How can you ask me that? We’ve been at each other’s throat for almost a year now. Secondly, please don’t insult me. We both know you’re still with Petra.” It was the plethora of things we hadn’t even discussed. How could he even throw marriage on top of everything else?

He snickered before kissing the tip of my neck as he gazed at me affectionately. “Says the woman who didn’t hesitate to ram my dick into her cunt. Guess me being with someone doesn’t affect you.”

“Of course it affects me! You seduced me … kissing me even though I kept telling you to stop.” Having this discussion was the perfect antidote to the spell fogging my brain. It lifted the fog in a heartbeat. “This was a mistake I don’t intend to repeat, so don’t get too ahead of yourself.” Pushing down on his shoulder, I was about to unlink my body from his until he pulled me back down, sliding my pussy down on his half-mast girth.

“I broke things off before coming here because the second I found out you’re pregnant with my baby, I knew it’s meant to be … We’re meant to be. I flew out here, knowing what I wanted—you. I want you. Always have.” He spoke in a gentle manner as his fingers brushed and stroked my heated skin. “Now I know we have a lot of problems to fix and work on for however long it takes. Marrying you means taking on Juan … and I guess I’m ready for that. If you need someone to speak to … I can be that person. We’ll work on it together as husband and wife. As a team. I’m not perfect, but I’ll do everything in my power to be perfect enough for you.”

Juan. He was speaking about Juan. A closed subject I could never bring myself to confess. To top it all off, how the hell did marriage come into the picture when he loathed me? Sure, sex was great between us, but that was all we had in common.

“I understand it’s all overwhelming for you, and I also get how you want to build a secure home for the baby, but that can also be achieved without us getting married, River. I mean, there’s so much to worry about. What if Petra comes back? What if I fall in love with someone else, like there’s—”

“No.” He placed a finger against my lips, shushing me. “When you fall in love again, it’ll be me. I’m your man, petal. Always have been. I know your heart carries another man, so all I ask in return is your loyalty and honesty. It’s the only way this marriage can thrive and last forever, and I want it to last … forever. I want to marry you, marry for life.”

Oh, God, he was dead serious about this. For a moment, I figured it was the mind-blowing sex that had made him speak gibberish. Men were prone to do the craziest of things during and after sex. This wasn’t a false alarm, though. How I wished it was so. “This is insane! You can’t just do this to me. It was just this afternoon when you were hurling accusations, protesting, and yelling how sick you are of me. What the hell? I don’t know what to make of this. This is too much. I’m already having a hard time dealing with the baby as it is—the decisions hanging over my head—and now this? You don’t want me, River … and I’m sure you don’t want to marry me, either.”

“How can you say that when we’ve been engaged since you turned sixteen,” he huffed. “Calm down, okay? I’m sorry to spring this on you … I guess I got carried away, too. Heck, I even forgot to buy a ring. I was in such a hurry to get to you none of it mattered. Can’t you see how crazy I am for you?”

He had proposed marriage, and the best he could do was ‘crazy for you’ … Right. What ever happened to the other three letter sentence?

“I want to make a home for our family, petal. We’ve been through a lot, but you know at the end of the day, this is where we belong—with each other. I was your home as you were mine. Let’s give our baby a chance to have a family. It’s a lot to process, so don’t give me an answer now, but I want to have it before we leave the island.”

A family. The baby was going to be the glue piecing us back together. Was that what I was willing to settle for? A life of mediocrity? I know this was unconventional, but if I couldn’t bring love onto the table, and it appeared the subject applied to him as well, then where did that leave us?

“River, please … I don’t want to get married. Maybe we can talk about living together for the sake of the baby in the beginning … I don’t know … This is all so sudden, but what I do know is that I never want to get hitched for the sake of ‘appearances.’ I know we grew up without a family, but we can love and provide security without needing to take that leap.”

“Okay, I guess I just have to work harder to convince you.” He let out a despondent sigh, but seemingly understood as he kissed me softly. “I’m not going to give up. I hope you know that.”

