“Cuddlebug! Where’s my black polo?” William called from upstairs.
I mentally sighed. Out of all the pet names in the world, he chose to call me cuddlebug, a name I had never heard until he randomly started calling me that a couple of hours ago. Once we had gotten back from the office and picked up Jonah, Chelsea had invited us over for dinner, which was why I was busy trying to finish the dish I volunteered to bring.
“It’s in the laundry!” I yelled, putting the chicken alfredo into a container.
William’s voice suddenly came from behind me. “I saw. How’s the cooking, cuddlebug?”
He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my shoulder. I turned my head to face him and pinched his nose. “Don’t call me cuddlebug. It’s weird.”
“I like it though,” he whined. “Besides, you like cuddling and you’re tiny, like a bug.”
I glared at him and went back to packing up the food, making him chuckle as he kissed the back of my ear. Just when I had put the food in a bag, the doorbell rang.
William frowned. “Who could that be?”
“I’ll get it.” I wiped my hands on the dish towel and ran to the front door.
I opened the front door to see a familiar auburn-haired, gray-eyed woman.
William’s mother, Athena.
My eyes widened with surprise.
What was she doing here? Was everything okay? She looked like she wanted to cry.
I gave her a warm smile and opened my mouth to greet her, but she launched herself into my arms and began sobbing into my shoulder. I patted her back awkwardly, since I didn’t really know what else to do.
“I-I’m so s-sorry,” Athena sniffled between sobs.
Before I could even question her, I heard William’s voice. “Mom?”
She immediately pulled back and glared at William, her gray eyes flashing with anger. “You!” she yelled, pointing a finger in his face.
He furrowed his eyebrows. “Mom—”
His head whipped to the side as she slapped him right across his face. He slowly turned his head back and looked at her with shock and hurt in his eyes.
She was still fuming. “How dare you! I am ashamed to find out what my children have been doing! You hurt an innocent woman! Are you even a man? How dare you!”
I stared at her, stunned. I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her, but she didn’t.
“You decided to believe Kelly’s lies? Are you kidding me? How are you running your father’s company? Do you have any sense in you? Is this how I raised you?” she yelled at him, tears falling from her eyes.
William just stared at her, his green eyes darkening with every word she was saying. Without saying a word, he turned on his heel and walked away. I flinched as I heard the patio doors open and slam shut.
Athena turned to me, guilt clear in her eyes. “I am so sorry, Heather. My family has caused you so much pain. You must think I’m a terrible mother. I swear, I’ll do anything to help you get out of this marriage with my son.”
I looked at her with sad eyes and shook my head. “Mrs. Solace, I don’t want to leave William. I love him.”
Her eyes widened in shock. “You…you love him?”
I nodded. She began to speak again, but William’s father walked into the house. Henry Solace was pretty much the older version of William, with grayish-black hair and those forest-green eyes. He took one look at me and turned to Athena. “What did you do?”
Athena shook her head and stared at her feet. “I slapped William and yelled at him for hurting Heather.”
Henry frowned. “Athena, I told you not to do anything. I said we would talk this out in a peaceful manner.”
She sighed. “I know, but my anger and hurt got the best of me.”
Henry looked at her in disappointment and then turned to look at me. “I’m sorry, Heather. This isn’t going as we planned.”
I gave him a small smile. “It’s okay. I’m going to go check on William, so excuse me.”
They nodded and I walked toward the patio area quickly. I stepped out into the cold night air and looked around for William. He was leaning on the railing and staring at the mini-pond in the backyard. I approached him slowly and stood next to him, gazing at the sky.
“Why are you here, Heather?” he asked coldly. I winced slightly at his tone, but shrugged it off.
“I wanted to talk to you,” I said softly.
“Well, I’m not in the mood to talk,” he snapped.
“William…” I sighed.
“No, Heather. You wouldn’t understand,” he said angrily.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, feeling slightly annoyed.
“Like I said before, you wouldn’t understand.”
“How do you know that if you won’t even tell me?” I asked.
His head snapped toward me. “I just know. Now leave me alone.”
I stared at him for a few moments before shaking my head and walking back inside. I guessed he just needed space. I pulled my phone from my pocket and texted Ethan and Chelsea, explaining the situation and apologizing for canceling all of a sudden.
“Heather?” I shifted my gaze up to see a worried Henry.
I straightened and smiled slightly. “Hi, Mr. Solace.”
He gave me a small smile. “Call me Dad, and did you talk to William?”
I sighed. “He doesn’t want to talk to me.”
He patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him. It’s time we have a father-son talk anyway.”
I nodded and he made his way outside.
***
William
“Son!” I heard my dad call.
I sighed and turned my head to look at him. “What? Did you come here to yell at me? Because I don’t want to hear it.”
“William, whether you like it or not, I’m going to talk. You screwed up. Badly. Yet Heather still forgave you. She loves you despite how much you hurt her. Doesn’t that mean something to you?” he asked.
I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. He raised an eyebrow and I sighed, nodding slowly. “It means everything to me, Dad. Everything. The fact that she gave me a chance means everything.”
He nodded. “That’s what I thought. William, when I was around your age, I was a man-whore.”
I gave him a what-the-hell look.
He chuckled. “That came out wrong. But anyway, until I found your mother, I broke hearts left and right. You weren’t and aren’t like that. At all. Ever since you were a little boy, you treated girls with kindness. I remember when you were five, I took you to the ice cream shop so you could buy your first cone with your very own money. You were so proud of yourself when you got the cone, but you saw a little girl crying because she fell down, so you gave her your ice cream. From that day, I somehow knew you wouldn’t be like me because I would have never done that. I was a spoiled brat.”
I shook my head and laughed softly.
Dad smiled. “You’re not a horrible man, William. Not at all. You have a kind heart. Even though you were hurting Heather for your revenge at first, it soon turned into a way for you to protect her from your sister. Though that was still stupid. You could have handled the situation in so many different ways, but you didn’t. But it’s the past, it stays in the past. Right now, you need to concentrate on the present. Let go of your guilt. It may seem wrong, but it isn’t. It’s what Heather wants for you to do. She wants you to love her without the guilt.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. “Thank you, Dad. I needed that.”
He grinned, and I gave him a hug. “Now, I think you know what you need to do. I’ll deal with your mother.”
“Yes, sir!” I said, grinning.
As I started to leave, he called my name again. I turned around.
“Do you want to know who that little girl was?”
I shrugged.
“The little girl was Heather.”
I gaped at him and he laughed, shaking his head. I turned around and smiled in amusement before pulling out a small box from my pocket. I had been planning to do this for a while and it seemed to be the perfect time.
***
Heather
I paced back and forth in our bedroom worriedly.
Was William still angry? I hoped he didn’t feel guilty still. I thought we had gotten past that.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and he ran inside with a serious look on his face. I stared at William, confused, and he shook his head, kicking the door closed behind him. He pulled me to him.
“Heather Alice Montgomery. You’re under arrest for stealing my heart. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be at the altar,” he whispered huskily in my ear.
I stared at him in shock as he grinned and slipped a beautiful ring on my finger. He got down on one knee. “Sweetheart, will you do me the honor of renewing our vows?”