Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 67211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 336(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
“I lost you once, Chandra. And now I have you back. I don’t ever want to lose you again.” I open the box. The diamond I chose glitters in the candlelight. She gasps. “I want you by my side for the rest of my life. I want to raise children with you. I want to see you grow and flourish into the woman you were always meant to become, and I want to be the man that is with you every step of the way.”
She walks over to me on trembling legs. I hold the ring up to her and meet her eyes.
Now that I’ve begun, my voice holds strong and confident. “Will you marry me?”
When she blinks, one tear rolls down her cheek. “Yes. Yes! I will marry you. I want all those things too.” To my surprise, she kneels beside me and places her forehead on my shoulder. “I feel the same. I don’t ever want to be apart from you again.”
Four months later
We don’t believe in long engagements. “We waited this long,” I tell her, and she finishes, “we don’t need to wait any longer.”
We say our vows in a little chapel tucked away amidst the hustle and bustle of the city, attended only by our closest club friends as witnesses. I said vows once before, but I’ve forgiven myself for the sins I’ve committed. Sometimes our paths take twists and turns we don’t expect. Sometimes, the plans that we lay go astray.
For years, I prayed for forgiveness. And the answer to that prayer holds my hands while I slip a ring on her finger.
She’s every bit the princess in a gorgeous white dress she calls a “sheath” dress but I don’t care what she calls it. A dress is a dress, and today, Chandra becomes my wife. That’s all that matters.
After the ceremony, we sip champagne and eat food, but I don’t remember what we ate or what was said. My sole focus was on her. The way her musical laugh lights up the room around us. The way she sits with her head on my shoulder and reaches for my hand when Marla gives a toast that has everyone in the room wiping away tears. The way her cheeks blush when I whisper what I plan to do to my wife when I get her alone.
My wife.
Six months later
“Baby?” I open the door to our apartment and look for her but don’t hear her at first. Then her muffled voice comes from the bathroom.
“In here,” she says, but her voice is barely audible. I go to her, concerned that she doesn’t sound so good.
“Chandra, you alright?” I ask at the door.
“Come in,” she groans. Heartbeat pounding, I open the door. She’s kneeling, her arm resting against the toilet seat, one arm resting against her forehead.
“What’s the matter, honey?” I ask her, kneeling beside her. “Trying to recreate our reunion?”
She laughs her musical laugh and gives me a watery smile.
“Sure,” she says. “Let’s go with that.”
I brush her damp hair off her forehead and kiss her temple. “Can I get you anything?”
Leaning back so she’s sitting on her feet, her hands dropped onto her lap, she nods. “Yes, please. On that shelf up there? Right next to the sink? Hand it to me?”
For some reason she doesn’t meet my eyes. Curious, I reach for the shelf and freeze when my hand meets a thin white stick. I know what it is before I see the two pink lines in the little windows.
I drop to my knees in front of her. I don’t trust myself to speak. She needs me to be strong and I’m gonna lose my shit if I open my mouth right now.
“April,” she whispers. “Right around Easter.”
Spring. New hope. New life. A new beginning.
“Baby,” I whisper, gathering her up in my arms.
“Yes,” she says with a laugh. “A baby.”
“Don’t you think for a minute this means you don’t get your ass spanked now,” I tease her. “Every study I’ve ever read tells us pregnancy doesn’t change much.” There are a few things. Lighter implements. Less impact play. But there’s plenty we can do.
“And don’t you think for a minute that just because I’m pregnant I don’t need you to dom me.”
I grip her hair and pull. “Deal.” Her mouth parts when I pull her head back.
“I love you,” she says.
“And I love you,” I whisper. “I loved you then and I love you now, and I’ll love you until the day I die.”