It had been three months since Bella started school and Lacey and I had decided to be a couple. We never discussed our relationship, but from the moment we told each other that we were in love, we moved right into the place that made us both comfortable. We were like a little family, our hearts almost bursting every day when we were together, the three of us, or the four of us when my mother was around.

Bella started school in first grade instead of kindergarten. I was really nervous on the inside for her, knowing that it wouldn’t be as easy as kindergarten. As usual, though, Bella plowed right through, getting As on everything, making friends the first day, and not long after school began, being offered to join the exceptional minds program that they had won awards for in the state. It was a program that would help enrich the information she was learning, challenge her, and push her toward bigger things as she navigated the education system in the future.

Proud was an understatement when I thought about my daughter and all the things she was accomplishing. She had grown so much in just those three months, and I realized that her being in that school, pushing forward on her own, was the best thing that could have happened to her. I couldn’t keep her wrapped up forever, even if I wanted to. Lacey was also proud of her, and she looked like a doting mother every time she was around Bella. It was a really good feeling knowing I had a woman in my life that loved my daughter as much as I did. I didn’t think that would ever happen.

Ever since that first day of school for Bella, Lacey and I had been inseparable. We did everything together, and she was both mine and Bella’s biggest cheerleader. She was incredible in the way she handled us, and I never wanted her to be out of my sight. Her and I had just discussed her putting her grandparents’ house on the market and moving into mine. She was there all the time anyway, and I wanted my home to become our home, and I knew she wanted it, too. Everything with her career worked out perfectly. A week after orientation, Lacey was hired at Bella’s school to teach first grade. When the class lists came out, we realized that Lacey was going to be one of Bella’s teachers. Bella thought it was the best thing in the entire world, and Lacey sat there crying with happiness, knowing she would get to be a part of Bella’s education. It was really important to Lacey that Bella got every experience and every opportunity possible, and now, she would get to spearhead that goal right there in her school.

I pulled the Jeep into the visitor parking at Bella and Lacey’s school, my nerves starting to bubble up in my stomach. I came to the school a lot, and they knew me by now. I signed in at the front desk and made my way back to Lacey’s classroom. I stopped at the door and watched her teaching for several moments, thinking about how lucky I was to have such an amazing woman in my life.

“Hi, Daddy,” Bella yelled from the back of the classroom.

“Hey there,” Lacey said, turning and seeing my face. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to tell you something,” I said, taking her hands. “I was sitting at the house, and I felt the need to come here and tell you just how much I love you and how you have turned my life around, bringing joy and happiness to Bella and me that I didn’t even know was possible.”

“Lacey?” Bella asked. Lacey turned around and smiled at Bella, who looked slightly confused.

“What is it, sweetie?” Lacey asked.

“Nothing,” Bella said, starting to giggle.

When Lacey turned back around, she looked down to find me bent down on one knee. I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a small black box and opened it up. Everyone in the class gasped as the diamond inside shimmered under the lights of the classroom. Lacey clasped her hand to her mouth, and tears began to roll down her cheeks.

“Lacey, you have been a source of light in my life that I could never have asked for,” I said. “You have taken Bella and me from just surviving to flourishing as a family. You are everything that is beautiful and pure in this world, and I love you so very much. Would you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“Yes,” she shouted out through tears. “Of course, I will.”

The class erupted into cheers and clapping as I stood up and took her into my arms. I squeezed her tightly and pulled back, slipping the ring onto her finger. She looked down at the ring and then back at me, taking my face in her hands and kissing my lips. As she pulled away, Bella walked up and tugged on the edge of her dress. Lacey wiped her tears and knelt down in front of her, holding her around the waist.

“I’m so happy to have you as my new mommy,” she said with tears in her little eyes. “I love you, Lacey.”

“I love you too, my little flower,” she said, taking her into her arms and standing up.

I wrapped myself around both of them and pressed my forehead against Lacey’s. I was so happy, and I couldn’t have asked for a better course for my life. Lacey was my love, and though I would always have Isabella in my heart, I knew that she was looking over at us from wherever she was, content with the family I had built for Bella. I was finally getting the happily ever after I never thought would come.

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