His Runaway Wife [UNEDITED]

--- --- ---

1. "Is that you?"
--

Everybody told me not to get married.

"You just have one more year until you graduate, Rebecca," My mom said through the
phone the day I told her I was engaged. "Just wait one more year. Get to know him
better. Trust me, this is for your own good."
"Remember when you told me that one day that you wouldn't get married until after
you were at least twenty-five?" a friend from school, told me over coffee. "Guess
that's out the window huh?"
"You've only known him for a year," my mom continued on another occasion. "A year
is not enough to get to know someone. You practically don't even know him. Please
wait another year."
Of course I didn't listen for one simple and common reason: I fell in love.
I fell in love without even knowing, without thinking.
I had been in love before but this time was different, it always was.
Elena was right. I didn't plan on getting married until after my mid-twenties. I
was a big believer of enjoying yourself before committing to someone. Everyone knew
things changed when you got married or got together with someone.
I wanted to travel.
I wanted to hang out with friends.
I wanted to have crazy and wild nights I wouldn't remember the next day.
All of that went out the window the moment Damian asked me to marry him.
Everybody told me not to get married...and I didn't listen.
________________________________________________________________________
"Are you going to eat that?" I asked my sister looking at the fries.
They looked so lonely and delicious.
Alexa shook her head as she passed the fries across the table. "Nope." she said as
she reached for her drink. Alexa never finished her food. She was just one of those
girls that didn't eat a lot, at least not when it came to food because she did eat
a lot of junk food. Thankfully, I was always here to finish what she didn't eat.
Alexa and I had the same brown eyes and we both had my mom's hips, except Alexa was
thinner than I was. I was thick and after years of hating the fact that I didn't
have thin legs, I had finally accepted the fact that this was my body and I had to
love it. So I had thick thighs and wide hips. Many girls wished they had your body,
Elena always used to tell me.
I was much heavier when I graduated from high school. The summer before I began
college, I began to work on myself. I began to cut down the sugars and began to run
every morning and every night.
I yearned to feel good about myself. Yearned for clothes to fit me the way I wanted
them to. I guess that was my motivation.
To this day, I run from time to time but now I do it to relieve stress. It's not
really about losing weight anymore, it's about maintaining it. I have managed to
reach a point where I am comfortable with my body and I will always be proud of
myself for that.
"Can we go now?" Alexa asked as she looked around.
I had brought her to Disneyland for her birthday. She turned eighteen today and she
had never been to Disneyland so while the idea of being in California for the
weekend made me nervous, my sister's happiness was more important and she was
pretty damn pleased with my gift.
Alexa was the most important person to me. She was above everything and everyone.
Sometimes it was hard to believe she was eighteen already...she going to college in
the fall. Far away from me. I knew she had to go and live her own life, I just
wanted to protect her I guess.
I nodded as I stood up with the food tray. "Yeah, come on." I said as I threw away
the trash and began to gather out things.
It was Saturday so it was pretty busy. We arrived yesterday and spent it on the
smaller park so we could dedicate a whole day to the bigger park today.
I smiled as Alexa looked at everything excitedly, making her look like a little
girl. She had big eyes and a light brown mole just below her right eye. She had a
slight bump on the top of her nose, which was the result of someone throwing a hard
shoe at her face in school when she was little. It was barely noticeable but I'm
sure she saw it bigger than it was. Alexa was pretty, then again I was obviously
biased. I knew she looked like me and if she was pretty then so was I and no one
liked to think of themselves as ugly so there you have it.
While we looked alike, we were different. For starters, she was more outgoing than
me. At 17, my face was hidden behind books and I only had one true friend. Alexa
liked to read but not as much as I did and she had her little circle of friends.
She had someone to go with the mall with or to go to the theater with. I often
found myself having no one to go watch a damn movie with. That changed when I got
to college though. I became a more social person and it changed me.
We spent the rest of the day waiting behind long lines before we could get on most
rides but it was fun for the most part. It was early March so the weather was
really nice. It wasn't too hot or too cold which was one of the reasons I decided
to come in the first place. The first time I came to Disneyland I came in mid-June
and it was a really big mistake. It was too hot to enjoy anything.
We got to the hotel at around midnight. I laid on the bed checking the balances of
the credit cards while Alexa got in the shower. I had been planning this trip for
months mostly because I had to be sure whether or not we were gonna come so I could
ask for the days off at work. It was spring break, so Alexa won't have school for
the whole week.
"I don't want to go back." Alexa said as she combed her hair. Her hair was brown
and long reaching down to her waist. She turned to look at me. "Can we go to the
beach tomorrow?" She pouted. "Please?"
I rolled my eyes at her. "Alexa, you know I have to get back to work on Tuesday."
"Exactly." She said. "We don't have to stay another day. We can just go in the
morning for an hour or so. Rebecca, come on. I've never seen the beach."
I stared at her for a moment. It was hard not to feel bad. It was my fault we
rarely went anywhere. I had a full time job and I couldn't take the luxury of
missing days at work. The bills didn't pay themselves. I knew Alexa tried to
understand but there were days when she would be extra moody because I wouldn't let
her travel with her friends. I hated to be the strict sister but I was scared that
something would happen to her if I took my eyes off of her for a second. I didn't
care that she was eighteen, to me she would always be a little girl that needed to
be protected.
I sighed. "Fine."
She smiled then ran to hug me. "Yes! Thank you!"
"Yeah, yeah." I said but I was smiling.
She smiled as she threw herself on the bed. She was laying on her stomach with a
pillow propped below her chin as she went through her phone.
I stood up and got ready to get in the shower. It had been a long day and I felt
dirty. As I showered, my mind began to wonder which only made me worry. We were
supposed to head back home tomorrow in the morning.
Staying a few hours won't hurt, I told myself. There are many beaches in
California. It is practically impossible...
I showered quickly and by the time I got out, Alexa was sound asleep. I rolled my
eyes when I saw that she was still on top of the covers. I rolled her over then
pulled the blanket off from under her and then rolled her back and covered her.
It wasn't easy to go to sleep that night. I laid on the bed as my mind continued to
wonder. I thought about things I hadn't thought about in a long time; things I knew
I was only thinking about because I was close...
Beverly Hills was still about two hours away from where I was so it wasn't too
close. I knew I was just worrying for nothing. Alexa and I would be heading back
home before I knew it and then I could just go back to life as I know it...
_____________________________
The next morning, Alexa and I woke up around nine to have breakfast and then we
headed back to the room to pack our things. I checked out of the hotel and then we
got on the road. It took about thirty minutes to get to Newport Beach, which was my
personal favorite beach. It was around eleven when we got there.
"Oh my god!" Alexa said as we got out of the car. "There is so much water!" she
said as she stared at the beach.
"It is a beach." I said, teasing her. "Come on." I said as we began to make our way
into the sand. I took off my sandals, I loved the feeling of the soft sand against
my feet.
"Wow." Alexa said as she stared at it. She took out her phone and began to take
pictures.
I looked around as we walked closer. There were a few people. Some of them were
sitting down, others were playing around the water, and I could also see a
volleyball game going on a few feet away. I used to play volleyball in college so
watching them play made me think about the past for the hundredth time this
weekend.
"Rebecca, look, it's so pretty!" Alexa said.
I turned and we both watched the waves as they turned, making their way towards us.
The water came towards Alexa who was too close making her get all wet.
"AHH!" she screamed. "My phone!"
I laughed as she ran to me. "You're worse than a five-year-old."
She checked her phone then relaxed when she saw it was okay. She handed it to me.
"Here, take some pictures of me."
I spent the next few minutes as my sister's personal photographer until her phone
began to ring. It was her best friend face timing her.
I stood, my feet in the water, and stared at the view in front of me for a moment.
Alexa was a few feet away face timing with her friend.
I was standing there, thinking about how much I've missed the sound of the waves
when I heard someone say,
"Rebecca, is that you?"
And I knew I was in trouble.

