Chapter 1

The year 1881

Rosalie made her way up the path to her home. She had a large smile on her face and was virtually jumping on her feet.

Their tiny cottage became visible. It appeared earlier in the dim sunshine. Her lips widened even more when she saw Hakeem putting additional flowers in the yard. She had some fantastic news for him.

She paused to observe Hakeem and attempted to take a breath. As he pushed the hoe down into the hard dirt to remove obstinate weeds, his veins and biceps contracted. His black skin shone due to the sweat that was pouring on his forehead. She had a gorgeous spouse.

She muttered under her breath, "And I'm one lucky woman."

To make their small house a lovely environment for their kids, he had once informed her he was planting these flowers. She could tell by the longing in his eyes that he wanted them to live like regular people rather than like prisoners hiding in the mountains.

She muttered "Hakeem," putting an end to her line of thought.

As soon as he stopped digging, Hakeem turned to face her and grinned. He had recently bought his wife a yellow sundress, and she looked stunning in it.

The word "wife" gave him the willies. He was ecstatic to have married the love of his life and be able to refer to her as his wife.

He observed the sly smile on her normally calm face, and his eyes widened. She was the cool, collected one in their relationship while he was typically the goofball.

She seemed extremely ecstatic and joyful today. Her face was heart-shaped, and she had red cheeks and eyes that sparkled like diamonds. He cherished the smile she was wearing and vowed to always carry a memory of it in his heart.

Rosalie could see the doubt in his eyes about how she was acting.

"You continue to smile like that," His smile widened to match hers as he stumbled on a twine.

As she handed him a stunning white rose she had picked on the way up the mountain, she did her best not to squeal or hop around.

 He looked into her eyes while holding the white rose between his thumb and index finger, realization hit him. A white rose in their relationship represented good news.

"Good news, you say?"

Rosalie grinned and sighed, "Guess," with tears welling up in her eyes.

She grinned even bigger at the expression on his face, "You know I never make good guesses," He spoke.

She exclaimed loudly, "I'm pregnant."

Hakeem's expression gradually changed from shock to happiness to an indescribable state that could be interpreted as pure joy. And Rosalie watched in fascination.

Hakeem crushed her in a tight hug trembling slightly. His hug carried every emotion soaking through his pores, she felt his joy through it. This baby was going to be the first gift they've gotten ever since they wedded.

Rosalie had never felt so complete, she belonged nowhere else but in his arms like this. She held him tightly, not minding his muddy hands.

The only day she’d felt this amount of happiness in her entire life was the day they got married, even if it happened in secret.

That was the first time in her life she experienced the feeling of actually getting what she wanted.

Her father had always directed her every action, even any choices she might have made. Before Hakeem entered her life, she had never experienced even a small tiny piece of freedom. He demonstrated to her the possibility of beauty and the value of life. He defended her.

More than anything else in the world, she loved this man—perhaps even more than she loved herself. He was not only her lover, but also her best friend. And now their child would have him as a father.

Rosalie sighed contentedly as they clung to one another and refused to let go. She stroked her stomach in an attempt to bring their baby into the embrace.

After some time, he stepped back and hugged her face, still crying, which caused her to start crying as well.

I'm the happiest man in the world thanks to you! She was easily lifted into the air by him as he spun her around. The jungle where they resided was filled with the sounds of their laughing and crying.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, he looked down at her stomach and gave it a little rub.

"Our kid." He muttered in pure admiration.

"We'll have a little cocoa bean,." She grinned, warming their lonely cottage life with the thought of a tiny brown, curly-haired cutie pie. Even though having only each other was more than enough, the more the merrier.

"Rose, I love you so much."

I love you so much more Hakeem.” She rubbed her belly tenderly “You've given me the best gift in the world.”

“No, you gave me the best gift,” Hakeem said as he pecked her luscious lips. She smiled into the kiss, wounding her arms around his neck.

From nowhere they heard clapping sounds and they sprung apart, unaware that they'd had an audience all this time.

The color drained from Rosalie’s face as she recognized the face of Thomas, her ex-fiancé.

“Thomas.” She gasped, her hand going to her stomach.

“Rosalie,” Thomas said in a flat greeting.

Thomas eyed her protective gesture with a smirk. His smirk was purely evil, it made the hairs at the back of her neck stand and her stomach churned.

He walked towards them with malice and hate shining through his eyes, the eyes which were focused on her husband.

She took a protective stance in front of Hakeem when she caught sight of the armed guys that had come with Thomas. They looked like thugs who could snap a neck at any moment. Her stomach started to protest wildly, and dread washed over her.

Hakeem in turn stepped in front of her, “What are you doing here?” His voice shook with rage, his fists clenched tightly.

“I’m not talking to you!” Thomas spat, deadly malice in his voice.

This time, Rosalie stood beside Hakeem, her nails digging into his arm which she held tightly onto. “What do you want?”