𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓦𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓣𝔀𝓲𝓷

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ELLIE'S POV

As we bent down to blow out the candles on the cake, which had been burning and waiting to fulfill our birthday wish, my twin sister Eloise shoved my face into the cake, and the room erupted in laughter, including me.

This was something Eloise loved to do on our birthdays. It had now become a tradition.

Then she screamed, "Happy birthday to us, Sissy!"

I rolled my eyes, licking the cake icing off my face.

It was our eighteenth birthday, and half the town of Bellmare had heard about it. Suitors kept knocking on our doors to speak to us, as it was a tradition that whenever a girl turned eighteen, she could get married off...which is normal, right, in this generation?

But the abnormal part was that if a girl turned thirty without getting married, she would be humiliated, and she wouldn't find any man willing to marry her.

Living in Bellmare felt like living in the '90s, and that was because of its traditions. But Bellmare had its reasons for making people stay. The things people lacked in other parts of the world, we had here.

It was a small town where everyone knew each other. You didn't need to pay for electricity, water, garage fees, and other unnecessary fees that people in other towns and countries paid for. All you needed to live comfortably in the town was a house, and it wasn't too cheap either, but it was way worth it.

"Mum, please can you chase these old, rickety men away?" Eloise said in a whisper. Anyone standing beside her could hear.

Not to sound cliché, but Eloise and I were complete opposites. In a day, you could count the words I said, while for Eloise, there was no limit to whatever she said or how she said it.

My parents were old-schooled individuals, and they raised us with that old-school mentality. But I didn't let that affect me because even though living in Bellmare felt like living in the '90s, we had technology. That didn't affect our traditions; the town was just so structured.

I made sure I stayed up to date on all social media, and I learned a few things myself. Unfortunately, no one in Bellmare had the same mentality as me. I kept telling people, for example, that high school wasn't the maximum level of education, but they didn't agree. They believed that after high school, a girl should start preparing for marriage.

It was giving BRAINWASHED

As time went on, our few guests had gone, and it was just Eloise, Elizabeth, my mum, and James, my dad.

Then my dad sat us all down in the sitting room. Our sitting room wasn't too wide, and our house was giving vintage, but we were comfortable. We were on the working-class level, and we enjoyed that.

James cleared his throat before speaking.

"You both are legal now, and we are grateful to the heavens. You all know how it is here. Men will start rushing in for your hands in marriage."

He paused.

I already knew where this was going, and I knew Eloise was thinking about the same thing. So we pinched each other. That was our way of checking if we were thinking the same thing, and it led to a subtle laugh.

My dad, being the strict man that he was, noticed us, and his expression changed. What he said changed the atmosphere.

"What is so funny, you little rascals?" His face was stern.

Our expressions immediately turned serious.

He continued, "And you have to marry early. We want to avoid being humiliated. You remember Mr. Sebastian? He and his daughter, Laurel, had to relocate because he couldn't stand the humiliation he and Laurel faced because she clocked thirty without a husband."

I looked at Eloise, and then she looked at me. We were about to laugh again, so I immediately turned my face away because Eloise and I found the traditions in Bellmare unnecessary and too ancient.

And this reality that was dawning on us now was our nightmare growing up.

"Yes, Father," I said calmly.

"No, we will get married when we want to. Turning eighteen was like our biggest fear. Please don't force this weird tradition down our throats, Dad," Eloise said.

"You have the sharpest tongue, ye," James said, pointing his finger towards Eloise before pausing.

"Your sister already agreed, but you always have something to say, right?" James spoke, his face hardening, as my mum, Elizabeth, caressed his head to calm him down.

"Yes, I always have something to say. Ellie is the quiet, reserved, and submissive one, and I'm the complete opposite because you guys do the most absurd things. But what I want to prepare you all for is that I will get married when I want to, and even if Ellie doesn't say it, that's her decision too," Eloise concluded and held my hand to signify solidarity.

"Nod your head if you agree with your sister, Ellie," Elizabeth said in a raspy yet sluggish tone.

You could count the seconds before she made a simple statement, and that was because Dad was there. She had that fear... we all had that fear of him when he was talking about Bellmare traditions. He spoke about them like he was talking about the Bible.

I immediately nodded my head, and my dad just signaled us to leave. Poor man was frustrated.

As soon as we got into the room, I burst into laughter.

Eloise shot me an annoyed look. I had to ask her what happened.

"Why are you mad?" I asked.

"I always get in trouble for saying what we both have in mind," she said.

"No, it's not that way, I promise. I lack confrontational skills, and you know it. You know I still support your statement in the best nonverbal way," I said and paused. "I'm sorry, for real. I'd try my best. Besides, we could predict what Dad would say on our eighteenth birthday, and he actually did," I said, hoping to change the conversation.

Her facial expression softened, and she smiled and started yapping. She knew I loved to hear her yap.

"Do you get? This town is so predictable, but we have to live with it because it's the most comfortable town in the world, yet frustrating..." Eloise began.

She didn't stop there. She continued, and I kept laughing throughout.

Eloise had a way of making my day better, and I genuinely hoped within me that no one or tradition would come between us.