“Then you have your work cut out for you.” I lightly joked, hoping we could put this subject to rest for the time being. “River…as much as I like feeling you growing harder by the second, would be it too much to ask if you can feed me food first before going for another round? I’m starving.” Right on cue, my tummy made a loud grumbling protest.

He guffawed as he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. “God, I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you.” I hadn’t realized just how much until tonight. There’d been too much bad blood between us. It overshadowed how great we could be together.

But even then, as much as this sentiment brought me anxiety, I intended to take this slowly. And I supposed the idea of having the baby in a home shared between us didn’t seem as frightening as I had once thought. I supposed River confirming Petra was out of the picture helped a great deal. I was a woman who didn’t thrive on competitions. And for this to work, it had to swing both ways.

Honesty and loyalty. Surely, selective honesty still fell under the same banner as honesty? I promised to be open … except for one subject.

We still had about eleven days until vacation was over. I prayed it was enough time for us to reflect, share, and confess any ill-feelings we’d been harboring for one another. For this to work, we both had to agree that building the foundation of trust was key.

As long as we were on the same page, anything was possible.

* * *

The following morning, River surprised me by taking me snorkeling. He felt so horrible—not about dismissing DJ, but me missing out on the fun excursion—that he felt compelled to take me.

“You know what would make this perfect?” I added. “If you apologized to DJ.”

“Don’t push it, woman.” He playfully bit my earlobe. “I was marking my territory. Have to let the admirers know you’re taken.”

If he wasn’t being so adorable about it, I’d have socked his arm. It was a small blessing I hadn’t spotted DJ, too. It would be quite awkward.

River kept his promise about trying to mend and rebuild our relationship. Without Hollywood breathing down on him, his crew, his snake of a manager, the incessant hounding of the paps, and everything his fame came with, River was like a new man. He became the guy I grew up with, the man I fell in love with in the olden days—always laughing, joking, constantly singing random tunes, completely at ease with himself—but more importantly, he doted on me. Persistently. Tenderly. His affections made me decide to keep our baby and not opt for adoption or to choose the other option. Spending quality time with him, be it us going island hopping, swimming, or simply lounging lazily during the afternoons, showed me he could be a brilliant partner and a father to our baby. And as for us ... A tiny hope flickered. I just hoped it wouldn’t disappear the second we landed in LA.

We were cocooned in our little paradise, away from prying eyes and the outside forces trying to break us apart. Here, isolated from social media and the world, he was mine and mine alone. I didn’t have to share him with anyone. If he and I had invested this much time together before, we might’ve stood a chance. But we had been given another opportunity to never repeat the mistakes of the past. I just hoped we were strong enough to survive whatever was heading our way.

It was on our third day together when I woke up alone in bed. I knew something was amiss. Call it gut instincts or what have you, but I had learned these internal detectors were almost never wrong.

After freshening up, I strode out of the room while piling my hair up in a messy bun. Then I spotted River out on the patio while breakfast was set and ready on the table, but the man seemed stressed as he argued, pacing to and fro, with someone on the phone.

When I curiously walked toward him, the second he spotted me, he immediately cut the call and met me halfway.

“Slept well?” he murmured as he kissed my forehead then my neck before finally giving me a thorough kissing. “I’d say good morning, too, but I’m afraid I have some not so good news,” he ominously stated the second he parted from my lips.

Smiling brightly at him, I tried to play it down. “Babe, stop stressing. This is our first problem. We can do this,” I said, hoping it would ease the wrinkled forehead and tensed shoulders.

Okay, it couldn’t be that bad. Was it Ari trying to spread his disease again?

“Petra’s here.”

Fuck. Now it was my turn to frown.

“What the hell for?” I calmly asked, even though I was far from it. The very thought of her coming here—trying to win him back—grated on me to no end. Why couldn’t that bitch just let it go?

