the other Roy kids, their dresses neatly pressed, their posture already mimicking the kind of confidence they had been raised to have. Someone called them over for a picture, and they stepped into position without hesitation.

Off to the side, Connor had Willa beside him, a quiet presence in the chaos, until Shiv glanced over and immediately decided against it.

"We're keeping it family," she said flatly, eyes already moving back to the photographer.

Connor's face barely changed, but his voice was firm. "Willa is family."

Shiv gave him a short look, something between dismissive and unimpressed, before facing forward again. It wasn't a discussion.

Izzy wasn't paying attention. Not to that, anyway. She was in a conversation with Charles and a few guests, talking in between polite smiles and sips of champagne.

A few hours later, Izzy walked through the hallway, focused but not rushing. Kendall had sent her his speech for Shiv earlier, and it had been a disaster. She had fixed it, sent it back, and now had to make sure he actually used it instead of whatever mess he had originally written.

As she turned a corner, she saw Jess standing outside a room, checking her phone. "Hey, Jess," Izzy said. "Where's Ken?"

Jess looked up. "In there."

Izzy nodded. "Thanks." She pushed the door open without knocking.

The air inside had the smell of whiskey, expensive cologne, and something faintly chemical. Kendall stood by the desk, looking like he was thinking too hard about something. Stewy was stretched out in the chair, perfectly relaxed, one leg crossed over the other like he had nowhere better to be.

The moment she stepped in, Stewy moved, a little too smoothly, shifting something off the table like it had never been there.

Kendall barely glanced at her. "What?"

She held up the folded paper. "Your speech."

Kendall blinked like he had already forgotten about it. "Oh. Right."

Stewy didn't look up from his phone. "Look at you. Always looking out for him."

Izzy ignored him. Kendall didn't move. Stewy finally lifted his head. "You can just leave it on the table."

Izzy didn't move for a few. "Why are you being weird?"

Kendall exhaled sharply. "I'm not being weird. You walked in here while we were..."

Izzy glanced between them, unimpressed. "Since when do you two have private meetings?"

Stewy smirked. "We have layers."

Izzy exhaled, joking. "Are you two gay?"

Kendall groaned immediately. Stewy barely reacted, just leaned forward slightly. "Would that bother you?"

Izzy scoffed. "I'd be relieved."

Stewy grinned. "That's a little hurtful."

Kendall waved a hand between them, irritated. "No. Absolutely not."

Izzy said, just to push it further. "I don't know, you two are always whispering and having secret little moments."

Stewy didn't miss a beat. "You jealous?"

Izzy rolled her eyes. "Disgusted, actually."

Kendall physically stepped in now, rubbing his eyes. Stewy, already enjoying himself, tilted his head. "Well, if I were gay, I wouldn't be flirting with you all the time, would I?"

Izzy scoffed. "That doesn't prove anything. Gay guys flirt with me all the time."

Stewy smirked. "Maybe you just have that effect on people."

Kendall groaned, already done. "Can you just go?"

Izzy ignored him. "Read the speech. Don't embarrass yourself." She shoved the paper into Kendall's chest, and he barely caught it before it fell.

Stewy stood, straightening his suit. "Alright, good talk, but you should go."

Izzy narrowed her eyes. "Since when do you get to kick me out?"

Kendall pointed at the door. "Since now. Thanks for the speech."

--------------------

The wedding had gone as smoothly as a Roy event possibly could. The ceremony had been grand, the kind of spectacle only a family like theirs could pull off. Isabelle, standing beside Shiv as her maid of honor, had held it together━━through the vows, through the moment Logan, of all people, walked Shiv down the aisle, through the sight of Hallie and Annie carefully scattering petals down the aisle before turning to grin at her. It had all been picture-perfect, the kind of moment people would look at in photographs years from now and think this was a family.

Now, they were deep into the reception, seated at the long, lavishly decorated family table in front of everyone━━except for Greg, of course, and Kendall, which meant Isabelle had written her speech for nothing.