--- --- ---

2. "You disappeared, Rebecca."
--
"Rebecca, is that you?"
I turned to my right and felt the blood drain from my face as I felt my body
freeze.
It was practically impossible...
Aaron was staring at me with wide, brown eyes. He seemed different from the last
time I saw him. His hair was longer so it gave him that skater look. He wasn't
wearing a shirt and I could see he had a tan. He was holding a volleyball in his
hands and I suddenly remembered why the volleyball game going on a few feet away
made me nervous.
"I can't believe it's you." he said looking at me with wide eyes.
I didn't say anything, mostly because I didn't know what to say. I just wanted to
run away.
"Hey! Aaron!" the people back in the game yelled at him. "The ball!"
Aaron turned and threw the ball to them and I took that chance to turn and walk
away.
"Hey, Rebecca, wait!" he said as he caught up to me.
I stopped, remembering I wasn't alone and looked for Alexa. She was sitting down on
the sand with her knees brought up as she continued to talk with her friend. I
sighed as I looked at Aaron. "Please leave me alone."
"I'm not doing anything to you." he said raising his hands up defensively.
We stared at each other for a moment.
"Your hair is different." he finally broke the silence.
Under different circumstances, I would have pointed out that his was too but I
didn't say anything. He was right. Three years ago my hair was long and straight.
Now, I had it shoulder length and I also had choppy bangs which covered my
forehead. I never had my hair this short or had bangs but I actually liked this
hairstyle and kept it for the past three years.
"You disappeared." he said looking at me accusingly. "Rebecca—do you have any idea
how long we looked for you? My brother—"
I shook my head. "Stop. I don't want to talk about this." I turned around. "Just
leave me alone, Aaron."
"You can't just expect me to walk away and pretend I didn't see you." he said
catching up to me.
"Yes, I do."
"Rebecca—stop." he said putting his arms on my shoulders, making me come to a stop.
"Can you just chill for a second? Forget my brother." He burrowed his eyes brows
together. "What about me? I thought I was your friend."
"Aaron—" I said looking around nervously.
"He's not here." he said, probably reading the look on my face. "It's just me. So
will you please just talk to me?"
I looked at him for a moment. "It doesn't matter. I'm actually leaving."
He shook his head. "I don't think so. Have lunch with me or I will call him."
I glared at him. "You wouldn't dare."
He took out his phone from his shorts pocket. "Try me."
"You have no business in this, Aaron." I said angrily. He was pissing me off. I
hated when people tried to make me do something I didn't want to.
"Why are you so scared about talking to me? We used to be friends, remember? Even
best friends before you married my brother. I just want to talk to you." he half
smiled. "Please."
I shook my head. "I don't want to talk."
"So I'll do the talking then."
"I'm not alone." I said looking at Alexa.
Aaron followed my gaze. "Is that your sister?" he looked at me. "I'm sure she's
hungry too."
As if she were listening, Alexa stood up and looked around. When she saw me, she
began to make her way towards me.
"Rebecca?" she said with a frown when she reached us.
"Hi. I'm Aaron." Aaron said when I didn't say anything. "We met a few years ago, I
don't know if you remember me."
"I do." Alexa said slowly. "You're Damian's brother."
I looked away at the sound of his name. It had been so long since the last time I
heard it.
Aaron looked at me before nodding. "You remember."
"Of course I do. I was fourteen not two." Alexa said looking at me. "She doesn't
like to talk about it." she told Aaron when I didn't say anything.
"I can see." Aaron said with a smile.
I sighed. "Okay. Let's get this over with."
"There's this really good sub place around the corner?"
I shrugged. "Sure."
I wasn't really hungry. I was just trying to comply with my side of the deal so
Aaron wouldn't call Damian. I could feel my body shake as we began to walk away
from the beach. I had spent the last three years avoiding this and now it was
happening. I knew coming to California was a bad idea but what were the odds of
this? One in a million? I must have the worst luck in the planet.
"So what are you guys doing in California?" Aaron asked as he walked next to me,
Alexa was walking in front of us. "I assume you don't live here or else we would
have found you."
Before I could say anything, Alexa turned to look at him. "It was my birthday
yesterday and she brought me as my birthday gift."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Alexa." I warned.
"Happy birthday." Aaron said at the same time.
"Thanks." she said then turned around. Her hair was dripping wet and her blue
shorts looked heavy as she walked. There was a slight breeze that was making her
ruffled crop top flow in the air.
Aaron turned to look at me. "So how have you been? You know besides pretending you
didn't have a life here?"
"I see you haven't changed. You're still annoying." I said rolling my eyes at him.
I was beginning to relax a little. Aaron was familiar.
He chuckled. "I'm flattered you remember, considering you never answered my phone
calls. I kept calling, you know. Even after the phone stopped ringing. Even after
the machine kept telling me the phone was out of service. I kept calling." he
turned to look ahead of us. "And then I kept waiting, hoping you would call." He
paused then looked at me. "You disappeared, Rebecca."
"That was the point."
"You are so selfish." He shook his head in disbelief.
I stopped, making him stop too. "I am not going to have this conversation with you,
Aaron. You have no idea what I've been through."
"So tell me. Tell me what made you leave. Tell me what made you run and never come
back." he said looking at me with his intense brown eyes.
We stared at each other for a moment.
The sound of a car's tires screeching and someone screaming made us turn our heads
to the street. I realized we had stopped just before crossing the street. I felt my
heart skip a beat when I didn't see Alexa anywhere. A guy was coming out of a black
car. "Oh God." he was saying as he walked around his car.
"Alexa!" I yelled and then ran across the street. She was laying down on the other
side of the car. "Oh my god. Oh my god." I whispered covering my mouth with my
hand.
"I'll call 911!" Aaron said as he dialed with his phone.
Suddenly, Alexa moved as if trying to stand up and I felt relief go through my
body. She was alive.
"Alexa, don't move!" I scolded but reached down and helped her sit on the curb. She
was bleeding from the left side of her forehead and I reached and moved her hair
away, revealing a nasty cut.
"Ow." she said as she clutched her left arm. "What happened?" she said as she
looked around. "Oh, God." she glared at the guy who was running a hand through his
hair nervously. "You hit me!" She accused.
"I am so sorry. I didn't see you—"
"There is a stop sign." I told him, glaring up at him. "You were supposed to make a
stop anyway. You were on your damn phone weren't you?"
He shook his head. "I'm so sorry."
I glared at him some more before looking down at Alexa's arm. I was no doctor but
it didn't look good. It was swollen and red around the middle of her forearm which
was also bent in a way I knew an arm is not supposed to bend. I was almost positive
that it was broken which made my blood boil and made me want to punch the stupid
guy on his stupid face.
"Ow, Becca, it hurts."
I could tell Alexa was trying not to cry and thankfully, the ambulance didn't take
long to arrive.
A police car arrived first followed by the ambulance. The police officer talked to
Aaron and I while the paramedics placed Alexa on the ambulance cot. The other cop
was talking to the driver who seemed nervous as he spoke. He should be because he
was getting a citation. There was no way in hell he was going to get away with
this.
As the cop walked away, I let out a sob that I was holding back.
"Hey, it's okay." Aaron said as he put his arms around me. "She's going to be
okay."
I tried to speak but I couldn't so I just let him hold me while I cried until I saw
a paramedic approach us. I cleaned the tears on my cheeks quickly as he said,
"We're going to Memorial Hospital, one of you may come with us."
I nodded. "I will." I turned to look at Aaron.
"I will meet you there."
I nodded again and then got on the ambulance. The paramedics put an arm sling to
support Alexa's arm while we got to the hospital. They also checked her blood
pressure and cleaned up the blood which was running down the side of her face. I
hated to see her like that but I knew she would be okay, as long as she didn't have
a concussion or something else.
She was alive and that was already a win.
Alexa looked up at me and I knew we were both thinking the same thing.
I smiled at her. "You're going to be okay."
She nodded but I could tell she was fighting back the tears.
She was going to be okay.
We were going to be okay...

--- --- ---

3. "He's still your husband..."
--
        
When we got to the hospital, I waited with Alexa after they took her x-rays. And
then we waited some more until the doctor finally came in to see her.
"Unfortunately the x-rays confirm that she has an ulnar fracture. It is a closed
fracture and it is only on the ulnar bone so she will need a cast. Thankfully, the
bone is not out of place so she won't need surgery." the doctor told me after
examining her.
I sighed in relief. "Okay."
"She doesn't show any signs of a concussion but she will require a few stitches on
her forehead and she should take it easy for the rest of the day."
I nodded. "Okay."
I knew I couldn't drive her home like this. I wanted to make sure she was okay
while we were here in the city rather than on the road in the middle of nowhere. We
would have to stay another day.
He nodded. "Okay. The nurse and I will come in a few minutes to put the cast and
stitch her up." he smiled. "Any questions?"
I shook my head. "No, thank you."
He nodded then made his way out of the room. I stared at his white coat as he
walked out.
The sound of Alexa crying made me look away. "Are you okay?" I asked as I took a
seat on the chair next to her bed.
"It hurts." she mumbled as she sobbed.
"I know, I know." I said as I put my arm around her shoulders. "But you're going to
be okay."
The nurse came in a few seconds later followed by Aaron who I noticed had put on a
shirt.
"How is she?" he asked as the nurse began to get ready to stitch her forehead.
"She'll spend the night but she's going to be fine." I said although I wasn't sure
who I was trying to convince more: him or me.
I stood up and walked to him. "Damian doesn't—" I sighed. "He doesn't work here,
right?"
Aaron shook his head. "He doesn't, don't worry."
"Okay." I bit my lip as I nodded. "Okay."
"R-Rebecca." Alexa said nervously as the nurse got ready to stitch her forehead.
I sat back next to her and held her hand on her good arm while the nurse stitched
her forehead. It was only three stitches so it wasn't a lot. It got worse when the
doctor came back to cast her arm. The pain medication didn't kick in until a few
minutes in so she was in pain for the beginning. It was that or she was being
overdramatic which was very Alexa.
The procedure took about thirty minutes and she fell asleep shortly after the nurse
and doctor left the room. It was a short arm cast so it was only on her forearm and
wrapped around her palm and thumb.
The doctor said she would need the cast for about three months with doctor checkups
in between. They are going to have to transfer her file to Nevada but I decided to
worry about that once we got back.
"You don't have to stay here." I told Aaron.
We were seated next to each other on a couch that was positioned against the wall,
to the left side of the bed. Alexa was sound asleep.
"Don't be ridiculous." he looked at me. "You could come with me, to my house."
"Yeah, right."
He shook his head. "I don't know what we did to make you hate us so much."
"I don't hate you."
"Then why did you run away? Without a call? I know you want nothing to do with him
but Damian hasn't been himself since you left." He was whispering.
I raised my eyebrows. "Really? I'm surprised he even noticed that I was gone."
He sighed. "Listen, I don't know what went wrong between you guys. But I do know
how much he suffered after you left so all I'm saying is that you should talk to
him. He is still your husband whether you like it or not."
He is still your husband.
My husband.
I had avoided talking and thinking about Damian for the past three years. It was
starting to feel like I wasn't even married but I was.
I was a married woman.
I knew Aaron was right—I was Damian's wife whether I liked it or not.
It was a fact.
"Dad passed away three months ago." Aaron said after a moment of silence.
I turned to look at him but he was looking at the floor. "Oh my god, Aaron. I'm so
sorry to hear that." I said placing my hand on his back.
He turned to look at me and smiled sadly. "It was a heart attack. How ironic huh? A
doctor dying of a heart attack." he said shaking his head in disbelief.
"How—" I sighed. "How is Damian?"
Aaron raised his eyebrows as he took a deep breath. "Damian does what Damian does
best." he turned to look at me. "He took over dad's clinic and he's been working
nonstop. I literally don't see him and we live in the same house."
I gulped. "Yeah, that sounds like Damian."
"You should go see him, Rebecca. At least call him to let him know you're alive. We
were beginning to think you were dead."
I bit my lip feeling guilty for the first time in a long time. "I'm sorry."
"I know you don't have to give me any explanations so I won't ask for them." he put
his arm around my shoulders and hugged me. "I missed you, Reb."
I smiled at the sound of the nickname he baptized me back when we met in college.
"I missed you too." I paused. "I think I'll get a hotel, though."
He pulled away. "Come on, you don't have to pay for a hotel."
"I don't want to go back to that house."
"Is it my mom?" he asked
I sighed. "I'd rather not talk about it."
He nodded slowly. "Okay. Since you'd have to stay another day, will you please
promise me you'll go see Damian?"
"Aaron—"
"I've kept my promise, Reb. Even though it's killing me not to call him and tell
him that you're here—I'm not going to do it because I respect your wish. He's not
doing very good and I know that seeing you will really help him." he said as he
reached for his wallet in his back pocket. He opened it and took out a white
business card. "This is the clinic, just in case you didn't remember where it was.
I could stay with your sister if that will make you feel better."
I half smiled as I took the card. "Okay, I'll think about it." I said as I looked
down at the card.
It read, Walker Pediatrics and it had the address, hours, phone number, and e-mail.
Dr. Damian Walker.
"And you have to tell me where you're staying."
I smiled. "God, you're so annoying." I said making him laugh.
It wasn't until another hour or so when Alexa got discharged. The nurse gave me a
big packet of paperwork which made me think about the big bill that was going to
arrive in a few weeks. I could only hope the insurance could cover most of it.
Since I left my car at the beach, I had to accept a ride from Aaron.
"You know, we never made it to lunch." he said as he drove.
It was around six in the evening and the sky was illuminated by twilight. There
wasn't much traffic but the streets weren't totally isolated either.
"I am starving." Alexa said as she leaned in between our seats.
"Alexa put on your seatbelt." I scolded.
She sighed as she sat back and put it on. "You are worse than mom was."
Aaron turned to look at me. "Was?"
I cleared my throat. "Sure, let's go eat."
Aaron nodded as he turned his attention back on the road. "Alright."
He took us to a pizza restaurant and we ordered pizza with wings. Alexa was still
wearing the arm sling. I wanted her to wear it at least for the first few days
until she got used to the cast. She was already complaining about how she was going
to have to go to school with the cast. Apparently that's the worst that could
happen to a teenager.
"What are you doing all the way over here anyway?" I asked Aaron as we ate. "Isn't
Beverly Hills like two hours away?"
He nodded slowly. "It is, yes. I just came to meet with my friends—the ones back in
the beach? I hadn't seen them in a while." he said with a shrug.
"So what do you do? Where do you work?" I asked reaching for my drink.
"I actually own a few properties."
I raised my eyebrows. "So you're like a landlord?"
He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so."
"Wow."
"Your surprise is offensive." he said looking at me.
I laughed. "I'm sorry. It's not to be mean. You just don't look like you have your
life together."
"Wow, that's mean." Alexa said, laughing.
Aaron laughed. "There's the Rebecca I remember."
I smiled as I looked down at my slice of pizza. "That's good though. I mean you did
want to go into business, that's what you majored in right?"
He nodded. "Yes. And you majored in accounting."
"I did." I said slowly.
I didn't really want to talk about my life and Aaron caught on that because he
asked Alexa what she wanted to study in college. I was grateful for the change of
subject. It's not that I hated my life or anything. It was just that my life wasn't
exactly going how I planned and talking about it was a reminder.
I just didn't need that right now.

