Chapter Eighteen:

We rejoin the family with a nice anouncement from matriach Emerald. After much deliberating Emerald had decided that Nora was to take over the family as the heir to the Moon legacy.

Nora was quite happy with her mother's decision. She and Alvin celebrated under the stars with the news. Alvin was quite proud of Nora and wanted nothing more than to spend his life by her side, raising their future kids.

Lexi was happy with her mother's decision to make her twin sister the heir. Ultimately it didn't matter who the heir was, and Lexi was as content as Tyler and Emerald with the decision.

Once the decision was made, life went on. Emerald and Tyler were enjoying their golden years, Nora and Alvin were lost in their romance and Lexi and Wilbur were working their way up their careers.

Tyler expressed her happiness for Nora. Emerald was tiring easily these days, so Tyler made sure the heir was ready to be the new matriach of this long standing family.

Lexi was moving up in the political world quickly. And as happy as she was with that, she wanted a little bit of the romance that Nora and Alvin were lost in. Don't get me wrong, Lexi was happy with where she and Wilbur were in their relationship, she just sometimes wished he was next to her when she woke up every morning.

Alvin had been thinking for the past few weeks since Nora was named as heir, that he had better make good on the promise he had made to her one lazy afternoon when they were just two loved up teens.

Nora was hoping this would happen soon, but even then she let out a small cry of excitement when Alvin pulled out the shiniest diamond ring Nora had ever seen.

The ring fit perfectly on Nora's hand and the second Alvin put it on her she knew she would rather die than part from him.

Alvin had asked Emerald and Tyler for permission a couple of days before he popped the question, and luckily they had said yes.

Lexi congratulated her sister warmly. A small seed was planted in her heart as she saw how happy her sister and Alvin were. Had Lexi made the right choice in picking her career over settling down right away?

While her fiance was out at work, he was now a freelance journalist, Nora spent her days at her chemistry table whipping up different kinds of potions. There was one she was itching to try out. It was a ghostly sort of white colour and Nora wasn't too sure what it would do if she actually used it.

Plans for the wedding were in full swing. Nora and Alvin didn't want to wait, they had been waiting for this since prom. Nora picked out her wedding dress. It was a gothic style number, a little untraditional, but it was perfect for Nora and Alvin's wedding.

Lexi was working hard at city hall. But seeing how happy Nora was with Alvin made Lexi want something more. She starting thinking about going after what Nora had found. Wilbur was off on a business trip, but when he got back Lexi was going to ask him to move in.

Finally the morning of the wedding. The family got the day off work and Nora and Alvin had an excited breakfast together nice and early before Nora had to start getting ready and Alvin was banished to the backyard.

Emerald and Tyler looked on at their daughter with tears in their eyes. It was hard to believe that they had gotten to this point. It seemed only yesterday that Emerald and Tyler were marrying in the backyard, their young daughters by their sides. And now they were about to watch Nora, the next matriach of the family, marry the man of her dreams.

While Nora was just touching up her hair inside, Lexi had a word with her soon to be brother in law. She warned him that Nora was her twin sister and best friend, if he ever did anything to hurt her, she would make sure he paid. Alvin promised Lexi that Nora meant the world to him and he would never hurt her, he wanted nothing more than to spend his life making her happy. Content with that answer Lexi congratulated him and they waited for Nora to come outside and marry the man of her dreams.

As she walked along the gravel path to the rose adorned arch Nora's heart swelled. Her mothers and her sister stood by the man of her dreams. This was exactly what she had wanted since she was a young teenager falling in love with the dark haired stranger across the drama room. Step by step Nora walked closer to the man she would spend her life with.

But this day was not going to be the one the family had planned for. Just metres from the wedding arch, Nora turned to smile at her mothers and happened to see something that would break her heart.

Lexi noticed it too. On this day, that was supposed to be the happiest day the family had seen for years, had suddenly become a heart-breaking one.

Emerald's unique family history had taken it's toll on her life expectancy.

There was nothing the family could do. And so instead of watching Nora and Alvin tie the knot in holy matrimony, they watched on as Emerald left their lives forever.

One wedding guest they had not anticipated was soon upon them to escort Emerald from the family she wasn't yet ready to leave.

Alvin held Nora in his arms and tried to make it all ok. But he knew that nothing he did or said would make up for this unexpected loss. They stood like that for a few hours. Until Alvin could coax his fiance back inside. The wedding would have to be put off for now.

As the sun set that night Tyler's heart was broken. She had lost the love of her life with no warning. She knew that the day she lost Emerald would come sometime, but she had just hoped she would have the time to prepare for it. Her daughters comforted her as best they could.