He let out a breath as he urged me to eat breakfast first. Since my mind was busy thinking all sorts of things, I didn’t argue when he led me toward the table. I even sat when he pulled the chair and drank when he poured the fresh orange juice into my glass. It was right after pouring himself a cup of freshly brewed coffee that he looked me in the eye, any trace of humor gone.

“First off, I didn’t invite her. Second, I think I owe it to her to go and find out what she wants. Third, if you don’t agree with any of this, then I won’t go.”

Jesus. We were really discussing this like civilized, mature individuals. We’d never broken things down this way, and I couldn’t be more thankful he had laid it all on the table without needing me to get angry or issue an ultimatum.

“I appreciate you for giving me the last word…” I began to say, conflicted. If it were up to me, I’d rather he forgot Petra existed. But since we were being fair and honest, it would be wrong to stop him from going. I supposed he did owe her a thorough explanation since he had broken it off over the phone unexpectedly. I knew how cruel that felt. Was I so spiteful not to grant another woman a decent closure all due to uncontrollable jealousy? “But for me to be able to trust you, I have to let you do what you feel is right.” God, did I really just say that? Damn. What was happening to me? When did I become … reasonable?

“You sure?” River didn’t seem relieved. In fact, he seemed even more stressed out. “This isn’t one of your games, right? Promise me this won’t ruin what we’ve worked on these past few days?”

“Babe, we’re good. It’s all good.” I chucked a grape at him, cheerful. “The only thing you’ve worked on these past few days was my body, Mr. Ellis, and not much else.”

“I don’t hear you complaining.” He wickedly grinned before looking at me lovingly. “But you’re right; we’ll be okay.”

We will be.

After breakfast, River left to go see Petra. She had apparently booked herself on one of the islands, so he had to take a water taxi.

Without River here, I spent the rest of my morning sunbathing while having an audiobook about finding inner peace set on speaker. After two hours baking under the sun, I spent over an hour swimming in the ocean. Diving from the patio deck, I floated and swam about the gorgeous crystal clear water. While doing so, I spent my time swimming and playing with the several schools of fish who unluckily came my way.

It was around past noon when I decided to get out of the water to shower and change before heading out to eat lunch. I was in a stupendous mood. My spirits were on the up and up, and I intend to keep it that way by trying to stay positive and not ponder what River was up to. My determination led me to go shopping after my light meal. It was already past three in the afternoon when I came back to the villa. However, it seemed River wasn’t back yet.

He’d been gone for almost six hours now. How long did saying goodbye fucking take? “I should call him,” I muttered under my breath as I fished my phone out of my tiny cross-body purse. Heart pounding and strengthened resolve, I dialed his number. It didn’t even ring. It took me straight to voicemail, much to my chagrin. “Where the fuck are you, River?”

What if … what if he had changed his mind? My insides shriveled at the thought. He couldn’t, could he? But … Didn’t he choose her over me? He left her because of the baby, not because she didn’t entice him any longer. There was a huge possibility River had changed his mind the second he saw her upset. It was also a major probability he was in love with her, but seeing that we grew up without a family, he didn’t want the same fate for his own child. He already loved the baby; he kissed my belly before sleeping.

But if he loves her more…

Oh, God. I think I’m going to … barf.

My stomach clenched as I hastily darted toward the bathroom, heaving as I knelt over the toilet, losing what I’d had for lunch. Sickened, I felt like a complete idiot as I lethargically brushed and gargled before jumping into the shower. The hot spray of water did little to warm my insides. My emotions ran haywire. Keeping them in check became a hardship as the minutes ticked away without River in sight. And I supposed pregnancy merely heightened everything a hundred-fold.

Untold time passed, and before I knew it, the sun was setting. I anxiously watched as the light disappeared from the sky. As the night got darker, the moon was a magnificent glowing orange.

I didn’t drink. Nor did I get up from the lounger to get dinner. I sat there steadfastly, paralyzed as I waited for him to come back … if he ever did.

