Until This Lie Do Us Part

Chapter 26

Stefan threw his napkin on the table and left. Caroline was the first to stand up to go after him, but Zach stopped her. "Let him be" he said, knowing full well that his nephew needed to cool down a bit. "Why don't we move this into the sitting room for desert, shall we?" he suggested, leading the way. Everyone reluctantly followed except Bonnie who stayed with Elena and Lily, who snuck out of the room a few seconds later. Elena sat quietly in her seat, still ashamed about everything. Bonnie stared at her for a long moment. "Whenever you're ready to talk" she said, grabbing Elena's hand and sitting with her quietly.

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Lily wandered outside in search of her uncle, finding him almost immediately out back by the pond. He was sitting on a rock, picking at grass. Lily carefully crawled her way into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Why did Daddy kiss Elena?" she asked. And then it hit Stefan just by the simple way that his niece had worded that question. Why had Damon, not Elena, done it? "Don't be mad at Elena" she said quietly.

If Stefan thought he could tell Lily how absolutely amazing she was in that moment, he probably would have. But all he really could do was keep himself from crying in front of her. It was stupid to cry over a girl. He knew that. "You shouldn't be out here worrying about me" he told her, holding her close. If anyone could talk some sense into him though, it was that six year old.

"You worry about me all the time" Lily told him. "Like, you worry if my socks match or if I got enough sprinkles on my ice cream" she explained.

Stefan laughed softly. Leave it to Lily, in all of her innocence, to make more sense than anyone around him right now. "Yeah, you're right" he said. "Why don't you go and get dessert before Alaric eats it all" he said, pulling away from her. Although he loved spending every minute with her that he could, he wanted to be alone right now.

Lily grabbed his face in her hands and looked into his eyes. "Can I go to Disneyland still?" she asked.

Stefan smiled. "I'll take you there myself" he promised. "Now go and get one of those cupcakes."

Lily crawled down and ran a few steps before turning back. "I love you Uncle Stefan" she said, a small smile appearing before she skipped off towards the house.

Stefan closed his eyes, enjoying the quiet. But it was short-lived. "Some family get-together" Katherine said as she made her way to him while holding a half empty bottle of bourbon. She took a seat on the same rock as him, their shoulders and legs touching. For once, Stefan really didn't care. "Want some?" she asked, holding the bottle out to him.

Stefan eyed the bottle before grabbing it and taking a long drink from it. When he was done, he held on to it. "You're not mad at Damon?" he asked her, looking over at her.

Katherine laughed. "Now why would I be mad about some silly little kiss?" she asked him. "I mean, come on, Stefan. It's not like they slept together" she smirked. "Which wouldn't bother me either, but I get the feeling that an extramarital affair might be a deal breaker for you."

Stefan shook his head. "Glad you think so lightly of this situation" Stefan told her. "I know Damon has been a monumental disappointment to you all these years."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "And Elena was your perfect little wife?" she asked, almost gagging at the thought. "Come on, Stefan. You're cute. And rich. Do you honestly think you will ever find a girl who really, truly loves you for you?" she asked. "You know, like love you for all the crap on the inside or whatever?" she asked, poking his chest.

"Can we not talk about this?" Stefan asked, clearly frustrated with her and her inability to filter what came out of her mouth.

"Fine" she said. "What do you want to talk about?" she asked him.