She sipped her champagne, watching as the newlyweds made their way to their seats at the center of the table. There was easy chatter, the kind that came when people were just tipsy enough to enjoy themselves, and then Logan stood. The murmuring quieted almost immediately, the aura of his presence still commanding attention.

"This has been a very memorable day," Logan began, his voice deep, steady. "A day that, well, I'll... I'll never forget as long as I live. And I wanted it to be perfect... Perfect... for Shiv. And it is. No one... no one can ruin this. It's wonderful to be surrounded by those that we love, trust, and hold very dear. Because there is nothing more important... than family."

He lifted his glass. "So... to family."

"To family!"

Glasses clinked, applause filled the room, and the band picked up again. Isabelle glanced toward Shiv, who was smiling, but in that controlled, Shiv-way, like she wasn't fully buying into any of it.

Isabelle stood up at the same time as Roman, and immediately, she knew this was going to be a problem.

They both reached for the mic. Roman got there first, holding it up with a smirk.

"I'd like to welcome Tom to the family," he started, his voice carrying through the room. "I don't feel like I'm losing a sister. I don't feel like I'm gaining a brother, either. I don't feel anything."

The laughter came instantly.

"It's a mental disorder," Roman continued, dead serious. "It's called borderline personality disorder. Why is everybody laughing?"

More laughter. Isabelle waited, sipping her drink, giving him one more second before she leaned over and yanked the mic straight from his hand.

"Hey-" Roman protested, but she ignored him.

"Thank you, Roman, that was, uh-" she pretended to think, "-unexpectedly insightful."

The crowd chuckled. Roman slouched back and whispered loudly. "I was on fire."

Isabelle waved a dismissive hand. "Right, yeah. You were burning something."

More laughter. Roman pouted slightly but let it go, and she turned her focus back to the room.

"Okay, so, hi. I'm Isabelle, Shiv's sister. And, uh, since I'm the younger one, I've been forced to spend my entire life hearing about how brilliant and perfect Shiv is. Which is... exhausting and false." Shiv smirked slightly, swirling her drink.

"But," Isabelle continued, "in all fairness, she is actually brilliant. She's terrifyingly smart, deeply capable, and has always known exactly what she wants-" she paused, tilting her head, "-except when it comes to ordering food. Or making decisions. Or relationships."

The guests laughed, and Shiv shook her head, sipping her drink.

"But somehow, despite all of that, she ended up with Tom." Isabelle turned to him. "Which, honestly, Tom, I don't know if I should be congratulating you or checking in on you."

More laughter. Tom chuckled, lifting his glass slightly. "I appreciate your concern."

"No, but really," Isabelle went on, "Tom, you and I have had our...fair share of interactions over the years, and I have to admit... you're resilient. Like, shockingly resilient. I mean, you fell in love with a Roy and stuck around. That's either love or, like, some kind of advanced Stockholm Syndrome."

Loud laughter. Tom laughed, too, shaking his head as Shiv smiled beside him.

"But in all seriousness, you two work," Isabelle continued, her voice smoothing out slightly. "And I won't pretend to fully understand how or why, but I do know that Shiv's never really needed anyone. And yet, she chose you." She glanced between them, letting it settle. "And that means something."

A pause.

Roman made a gagging noise beside her, and she smacked him on the arm without even looking.

"So," she lifted her glass, smiling slightly, "to Shiv and Tom. May you continue to tolerate each other for as long as possible."

"To Shiv and Tom!"

The applause came instantly, and as she sat down, Roman turned to her, shaking his head.

"Jesus," he muttered. "What was that?"

"What?" Isabelle shot him a look.

"You went soft."

"I did not."

"Oh, you totally did," Roman leaned in slightly, mock-serious. "I saw it. Your eyes got all...sincere."

She rolled her eyes, picking up her drink. "Fuck off, Roman."

He grinned, raising his glass in her direction before taking a sip. "You're getting soft."

She ignored him, watching as Shiv took the mic for her own speech. But even as the night went on, Roman would occasionally nudge her, whispering, "soft" just to get under her skin.