Mere seconds from drifting to sleep, I heard the sound of a door opening and closing, and instantly, I was jolted with an immediate rush of energy, stirring me out of my dazed funk. Scrambling to my feet, I dashed indoors, prepared to confront him.

“Cara?” he called out in confusion the moment he found me. “Why are you walking around in the dark? You could’ve tripped and hurt yourself.” One by one, he switched on the lights closest to him while I stood there in the middle of the open living room, scrutinizing his every move.

“It took almost twelve hours to ‘hash’ things out with, Petra, huh?” I sarcastically drawled just as he stopped next to the sofa and switched the lamp on before reverting his eyes back to me. He looked tired and blatantly stressed out, none of which made me any less anxious. As he stepped closer, I noted the lipstick stain on the lapel of his shirt, plummeting what little hopes I had for our future. “You mother fucker!” I screamed, shaking with rage as I took a vase and chucked it at him. The fucker was too fast and caught it before hastily dumping it on the sofa, his eyes steadfastly locked onto me.

“Calm down, this isn’t what it—” he tried to reach out to me, but immediately, I took a step back as tears filled my gaze.

“Calm down?” I shrieked, laughing maniacally. “Calm down? How the hell do you expect me to calm down when you have her lipstick on your shirt? You were with her. You—I … You fucked her, didn’t you? Wait. I don’t wanna know.” It was as if something possessed me. The overpowering pain ricocheting through me made me feel downright crazy. It hurt to even look at him. “Th-th-this ends here. Right now,” I hiccupped as tears ran down my face. I knew I probably looked like a hot mess compared to his stellar model, but I didn’t care anymore. I was hurting, and dressing it up wouldn’t make it any less painful. “Leave and don’t bother me anymore. We’ll arrange everything through our lawyers.”

He instantaneously paled at the mention of lawyers before alarm began to set in. When he started to counter my accusations with his own rage, I shot back louder, not giving him an opportunity to plead his case.

Waiting for almost twelve hours without a word from him was one thing. But to come back with a lipstick stain on his shirt? Yeah … um … no thanks. I wanted to choke him, gouge his eyes out, stab his dick, and kick his fucking ass, but I was too drained emotionally and mentally to even deal with him. The waiting—being on the edge for hours on end—had taken a toll on me. And as much as it pained me to get to this conclusion, I knew I was left with one reasonable option, and that was to put as much distance between us as possible.

“Your passport’s in the other room. Don’t bother saying goodbye, either. I think we’ve had enough of those to last us a lifetime.” Wiping my tears, I ran into my bedroom, wishing this nightmare to be over. Haggard and heartbroken, I wept as though someone had just died. Well, something had died, and it was called hope. The tiny flickering light standing ground steadfastly for several days now had all been vanquished. Now, I had to face the tune of what my choices had led me to. The once bright future seemed daunting once again. The exhilarating energy River had envisaged about ‘our family’ was dead and gone.

Tomorrow was a new day, but how could I stay here in this precious villa when everything about this place would remind me of him? If I left, where would I go? I couldn’t go back to LA, not just yet.

River would never give up his lewd lifestyle, not for anyone. It was good he had shown his true colors before major decisions were done, such as moving homes and the like.

Sliding into bed, I unceremoniously buried my face in the pillow, trying gravely to stifle the howling cries coming out of me. I felt cheated, victimized by his false sincerity. I had believed he’d want to build a family, but it was all a lie. Thank goodness I hadn’t agreed to marry him. I doubted I could stand the humiliation it would bring me.

I was alone again. I couldn’t simply change my mind once I’d already made it. By deciding to keep my baby, I knew I had to face the inevitability, embracing the challenges and rewards motherhood would bring me.

Alone…just as Juan had wished me to be. Once upon a time, I’d been fine with it. Accepted it even. But these past few days, short as they might be, truly had shifted things for me. I’d rather liked having someone to share my days with. But alas, that life wasn’t meant for me. My destiny, it seemed, was for me to live life isolated on my own barren island.

