Raising Jacob without Julia was hard on Veronica, especially the first few months, she kept expecting to wake up and find Julia in her crib playing with her feet and cooing. Her subconscious always giving her the same dream, every night, both of her children, raising them together. She’d wake up praying that the dream was the truth, but she lived in an unwakeable nightmare—her daughter was gone. She’d cry as reality would settle in, the truth that she was only raising one child instead of two. Her resentment for Millie had grown to immeasurable amounts, had she not been so jealous and delusional she’d have both of her children with her and Liam wouldn’t have had to break his own heart by sending Rowan away.
Veronica had always been told the first year goes by in a flash, but for her, Jacob’s first year seemed to drag on at a snails pace. It was as if time had slowed down, insistent on torturing her—reminding her that she was supposed to be caring for twins, both Drake’s and Liam’s children instead of just—
Learning to move past what could have been, should have been took time. It felt like moving past her ever present dreams moved even slower than the first year itself. She felt like she was relearning how to live, how to breathe, it felt like she was leaving a piece of herself behind, it hurt, paralyzing her. Her moving forward past her visions for what was supposed to be moved like molasses in January, in the bitter freezing cold. She didn’t know how Drake and Liam seemed to move past it so easily, but then only she had felt Julia growing, moving , living inside her, until she wasn’t. She alone felt the full loss of the baby they never would see grow.
Once she got past the first year without Julia, the years started to pass by at a quicker pace, the days and weeks almost blurring together. Even as the weeks became months, and months became years she would never forget. The days may have blurred together, but Julia was on her mind every day that passed. She would always remember the daughter she never got to watch grow, watch her with—
Liam continued to beat himself up for allowing Rowan to hurt Veronica, to hurt Julia. He hated that his reluctance to send her to get help caused the love of his life to live with a horrible ache in her chest. He felt more than partially responsible for Julia’s death. Julia’s death was preventable, if he had stood up to Millie maybe she would never have taken Rowan, at the very least he should have gotten her help sooner, put Veronica and the babies wellbeing first. He had been afraid of what Rowan might do, he should have done something to prevent it, then Julia would be playing with her brother, have her father wrapped around her finger.
Rowan spent the next ten years in a high risk psychiatric hospital, trying to help her through the brainwashing she endured by the hand of her mother. She remembered nothing of her attack against Veronica. Liam and Veronica agreed she shouldn’t be told, it would only hurt her more. As much as the loss broke her, broke them Veronica couldn’t make Rowan relive the event that never would have happened if it wasn’t for Millie.
Drake left Cordonia shortly after Julia was buried, unable to watch Liam with Jacob without feeling a pang of heartache and jealousy. He had been mad at Liam for not wanting to tell Rowan about what she had done to his daughter. Drake felt like Liam was putting his own child above his—who never had a chance to live, to love or grow. Drake left before he grew to resent Liam, he got the girl, the healthy baby, when it was Liam’s daughter that caused the death of Jacob’s twin, Drake’s sweet Julia who he’d never get to know.
Jacob, the young Crown Prince was the spitting image of his father, dark blonde hair, vibrant blue eyes, kind and caring—always worrying about others before himself. The young Prince was always looking to see what he could do to help. He was a terrific big brother two his younger siblings, five year old fraternal twin girls, Addison Rose and Avery May. All three children taking after their father, Veronica could have been jealous, but she was happy that some how they made it to the other side, despite the consequences of a fling.
A/N: My Heart couldn’t take anymore after Julia, if you have a question I didn’t answer send me an ask!
