Page 36 of Bearly Believable Romance

“Tabitha,” Celia greeted, air-kissing her cheek. “You look...comfortable.”

“It’s good to see you too, Mom,” Tabitha replied, trying to keep the sarcasm from her voice. “How was your trip?”

Her father grunted something about traffic as he brushed past her into the house. Tabitha suppressed an eye roll. Some things never changed.

Lunch was a tense affair, filled with clipped comments about her “rustic” cooking and prying questions about her plans.

“So, this inheritance from your grandmother,” Marcus began, swirling his wine. “Have you given any more thought to selling this place? The market is quite favorable.”

Tabitha set down her fork, meeting his gaze squarely. “Actually, I’m thinking of staying. Grandmother left the house to me for a reason. I want to honor that.”

Celia’s brows shot up. “Surely you can’t be serious, dear. What about your teaching position at the academy? Your life in the city?”

“I’ve realized that maybe that life wasn’t for me,” Tabitha said carefully. “Being here, learning more about Grandmother and our family history...it feels right.

“Speaking of,” she continued, emboldened, “I’ve been meaning to ask—what do you know about the magical artifact Grandmother mentioned in her will? The Celestial Chalice?”

“Ah, yes. I always wanted that but she refused to give it to me, even in her will she was spiteful. As for what it is, the Celestial Chalice is an ancient silver chalice adorned with intricate constellations. When filled with water under the light of a full moon, it can amplify and purify magical energy, allowing the user to channel immense power and perform extraordinary feats of magic like changing dark magic to light.”

“Really?”

“That’s what they say. But there’s never been any proof of it.”

“Why did you two have such a falling out with her?”

Her father’s face shuttered. “That’s ancient history, Tabitha. Not worth dredging up.”

But Tabitha wouldn’t be dissuaded. “She was your mother, Dad. There must have been a reason for the estrangement, for her wanting to hide this artifact. I need to understand.”

“What you need,” Celia cut in sharply, “is to stop filling your head with all this small-town nonsense. Your magic has always been erratic - nailing down a stable career should be your priority, not chasing after myths in Nowhere, USA.”

Tabitha felt a flare of anger. All her life, her magic had been a source of shame, something to be repressed and ignored because she was not as good as they wanted her to be. If she wasn’t the best witch, she wasn’t a witch worth speaking to. And now, just when she was starting to embrace it, to feel like maybe she belonged somewhere, they wanted to drag her back into their sterile, joyless world.

“My magic is a part of me,” she said firmly. “A part I’m learning to accept and control, thanks to the people here. They’ve been more welcoming and supportive in months than you two have been in years.”

Marcus’s mouth thinned. “Tabitha Greer, you will not speak to us in that tone. We gave you everything?—”

“Except love,” Tabitha snapped, tears pricking at her eyes. “Except real support or any shred of understanding. Do you have any idea how lonely it was growing up with you? Knowing that I could never be what you wanted? That my magic was not at the level you two wanted. That I was just some little witch and not the gifted daughter you’d hoped for?”

There was a long, taut silence. Celia dropped her gaze to her plate. Marcus cleared his throat.

“You’re right,” he said finally, his voice gruff. “Your grandmother and I...disagreed about how your magic should be handled. The Celestial Chalice she left you is dangerous. It was involved in a tragedy when my sisters were younger. They were twins. One born under light and the other under dark. Mother tried to use the Celestial Chalice to switch the dark twin to the light. Neither survived.” He shook his head. “Your mother and I couldn’t risk that with you.”

Tabitha’s heart squeezed. A twin. She’d been right. She’d had a sister, another piece of herself, this whole time. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she whispered.

“We thought it was for the best,” Celia said, not quite meeting her eyes. “That Chalice has only ever brought our family pain. We wanted to spare you that.”

Tabitha shoved back from the table, tears blurring her vision. “Spare me? You left me completely alone. My whole life, I thought I was broken, defective. If I’d known about my sister, about our history, maybe I would have understood myself better. Maybe I would have felt less lost.”

She paced the small dining room, agitated. “I’ve been reading Grandmother’s journals. That chalice could be the key to helping people, to reversing corruption. And now...I wonder if it could help my sister too. To bring her into the light.” She turned to face them. “I have to try. I won’t abandon her like you did.”

“Absolutely not,” Marcus blustered, his face ruddy. “We forbid it. That thing killed my sisters.”

“I’m not a child anymore,” Tabitha retorted. “You don’t get to forbid me from anything. This is my decision. Not yours.”

Her mother opened her mouth to argue, but a firm knock at the door interrupted. Bram. Tabitha had never been so relieved to see him.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said smoothly, taking in the tension. “But I thought Tabitha might need some support tonight.”

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