The very thought made me howl loudly into the room, weeping as ricocheting pain seized me each time I took a breath. My chest ached. My throat was congested. Yet my eyes kept on producing fat tears … the only way my body could mourn the extinguished light within me. Holding my stomach, I cradled my almost flat stomach, nestling my hand to the tiny barely-there protrusion, praying sincerely that it could fathom to forgive me for bringing him or her into this world which was filled with chaos.

Consumed with guilt, with doubt, with everything and beyond, I realized too late River was in the room until I felt him slide his body next to mine. Panic-stricken, I stiffened as I fought him while he effortlessly pulled my body against his warmth.

“Don’t touch me!” I defiantly shrilled. Yet no matter how I attempted to jerk away from his arms of steel, the man merely tightened his grip around me, enveloping me with more of his scent.

“Keep fighting me. I don’t care. I’m not leaving. Do you hear me?” he grounded out punishingly against my ear. “I’m not fucking leaving!” he huffed as he shifted his body, rolling over mine before hastily situating himself on top of my tense body. The room was cast in shadow with the only lighting coming from the moonlight filtering through the open shutters. And even with limited lighting, River’s eyes were deadly, uncompromising, and ready to take on whatever I threw at him. “I’m staying, Cara. Fight me all you like. Waste your energy … go ahead. I don’t care. I’m not getting off you until you hear me out. But if you want to do this the hard way, we can do that, too. I guess I can hold you down and bind your hands over your head like the last time? You want it easy or the hard way? Take your pick. Either way, you’re stuck with me ’cause I’m not going anywhere, woman. Get used to it.”

Hold me down? The idiot was on top of me. His weight ensured I couldn’t fucking move even if I tried!

Irritated beyond words, I hatefully glared at him. “Let’s hear you out, then. So, how was she, huh? Was she good? Is she a better fuck than me?” Every time I let the bastard into my life, I almost immediately regretted it. Why wouldn’t I ever learn from my past actions?

“Are you crazy? I asked you to marry me the other day! What the hell do you take me for, some fucking teenage kid who can’t keep his pants on for five minutes?” he argued. “And yes, goddamn it! You’re the best sex of my life, Cara. Happy now?” he snapped, eyes all fire, wild and downright beautiful.

Happy? He ought to be joking. “Then how did the lipstick get on your shirt, huh? And don’t pull that sobbing bullshit. I’m not that stupid!”

He looked crazed, enraged by how I was willing to fight him at every turn. “She cried, but not on me. The lipstick … Well, she kissed me and tried to seduce me—”

“You bastard!” I saw red. My hands and knees were on him … Well, I tried. My knees were quite trapped, but as for my hands, their attempts at hitting his chest and face seemed ineffective. The asshole was immovable. “Get off me, cheater!”

He hissed as I saw the scratch I left on his neck. It was raw and bleeding. But his dark fathomless pools were inches from my face, determined and unyielding. “I get you’re jealous, but I didn’t cheat on you. I stayed longer than I was supposed to because I wanted to make sure she really caught a flight back to New York. I’m sorry, but I did all of that because I don’t want to deal with this tomorrow or the next. I wanted to get it all out of the way so we can spend time together without any of this bullshit fucking with us like this.”

Right. It took twelve hours to achieve that? Uh-huh. “You slept with her, but you won’t admit it,” I spat back, not willing to let him off the hook.

“I fucking didn’t! What will make you believe me, huh?” River went ballistic. “Wanna smell my dick? Go ahead. I don’t fucking care! I’ve got nothing to hide. Here…” He paused as he began to unbuckle his jeans before effortlessly sliding them down along with his boxers.

I felt his profoundly engorged manhood sitting in between us. It was hot. Thick and oh so angry.

“No, no, no! Put that filthy dick back inside your pants! I don’t want to feel that monstrous two-timing fucker.”

“I didn’t do anything with Petra!” he grounded out, frustrated. “Why won’t you believe me? I don’t want her. I don’t want anyone else. I want you … I just want you.”

