Page 76 of The Love of Priest 2

Britain couldn't help but crack up in laughter at the thought of all the crazy schemes she pulled just to accumulate the most inches by the end of the year.

Seven was hip to all of Britain's schemes, but the fact that she went the extra mile to win almost every year made Seven disregard the cheating and allow Britain to win, no matter how unfair it was.

She really enjoyed those rewarded days with Britain.

"Sev!" Henderson called out for his wife, jolting Britain out of her thoughts. Her nostalgia was instantly replaced by her nerves. Her teeth began to nervously sink into her plump bottom lip as she buried her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

At this point, she wasn't sure what terms she and her mother were on.

The last conversation they had wasn't the best; however, she was never upset with her mother.

She thought it was something they could have looked past, but with Seven not showing up to see her off for her departure to Italy, it only confused her more.

"Yeah. Did you figure out why that car was out there?" Seven's voice sounded off through Britain's ears. She was glad that her mother hadn't made the effort to make her way toward the front of the brownstone. This allowed her enough time to get herself together before she faced her.

Henderson pursed his lips as he nodded his head. "Yeah, it’s nothing we have to worry about," he shrugged.

Britain let out a light breath, trying her best to go unheard.

Henderson leaned against a wall in the foyer, granting her all the time she needed before he led her toward Seven.

Figuring she wouldn't be able to hide out in the foyer all day, she signaled a quick nod to her father.

This caused Henderson to rest his arms across her shoulders.

Together, the two navigated through the brownstone, stepping into the kitchen.

She felt her heart pound against her chest at the sight of her mother searching through the fridge.

Seven's back was facing the entrance of the kitchen, allowing Britain to go unnoticed for a bit.

"Well, they're lucky you went out there before I did," Seven scoffed lightly. Grabbing the small container of hummus from the fridge, Seven shut it before turning around. Quickly, she clenched her chest in shock at the sight of Britain standing next to Henderson in the kitchen.

"It wasMochaoutside." A light chuckle eased out of Henderson as he hoped to string some excitement out of his wife due to Britain's surprise visit.

Seven’s brown orbs shifted away from Henderson, setting on Britain.

Instantly, her sight stumbled onto the massive engagement ring that decorated Britain's ring finger.

Tracking her mother's sight onto her ring, Britain immediately regretted taking her hand out of her pockets in the first place.

Her engagement to Priest wasn't something she was ashamed of.

A lot of the time, Britain wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but she couldn't due to the current circumstances.

She just never got around to telling her whole family the current status of her and Priest's relationship.

Now, here she was making the announcement with her ring alone.

"Hey, Ma," Britain murmured as she smiled lightly.

"Britain," Seven let out, still in slight shock. "You're back? For good or…?"

Britain resisted the urge to roll her eyes in front of her mother.

To her, the question felt like a sly jab, but of course, she expected nothing less from her mother who really had no filter.

With her ring on full display, she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I'm visiting. I head back soon," she informed her mother.

"It's nice to have you back," Seven replied, nodding her head with a faint smile casting across her face.

She tilted her head to the side as she eyed her mother. "Is it, though?"

Seven exchanged glances with Henderson. Her behavior lately, especially how she handled Britain's decision to move to Italy wasn't something he was proud of.

Usually, whenever he sensed tension between Britain and her mother, he would make it his objective to steer the conversation elsewhere, but at the moment, he felt like the conversation needed to be had.

Seven couldn't continue to go on with no communication with Britain, especially with her daughter now living across the world.

Things needed to be hashed out, no matter how messy it could get.

Seven let out a light sigh as she claimed a seat at the island that sat at the center of the kitchen. "Yes, Britain. I'm really happy to see you," Seven assured her daughter.

Britain shifted her attention toward her stepfather, a heavy sigh drifting out of her. "Pops, can I speak to her in private?" she requested.

"Sure thing,princess. I got called in for a consult, but I should be back soon. You two be good." He smiled before pulling Britain into another hug. He then turned to Seven, and they shared a light kiss. "I love you," he professed to her.

Seven nodded with a smile. "Love you too." With that, Henderson made his way out to head to the hospital for his consult.

Britain grabbed a seat opposite her mother at the island.

A thick, tension-filled silence came over them.

She didn't want to get emotional, knowing that once her mother caught sight of any tears, it would cause an immediate shut down.

"Sorry about your patient," she began as she watched her mother take the lid off the container of hummus.

"Yeah," a heavy breath exhaled out of her. "Me too. But how have you been? Is Italy as nice as it sounds?" Seven asked her with her head tilted in question.

A light smile masked Britain's face. "Yeah, it is. We live in a much more gentrified and modern area, so it's not too much of a change," Britain explained, deciding to make small talk with her mother before they got into the issues they had with one another.

"Hm." Seven nodded her head, taking in all that Britain was telling her. "I see you got engaged," Seven noted, pointing to the eye-catching ring perched on Britain’s ring finger.

Britain too glanced down at the ring. Her lips pursed as she nodded her head in clarification of the engagement. "Yeah," Britain confirmed as she eased out a heavy breath. "That did happen."

Seven reached out, indicating that Britain should place her hand in her palm.

With some hesitation, she sat her hand in her mother's palm, granting her a closer look at her engagement ring.

Seven had a whole lot to say, but what she couldn't deny was the fact that the ring was to die for.

"He asked for me and your father’s blessings to marry you.

Even reached out to Henderson out of respect," Seven enlightened Britain, shocking her.

It brought swarms of butterflies to her stomach to know that Priest made the grand effort of asking all three of her parents for their blessings.

He didn't leave anyone out, knowing that they were all equally important to her.

It baffled her how he even managed to do everything underneath her nose.

She knew he spoke about them getting married often, but she never expected for it to be so soon.

It was taking her a while to realize that Priest was a sure man who knew what he wanted, which was why he moved the way he did.

"Really? I didn't know that," Britain replied to her mother with a smile growing on her face.

"Yeah," Seven clarified with a nod of her head. "We all gave him our blessing. Henderson gave him more hell than Jeremy, but Priest remained patient and very respectful." She chuckled as she thought back to the conversation Priest had arranged with herself and Henderson.

The smile on Britain's face remained. She could always count on Priest to be everything she praised him for being.

Even Seven had nothing but good things to say about Priest as a man; however, his lifestyle was a different story.

"I'm glad you're saying this because I want you to be happy for us and what we've decided to do as couple," Britain eased out, finding the perfect entry for the heavy conversation that needed to be had.

Seven exhaled a heavy breath as her shoulders slouched. "Britain, I—" Before Seven could get her statement out, Britain quickly interjected.

"No," Britain cut in, indicating that she wanted a word before Seven got out all the reasons why she didn't find herself in the wrong.

"As a mother myself, if Dreux were alive and she made the choice to leave for Italy, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't at least see her off or even picked up the phone to call.

Granted, the last conversation we had didn't leave us on a good note, and I don't mean to make excuses for myself, but you just always pick the wrong time.

Not every lecture or life lesson has to be taught in that exact given moment, Ma.

You came down on me after I had just witnessed something horrific happen to the man I love.

Not only that, but you also didn't even think to shed an ounce of comfort before you got into the plethora of reasons why I needed to distance myself from him.

" Britain was coming to terms with the fact that she could no longer withhold her hurt just to sweep things under the rug with her mother.

She had caused herself enough pain by doing that, and she wasn't about to continue.