____________________________...It had been exactly one month since Rory and I accidentally slept together again and I wanted to celebrate it because it was a turning leaf for our relationship. But Ashton here did not think it was the brightest idea. "You are not a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl in her first relationship, Rowan. Act like an adult, won't you?" He laughed. "You are making it way too obvious how smitten you are for your wife." I grunted as I sat back in my chair. It was so easy for him to say whatever came to his mind because he had succeeded in using the cruise event to get Shannon to admit her feelings for him. It was not that I was not happy for him. I was very much happy for my best friend to have found his happily ever after. But I just envied him a little. I wanted teeny tiny happy ever after as well. "The first step to getting what you have been trying to get is admitting your own feelings to yourself." He said, his index finger pointed upward as he walked over
_________________________________...The car ride churned my insides and when we reached the parking lot, I shoved open the door and rushed to a waste bin, emptying whatever was left in my gut. It was not my brightest moment and even though I did not want it, Rowan was at my side in an instant holding back my hair and rubbing my back."You are gonna be okay, pumpkin." He whispered. "We will see the doctor in a minute."Somehow, instead of providing any sort of relief, his words just annoyed me. I knew I was going to see a doctor. I did not need him to tell me as much.I shoved him away and stood up straight only to sway due to light-headedness. Though he was initially shocked by how he was pushed away, he overcame that pretty quickly and wrapped his arms around me. "We will get you some water."He seemed really concerned.Well, I guess it was only human to worry about someone even if you did not like them, when they were sick. There was nothing more to it."I could use some water r
______________________________ . . . I paced the waiting room for the nth time before Rory came back out. Thank God she did because I was going to barge in there before I had an anxiety attack if she had taken any longer. "What did the doctor say? Are you okay?" I grabbed her by the shoulders and slightly shook her in the nervousness. "Whoa, calm down Keller. My head's spinning!" She grabbed my arms. She looked a lot paler than she did when she went in and it was starting to scare the shit out of me. "What did the doctor say?" I asked her again. "Over-exertion and sleep deprivation along with shitty food is never a good combination." She said. I paused. I understood the over-exertion and the shitty food but where did the lack of sleep come from? The Aurora Keller I knew always made it a point to get eight hours of sleep. "Sleep deprivation?" I questioned. "I have a Chinese drama addiction. Sometimes I go overboard with it." She shrugged. I nodded, though I did not c
__________________________________________...Rowan shut me up and took me home. Though I kept protesting, even I wanted nothing more than to come home and lock myself up in my room.I had just received the best news of my life and I was here trying to hide it from everyone when I should be screaming it out at the top of my lungs.All through the ride back home, I thought where all of us stood in all this. I don't know what Rowan was planning. I just knew that he was trying to make it seem like he was smitten with me or something.Oh, wait.I sat down on the bed.That's it.That's what he wants.He wants to make it seem like he is smitten with me so that when the divorce happens, no one thinks it is his fault.Wow.This man really was something else. And Ashton was in on it, which was the worst part. No, that was not the worst part. The worst part was that I had played right into it and went ahead and even slept with him multiple times. If it was not for me overhearing the phone ca
__________________________________________...One minute Rory was roasting me with her witty comments and the next thing I knew, my wife was a sobbing mess."Baby!!" I wrapped my arms around her trying to comfort her. I may not be an experienced father and I have seen enough shows and movies to know that this was her hormones.My baby was pregnant with our baby and I had to take care of her and- Ouch!She elbowed me in the gut and pushed me away from her."Go. Away. Rowan!" She glared at me.Okay, she was angry now. And anger was not good for the baby. I needed to calm her down."Alright alright... Whatever you want, pumpkin!" I held my hands up in surrender. "But won't you tell me what's wrong?" I asked her."You. You are what is wrong!" She yelled at me. And then she stopped crying, wiping away her tears and turned to the ice cream. What just happened? Get it together, Rowan. This is what is going to happen for eight-nine months from now on. "Did I do something to piss you off?"