Torn, I tried to look away. His voice held so much pain. Every accusation I threw at him, he fought back with a vengeance. River wanted to stay. But how was it possible when I was this jealous? It sickened me to be this feeble, to be so insecure in my own skin, but this was how I was wired. “Even if I believe you now, I can’t trust you. Can’t you see that?”

“Cara…” he implored wholeheartedly. “We’ll be miserable without each other.”

His words rung true, but the argument was too feeble to convince me otherwise. “I was fine. I was fine until you came back.”

“That’s a lie, and you know it…” he fought back. And just before he could give me a chance to argue, the incorrigible man kissed me, the kind aimed to obliterate my resolve.

When he pulled up my dress while his thigh parted my thighs, I broke from his kiss to halt him from going any further.

“Don’t,” I whispered against his lips while my body trembled from his hungered touch.

“Another lie.”

“I don’t want you—”

“Bad liar … and I’m just going to prove to you how bad you are.” Without faltering, River lodged his cock between my legs enough for the tip of his shaft to part my folds, grazing against my clit. His head teased my button as his eyes held mine. “The more you hurt me, the more you hurt yourself. The same goes for me. Haven’t you realized that already?”

I let out a sharp gasp when the head slid below, poking through my entrance. It was just enough for my vaginal muscles to expand to accommodate his girth before immediately pulling back, tormenting me further.

“I’m sorry for making you wait. I really am. You have no idea how it hurts me to see you hurting, too. I don’t want you to be jealous of anyone. You’re it for me, Cara. Can’t you see that?”

He kept on yapping, yet all I could focus on was his cock. Why couldn’t he just fuck me already? This whole teasing game was driving me nuts. “I hate this.”

He chastely kissed me before he reassuringly said, “We’re working on things. It’s going to be tough. It will be tough, maybe one of the toughest things we’ll have to go through, but so what? It’s going to be worth it, babe. Every step of the way … As long we’re together, nothing is impossible.”

Biting down on my lips, I shut my eyes as I felt him push and expand my muscles, and when he pulled back once more, I blew a gasket. “For the love of God, stick it in! Fuck me already, goddamn it!” I shrilled like a banshee in heat, desperate to feel him inside me.

He froze, mouth hanging agape before he busted out laughing. “Did you hear anything I said?”

It was my turn to give him the evil eye. “You expect me to hear you when you’re provoking my pussy like that?”

He grinned from ear to ear before he tenderly looked down at me, dark eyes dancing as he roamed over my face. “I love you, petal. You know that, don’t you?”

He had finally said it. It had taken him another fight to say those three endearing words I’d been dying to hear. “Are you sure you’re not confused?” I hesitantly asked. I had to know for my own sake.

Kissing the tip of my nose, he grazed my cheek before breathing out, “I never stopped loving you. My heart doesn’t want anyone else but you.”

My heart expanded before I took his face and kissed him with my entirety. “All right, Yes … I’ll marry you.”

He frowned, eyeing me suspiciously. “Now’s not the greatest time to joke.”

I had realized how much he meant to me, and I couldn’t let him go. He was right. The more I hurt him, I was only inflicting more pain on myself. These past few days had taught me how good it could be for us. And as much as I hated to admit it, our baby would have a better chance in life with the two of us in the picture, pouring love and attention, support, and a limitless supply of kisses over it.

“I’ll marry you tomorrow, next week—whenever you want.” Brushing his forehead, I felt the sadness from earlier disappearing from the unadulterated bliss. “Make me your wife. I want to be yours and no one else’s. You make me happy. You’re the only thing that makes me happy these days.”

He appeared choked up as he longingly gazed onto me. “Are you sure? ’Cause if you take this back tomorrow, I might not be able to forgive you.”

My heart swelled. “Definitely sure. With my all, with all that I am, I’m sure you’re the one I want to spend my life with.”

“You’re definitely gonna get some dicking down now!” he laughed as he slowly made love to me.

