Kieran watched his father walk away with his phone in his hand as he tapped away earnestly. It seemed like he was checking the time difference to know if it was a good time to call. Kieran got started on breakfast. He felt his body stiffen up when a hand wrapped across his torso. He stood still for a moment before relaxing and rubbing her hand gently."I thought you wanted to be careful around my dad?" Kieran asked holding her hand before turning to face her. "I did but you left the bed so early I missed you" Kieran could not deny how bold Arabella had been. He was not sure if the relationship made her bold or if she had been pretending all this while and was actually this bold. "I missed you too but you said to get out of bed early" he said pulling her closer. "You should have woken me up at the very least" she continued scrunching her face up so she could see him properly."I did not want to disturb you. You look so peaceful like an angel while you sleep" he said."Have you see
The day went by in a flash and Kieran knew that the calls from his mom by the time it was close to closing hours indicated that his parents had made up and Ethan had transferred the information between parties. Everly must have now been aware of the situation and must have wanted to hear from him. He sent a text to her explaining he was busy and that he would call her later when he was free."I think both our parents know" Kieran said as he drove home. "Both our parents?" Arabella shrieked as she turned to him with wide eyes. "Mom has been calling me nonstop stop and Dad caught us in the morning at home. I am guessing that she had told him and also that she might have told your mom" "My sister knows as well" Arabella said biting on her lip and trailing off as she spoke. "And I think I might have been the one to let your mom in""What?" Kieran asked turning to her briefly before turning back to the road."I mean when you first asked me out, I was so flustered and disturbed that I w
Ethan stopped them in the living room as though he had been waiting for them. He had made up with his wife with the help of his son and he knew it was time to address what he had seen in the morning."I want to talk to you," he said. "Both" he added when he saw that Arabella was about to escape."Me?" she asked pointing to herself."Yes you," Ethan said with a nod."Okay," Arabella said pressing her lip into a thin line and walking toward the couch."Let's sit" Ethan gestured to the couches. Arabella sat and Kieran sat beside her. She shifted a bit to give space between them because of the embarrassment she felt by the situation. She guessed that Ethan might want to talk about what he had walked in to see and she was very right about it."Do any of you want to explain what I saw this morning?" Ethan finally let out after contemplating for a while."We are dating" Kieran said without missing a heartbeat."I think I was able to deduce that from the situation," Ethan said before making a
"See you were worried about nothing" Kieran said as soon as his father was out of sight and hearing. "I was?" Arabella asked tilting her head. It seemed like her mind had yet to process the situation at hand. Had Ethan just approved of their relationship without a complaint? Had he just admitted that she was a breath of fresh air to their lives and that he had no issue with her? "Yes of course" Kieran slid close to her and took her hand in his playfully sliding her thumb over the back of her hand."How?" she let out her eyebrows knit in confusion. "I guess you have a kind of charm that everyone cannot deny," Kieran said with a toothy grin."A charm?" "I don't know what it is about you but you seem to make everyone comfortable around you" "Except for Aurora" Arabella murmured silently. Of all the things she did not like about the situation, the situation with Aurora was the worst. "Don't mind her, she is just a crazy person" Kieran said. "Can we talk about anything else?" he aske
Arabella talked a bit more with her mom before calling it a night. She went straight to bed because she and Kieran had a day planned for the next day she wanted to feel refreshed for the day. She felt her head throbbing but decided to ignore it. She was sure it was nothing much and a good rest would fix her up by morning. She left a good night text for Kieran which he responded almost immediately. He was suggesting coming over but she told him not to. They had to be a little careful since they had just been caught by Ethan. Kieran stared at her text and felt a smile climb his face. He knew that he had to let her onto his plan about leaving the company. By the time morning came around, Kieran was up and ready, he went for a run as usual before going to make a small breakfast. By the time he was done with the breakfast, he went to check up on Arabella.He knocked on the door and waited for a response. "Maybe she is sleeping in because it's a Saturday?" he murmured to himself before k
Kieran helped Arabella with her fever but it seemed like no matter what he tried it was not going down. He even called Everly for help and she had told him what to do. He did it but it seemed like an effort in futility."Why don't you just take her to the hospital? I am sure she can get better treatment there" Everly said when he called again and she confirmed that she was not getting any better."I wanted to watch her for a few more minutes..." "You are not a doctor" Everly cut off her son before he could say anymore."It's just that..." Kieran trailed off before biting the corner of his lips. "I know you don't want to be away from her and all but she is sick and you need to get her treated as soon as possible" Everly explained.Kieran nodded, his mother was making sense. "I am sure it's something mild but it's better the doctors have a look at her" Everly added."I will take her now" Kieran said wanting to get off the call. He would have to drive her to the hospital himself so he