___________________________________..."But I want to hear it from you."I stared at him for a good few moments. Why was he so desperate to hear it from me when he already knew about the pregnancy?I sighed. I could do whatever I wanted to do but I could not change the fact that this piece of shit was the father of my child and no matter what I said to justify it, he had the right to know.In this case, he already knew. But I still had the duty to tell him."I am six weeks pregnant."His face lit up for a moment before it turned into one of confusion."Six weeks?" He asked.I narrowed my eyes at him. Was he doubting me?I wanted to scream at him that I was not a vile cheater like him. But after a good cry and a few scoops of ice cream, I was feeling much more rational and also generous so I simply nodded."Doctors make an estimate of gestation period based on the last menstrual period." I shrugged. "If you have any doubts, the doctor will tell you the exact date of conception on th
_______________________________...There was no way we were getting a divorce, not if I could help it. I paced the guest room as I chewed on my fingertips, worrying about how I was going to change Rory's mind about this whole situation. "You have no one to blame but yourself for the situation." I did not need my best friend on face-time to tell me that I had fucked up. I knew it very well myself. But as always, Ashton had to point out the obvious. I had not told him about the baby yet. I needed to discuss with my wife when she would be ready to break the news to her friends and her family. This was her body and she had the first right to make any decisions regarding this pregnancy. I am pretty sure she needed her own time to tell me about the pregnancy but she had lost the chance and had to disclose it to me faster than she had anticipated or liked, I was not ready to let any other decision be taken away from her. "So what made you change your mind about the divorce?" Ashton a
____________________________________...In the past three months, Rowan and I had done great job in convincing each and every one of our friends and family that we were actually giving our relationship a try, so much so that Gaby, Eric and Zoe who knew the truth had also started to believe that we had worked things out and were blissfully happy. No one knew that this was far from the truth. I paced my room as I waited for the rest of my family and friends to get here. We were announcing the pregnancy to them tonight.I sighed.I had let Rowan move back to the main bedroom. I mean, what was the point in separate bedrooms when I was letting him do as he pleases anyway?I was so ashamed of myself for being so spineless. But the fact remained that, as Cristina Yang said, being aware of your crap and actually getting over that crap were two completely different things.I was absolutely aware of my crap, yes, but I still refused to get over it.I needed to have more self-respect."What
_____________________...~~THREE YEARS LATER~~."Can you stay still?" I screamed at my hysterical sister as I fixed her veil. "All the daisies are going to fall off at this rate!""Who invented wedding gowns?" Gabby screeched as she tugged at the tulle of her wedding gown."Oh, the first documented wedding gown was worn in fourteen-o-six by-""No thanks, Miranda." I cut the overenthusiastic wedding planner off.Gabby rolled her eyes. "You know too much." She told the oblivious lady who just grinned as if it was a compliment. It probably is."You okay?" I whispered to her as I fixed the last daisy.Gabby took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, I'm just... nervous.""You're going to marry the love of your life," I said, smiling at her through the mirror. "What's not to be happy about?"Gabby took a deep breath. "It's just... everything is happening so fast. And what if it's not enough?""What do you mean?" I asked, my hand on her shoulder. "You dated him three years before you are marr
____________________..."Oh well, I won't say I didn't see it coming," I murmured as I watched Gabby come out of Eric's room. She froze, trying to run back into the room and bumping into Eric's broad chest in the process. "but I also didn't think the day would come this fast.""What can I say?" Eric laughed as he wrapped his arms around my sister. "I know to woo my woman right.""Well, in my defense, it takes a lifetime of groveling to make up for the kind of mistakes I made." I shrugged, laughing even though I felt a pang in my chest. I had fucked up so bad.Gabby's eyes searched mine. "I know you're sorry.""But is that enough?" I asked, my voice low.Gabby looked at me, understanding in her eyes. "You know she loves you, right?"I nodded. "I know." But love was a fickle thing, and I had learned that the hard way. "But I hurt her, Gabby. Deeply.""And you're going to have to prove it to her," she said, her tone gentle but firm. "Every day. With every action, every word. You need
____________________...I was fixing myself a sandwich after putting Ki to bed when the doorbell rang.Rowan's mom was in the living room, watching TV. "I've got it," I called out as I made my way to the door.Opening it, I was surprised to find Eric standing outside. "What's going on?" I asked, my heart racing.He looked serious, his eyes darting around the hallway before he stepped inside. "We need to talk," he said, his voice low and urgent.Beth looked up from the TV, curiosity piqued. "Everything okay?""I'll handle it," I told her, guiding Eric into the kitchen. "What's going on?"He leaned against the counter, his eyes searching mine. "I found something out about Derek," he began, his tone serious. "It's... it's not good."My heart skipped a beat. "What is it?"Eric took a deep breath. "Derek isn't just obsessed with Rory. He's got a history of stalking and harassment. I found some old police reports."My stomach dropped. "What kind of history?""It goes back