My complete submission to be his, to be his wife, his partner, made our mating more intense. It felt just like before, as if there was an unbreakable bond between us. An unspoken vow of trust, honesty, and commitment. Through thick and thin, we’d face the world together. United as one. As a family. As man and wife.

Maldives—a beautiful gem in the middle of the Indian Ocean, springing with coconut trees, thriving coral reefs—had been our perfect getaway from the rest of the world. We were tempted to get married right then and there, but before we managed to ask for information, River always pulled back because he wanted to do it properly in a church with our friends as witnesses … the whole shebang.

So, we finally set the date for a month. As for our living situation, we’d live in the first house he had gotten for us. Since it had remained unused all these years, it was the perfect place to raise our budding family. My lease was up in two months, so moving in with him made perfect sense. Besides, there was so much to be done for the nursery and preparing for the birth.

I’d already booked an appointment the day after we got back to find out the baby’s sex. While he was excited, the baby still daunted me. There was still a lot of gray area about motherhood that petrified me. Most, I had kept to myself. There was still a lot of things I had to come to terms, but I tried to have River’s optimism. His positive outlook somewhat rubbed off on me.

While we were away, River asked Anton to oversee the moving of my things from my apartment into our house in Westlake Village.

I’d been there once, during the night at that, so arriving in the morning was a totally different story. I thought the house was amazing then, but now, seeing it in bright daylight, it was truly stunning. Our family home. Ours. His and mine.

It’d take some getting used to, referencing us this way. But each time I did, pure unadulterated happiness would take over me. Funny how it was only a month ago when I was beyond hopeless, lost with no direction to go on.

Look at me now…

River had to drop by Ari’s house since he randomly decided to cancel his entire South America, Asia, and Australia leg of the tour. As much as I wanted us to go into the house together for the first time, I knew work came first—well, in this instance, it was a priority. He’d been cocooned with me in the Maldives, so River had to deal with the business side of things the second he got back. I couldn’t blame Ari for needing him immediately.

Speaking of which, I had yet to disclose what his manager had done. However, I hoped Ari had the balls to confront River and confess what he had done before I broached it myself.

The driver took care of the luggage, and with my own set of keys, I entered the house. I strolled about the place, enthralled, giddy as I looked at every section, every room, not as a house, but as a place we’d call home for the years to come. I could see our baby, several more, laughing as they ran through the hallways, chaos running amuck in the kitchen with spaghetti sauce splatters on the table and spilled milk on the floor with a big dog barking as it chased the children around the house.

My imagination carried on as I stopped in the kitchen, parched and in dire need of something quenching.

Everything was just as it had been when I had seen it last. Framed pictures of us before our teenage years could be seen in every corner of the house. I had never thought I could ever be this happy.

Sighing dreamily, I cracked the Fiji bottle open before taking a careful sip, and then a brutal force hit me in the back of the head, blacking me out completely.

I was in and out of consciousness while someone dragged me by my ankle before drastically pulling me upwards into a sitting position.

A strangled groan escaped me as I tried to peel my eyelids open, but they were too heavy to lift. I could feel everything, I realized as the unmistakable throb behind my head intensified. But what made me panic the most was recognizing I couldn’t move a damn muscle. I was made physically paralyzed yet wide awake.

Terror seized me as I tried to fight back, urging my body to move, yet no matter how hard I tried, I was rendered incapacitated while my attacker stood closely next to me. I was leaning on something cold, something flat, before I felt the most excruciating pain in my life—a sharp blade smoothly stabbed into my abdomen before the attacker drew it out without hesitation, eliciting a blood-curdling scream from me. Then it went for the other side of my hip, killing me slowly. I could feel hot blood soaking my shirt as my heart pounded so fast, so wild, my head felt faint from the simultaneous barrage of pain and helplessness I was going through.

And just when I thought I was taking my last breath…

“I win,” she said mere inches away before I felt my body slump against the flat surface. Without anything to balance me, my body slid off to the side before my head hit the cold marble floor.

The impact blacked me out of consciousness while life slowly drained away from my disabled body.