"To see us?" Kieran asked. He tried to read her eyes but it seemed like she was hiding the expression in her eyes."Yes" "What is it about?" "Are you not going to let me in?" she asked crossing her hand over her chest and leaning in a bit. Kieran took a step backwards and tried to steady his breath. He had to be patient with her because she had not done anything to upset him yet."Do you think letting you in is the wise thing to do?" he asked her and waited for her response. "Considering the recent happenings between us?" he asked."That's what I am here about," she asked taking a step forward."Can you stop trying to close the gap between us? You are making me quite uncomfortable" Kieran let out. Aurora grimaced at the sound of the words. She knew that was the way he was but she hoped that he would treat her a little better than he treated everyone else. "Okay sorry" she let out trying to conceal her annoyance. She took a step back and held her breath."If you are here to see us
The idea of giving Aurora an audience did not sit well with Kieran, how could Arabella be so soft? After all the hardship the woman had put her through? She was supposed to be cursing her out while pulling her hair. He walked cautiously to her hoping his eyes were saying all ten words his mouth could not say then. "Do we need to?" he asked not bothering to whisper. He was on his own legal property why did he need to act like a stranger on it? "We don't need to," Arabella said pursing her lips together and crossing her hand over her chest. She gave him a faint smile as she felt her legs feel weird. She did not want to give Aurora any time to say anything but she did not want to come across to Kieran as someone who was unforgiving. She wanted him to think she was kind and forgiving that was why she was going through this right now even when her body was not exactly fine."Then why..." he trailed off when she opened her mouth to speak. "We should do it because it's the right thing to
"I am so happy for you," Ava said as she stood with Kieran and Arabella; they had just got married, and it was truly a joyous day. Kieran had been so quick with the preparations that it took them barely two months to put everything together. "I just couldn't believe that my little one had found love," she added, tears welling in here again."Mom, you need to stop crying; seeing you cry makes me cry as well," Arabella said, blinking back the tears. Her make-up artist had retouched her make-up multiple times because she knew she was getting annoying already, but she could not control the burst of emotions flowing from her body. "Mom," Seraphina said, coming from behind and putting her hand over the shoulders of her mother. "It is a happy day; why do you keep crying? Someone, I mistake you to be mourning." "I am just thinking of how proud your father would have been to witness today.""I am sure he is watching over us from above," Arabella said, holding her mom's hand tightly."Mom, let
1 YEAR LATER Arabella was meeting Kieran after work; she had moved out because she was not comfortable with being there while dating him and had found herself a new job where she seemed to function much better. She was even on her way to write a book of her own. Kieran, who started a book publishing house solely for the money, now began to learn about this thing so he could help her out with the publication.She was glad that she had given in and tried to date him, or else she would never understand what this kind of relationship meant. Kieran was so attentive and made her feel like his entire world revolved around her. She learnt to drive and even bought her car.Sometimes she believed that he was going to propose to her because he would bring up discussions that centered around their future home, but then after that, it would be like they were back to base one. She liked base one, but she hated living all by herself. She wanted to move back in with him, and she wanted to begin havi
"A trip?" Arabella asked, taking up the blanket and covering herself. "Yes, a couple's trip," he said, dropping the phone back on the table and walking to her. "What about work? Aren't you going to work again?" she asked. "Are you afraid that you would live broke?" he asked in a teasing tone."Of course I am," Arabella said before tilting her head. "I am jobless now; at least one of us needs to work so we can live a happy life," she added."You know that I do not mind you still thinking with us," Kieran said. After the trial, Arabella decided to stop working there even though Aurora was no longer there. How could she work there after everything that happened? She would be able to face her co-workers if that were the case. "I am sure I will get an offer soon from one of those companies," she said, and he sat beside her. "And you know you do not need to work again; I can take care of you and as many children as you want to have," he said with a wink. "Children?" she said flustered
