Chapter 43
The Sinclair home was different from both the Castellane estate and the Harrington colonial.
It was a modern California-style house in the suburbs, warm, inviting, with large windows that let in abundant natural light and a garden that looked actually lived in rather than professionally maintained.
Wind chimes hung from the porch, and there were photos visible through the windows showing a family that had actually spent time together.
Indigo sat in the passenger seat of Remy's Audi, her hands fidgeting with the hem of her dress, a simple, elegant outfit that was beautiful without being performative.
Her purple hair was styled naturally, and she wore minimal makeup, presenting herself authentically rather than as the supermodel persona the world knew.
"They're going to love you," Remy assured her, though he could see the nervousness in her indigo eyes.
"Your parents aren't like Nyx's. You've told me that. They've always supported you, even when you were at your worst."
"That's what makes this harder," Indigo admitted. "They've been good to me, even when I pushed them away during my performance phase.
They tried to reach me, tried to help, but I wouldn't let them.
And now I'm bringing home someone to marry, someone I'm sharing with two other women.
What if this is the thing that finally makes them give up on me?"
"Then we'll handle it together," Remy said, squeezing her hand.
"But I don't think that's going to happen. Trust your parents. Trust what you know about them."
Thomas and Victoria Sinclair were waiting on the front porch when they arrived.
Thomas was a tall man in his late fifties, silver-haired and distinguished in casual slacks and a button-down shirt.
Victoria was stunning, even at fourty-four, she was clearly where Indigo had inherited her beauty from, with the same naturally purple eyes (a rare genetic trait that had made both mother and daughter so striking) and dark blonde hair that fell in soft waves around her shoulders.
"Indie!" Victoria called out, using the childhood nickname that Indigo had forbidden during her modelling days but had recently started allowing again. "Come here, sweetheart!"
Indigo practically ran into her mother's arms, and Remy felt something tighten in his chest watching the easy affection between them, something he'd never had, never would have, but was grateful to witness.
"And you must be Remy," Thomas said, extending his hand with a warm smile.
"We've heard a lot about you. All good things, I promise. Come in, come in.
Victoria made her famous lemon cake."
The interior of the house matched the exterior, warm, comfortable, and lived in.
Photos covered the walls showing Indigo at various ages: as a little girl with a gap-toothed smile, as an awkward teenager before she'd grown into her striking features, as a young model in her first campaigns.
But there were also photos of family vacations, holidays, and mundane moments that spoke of real connection.
They settled in the living room, and Victoria immediately poured tea while Thomas cut generous slices of cake.
The atmosphere was so different from the cold formality of the Harrington house that Remy felt himself relaxing despite the importance of the conversation ahead.
"So," Victoria said once they were all settled, her purple eyes, so similar to her daughter's, bright with curiosity rather than judgment.
"Indigo tells us you're here to ask for our blessing. For marriage. To our daughter and two other women."
"Yes, ma'am," Remy confirmed, deciding that direct honesty was the best approach with people who seemed genuinely warm.
"Indigo, Lyra, Nyx, and I are in a committed polyamorous relationship.
We want to make it permanent, make it official. And while we don't need legal permission, we wanted your blessing.
Your acceptance of what we're building together."
Thomas and Victoria exchanged a glance, one of those wordless communications that long-married couples develop.
Then Victoria smiled, reaching over to take her daughter's hand.
"I'm not going to lie and say this is what we imagined when we pictured our daughter's wedding," Victoria said honestly.
"We expected one groom, a traditional ceremony, maybe grandchildren with clear lineage.
But you know what? We also expected our daughter to be happy. And Indie..." she squeezed Indigo's hand, "....you haven't been truly happy in years.
Not since the modelling started, not since the fame, not since you lost yourself in performing for everyone except yourself."
"We're surprised," Thomas added, setting down his cake plate. "Honestly surprised at the idea of our daughter falling in love so hard that she'd accept a polygamous marriage.
But we're not opposed to it. Not if it's what makes you genuinely happy."
"It does," Indigo said, her voice thick with emotion. "Dad, Mom, I know I was difficult. I know I pushed yoand i wouldn't let you help when I was at my darkest.
I'm sorry about that. But Remy, Lyra, and Nyx, they pulled me out of that dark place.
They showed me what real connection feels like instead of hollow performance.
They love me for who I am, not what I look like or what I can do for them."
Victoria's eyes filled with tears. "That's all we ever wanted for you, sweetheart.
Someone who sees the real you. Someone who loves you for your depth, not just your surface."
"We failed you," Thomas said quietly, his voice heavy with regret. "Your mother and I, we were busy with our careers when you needed us most.
We left you in the hands of agents and managers and the machinery of early fame and stardom.
By the time we realized you were drowning in it, you'd already built walls we couldn't get through. We tried, but...."
"But I wouldn't let you," Indigo finished. "That wasn't your fault, Dad. I made those choices. I built those walls. You tried to help; I just wasn't ready to be helped."
"Until Remy came along," Victoria said, looking at him with warmth and gratitude.
"Until you three came along. Remy, I don't know exactly what you did or how you reached her, but thank you.
Thank you for helping our daughter find herself again.
For helping her ditch those performative acts and find real love. Real connection. Real purpose."
"I didn't do much," Remy said honestly. "I just saw her. Really saw her. And refused to let her hide behind the performance.
The rest was all Indigo, her courage to be real, her willingness to change, her choice to be authentic instead of perfect."
Thomas studied Remy for a long moment, his expression thoughtful.
"Indigo told us you're an orphan. That you lost your parents young and grew up in foster care. Is that right?"
"Yes, sir," Remy confirmed, wondering where this was going.
"My parents died in a car accident when I was fourteen. I aged out of the system at eighteen."
"Then from today," Victoria said firmly, reaching across to take Remy's hand, "you should take us as your parents.
You're marrying our daughter, which makes you our son. And every son deserves parents who love him."
Remy felt his eyes sting with unexpected tears. "I....that's....I don't know what to say."
"Say yes," Thomas said with a warm smile. "Say you'll call us Mom and Dad, or Thomas and Victoria, if that's more comfortable.
Say you'll come to family dinners and let us embarrass you with baby stories about Indigo.
Say you'll let us be the parents you didn't get to have."
"Yes," Remy managed, his voice rough with emotion. "I'd be honoured."
Indigo was crying openly now, happy tears streaming down her face as she watched her parents embrace the man she loved, offering him the family he'd lost.
Victoria pulled both Remy and Indigo into a hug, and for a moment, the four of them just held each other.
"Alright," Thomas said eventually, clearing his throat and blinking back his own tears.
"Remy, why don't you and I take a walk? MMan-to-manconversation. Let these two catch up on girl talk."
Remy glanced at Indigo, who nodded encouragingly, and followed Thomas out into the garden.