--- --- ---

4. "You're welcome."
--
        
I looked down at the business card on my lap for the hundredth time this morning.
Walker Pediatrics.
Do I dare? Do I dare go?
I would be lying if I said I didn't wonder what it would be like to see him again.
Ask him how he is doing...
I shook my head.
No, Rebecca, no. It's a horrible idea.
"It's a bad idea." I whispered.
The bathroom door opened and Alexa came out fresh out of the shower with the towel
around her and her hair dripping wet behind her. "Do you have any idea how hard it
is to shower like this?" she said raising her left arm. She had her arm into a
plastic bag and wrapped just below her elbow.
"You better get used to it." I told her as I placed the business card in my purse.
"Do you want me to help you change?"
"No." she said as she pulled the towel off. She was wearing her bra and underwear.
"Like you said, I better get used to it."
"Okay." I said as I stood up. "I'm going to shower and then we'll leave around two
or something."
"Wait, we're already leaving? I thought we were staying."
I shook my head. "We're not. We already stayed long enough." I said as I went
through my bag. I had run out of clean clothes so I went with the jeans and V-neck
blouse I wore on the day we got here.
"Rebecca?"
"Huh?" I said as I looked for my last clean panties.
"Why did you lie to me about Damian? You told me you divorced him."
I froze then straightened up to look at her. "We're practically divorced."
She shook her head. "No you're not. You're still married to him."
I sighed. "I don't—"
"Want to talk about it." she finished for me. "I'm not a little girl anymore,
Rebecca. Don't you trust me?"
I looked at her. "Of course I do. There's just no point in talking about this. He
is in my past and we're leaving and I'll probably never see him again." I said as I
grabbed my clothes. "Now I am going to shower and then we'll be on our way, okay?"
"Okay." she said quietly as she began to tug on the plastic bag.
I turned around and went into the bathroom without another word.
Alexa was fourteen when I got married so she still remembered him. When I returned
to Nevada, I told her I had divorced him so she would stop asking about him. It
wasn't entirely a lie. We were separated and I was never going to see him again.
Curiosity almost got the best of me and curiosity killed the cat so it's best if we
just leave.
I took a quick shower and then changed and combed my hair.
Alexa still hadn't changed when I walked out of the bathroom.
"I tried to put on jeans and failed." she said. "Can you help me put this dress?"
she said holding the dress with her good hand.
I smiled. "I knew you would need my help."
"Don't flatter yourself." she said as she raised her hands. I put the dress over
her head and through her arms then zipped it up on the back. She sat on the bed and
looked through the channels while I packed.
"Have you even called Aaron? We don't have the car remember?" Alexa said as she
stared at the TV.
"Oh, dammit." I said as I pressed my fingers against my forehead. "I forgot about
the damn car."
Aaron had dropped us off at a hotel last night and promised to come today so he
could drive us to the beach. I didn't realize until now that I didn't even know if
you could park overnight there. I reached for my phone and called Aaron but we
still had to wait at least two hours until he would get here.
"I can't believe I forgot." I sighed as I sat next to Alexa.
She shrugged. "We can watch a movie."
I took out my phone and Googled the parking lot hours of the beach. "Well damn."
"What?" Alexa asked turning to look at me.
"We can't park overnight without a permit. The car might have been towed." I closed
my eyes and took a deep breath. "Why didn't I think of this last night?"
"Damn that sucks."
I nodded. "There will probably be a ticket and a fee..." I shook my head. "I can't
believe this is happening."
"Don't get ahead though. Maybe we'll get lucky and it'll be there."
I sighed. "I hope so."
I leaned my head back on the wall and closed my eyes. I think I took a little nap
because the sound of someone knocking on the door made me open my eyes.
I stood up and walked to the door. I unlocked it then pulled it open. "Aaron, thank
God—" I stopped because standing in front of me wasn't Aaron.
Damian seemed taller than I remembered him maybe it was because I hadn't seen him
in such a long time. He was wearing a gray suit with a white dressed shirt
underneath and shiny, black shoes. His dark blond hair was cut short on the sides
with the hair longer on top of his head which was combed back. The dark stubble and
dark circles under his eyes made him look older and tired at the same time. He had
changed.
I watched as his brown eyes scanned my body as if he couldn't believe I was
standing in front of him. I never thought I would see him again and I had a
bittersweet feeling about having Damian in front of me. Part of me admired how
handsome he was and reminded me why I fell in love with him while the other part of
me reminded me why I decided to leave him three years ago...
My heart was beating hard against my chest.
"D-Damian." I finally chocked out, breaking the silence. "What are you doing here?
Did Aaron tell you I was here?" I asked, my voice getting louder with anger.
A frown crossed his handsome face. "Aaron knows you're here?"
"I called him."
I turned around to look at Alexa. "You what?"
"I called his office and told him you were here." she sighed. "I know. You can yell
at me when we get home." she grabbed her phone. "I'll be in the lobby." she said
walking past me. She stopped in front of Damian and looked up at him. "You're
welcome." she said then walked out without another word.
Damian wouldn't take his eyes off of me.
I suddenly began to worry about how I looked. My hair was probably frizzy as it
always was after it dried. I wasn't wearing any make up and I was wearing dirty
clothes. Go figure.
"Did you want to come in?" I finally asked avoiding his gaze. He was starting to
intimidate me.
Damian already had this aura about him that made you feel inferior when you were
around him. I didn't think he was even aware of it. Although he could be arrogant
at times.
He took a few steps and walked into the room. I closed the door behind him. When I
turned around, I gasped when Damian put his arms around me and embraced me in a
tight hug. He was taller than me so my face was close to his neck. After a moment,
I put my arms on his shoulders cautiously. I closed my eyes as I smelled him. He
still used the same cologne I had bought him on his birthday the last time we spent
it together. Something inside me warmed at the thought and I realized just how much
I have missed him.
I didn't know how long we stood like that. It felt like an eternity yet at the same
time, it didn't feel like a long time. After a moment, I felt his arms around my
waist loosen and I opened my eyes and took a step back.
His arms fell to his sides as he shook his head. "I didn't think I was going to see
you again."
I lowered my gaze. "Me either."
He raised his hand as if to reach for me then stopped and dropped it to his side.
"Rebecca—where the hell have you been? Why did you leave? Why did you run away?"
there was an anger in his voice I couldn't ignore.
Oh God. I was so not ready to have this conversation. I had avoided all of these
questions when Aaron asked me but it was different with Damian...
"Damian I—really don't want to have this conversation." I said, hoping he would
hear the beg behind my voice.
He clenched his jaw. "You told Aaron you were here and not me?"
I looked up at him. "I didn't tell him I was here. It was a coincidence that I saw
him at the beach."
He shook his head. "And he didn't tell me..."
"I made him promise he wouldn't tell you I was here."
"Why?" he asked looking at me. He shook his head in disbelief. "I'm your husband,
Rebecca. You do remember that, right?"
I pursed my lips. "Yes, I know that."
He frowned. "How could you do that? How could you just walk out and never come
back?" he reached out and put his hands on my arms. "Do you have any idea of what
I've done to try to find you? I searched everywhere and—you just disappeared. Why?
Where the hell have you been all this time?"
"Will you please let me go?" I asked him. He looked at me for a moment and then let
me go.
Before I could say anything, his phone began to ring.
He sighed, looking annoyed, as he reached for it in his pocket. "What is it?" he
answered. I walked past him, to the bed, and reached for my purse while he spoke on
the phone. I had a text from Alexa telling me that Aaron was down in the lobby with
her. I reached for my bag and purse.
"Where are you going?" Damian asked when I turned around.
"Aaron is down in the lobby. He's going to take me to get my car." I said avoiding
his gaze.
He took a step towards me. "Rebecca, we are not done here."
I sighed. "What's the point of even having this conversation? I have to go back
home, back to my life—"
"This is your life." he said. "Here, with me."
I looked up at him. "Damian, nothing is going to change. I have a job, Alexa has
school. We have to go." I reached for the room key then walked out of the room with
him following close behind me. Aaron and Alexa were waiting for us in the lobby.
Aaron stood up when he saw us and I could see his body tense a bit when he saw
Damian behind me.
"Damian." Aaron said slowly.
"You and I are going to talk later." Damian promised. "Right now, I need you to get
Rebecca's car with Alexa while Rebecca and I talk."
I turned to look at him. "Damian—"
"I need an explanation, Rebecca." He said looking at me with a desperate look in
his brown eyes. "Don't you think you owe me at least that?"
We stared at each other for a moment. I was fighting with myself. I knew I did owe
him an explanation but I was scared to where that could lead. My mind wondered to
what I would be doing right now if I was back in the safe state of Nevada, away
from him. Today was Monday so I would be working, probably catching up to where I
left off on Thursday. I would be looking up and greeting customers as they walked
in the bank while the tellers helped them with their transactions.
"Okay." I finally said turning to look at Alexa. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Yes." Alexa said.
I nodded slowly then looked at Aaron. "Please take care of her. No bars or clubs
and don't take her with your friends."
Aaron half smiled. "I don't hang out with the same people you know."
"Hard to believe." I offered him a smile.
"Don't worry, we're just gonna go to a strip club." He teased as he leaned in to
kiss my cheek.
"Stop it." I warned.
He chuckled as he grabbed my suitcase and Alexa's. "Ready?" he asked her.
She nodded as she glanced at Damian and then smiled at me. "Bye."
"Bye." I said but she was already following Aaron outside. I stood there for a
moment, feeling Damian's gaze on me. "Okay." I said nervously. "Let's go."
--- --- ---
5. "I wasn't happy."
--
When Damian and I began dating, we would always go to a little diner close to where
I used to live. It was a family diner and had glass windows all around it. We used
to sit on the table in the corner. I liked to look outside and watch the cars drive
by and people walking. I've always loved windows and the open air. So when Damian
began to make his way to the car, I stopped.
He turned to look at me in wonder.
"Is it okay if we walk?" I asked as I looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful day.
Besides, I didn't want to be inside a car with Damian so close to me. It seemed
like I couldn't think straight when I was with him.
"Sure. I think there's a coffee shop just around the corner."
"Okay." I said as we began to walk down the sidewalk.
Neither of us said anything as we walked to the coffee shop. We ordered our drinks
and then took a seat on a table right next to the window.
"Your hair is different." Damian said after a moment of sitting in silence and I
fight back a smile because that's exactly what Aaron had said yesterday. 
My hand goes up to my bangs as if on instinct and I brush them to the side with my
fingers. "Yeah, figured I needed a change."
"Well, you look beautiful."
I cleared my throat as I reached for my coffee. "Thank you." I said then took a sip
of the coffee, hoping my face wasn't as red as it felt hot. "I, um, heard about
your father." I said as I set the cup down. "I'm so sorry, Damian, I know how close
you were to him."
He nodded slowly. "Thank you."
He didn't say anything else so I knew he didn't want to talk about it which meant
that he was still hurting. Well of course he was still hurting. There was no
greater pain than losing a loved one, especially a parent.
"My mom died." I say quietly. "That day that I left...she died."
Damian's eyes widened and I could see the shock on his handsome face. He reached
across the table and placed his hand on top of mine. "I'm so sorry, Rebecca. I had
no idea."
I half smiled as I moved my hand and placed it on my lap. "I know. Thank you. It
was a stroke. It's been three years and I still miss her like the first day."
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked softly.
I shrugged. "I don't know. I wanted to. I did. I just—" I stopped and shook my head
then looked at Damian. "I wasn't happy, Damian...I wasn't happy." I looked down at
the table. "So when that happened, I took it as an exit. I just got in my car and
drove and while I drove, I knew that I wasn't going to go back."
I cleaned the tear that had escaped from my eye quickly. I didn't know why I was
crying. I guess it was harder to talk about than I thought. Back in Nevada, no one
knew I was married. No one knew about my life in California so I never had to talk
about it. I didn't have a friend I felt comfortable talking to. It was always just
me and Alexa and she knew that I didn't like talking about Damian and my life in
California so she stopped asking after she understood. It wasn't that I hated
Damian or Aaron. I just didn't like to talk about it because I knew I was a coward
for running away. What kind of wife runs away from her husband? From a husband like
Damian? He never hit me or mistreated me in any way. Sure there were fights but he
always went my way. I don't know what happened. Just one day, I realized that I
didn't want to do it anymore. I didn't want to be a wife in a lonely house that
wasn't even mine.
I wished I could say all of those things to Damian but there was a knot in my
throat threatening to make me cry and that was the last thing I needed.
Damian ran a hand through his short hair as he thought about what I had just
confessed to him.
"I'm sorry." He finally said after a moment. "I'm sorry I didn't make you happy."
"Stop it." I shook my head. "I was selfish, Damian. When we got married, you were
finishing medical school and then you began your career. You were never home and
when you were...you weren't really there. I was selfish. I wanted you all to myself
and that wasn't possible." I shrugged then brought the cup up to my lips again just
to do something with my hands.
Silence fell over the table once again. Damian seemed thoughtful and I found myself
wanting to know what was going through his brilliant brain. Damian had always been
an intelligent man. It was one of the reasons he began medical school when he was