years," Eric sa
___________________________..."I still can't believe you didn't tell me about Eric being there in the UK all those weeks!" Gabby was ranting as she did my hair. She repeated the same tale of my betrayal at least once a day. Especially when she wanted something from me."Spit it out." I rolled my eyes. "What do you want from me?"Gabby took a deep breath, her hands stilling in my hair. "I want you to promise me that you'll always tell me the truth, no matter what."I looked at her weirdly in the mirror. "Okay.""And that you will get me an electric blue Porsche." She grinned in the mirror.I snorted. "That sounded like my sister.""You are taking over Dad's position soon. You will have money of your own then. Get with that." I told her as she twisted my hair into an elegant knot."But what about you, Rory?" Gabby's voice turned serious. "What do you want?"I took a deep breath. "I want peace," I said finally. "For all of us."Gabby nodded, her expression thoughtful. "That's all I w
_______________________..."This sucks!" I exclaimed as I watched the expressionless face of Eric Rogers.He looked at me with a glare. "Seriously, dude?""What? It's the truth!" I shot back, pacing the tiny cell. "I've never been in jail before! And now, because of Stacy and Charles, I'm going to have a record!""Charles has said that he will drop the charges." Eric said but I knew there was more to that story."Why?" I asked. "I am sure he would not have done it for free."Charles was never a good person. He was just amazing for me. And as someone who didn't really deserve a good person, I had decided to settle with him. But the dude had cheated even before the relationship had even started. That's what got on my nerves."Does it matter?" Eric sighed. "The procedures will be completed in a few moments and then we can leave."The door to the cell opened, and a female police officer stepped in. She was tall, with stern eyes that scanned me up and down. "Gabriella Lewis, you are fre
_____________________...I fell asleep in Rowan's arms. That much I remember.But when I opened my eyes, I was back in the van.Derek's crazed face loomed over me, the gun pointed directly at my forehead. "You shouldn't have done that, Rory," he whispered, his voice a chilling echo in the confined space.I jolted awake, my heart racing and my breath coming in shallow gasps. The room was dark, the only light coming from the night lamp, casting eerie shadows across the floor. I was in my own bed, in my own apartment, with Rowan sleeping peacefully beside me. But the fear lingered, clinging to me like a second skin.It was just a nightmare, I told myself, over and over again. But the cold sweat on my forehead and the pounding in my chest said otherwise. The image of Derek's furious face, the gun pointed at me, the sound of the shot ringing in my ears—it all felt too real.Rowan stirred beside me, his hand moving to rest on my back. "Rory, you okay?""It was just a bad dream," I whispe
________________________...I scrambled to my feet as soon as I heard the shot.Was it Ophelia? Was she shot trying to save me?I had to save Ophelia if she was still alive.Ignoring the pain in my shoulder, I rushed to open the van.I peeked inside. Derek was on the floor, his hand slack around the gun. Ophelia was kneeling beside him, her hands shaking as she tried to stem the flow of blood from his leg."Oh my God, Derek! Is he okay?" I rushed to Ophelia's side."He fainted on impact." Ophelia was crying. "Quick. My phone is in my car outside. Call 9-1-1."I nodded, the shock slowly wearing off. I rushed to the car and got in, using the phone I found in her purse to call the police and ambulance. I gave them Rowan's name and address for them to contact him as well because the phone was locked. When I got back to the van, Derek was regaining consciousness. "Aurora, I think it's better for you to leave now. Give me my phone and get in my car and leave before he wakes up." I sh
_____________________..."Derek?" I was still stumped by the revelation. "Derek, why are you doing this? Is this because of Ophelia?"Derek stepped into the light, his expression cold and unrecognizable. "This isn't about Ophelia, Rory. This is about what you took from me."I stared at him, confusion and fear mingling. "What are you talking about?""You. You took away yourself from me. I had the perfect life planned out for the both of us but you kept going back to that bastard who had the least respect for you.""What are you talking about, Derek? I never even knew you felt like that." I was more stumped by the latest revelation."How would you know?" He let out a humorless chuckle. "You were too wrapped up around Rowan Keller to actually notice other people's feelings.""I'm sorry," I whispered, trying to keep the tremble out of my voice. "But this isn't the way to deal with it. Let me go, and we can talk about this."Derek's eyes narrowed. "You don't get to tell me what to do an
__________________________..."I have a bad feeling about this!" Jake murmured as I tried Rory's number for the nth time."I'm going to the park. Something's off." I told him, my heart racing."Let's go together," Jake offered, his eyes sharp.I nodded, and we sprinted down the escalator of the mall. We had been looking for Ki and Mary here."What if they are not there?" I panted, my legs burning from the run."Then we widen the search," Jake said grimly.We dashed out of the mall into the blinding sunlight, our eyes scanning the bustling street. The park was only a few minutes away, and the tension grew with every second that ticked by."What could have happened?" I whispered to myself, fear for Ki gnawing at my insides. Now Rory was also not picking up the phone.I had a bad feeling about all of this.The park was eerily quiet, not a soul in sight.We reached the parking lot. Something glinting on the ground caught my sight.A phone.Rory's phone.My heart sank. "Jake, look." I p