Lisa listened to everything Karina responded with, including her apologies. A couple of them made Lisa want to roll her eyes, thinking that Karina sounded dramatic and a couple of them sounded like non-apologies to her. She gnashed her teeth together, while drawing in a deep breath through her nostrils, having to check herself and push past her raw emotions and remember that this was Karina. It wasn’t so much that Lisa forgot who she was, but Karina wasn’t a client or a colleague; they weren’t in court and prior to getting married, they were friends with a history. And though she couldn’t shake the coldness on her face just yet, or the sharpness in her voice, Lisa remembered that she and Karina had only just married. And while that did add to the upset and trust matter that Lisa previously brought up, Lisa was not about to rush for an annulment. Not today anyway.
“Don’t,” she started, her voice low and still full of venom. “You don’t get to pile on excuses and pity for what you did, and then offer to turn tail. That’s not how this,” Lisa gestured between the two of them, “works. I’m not filing for an annulment. But I don’t want to start our marriage off with secret schemes or include secret wagers in the future, especially ones that have anything to do with Beta Kappa Theta. That isn’t going to work at all.” Lisa took a step towards Karina and while her voice marginally lightened up, her expression stayed stony. “ You wanna fly off to Vegas and gamble at a craps table, be my guest. But making bets and blackmailing schemes with morons needs to stop here and now. I need to know that I can trust you, Karina. And you know that isn’t just for my sake.
She then took another step forward, “Do you know what Allison means to me? I mean do you really know? I literally fought to keep her away from terrible influences. Because she isn’t just my niece and I’m not just her aunt and legal guardian. She was my brother’s daughter.”
Lisa hadn’t divulged the details of the custody battle with her parents with anyone–not Karina or Miguel, or Talia, or Andre or any of her other friends. She hated talking about how despicable her parents were, about as much as she hated thinking about her former sorority sisters. “And thanks to how atrocious my parents are, she’s the last…the only link I have left to him. So as long as I’m alive, I will do any and everything in my power to keep her safe, loved, and protected. Now that we’re married, I need you to, at the very least, support me in that. I won’t demand you treat her with the same ferocity as I do. But with you that being in the same household, and becoming her aunt too–someone who’s going to have a more direct influence on her–I need you to remember that while she’s an academically stellar, she’s also observant in the people she’s around the most.“
Drawing in another deep breath, Lisa let the weight of her words hang in the air for a moment before turning her back to Karina and slowly stepping away from the other woman. One hand was resting on her hip while her other hand was lightly shielding her eyes. She was attempting to calm down fully, or more at least. Thinking about everything that just occurred, as well as snippets of moments during the past six weeks, Lisa lowered her hand from her face. “I need to ask you something, Karina,” she started, almost out of nowhere amidst the stretch of silence. And as she turned back around to face her wife, Lisa said, “You signed up for Matched out of a bet. But after you found out it was me who you were matched with, you went through with it. We didn’t work out before. Why did you stick with it?” It was more than just following through with the two being matched but Karina had surprised her with a proposal and had planned the wedding alongside with Lisa. And Lisa had asked Karina about them going through with this when they first got matched, but now that more was out in the open, Lisa felt compelled to ask again.
Karina wasn’t an expert at this. In truth, she hardly made an attempt to defend her character with anyone. She’s never had to. Even with her father, she’d dissociate. It was the best way to handle the situation, in her eyes. Derrick often called her out for seemingly coming off as selfish even if that’s never the intent, it’s good that people call her out on it. At least those who matter to her and Lisa had quickly become part of that very small group of people. She wasn’t trying to garner pity but in that moment, she could see why she’d come off that way. She was, as hard it is to admit, trying to flee in that moment. Karina felt like she’s already ruined enough and Lisa of all people didn’t deserve to be wrapped up in that. Allison definitely didn’t. And while Karina didn’t know the full details to what happened and what Lisa had gone through, it was easy to see even as a complete stranger how much that little girl meant to her wife.
Karina kept her silence as she listened and when Allison was brought up, she looked up at Lisa with what she hoped was the most genuine expression she could muster up. “You should expect the same ferocity. I mean, down the line. You should absolutely expect that from someone who has exchanged vows with you and will be living in the space as you and Allison. I promise you that I will protect her like she is my own. Well, she is my own. I won’t hurt her. I’m very sorry that I’ve hurt you.”
Karina listened to the question, her fingers gently turning the ring on he finger. She’ll have to get it resized. Unknowingly, she had lost a couple of pounds stressing over the documentary, getting another in finished in it’s place, explaining to her parents that matched would be a good thing for her, and planning the wedding. It wasn’t something she allowed herself to dwell in. The moment she did that, she’d lose her composure. But when Lisa asked her the question, she raised a brow as she tried to gather her thoughts. It was a lot to reveal but not something she wasn’t willing to especially now after what Lisa had discovered and now that they were married. “I always hoped we’d work out. Even then. I know that a lot of our problems as a couple stemmed from my immaturity. I guess I secretly wished I had that second chance and the stars aligned? I always make that lucky joke, you know? Haha, I’m so lucky because I’m always striking it big or whatever and because things always seem to go my way. And I thought that the moment I met you like wow, this great woman actually likes me. And that luck ran out when things didn’t end up working out. I know we remained friends and all and that was more than I could ask for.” She shrugged and chuckled a bit. “I’m rambling. I guess, if you want a clear response to your question, I didn’t back down because I’ve always felt a certain kind of away about you. It’s no surprise my family adores you and I thought that being matched to you, that luck came back and that I’d have that second chance. So you can see how much I hate that I’ve already started off on the wrong foot with you. I---i know that’s a lot and I’m sorry and I don’t expect reciprocation. I really don’t. But I’m definitely the lucky one here tonight and way back then and when I got notification of who is my match and now and always. I hope I can make you feel a sliver of that someday.”