just twenty years old. He flew through college in two and a half years while I
struggled to graduate in four. He was a brilliant pediatrician and I didn't deserve
him.
As if on cue, his phone began to ring and he searched through his pockets and took
it out.
"You have to go." I said when the ringing stopped.
"It's fine." He said looking up. "I have Karen looking after the clinic."
"Karen." I repeat. "Your ex-girlfriend?"
"My father hired her before he passed. We're just colleagues." He said quickly.
I smiled. "I'm sorry. You don't have to give me any explanations. It's okay if you
need to leave, really." I stood up. "I think we're done anyway." I began to make my
way out of the shop without saying anything else, suddenly mad.
"Rebecca, wait." He called behind me as I walked out of the shop.
My phone began to ring and I searched for it in my purse. "It's Alexa." I said then
answered. "Alexa? Are you alright?"
"We're fine." It was Aaron. "Reb, listen, they towed the car last night."
I stopped walking. "You're kidding."
"No. It wasn't in the parking lot when we got there so we went to the police and
they found it, said it was towed for being parked after hours. We can't get it
until tomorrow."
"Uh, this sucks." I murmured already thinking about the tickets I got and how much
it's gonna take to take the car out.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Don't worry, I'll take you tomorrow or Damian. He'll
probably want to take you."
I glanced at Damian and then looked away quickly as Aaron continued, "Listen, we're
on our way back are you guys done or do you need more time?"
"Nope. I'll see you guys here." I said quickly and then hung up.
"What happened?" Damian asked.
"They towed the car and I can't get it until tomorrow." I sighed, feeling annoyed.
It was like destiny persisted on keeping me here. Well guess what destiny? You're
not winning. I'll get my car tomorrow and Alexa and I will be on our way back to
Nevada and I'll never see Aaron or Damian again. I will go back to pretending I
don't have a husband. I'll go back to my little circle of pretend. Yes, that's what
I'm going to do, I thought to myself as we reached the hotel.
"Rebecca, listen." Damian grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side. "I know that I
shouldn't ask you this but as your husband, I am asking you to stay."
"Damian—"
"You have a life, I know." He interrupted. "Just stay for a few days, please."
"Alexa has school."
He half smiles. "Being a pediatrician means I know a lot of things parents know.
Like, for example, how it is spring break in most schools this week."
I hesitated. "I still have a job to go to."
"Rebecca, please." He said looking at me with pleading eyes. "I'll do whatever you
want. Just stay for a few days here, with me..." he frowned. "I'm not quite ready
to see you go."
"I don't know..." I shook my head, looking away.
"You can stay in the house."
I almost laughed. "I doubt your mother would accept me there."
"My mother is out traveling. She won't be back until next week." He sighed.
"Please, Rebecca. All I want is a few days and then if you still want to go, then
I'll let you go. I'll even sign divorce papers if that's what you want. Just give
me a few days."
I'll even sign divorce papers if that's what you want.
Is that what I wanted? I have lived the last three years as a single woman so it's
not like it would make a difference. Though I knew that I would be lying to myself
if I said I never took consolation in knowing I had a husband.
I could stay for a few days. Until Friday or Saturday. I knew we would have to be
back in Nevada by Sunday because Alexa started school again on Monday which would
be perfect because it would be before his mother got back. The last thing I wanted
was to see that woman. I would be back in my life in less than a week. I could be
legally separated from Damian and then I wouldn't have to worry about being a
runaway wife again. I would really be free to do whatever I want with my life...as
will Damian...
"Okay." I heard myself say after a moment. "But just until Saturday and then we're
leaving."
He nodded. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me, Damian." I looked away. "I owe it to you."
Before he said anything, a pair of headlights hovered over us as Aaron pulled up
with Alexa in the passenger seat.
"Why don't you take Alexa home?" Damian asked Aaron. "I have a few appointments
later today. Would you like to come with me?"
Everyone looked at me and I smiled politely. "Gee, Damian, I don't want to be in
your way. I'll just go with them and I'll see you at your house."
Damian hesitated. "I'll have them rescheduled for another day then."
I shook my head. "Please don't do that. I'm not running away, I promise."
Damian nodded. "Okay. Uh—" he surprised me by taking a step forward and placing a
kiss on my forehead. "I'll see you tonight."
I nodded and he turned around and made his way back to his car. I opened the
backseat door of Aaron's car and got in.
"So we're staying?" Alexa asked turning to look at me.
"Just for a few days. Until Saturday and then we'll leave."
She smiled. "So can I schedule a tour to go see UCLA?"
I frowned. "I thought you had decided to go to NYU."
"I did but UCLA is my second option and I want to go see it so I can make my
decision. It would be perfect now that you're gonna fix things with Damian and we
would move here. UCLA is like twenty minutes away from Beverly Hills."
I would rather have her close here in California than all the way in New York. I
rolled my eyes at her. "This is why you called Damian, isn't it? For your own
benefit."
"You are thinking about it." She smiled. "It could work out for everyone."
I shook my head disapprovingly. "We'll talk later." I told her.
She sighed and sat back down on her seat.
The last thing I needed was Aaron listening to me and Alexa going back and forth.
With her just two months away from graduating from high school, the conversation of
colleges was inevitable. She had told me she had decided to go to NYU mostly
because she had always wanted to get away and go somewhere different. Maybe it was
my fault for not taking her out more often. She felt guilty when she told me but I
couldn't keep her from going, it wouldn't be fair. If it were for me, I would have
her go somewhere in Nevada. Thinking about it, I would prefer it if she went to
UCLA. She would be closer.
God. Poor Alexa. No wonder she wanted to get away, I would too.
--- --- ---
6. "Sleep with your husband!"
--
During the year that Damian and I were married back before I ran away, we lived in
his mother's house. It wasn't exactly my decision to make. If I had it my way, I
would have asked Damian if we could get a house of our own but Damian was always so
busy. If he wasn't studying for an exam, he was worried about patients or talking
about his current cases. One of the things I loved about Damian was his passion for
his career. It was one of the things that attracted me to him though it was hard to
spend time together sometimes.
I didn't want to be another burden on his pile of stress so I put on a smile and
lived with his mother and Aaron for the first year of our marriage. Marianne didn't
make it easy. She never liked me for his son. She thought I wasn't good enough for
him and in the months before I left, I began to believe her. I didn't know what I
would have done if Aaron didn't live with us as well. I would have probably left
way before I did. Damian was rarely home so he never really saw how Marianne
treated me when he wasn't there. Aaron knew and he defended me.
After I left, I vowed to never go back into that house yet here I was three years
later stepping into the house that held so many good memories of Damian and I as
newlyweds yet just many as bad ones.
The house felt cold and empty as we walked in. There was new furniture. It was
white, so white that they were easy to miss between the just as white walls of the
living room. The gray carpet contrasted the white. It smelled like lavender, that
was new too. I knew Marianne liked to change the fresheners in the house every few
months.
It was a one story house so it expanded graciously to the sides. Walking in was the
living room with the kitchen and dining room off to the right and then there was a
long hallway that led to the bedrooms. There were four of them, if I remembered
correctly.
"You okay?" Aaron asked me with a frown.
I nodded. "Yeah, it's just weird being here." I turned to look at him. "And your
mother is not going to be here right?"
"Right. Rest assured. She's out of town. She's been out ever since my dad passed
away..." he sighed. "Anyway, let's go to the room, shall we?"
Alexa and I followed him down the hall. We passed Marianne's closed door, Aaron's,
and then he opened the door of the spare room.
"Err," he glanced down the hall at Damian's door. "You could sleep here too, I
suppose."
Alexa yawned. "I'm so exhausted."
She should be. We spent all afternoon walking around Hollywood. This girl didn't
have enough. A broken arm didn't slow Alexa one bit. It was fun, I'm not gonna lie
and it served as a distraction as well.
Aaron set down the suitcases. "I'm tired too. I'm gonna shower."
"Thank you so much for everything." I told Aaron, sincerely.
He smiled tiredly. "Believe me, Reb, it was my pleasure." He hugged me. "I'm so
happy to see you again. Please don't ever disappear again."
I smiled. "Okay."
He pulled away. "Damian will be here soon, I think. He works late."
"I know." I half smiled. "Go rest, don't worry about us."
"There's food in the fridge."
"Are you kidding? We ate everything in sight earlier." I laughed.
He pressed his hand to his stomach. "I know, we're bad. Now I have to hit the gym
tomorrow for sure." He walked to the doorway. "Well, I'm gonna shower."
I nodded. "Okay."
"Uh, Rebecca?" Alexa asked. "I'm gonna need a plastic bag." She said raising her
cast.
"Right." I said. "Uh, I'm gonna go look in the kitchen."
"Hurry." She called as I walked out of the room.
"Yes, boss." I murmured as I walked down the hall.
I opened the drawers trying to look for a plastic bag but I couldn't find anything.
As I was moving onto the counter doors, the front door opened and I gasped as I
shut the counter door quickly.
Damian walked in and frowned when he saw me. "Everything alright?"
He was loosening his tie as he walked into the house. His hair was a bit messy on
top of his head, I could imagine him running his hand through it as he drove
home...
"I wasn't snooping." I said nervously. "I'm sorry, I'm trying to find a plastic bag
so Alexa can cover her cast."
"Oh, yeah, of course." He walked into the kitchen and opened the counter under the
sink. He pulled out a plastic bag. "Will this work?" he asked handing it to me.
I nodded. "Yes, thank you."
"You guys have everything you need?" he asked after a moment. "Anything else I can
get you?"
"No, thanks. We have everything. I might need to use your laundry room tomorrow
though. We're out of clean clothes."
He half smiled. "This is still your house, Rebecca. You can use and do whatever you
please."
I gulped. "Thank you but it's your mother's house, Damian. It's always been."
"Rebecca?" Alexa called before he could say anything.
"I'm gonna go take this." I said mentioning to the bag. I turned around and began
to make my way to the room. I could feel Damian following me.
"You're right." He said quietly around me. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize—we should
have moved out. When we got married. We should have moved out."
I stopped outside the room and smiled sympathetically. "It doesn't matter anymore,
Damian."
"Of course it does—" he stopped when the door opened.
Alexa took the plastic bag. "Thanks." She said then closed the door and I heard the
click of a lock. I reached out and turned the doorknob but it was indeed locked.
"Alexa! Open the damn door!" I called.
"No! Sleep with your husband!"
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm gonna kill her." I murmured to
myself.
Damian chuckled. "Remind me to thank her tomorrow."
I looked up at him and shook my head with a smile. "Are you paying her?"
"No, maybe I should." He chuckled. "Come on, I'll show you to our room in case you
forgot." He said as he walked down the hall to the room.
I hesitated but followed him. Alexa was going to pay for this. I didn't know how
but she was. I stood at the doorway and watched as Damian took off his jacket and
began to unbutton his shirt. His blond bangs fell over his forehead as he looked
down.
I forced myself to look away from him and looked around the room. It looked exactly
the same it was since the last time I was here. The king size bed was positioned
against the wall with the plasma TV anchored on the wall. The walk in closet was
off to the left with the bathroom next to it. I noticed Damian walked to his side
of the bed which was the right side. I wondered if he always left my side empty. I
remembered choosing the left side because of the big window on that side of the
room.
I looked at the bed with the bright white sheets. How many times did Damian and I
make love in that bed? Many, at first, and then not so many as the months passed.
"Are you alright?" Damian asked, suddenly in front of me.
I cleared my voice, avoiding his gaze. "Uh, yeah. Just nostalgic, I guess. I need
to shower, any chance I could borrow something to sleep in?"
"You can use one of my pajamas." He said as he opened the drawer and pulled out
folded pajama pants and shirt. They were green patterned pants.
"Thanks." I said as I reached for them.
Damian took a step forward, making me lean against the door. Suddenly, his left
hand went around my waist and he rested his forehead against mine. "I'm sorry—" he
whispered. "I promised myself I wouldn't touch you. I just—" he opened his eyes and
looked into mine. "I can't tell you how thankful I am that you're here." He pressed
his lips against my forehead for a moment and then pulled away.
"I'm gonna shower." I said quietly and then half ran to the bathroom. I didn't know
why I began to cry. I guess I felt guilty about running away. For the first time, I
understood the harm that I caused when I left without saying anything. Damian
didn't deserve that. I should have left a note or something. I didn't deserve
Damian. I didn't deserve the way he was treating me. He should hate me. He should
yell at me. Do anything but treat me like I did nothing wrong.
I forced myself to stop crying and didn't get out of the bathroom until my eyes
didn't look red. Damian's pajamas were too long and big but I felt comfortable in
them. He got in the shower after I got out and I looked for a comb. After combing
my hair, I got under the covers and faced the window. I shut my eyes, wanting to go
to sleep before he got out. I was exhausted so it didn't take long for sleep to
take over me. It was then, half asleep, that I recognized what had made me cry
earlier. It was because on the drawer next to Damian's side of the bed, was a
picture of us in our wedding...I was in my wedding dress and Damian in his suit
looking as handsome as ever...that was an unforgettable night...that night, I had
no doubt that we were going to be together for the rest of our lives...that night
was one of the happiest nights of my life...but now, it was a sad night to
remember...