Instead of taking off her wedding dress and jumping into bed with her new husband, Nora was slowly and carefully putting the beautiful dress away for another day. Her tear stained face wasn't quite the look she had wanted at the end of this day, but there was nothing she could do, no matter how much she wanted to have just one more chance to say goodbye to her mother.

While Nora had the loving comfort of Alvin, Lexi was missing her man. But luckily for her, the second Wilbur heard about the death of Emerald, he raced back from his meeting over in Bridgeport to be with the woman he loved in the time she needed him.

It was late, and it had been a long day. But Lexi felt safe and warm in Wilbur's arms. There wasn't a lot of sleeping done that night. Just crying from the girls of the house, and comforting arms and words from their partners.

For the first time since she realised her love for her best friend, Tyler slept alone. While the grief was strong, and her heart was breaking, Tyler knew that Emerald was happy with the life she had and that they would be reunited one day.

Nora and Alvin decided to postpone the wedding until after the funeral for Emerald. They did not dwell too long on the notion that this might be a bad omen for their impending marriage. They knew that Emerald would want them to marry, and soon.

 

Just a simple ceremony for a quiet, simple woman. Tyler tried to get in contact with Emerald's brother, but she discovered that he too had passed away, just a few days before his twin sister. The small family mourned the loss of their matriach and celebrated her life.

After the funeral, the family returned to the house for a quiet day together. Wilbur did his best to cheer up Lexi. Presenting her with flowers and asking her if she would like to live with him. Not revealing that she had planned to ask him the very same question, Lexi said yes happily. Wilbur moved in later than afternoon.

The days began to slowly move by and the grief slowly got easier to bear. The family was still in mourning, but it got a little easier day by day.

Tyler was still grieving, and the household all made sure they watched her carefully. She was getting on in age and they took it in turns to spend the day keeping a discrete and respectful eye on her.

Soon Lexi had everything she had wanted when she would watch Nora and Alvin together. Although they both continued to work hard in their respective careers, and the pain of Emerald's passing was still fresh, Lexi and Wilbur were happier than ever with eachother.

Even so, Lexi was beyong surprised when Wilbur pulled out a bright, shiny ring. And she didn't even hesitate to tell him yes.

Lexi and Wilbur told the family the good news. Tyler, Nora and Alvin were so happy for the newly engaged couple.

Nora began to recover from the shock passing of her beloved mother and soon she and Alvin were back on track for their wedding day.

Lexi and Wilbur began to tentatively plan their wedding. Neither of them were fans of big celebrations and so they planned to keep it low key. Lexi wasn't even sure if she'd have a wedding dress, or a wedding arch. All she needed was her loving Wilbur and her family.

Emerald was still missed terribley. Nora felt the loss everyday. She was now the matriach of her family and she hoped she could carry on the legacy that her mother had before her.

Wilbur worked hard in one of the largest businesses in Bridgeport. It was quite a trek over there every day from Twinbrook, but Wilbur was quite ok with it.

Finally the day came. As the sun rose on the morning of Nora and Alvin's wedding, part two, Nora did her best to quell the nerves in her stomach.

As low key as last time, Nora and Alvin stood under the peaceful arch in the backyard to marry.

 As ok as Nora had been feeling about Emerald's death lately, standing next to her future husband where Emerald had died was hard for Nora. But she knew how happy Alvin made her, and this day was supposed to be a happy day. With tears still in her eyes, Nora wed her high school sweetheart.

It was a nice day, actually. Alvin and Nora were about to embark in one of life's greatest journeys together.

Lexi, Wilbur and Tyler looked on with joy. Finally the promise that Alvin had made to the gothic little teen many years before was being fulfilled.

Tyler couldn't have been prouder of her little girl.

Lexi saw how happy her sister was. And after the recent events she knew that the important things shouldn't be put off. While Tyler congratulated her daughter and new son-in-law, Lexi put the idea to Wilbur that they should marry right then and there.

And he agreed. Luckily they had their rings with them and they exchanged vows in the peaceful garden.

Wilbur promised Lexi that he would spend his life with her, making her happy. And she made the same promise to him. The family was content. Two new chapters were beginning for the girls.

Lexi and Wilbur were hard working at their jobs, and yet they always made sure they found time to be together.

 A few weeks after the weddings, Tyler was moving on from this stage in her life.

A sad chapter indeed for the new matriach. Chapter Nineteen coming soon. Here's a sneak peak:

How will the family react to the death of their beloved Tyler? And so soon after the happiness of the wedding.

Stil grieving for the recent losses, our matriach and her new husband make the decision to start trying for a baby.

But will Nora's experiments wreak havoc on her chances to have a child? Can Alvin convince his young bride to stop testing the potions on herself before she gets hurt?

And which sister has the annoucement that changes the lives of the family for the better?

Stay tuned for Chapter Nineteen! Coming soon!