The laughter and applause from Isabelle's speech were still dying down when Shiv grabbed the mic, leaning slightly against the table. The room quieted, eyes settling on her, waiting. She exhaled, glancing at Tom briefly before smirking.

"Alright," she started, rolling her shoulders back slightly. "Who wants to hear about the bachelorette party?"

A loud cheer erupted across the room.

Shiv raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Well, you're out of luck, 'cause nothing happened. We just... we knitted and made salads, did some yoga." She let the pause stretch before adding, deadpan, "And no one will tell you different, because we killed the stripper."

Laughter rang through the crowd, and Shiv smiled, letting it ride out. She turned slightly, looking at Logan. "But seriously, I would... I'd like to thank my dad. Because I'm contractually obligated."

More laughter. Logan let out a huff, unimpressed.

Shiv waved a hand. "No, I would actually like to thank you." She looked at him properly then, a flicker of something softer in her expression. "For being here. For, you know, actually walking me down the aisle and not making it entirelyabout business."

A small ripple of chuckles went through the guests, and Logan simply nodded.

Shiv turned to Tom next, shifting slightly. "And Tom, I would like to also thank you for being my rock. You're a good guy, Wambsgans, and I like hangin' out with you."

Tom smiled, looking like he was trying very hard not to look too pleased.

"So," Shiv lifted her glass, smirking slightly. "Here's a toast... to me... and to Tom."

The room lifted their glasses, laughter and applause following.

As Shiv sat down, Caroline stood.

"Right," she started, setting her napkin down beside her plate. "Well. I just want to say I know we haven't always seen eye-to-eye, but that's difficult when your father's stolen you away 'cross the Atlantic."

Shiv's jaw tensed slightly, but Caroline continued, her tone light, conversational.

"And I know you probably think I'm deliberately trying to make you cry or steal your limelight, but I just wanted to tell you, in front of everybody, that you're special, and, after my own fashion, I love you."

Shiv blinked, clearly thrown off. The guests murmured, a few 'awws' scattered throughout the room.

Caroline sighed, sipping her drink before adding, just as smoothly, "So I just wanted to say that in public, because I'm getting on and I might not be in good enough health to say it when you remarry."

Laughter rippled through the crowd, and Shiv exhaled sharply, shaking her head. Caroline smirked slightly, setting her glass down before sitting again. And then Tom stood up.

"I-" he cleared his throat, blinking a few times as if trying to process what he wanted to say. "I... love my wife."

"And I just..." Tom exhaled, smiling. "I just love saying the word 'wife.'" He looked around, his voice gaining momentum. "Wife. Wife. Wife." He grinned. "Wife, wife, wife, wife, wife."

The crowd laughed, and Shiv shook her head, looking down at her glass.

"So," Tom continued, softening slightly. "She's my wife, and, um... she's my life."

Shiv's expression flickered for a second, almost unreadable.

"And, uh... I'm gonna stop talking now, because I feel like I'm gonna cry, and it would be crazy to cry, because I'm so happy right now." Tom exhaled, shaking his head slightly. "So, thank you all for coming, and I love you all."

The room burst into applause, a few people clinking their glasses.

Shiv tilted her head slightly, watching Tom sit down, his face still flushed from speaking. She reached for his hand under the table, giving it a quick squeeze before letting go.

The guests began making their way to the dance floor as the band started playing jazz, and Isabelle barely had time to finish her drink before she felt a hand slide onto the small of her back.

"Dance?" Charles murmured, already knowing the answer.

She set her glass down, allowing him to pull her onto the floor. The room spun slightly, the alcohol still warm in her system, but Charles' grip was steady as he led her into a slow, smooth rhythm.

Not far from them, Annie and Hallie were dancing━━not together, of course, but separately, twirling in their flower girl dresses, laughing as their grandfather, Logan, danced with them. The sight made Isabelle pause for just a second.

It was rare━━so rare━━to see something that even looked like softness from him. But there he was, slow and deliberate, allowing them to guide him across the floor.

Shout out @swollensun for these amazing gifs🙌🏾!! And dont forget to check out her page, bisous💋.