--- --- ---

7. "You traumatized the poor guy."
--

I met Aaron before Damian in school. Aaron was a year younger than me but he was a
year ahead in school. We got along right from the start and we grew close over the
years in school. At the beginning of our senior year, he introduced me to Damian in
a party he hosted in his parent's house. I don't really remember the occasion of
the party, guess it didn't matter. I remember looking everywhere for Aaron who had
disappeared. I was never a party girl so Aaron was my safe haven in every party. He
was the cool kid. Everyone wanted to be around him. I remember spotting him out in
the backyard, across the pool. I walked my way around people until I reached him.
He was talking with Damian who had a beer in his hand. I hadn't seen Damian before
so I found myself checking him out. I admired his tallness, his broad shoulders,
and I liked the fact that he was the only one in the party wearing a suit.
"Hey, there you are." Aaron said when he saw me.
"Hey," I said forcing myself to look away from the handsome guy standing next to
him. "I lost you."
Aaron grinned. "Well you found me. This is my brother, Damian." He turned to look
at him. "This is Rebecca."
Damian turned to look at me. "Well I finally get to meet my little brother's best
friend." He extended his hand out. "It is a pleasure, Rebecca."
I couldn't look away from his brown eyes. I think I smiled. I meant to smile as I
shook his hand. "Thanks." His hand was firm and I liked the touch of his warm skin
against mine.
"Hey, Aaron!"
Aaron looked behind me to his buddies who were calling him. "Hey! Coming!" he said
as he walked towards them.
"Would you like something to drink?" Damian asked me.
I shook my head. "No, thank you. I have an exam tomorrow. I shouldn't even be
here."
He half smiled. "Me too. Are you majoring in business like my brother?"
"Accounting, actually. What about you?"
"I'm actually in my last year of medical school."
I raised my eyebrows. "Wow."
He chuckled. "What?"
"You don't look that old."
"I graduated college when I was twenty." He shrugged. "I'm sort of a nerd."
I smiled at him. "Well, you don't look like a nerd either."
In my head, I was doing the math. If he was on his fourth year of medical school
and he graduated college when he was twenty-years-old then he was about twenty-
four. I was twenty-one. He did look more mature than most of the people that were
in the party and it didn't go unnoticed that all the girls were checking him out
whenever they could.
Damian looked at me for a moment. "I can't believe we've never met before. Aaron
had you well hidden."
I smiled. "Well, now we know each other."
"Yes, we do." Damian grinned. "I have a feeling we're gonna see each other more
often, Rebecca..."
I stared at Damian's back as he slept. Who would have thought I was gonna marry
that man I met at Aaron's party? It was so easy to fall for Damian. He was so
caring. So attentive. Always sending me texts or giving me flowers. I fell in love
with him like an idiot. Married him a year after meeting him and then leaving him a
year later. And now here we were. Three years later. Technically, we have been
married for four years. Though counting the last three years felt like cheating.
Damian's soft snoring filled the room as I got out of bed slowly. I pulled the
pants up as I walked out of the room as quietly as I could.
"I'm sorry." Alexa said as soon as she opened the door when I knocked.
I rolled my eyes at her. "What exactly are you sorry for?" I asked as I reached for
my purse and searched for my toothbrush. "Calling Damian? Locking me out of the
room last night?"
"Everything." She sighed. "I'm sorry, Becca. I sort of did call him so I could go
visit UCLA."
I glanced at her from the mirror as I brushed my teeth. She was sitting on the bed
with her back against the wall, staring at the TV. Her hair was frizzy probably
from sleep. She didn't have any make up so she looked younger than she was. She
rested her casted hand on her lap.
I dried my hands and face then sighed as I sat down in front of her. "You had no
right calling him, Alexa. Things between Damian and I are—complicated."
That was the understatement of the century.
"I know, I'm sorry." She said biting her lip.
I looked at her for a moment then took a deep breath. "Now about UCLA—"
She looked up at me, a smile playing on her lips. "Yes?"
"I realize that I have no right stopping you from going to the school that you want
to go." I rolled my eyes. "And I know you're gonna leave anyway so I'd rather you
choose UCLA."
She smiled. "There's a tour for Saturday. You have to come with me."
I smiled. "It'll be nice to go to campus again."
I heard someone clear their throat behind me and I turned around and saw Damian
standing at the doorway. He was wearing basketball shorts with a white T-shirt, the
sleeves hugged his muscular arms in the way I've always loved to admire. His blond
hair was messy from his sleep.
"Hey." He said quietly.
I stood up and walked to him. "Good morning."
He glanced at Alexa and then looked back at me, lowering his head. "I thought you
left..."
I half smiled. "I don't have a car, remember?" I joked but a dark shadow crossed
his handsome face. "I'm just kidding." I said reaching out to touch his arm but I
stopped mid-air and dropped my hand.
He looked at me. "I'm gonna go get dressed and then we can go get the car? Maybe
have breakfast first?"
I frowned. "Aren't you going to work?"
"I think I'm going to take the next few days off."
I shook my head. "Damian, please don't do that...I mean you don't have to."
"I want to, Rebecca." He lowered his voice. "I feel like you're gonna disappear if
I let you out of my sight."
I gulped as I held his intense gaze. "I'm sorry." I whispered.
He stared at me for a moment. "I'll go change." He finally said and then turned
around and walked back to his room.
"You traumatized the poor guy."
I turned around and glared at Alexa. "You know, we're in this situation because of
you so I wouldn't be talking, missy."
Alexa with her smart comments.
She frowned. "Why did you tell me you guys were divorced?"
I reached down for my suitcase and began to look through the clothes. I really
needed to do the laundry. "Because we practically were."
"No, you weren't. You ran away." She leaned in closer and whispered. "I mean,
Rebecca, what about Julian?"
"Shh!" I hissed. "I'm gonna go change." I walked into the bathroom and changed into
jeans with a blouse, my hands shaking. "You should change." I told Alexa.
"I'm not going." She said pulling the blanket up to her chin. "I'm not interested
in being a third wheel, thank you very much."
"So you're just gonna stay in bed all day?"
"Uh, yeah. You know Damian has every possible channel on the TV, plus Netflix, and
wi-fi, right?"
I gave her that look. "You better stay out of trouble, Alexa."
"Yes, mom."
I rolled my eyes at her. "And do the laundry, the room is right across the hall."
"Yes, boss."
I couldn't help but smile. "Thanks." Before I walked out of the room, I stopped and
turned around. "And Alexa—"
She looked at me. "Don't worry, my lips are sealed."
I sighed in relief. "Okay." I walked out of the room and closed the door behind me
then headed to Damian's room. The door was open and I pushed it open slowly. Damian
was standing in front of the full size mirror he had in the corner. He had changed
into black dressed pants with a white button down shirt tucked in. He was tying his
black tie as he turned around to look at me.
"Alexa wants to stay here, if that's okay with you."
"You don't have to ask me, Rebecca." He said as he straightened his tie.
As I watched him, I remembered when I used to tie his ties back before I left. It
wasn't that he didn't know how to tie them, he would always joke about how he liked
it better when I tied them for him. I nodded once. "Okay. I'll, uh, be in the
living room."
"I'm ready." He said as he clasped his silver watch on his right wrist and reached
for his jacket.
"You make me feel so underdressed in jeans." I teased as we walked out of the
house.
"Well, you make those jeans look good."
I blushed as I turned around to look at him. He looked up and grinned as he
unlocked the car. Oh God. He was checking me out. I don't know why I felt
embarrassed. I mean he was my husband for God's sake. I was acting like a teenager.
"Thanks." I said when he opened the car door for me.
"Please stop treating me like a stranger," Damian said as he started the car.
"You're starting to hurt my feelings."
"For saying thank you?" I teased.
He chuckled as he shook his head but didn't say anything.
"Sorry." I looked out the window. "It's just weird being around you again."
There was a moment of silence as he drove. I looked out the window and watched
everything we passed by, a million things going through my head.
"Were you really gonna leave? After seeing Aaron?" he asked after a moment. "You
were going to leave without calling me?"
I could tell he was hurt by the tone of his voice and that made me feel even worse
than I already felt.
"I was thinking about going to your clinic. Aaron gave me a card and made me
promise I would go see you...but—" I sighed. "I probably would have left, yes. Not
because I hate you but because I'm a coward."
The biggest coward on earth.