Arabella rolled over, and she landed right into Kieran's hands. She looked at him like it was an offence for her to do so. She peered at him and then covered her eyes with her hand. She could not believe what she had done over the night. If her mom heard she was going to give her a long lecture and then have her head afterwards. She looked at him, and she was tempted to trace her finger across his face in frustration. "Sleep so much more," she was startled to hear him talk as his mouth moved without even opening his eyes. "How long have you been awake?" She muttered, feeling shy that he had caught her staring so much that she could drill a hole into his face. "A while now," he said, his eyes framing open like a princess that was cast under a spell but was now liberated all of a sudden. He pulled her closer as he wished they could somehow get closer and maybe even mesh together. "Should we go home? Everly must be worried searching for us," Arabella murmured into his chest. He opene
"Somewhere, like where?" she asked shyly, dropping her head so their eyes would not meet. "You would see," he said, lifting her head gently. "But we have to make sure that the ride ends first," he said, looking around. He had thought that they were going to have a moment there, but seeing how things turned out, he could not wait to be out of there. Finally, the ride was over, and he drove out of the amusement park to a hotel. "You brought me to a hotel?" she asked in shock as they drove into the underground parking lot. "Why?" she asked now that her tone was in a hushed whisper. "I told you we should come somewhere, and you agreed," he said as he drove by the cars looking for a place to park. "That was because I thought you said that we should go someplace nice," she muttered, looking around like they were sneaking around. "Why are you looking around like we are committing a sin?" he asked, noticing how uncomfortable she got. "It is not that...""Am I being clueless? Am I jumpin
Kieran paid the operator to let the ride go in a loop three times, and Arabella wondered why he did that."Why?" she whispered to him."To have some alone time," he replied with the same wink from earlier. She gulped down hard, wondering what he was thinking.As the ride got into the tunnel, Arabella held the hand of Kieran tightly with her eyes closed. She had no time to think of what he might have meant with the wink and statements because the ride was definitely scarier than she had expected it to be. She looked at him when she felt his firm hand hold her face and turn it to him. "Are you scared?" he asked, dropping a kiss on her lip. "Kieran," she said in a hushed whisper as she looked around. "There is no one here, and I have been waiting all day just to get that," he said before dropping his head for another kiss. She placed her hand over her mouth because he could kiss her and therefore kissed the back of her hand. He took her hand from her mouth and began to drop multiple k
Arabella could feel Kieran's excitement for the date, and she wondered why they got so lucky. They went on every ride in the park like they had been waiting to do this. Arabella was more proud of the fact that a handsome hunk named Kieran was with her. In every line, they heard murmurs of people talking about how handsome he was. She was not letting any of that bother her because she could disagree with them; he was a beauty to behold. She did not let the nasty comments, such as those criticising his choice, get to her. He glued to her like gum on the sole of a shoe, and it must have infuriated the crowd the more because of the kinds of dirty glances she received from them. Kieran was always pushing back her hair and staring at her while holding her hand tightly and dropping random kisses on her forehead. She was shy, but she liked how he marked his terror so openly. She was on a date, and she was going to try her best not to be affected by any of that. "Should we go there?" Kieran
"Do you want to explain why you are here?" Kieran asked. Arabella had expected him to scream his lungs out, but he was wrong. Myabe's drive down has calmed him down. "It is a stupid reason; I don't want to tell you," Arabella murmured to herself. She had wanted to hear an apology so much that it felt like her self-worth depended on it. She turned her head to the side so she was looking out the window. "Look at me," Kieran said softly. "Look at me," he said again, this time turning her head with his hand gently. "I am so ashamed of myself; I don't know what I was thinking," Arabella said again. Seeing Kieran had somehow triggered something in her. It was like judging her actions without even saying anything. "Tell me, I want to know why you dressed up and left the house to come here when you should be resting.""Okay," she said as she heaved a sigh. "I wanted an apology so bad." "What?" "See, I knew you would judge me.""Ara, I am not judging you. I just want to understand what y
"Why are you laughing?" Arabella was shocked. That was not the expression she was expecting from her. "Dearest Arabella, you must think the world revolves around you," she said, leaning in that she was seated at the edge of her seat. "Why do you think I would apologize to you? I did what I did, and I would do it again and again if need be.""You are not sorry for kidnapping and assaulting me even though you ended up here?" Arabella asked. "Of course, if I had the chance to, I would do it again. Can you imagine how hard I worked? I worked hard on Kieran, and you swooped in from nowhere and decided you wanted to take him from me. Oh, please, like you deserve him," Aurora said, leaning into the chair. "If you are here to ask me for an apology, I am afraid that you have to go back without one today and that you need not expect one from me," she said, looking at her nails like she had gotten a fresh set of nails. "Arabella, I think one of the problems you have is that you seem to overra