--- --- ---

8. "Would you just let me take care of you for a second?"
--

I looked down at my phone for the third time since Damian and I sat down.
Caller ID: Julian.
God, it was like Alexa invoked him.
"Is everything okay?"
I looked up at Damian and wondered for a brief second thought about how he would
react if I told him that I have been dating a guy for the past three months. The
reaction probably wouldn't be good. No. Damian shall not find out about Julian.
"Sorry, just work." I frowned. "I forgot I needed to extend my days off." I
realized.
Today was my last day off from the little vacation so I made a mental note to call
today. I was lucky I rarely missed work so I had a lot of sick hours accumulated.
Enough to get me the next few days off and still have more left.
Damian reached for his cup of coffee. "Where do you work?"
"In a bank." I paused. "I'm a manager."
He raised his eyebrows. "And how is it? Do you like it?"
"I do, actually. I like the schedule and I have some pretty decent coworkers." I
said as I used the fork to cut a piece of pancake and put it in my mouth.
"So you've been in Nevada all this time?"
I nodded. "Yes."
"You know, it wasn't until you left that I realized I didn't know where your mom
lived."
I looked at him. "Well, we never visited her. She always came here, remember?"
"We should have." Damian said slowly. "I know part of the reason we never did is
because I didn't have time."
"I never held it against you, Damian." I said sympathetically. I really didn't. I
married a medical student who had a career waiting for him in his father's clinic.
I knew what I was getting into and I respected what Damian did too much to resent
him for it. Did I like it? No. But I didn't blame Damian.
"I didn't know where to look for you," he continued thoughtfully as if he was
looking into the past. "I realized I didn't know much about you."
"I'm sorry." I said quietly.
He chuckled dryly. "Don't apologize. I wasn't a good husband to you. I guess I got
what I deserved."
"Don't say that." I said placing my hand on top of his. "What I did to you—
disappearing like that..." I shook my head as I took my hand off of his and placed
it on my lap. "It's unforgiveable. I t wasn't the right way to handle the
situation. I'm so sorry."
"Yeah, well I think I'm to blame too." Damian said after a moment.
I looked down at my food which suddenly didn't look as appetizing as it did a few
minutes ago. Silence took over our table and we sat there and finished our
breakfast with the chatter of people talking around us, like two strangers...
__________________________________
The tow pound was open when we got there and as we walked in, I began to panic. I
didn't know how much it was going to be. I had been spending money all weekend and
I could only hope that I had enough in my credit card.
The last thing I needed was Damian thinking I'm not financially stable. I had been
doing pretty good for myself. Way better than I was two years ago.
Damian and I sat in silence as we waited for the car to be released. I played with
the car keys as we waited and Damian went over his phone.
"Your car is ready." The man behind the computer finally called in a boring voice.
Damian and I stood up and walked to the counter while the man clicked something on
the computer. "It's $468.11."
I sighed silently in relief as I reached for my wallet. I had enough, thank God.
But before I could take out my card, Damian took out his wallet and handed the man
his card.
"Damian, what are you doing?" I hissed as the man processed the payment.
"Taking care of my wife." He said casually as if it were the most obvious thing in
the world.
I pursed my lips and didn't say anything while the man handed Damian his card back
with the receipt. "Have a nice day." He said sounding like a robot as Damian and I
headed outside.
"Thank—"
"Stop." Damian interrupted me.
"Damian, that was my expense. I can afford it."
He stopped and turned to look at me. "Would you just let me take care of you for a
second?"
There was anger in his voice and I didn't say anything, not wanting to start a
fight outside the tow pound. There weren't people around us. Cars were passing down
the street. I could see my car parked a few spots next to Damian's. It was dusty
but I was glad to see it.
"I'm sorry." Damian said as he ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't mean to yell—
I just—I've been feeling useless for the past three years. Not knowing where you
were, not knowing if you were okay, if you needed anything. Rebecca—" he took a
step forward, and placed his hands on my shoulders. "I'm your husband and it's my
job to take care of you. I want to take care of you."
I nodded as I looked into his brown eyes. "Okay."
We stared at each other for a moment and I noticed just how tired he really looked.
He did sleep last night so I wondered if it was his job that was stressing him or
if maybe it was me. Damian has always been a very handsome man. From his strong
jaw, to his warm brown eyes and perfect lips...his Adam's apple made him look even
more manly and intimidating. His eyes wondered down to my cheeks...down my lips...
I cleared my throat. "We should go."
He nodded. "Right." He said as he took his phone out and glanced at it. I noticed
he had a few notifications.
"Damian, if you need to go to work—please go. I feel guilty thinking of sick
children not being treated because of me."
He half smiled. "They're not always sick, you know, most of the time they're just
check-ups."
"Still." I smiled. "I promise I'm not going anywhere."
He glanced at my car, hesitating.
"Here, give me your phone." I said extending my hand and he placed it on my palm.
"I'll give you my number and you can call me to check in whenever you want." I said
as I saved my number on his phone then gave it back to him.
"I don't know, Rebecca, I don't have much time with you. I don't want to waste it."
I smiled at him. "I know how important your job is to you. Just go and do what you
have to do. I'll be fine."
He nodded slowly. "Okay. You remember how to get back to the house?"
"Yes."
He hesitated for a moment. "If you need anything—"
"I'll manage." I reassured him.
"Okay." He repeated, nodding as if trying to convince himself that this is a good
idea.
You traumatized the poor guy.
Alexa's words repeated in my head over and over. Maybe not traumatized, but Damian
didn't trust me anymore and it was my fault. I didn't blame him. Damian had always
been a confident man and I had cracked a hole in his confidence.
Without thinking, I put my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest. I
could tell I caught him by surprise but he put his arms around me and held me
tightly.
"I'm not running away, I promise." I whispered after a moment. "Alexa wouldn't let
me anyway, until we go to her tour." I laughed as I pulled away.
Damian smiled, showing me his straight white teeth. "Okay. Guess I'll see you later
then."
"You will." I promised.
He hugged me one more time and then kissed my cheek before heading to his car. I
forced my legs to do the same. I watched him drive off.
I sat on the driver's seat for a moment, feeling the tingling of his lips against
my cheek. I shook my head with a smile. I felt like a teenager with a crush on the
popular guy. I was a married woman and that man was my husband. We have done way
more intimate things than a kiss on the cheek; yet that embrace and that kiss felt—
special.
Maybe because I missed him more than I allowed myself to admit.
It was easier to pretend I wasn't married back in Nevada, it got easier as the days
passed. I knew that if I ever saw Damian again, I would be back in square one.
And here I was.
I didn't know what we were doing. Could I move back to California? I loved my job
and I had worked so hard to buy the house...
If I came back, it would be like taking three steps back in my life.
Yes, I had missed Damian more than I allowed myself to admit but I didn't think I
could come back...yet I didn't know if I could just walk away again.
I had no idea what I was going to do.

--- --- ---

9. "Rebecca doesn't deserve you."
--
Damian's POV
I'll never forget the last conversation I had with my father though at the time, I
didn't know it was going to be the last time I would have a conversation with him.
It was a day before he had the heart attack. I remembered going into his office
after an appointment. We talked about football and then the conversation began to
get deeper. 
Don't work too much, son, because your life will be over before you know it. Enjoy
life, enjoy the people you love.
Enjoy the people you love.
Of course when he told me that, I knew he was talking about my runaway wife. From
everyone else, my father was the one who understood me most. I thought he felt a
little guilty because I had followed his footsteps in becoming a doctor and then I
was wifeless. This was a very rewarding job but it came with sacrifices.
Seeing Rebecca again had changed me. I had spent the last three years feeling so
angry. Angry at Rebecca. Angry at myself. Angry at the world. I was miserable.
Every day felt the same as I buried myself in work.
Seeing her again—it was as if the past three years hadn't happened. It was like I
had been shaken up to life. I had a purpose again. I was a husband again.
Right now, I wanted nothing but to be Rebecca's husband.
There was a knock on the door and then it opened and Karen peeked in. She always
had the habit of doing that. It was as if the knock was announcing her entrance
rather than asking for permission to enter.
"Hey." She said closing the door behind her after she walked into my office.
"Good afternoon." I said looking away from the computer.
"How are you?" she asked sitting down.
I frowned. "Good? What's going on?"
Karen and I met back in medical school. We actually dated for a few months before I
met Rebecca. We lost contact after graduation until my father hired her about a
year ago. She was also a pediatrician.
"Uh—" she smiled. "The nurses said you seemed weird today."
The nurses. I swear they needed to just do their job instead of being gossipers on
the side.
"Weird how?"
"I don't know, cheerful?"
I chuckled. "I should smile more often huh?"
Karen studied me. "You do look different. Is it because you slept a little more
today?"
I didn't usually like to share my personal life with anyone but if I did, it would
be to Karen.
"Rebecca came back." I said after a moment.
Did she come back though? She had stayed because I asked her to but she was here
only for the rest of the week and then she was leaving again.
That thought hunted me. I didn't want her to leave. I needed to do something.
"What?" Karen looked shocked. "What do you mean she returned? When?"
"Yesterday."
Had it been just yesterday? It felt like so much had happened. At the same time, I
was happy it was only yesterday. It meant I still had a few more days with her.
"And you took her back? Just like that?"
There was an edge in her voice that I didn't like. Maybe I shouldn't have said
anything. Why didn't I keep my mouth shut?
I sighed. "Karen—"
She leaned across the table so she could hold my gaze. "No. I'm sorry, Damian, but
she left you. She hurt you. Or did you forget that already?"
I wasn't happy.
Those words have been hunting me ever since Rebecca said them. She wasn't happy. As
her husband, I had vowed to make her happy and I had failed. I was never there for
her. On the day that she left, I had worked for twelve hours straight and I didn't
realize she was gone until the next morning when I woke up to an empty bed.
"She was gone for three years." Karen continued. "Without calling you or even
giving you an explanation and now she comes back like nothing?"
"She is my wife." I said in a low voice.
"Only on a piece of paper. She hasn't been your wife for the past three years,
Damian."
I took a deep breath as I ran a hand through my hair. "Karen, I am not an idiot. I
know what I'm doing."
I didn't need to be reminded that Rebecca had left for three years, I had that
present in my head. It sort of still felt unreal that she was here. The thing was
that, yes, I was angry at her for leaving without saying anything to me. I still
didn't know what she had been doing for the past three years. But when I looked at
her, when I talked to her, none of that mattered. What mattered was that she was
here. With me.
I glanced at my phone and contemplated calling her. It felt like she was going to
disappear any second. I reached for the phone. Yeah, I'm calling her.
I stood up. "I have an appointment."
Karen stood up with me and stepped in front of me, placing her hand on my arm.
"Damian." She said looking at me with her black eyes.
I looked down at her and found myself comparing her to Rebecca. They looked nothing
alike. Karen's eyes were darker and her hair was curly with highlights all over it.
Karen was pretty but Rebecca was beautiful. I knew my opinion was biased since
Rebecca was my wife but Rebecca's beauty seemed natural and unique.
"Rebecca doesn't deserve you." Karen said.
"I'm going to ask you to stay out of it, Karen." I said trying not to sound as
annoyed as I was. I never should have told her anything. "And to please keep your
hands to yourself." I said grabbing her hand and pulling it away.
I walked past her dialing Rebecca on my way out. I went into the examine room
across the hall. I could hear children laughing and yelling in the waiting room
with the TV playing in the background.
"Hello?"
I smiled at the sound of her voice, the anger seemed to diminish. "Rebecca."
"Damian. Hey."
"How are you?"
I had missed talking to her. Did I used to call her at random times during the day
before she left?
"Good. I'm—going through my clothes." She paused. "I didn't think you'd keep them."
My mother was the one who had gone into my closet and packed all of Rebecca's
clothes into suitcases a few months after she left. When she attempted to throw
them away, I took them and hid them in my closet. I guess it was as if I was
holding on to her somehow by doing that. It drove my mother crazy.
"I wasn't looking through your things." Rebecca said quickly when I didn't say
anything. "Well, maybe I was a little." She laughed nervously.
I chuckled. "Well, they're yours so it doesn't matter." I paused. "Listen—I wanted
to take you out tonight."
"Tonight? Where?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe out to dinner? Catch a movie or something?"
Catch a movie or something? I sounded like a college boy all over again. God what
was wrong with me.
"Like a date?'
"Well—yes a date."
I was asking my wife out on a date. Why was that so strange? I tried to remember
the last time Rebecca and I were on a date and I couldn't remember. We did used to
go out before she left, right?
"Oh, okay."
"Okay." I repeated. "I'll pick you up at around six."
"Okay, I'll be ready by then."
"Alright." I smiled. "Bye, Rebecca."
"Bye, Damian."
I hung up with a stupid grin on my face.
I had a date with my wife.
____________________________________
When I got home in the evening, I found Alexa in the living room. She was cuddled
up with a blanket and watching TV. I think it was one of the Harry Potter movies.
She paused it when she saw me come in through the front door.
"Hey."
"Hi." She said with a shy smile that resembled Rebecca's. "Sorry. I got tired of
being in the bed so I moved here."
"This is your house, Alexa. You can do as you'd like."
She nodded with a smile. "Thank you. If you can just let Rebecca know, please."
I chuckled then I looked down the hallway. I could see the light of my room on.
"She's still getting ready." Alexa said. "Rebecca! Damian is here!"
"Coming!" Rebecca called from the room.
I sat on the couch. "So what are you watching?"
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." She paused and looked at me. "Do you like
Harry Potter?"
I shrugged. "I've never watched the movies. I don't really have time."
She looked disappointed. "Well, if you want to be my brother-in-law you need to
watch all of the Harry Potter movies."
I chuckled. "I'll get to it then."
She smiled. "I'm just kidding. But no, really." She said as she pressed play.
"I don't think I ever thanked you." I said after a moment. "For calling me, telling
me where Rebecca was." I said when she looked at me confused.
"Oh. You're welcome." She glanced down the hall and bit her lip. "My sister gave up
a lot to come and take care of me...and you were one of the them." She looked at
me. "I just want her to, you know, have a life of her own. I want her to be happy."
Before I could ask her more about what she meant, Rebecca appeared from the
hallway. She was wearing a black pencil dress that went down just above her knees
with high heels. The dress hugged her perfect curves and her legs looked absolutely
radiant. I knew the dress was in the suitcases that were in the closet. She must
have taken them out and washed them. Good. I wanted her to feel right at home
because this was her home.
"Sorry. I'm ready." She said.
I cleared my throat as I stood up. "Rebecca, you look absolutely radiant."
She smiled as she looked down sheepishly. "Thanks, I tried."
She was wearing red lipstick. I loved her in red lipstick.
"Alright, let's go." I said opening the door.
"We'll be back soon." Rebecca told Alexa who rolled her eyes at her. "I'm eighteen,
Becca, I'll be fine."
"Right." Rebecca said then walked out the door.
It was dark outside as we walked to my car. I thought about how back in the days, a
date would always end in a kiss. I hoped I had the same luck tonight.

--- --- ---

10. "I used to do this a lot before, didn't I?"
--
        
Damian glanced at his phone for the third time since we sat down. I could tell he
was uneasy about something but he hadn't said anything since we arrived.
He had brought me to an elegant restaurant which wasn't surprising. Damian was
known for his extravagance which wasn't necessary every time but one couldn't stop
him from going overboard. The restaurant was beautiful with chandeliers up on the
ceiling and it was clean with classical music playing in the background and waiters
wearing fancy uniforms with bow ties.
We hadn't gotten our food, we had just ordered when Damian looked down at his phone
again.
"Is everything alright?" I asked looking at him.
He glanced up at me. "Yes."
"Damian." I half smiled at him to let him know it was okay.
This was known territory. Damian's time wasn't always mine. I understood that.
He sighed. "I'm so sorry. I just have to make a really quick call."
"It's okay." I said reaching for the glass of wine.
"I'll be right back." He said as he stood up. I watched as he walked across the
room, around tables in all his grace. I had always admired how good he looked in
suits. He walked outside—to the balcony. I could see him pacing as he dialed.
I looked down at the glass of red wine as I waited. It felt strange being on a date
with Damian. Mostly because we hadn't really defined our relationship. We didn't
know what was going to happen to us. Was this a good idea? That was the reason I
hesitated earlier in the day when he asked me out. Then I thought about how he had
kept my clothes all these years. He could have thrown them. Hell, he could have
burned them but he didn't.
So I agreed. Besides, I wanted to go out with Damian. I wanted to go on a date with
him like we used to before we got married. I wanted to pretend nothing was wrong.
Of course, those days were gone now and Damian's dreadful look as he walked back to
the table was proof of that.
"I'm so sorry, Rebecca, but I have to go to the hospital."
"Is everything okay?" I asked as I stood up and reached for my purse.
He took out his wallet, took out some bills and put them on the table. "It's one of
my patients." He said as we began to walk out. "She's giving birth."
"I thought you only treated children."
"I do. I'm treating the newborn." He said as he unlocked the car. "My father was
actually their family doctor. He was the one who did the check-ups of Kelly and her
sisters when they were born. He was good friends with her father." He continued as
he started the car. "And now that he's gone—I've kind of taken over his job." His
voice lowered as he talked about his dad. "Anyway," he continued as he drove.
"Kelly is crowning so she will be giving birth soon. I'll do the check-up on the
baby and if all is well, as my predictions are, it shouldn't be long."
I nodded slowly. "I thought the hospital doctors did check-ups?"
I was so ignorant on Damian's job, it was ridiculous. I realized I never really
bothered to ask him about it.
"They do most of the time." He explained as he looked at the road. "Unless the
family asks if their children's doctor can do it. It's just better. That way, I'll
have the baby's records from the start instead of having to wait to have them
transferred."
"Oh, okay, that makes sense." I said.
He turned to glance at me as he stopped before a red light. "I'm so sorry again,
Rebecca."
"Don't apologize." I told him.
"I used to do this a lot before, didn't I?" he asked quietly.
I looked out the window. "It's not your fault, Damian. Duty calls."
"It is though. I didn't put you as a priority—ever."
I bit my lip but didn't say anything.
I really understood that it wasn't Damian's fault but he was right. He never made
me a priority. His job always came first. I understood at first but you can only be
so understanding. Eventually, I got tired and then I became unhappy. Was this how
it was going to be if I came back? I would be going back to the same unhappy life I
had. I didn't want to go there. I didn't want to be miserable again.
We arrived at the hospital and Damian and I half-ran inside. We got into the
elevator and went up to the eleventh floor.
"I'm Doctor Walker." Damian told the nurse behind the counter. "I'm here for the
Sullivan's."
The nurse nodded. "Right this way, Doctor."
Damian turned to look at me and I nodded with a smile. "I'll be right here."
He nodded then turned and followed the nurse. I sat down on one of the chairs and
watched him disappear down the hall. I could see pregnant women walking down the
hallway. All with pained looks on their faces.
I looked away and reached for a magazine instead. After looking through it, I
grabbed my phone and looked through social media. I didn't know how much time
passed before my phone began to ring.
Caller ID: Julian.
I looked down the hallway. There was no sight of Damian so I pressed the green
button and brought the phone to my ear. "Hello?"
"Rebecca! I've been trying to reach you all day."
I bit my lip. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I've been busy."
"Where are you? I went to your house but you weren't there."
"I'm still in California." I said to him. "I'm going to be here for the next few
days."
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah—" I stood up and began to pace. "Alexa broke her arm so we had to stay here."
"Oh, God. Do you need anything? I could come—"
"No, no." I said quickly. "Please don't bother. She's fine. I just wanted her to
get a few more check-ups before we left." I shook my head.
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
"Okay, well, I'm glad you're okay." He paused. "I miss you."
I frowned. "Yeah, I'm sorry I wasn't able to answer until now."
You're horrible, Rebecca. A horrible, horrible person.
"It's okay, I'm glad I got to talk to you."
"Yeah me too. I, uh, have to go."
"Yes, of course. Please call me if you need anything."
"Okay, thank you. Bye."
"Good-bye."
My hands shook as I hung up the phone. I took a deep breath, suddenly feeling
suffocated. I looked around but didn't see Damian anywhere.
I needed some air.
I walked back to the elevator and went down to the first floor an hurried outside.
The fresh air felt good against my face.
What the hell was I doing? I was dating two men whom didn't know about each other
and one of them was my husband.
Julian and I weren't exclusive. We had only been out on a few dates over the past
three months but it wasn't a relationship. At least it wasn't for me. We never
really had the "what are we?" conversation. He didn't deserve what I was doing
though. I was lying to him. He was wasting his time with me when he could be seeing
other women whom he could have a real future with.
The thing was that I knew I didn't want anything serious with Julian. I just liked
to hang out with him. It was a distraction. No, it wasn't fair but it seemed okay
before seeing Damian again.
Damian...my husband. Maybe soon to be ex-husband.
I didn't know what we were doing. I had my life in Nevada and he had his here.
I sat down on a bench and looked straight ahead. There wasn't really anything, just
the parking lot. I could see people making their way into the hospital. I could
hear the sound of an ambulance close by...
Damian and I needed to talk.
We needed to figure out what was going to happen. Either way, I needed to break off
whatever Julian and I had. Technically, I was in two relationships that were
undefined and probably going nowhere.
Go figure.
I didn't want to think about what Damian would do if he found out I was dating
another man. Would he care? I knew he would. There was no way he hadn't dated
anyone during these years though. He was a handsome, successful doctor that I knew
he caught the attention of many women. The thought of him with another woman made
me angry. I had left him. I had left my husband. Maybe that would be my punishment.
I didn't like it but I knew I deserved it.

--- --- ---

11. "Oh come on, we're family already aren't we?"
--
I stared at the coffee maker as the coffee dripped into the glass. The smell of
freshly brewed coffee filled the kitchen. Damian's coffee maker was so much newer
than mine. I was in love with it.
I had woken up to an empty bed with morning and with a text from Damian letting me
know he would be back later. Last night we ended up getting home until around
eleven at night. The labor had taken a little longer than anticipated. Thankfully,
the mother and baby were fine. Damian, of course, felt guilty though I assured him
it was okay. I wasn't angry at him for looking after the health of a newborn. I had
taken the time to contemplate life which God knew I needed to do. I had to get my
life together.
"What are you doing?"
I looked up at Aaron who was standing by the dining room table wearing his pajama
pants and black T-shirt. "Looking at art." I joked as I reached for a mug. "Do you
want a taste of it?"
He chuckled. "Well, if you put it like that, yes please."
I smiled as I poured coffee into two white mugs then went to sit down next to
Aaron. It felt like I hadn't seen him in a long time. Today was Wednesday. The days
were going by slow and I didn't know if that was good or bad yet.
Aaron still had his sleepy face on. His left cheek was marked with the pillow, the
universal sign of a good sleep.
"So," I said as I put cream in my coffee. "You are a landlord who still lives with
his mom."
"Ouch." He winced then shrugged. "I get money deposited into my account every month
and don't pay rent. This is how you get rich, baby."
I laughed. "I guess it's sort of smart."
"I had to do something smart with the money dad left for me." He smiled. "But I'm
working on it. Do you know what a turn off it is to girls when they find out you
live with your mom?"
"Right." I shook my head with a smile.
"So what's up with you, Reb?" he asked, changing the subject. "Are you moving back
or what?"
I shook my head. "I couldn't move back into this house."
"Because of my mom."
I bit my lip. "Yes."
"You should tell Damian, Reb. He would do anything to get you to stay. He would buy
you a mansion if you asked him to."
"Damian and I...we haven't really talked." I said quietly. "I don't know what we're
doing, Aaron." I looked down at the table.
"Well, there's definitely a big talk coming for you guys but—" he leaned in,
resting his elbows on the table. "Why don't you worry about that later? Just, you
know, enjoy your time together. Consummate your love."
I laughed. "Oh my god, stop!"
He frowned. "You're right. Now I'm picturing my brother naked."
I kept laughing but he made me picture Damian naked. His bare muscular chest, toned
arms...
He chuckled. "For real though, just enjoy your time together. Worry about the hard
stuff later."
I looked at him. "Is that your life motto?"
"It is actually." He laughed. "And look at me, living a pretty chill life."
I shook my head with a smile. "So do you have a girlfriend or what?"
"No. Do you know how hard it is to find a loyal girl now-a-days? They give you
their pretty innocent face when they're talking with twenty-one guys at once."
"Twenty-one, wow ." I laughed. "That's a bit dramatic. You want to settle down soon
or what?"
He ran a hand through his messy hair. "I just want something real, you know? I
haven't been in a relationship—well, since you left."
"Really?" I asked raising my eyebrows.
He grinned. "I appreciate the tone of surprise."
"Don't flatter yourself." I said bringing the cup of coffee up to my lips.
"Too late." He winked at me making me giggle.
My friendship with Aaron had always been like this. Easy. I honestly didn't know
how I would have made it through college without him. He was that cool best friend
every one dreamed of. Aaron was a really nice guy, not to mention handsome, which
was why I was surprised he hadn't found the girl of his dreams. I guess this is
where the whole looks-don't-mean-everything thing came in.
The front door suddenly opened and Damian walked in carrying plastic bags on one
hand and a brown bag on the other. He was wearing a gray suit today with a white
dressed shirt and a black tie.
God. He was so handsome.
"Hey." He said when he saw Aaron and I. "Brought breakfast." He said placing the
bags on the table.
"Cool." Aaron said as he began to take the food out of the bags.
Damian sat down next to me then took out a dozen white roses out of the brown bag.
"For you." He said in a low voice as he handed them to me.
I smiled as I reached for them. He remembered how much I loved white roses. There
was something so unique about them despite the fact that they were really cliché. I
liked to think of them as pure. Our wedding had nothing but white roses. "Wow.
Thank you." I said looking up at him. He offered me a small smile as he stared back
at me.
"No PDA kids." Aaron said then raised his eyebrows. "Please."
I looked away sheepishly. If only Aaron knew Damian and I hadn't even kissed since
I got here.
"I brewed coffee, would you like a cup?" I asked Damian as we settled down for
breakfast.
"Yes, please."
I stood up and went to get him a cup of coffee feeling very much like a wife. God I
was pathetic.
"Thank you." Damian murmured when I placed it on the table.
"So." Aaron said as we ate. "I was going to the beach today. Do you think Alexa
would want to come?"
I raised my eyebrows as I turned to look at him. "As your what?"
"My friend, of course." He said quickly.
"She's a baby, Aaron."
"She's eighteen." He said with an amused look on his face.
"Better keep your hands and thoughts to yourself." I warned.
He laughed. "Oh come on, we're family already aren't we?"
I turned to look at Damian, shocked. A smile was playing on his lips but he looked
up. "Careful, bro."
"You're older than her!" I said turning to look at Aaron who was laughing.
"Chill, I'm just playing with you. I just thought I'd take her so she wouldn't be
here all day." He shrugged.
Well, he did have a good point. She had been here all day yesterday and I felt
guilty making her stay here and do nothing all day.
"I guess you can ask her. I'm sure she'll want to go but please take care of her.
And send me the address. I might stop by later."
Aaron laughed. "Wow, you are strict. Poor of your future children."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Whatever."
I knew I was strict on Alexa, considering she was eighteen, but I had made it my
goal to get her through her teens without getting pregnant or do drugs. She wasn't
even wild, she was actually a good kid thanks to my mom. I was just always paranoid
of something happening to her.
The sound of a phone ringing down the hallway made Aaron stand up. "That's my
phone."
"Don't worry, I'll warn him to be careful." Damian said after he disappeared down
the hall.
"Thanks." I half smiled. "I know she is technically an adult but she's my little
sister."
"Of course." Damian said resting his arm on the back of my chair. He checked his
watch on his right hand. "I have an appointment today in about an hour but I have
cleared the rest of the day. I would like to spend it with you."
He was leaning in, dazzling me with his eyes. Oh how good it would feel to kiss him
right now. I blinked. "Uh, yeah, of course."
Just enjoy your time together. Worry about the hard stuff later...
I turned to look at him. "Why don't I—uh—go to the clinic with you?"
"You want to go?" he asked with a surprised look on his handsome face.
"Yeah. I mean if I can—"
"Of course, yes." He said, a small playing on his lips.
"Okay." I stood up. "I'll go change then."
I walked down the hall and changed quickly. I went with a black pencil skirt and a
purple silk blouse tucked in. I put on my favorite black heels back when I was
here. I was glad to find my clothes in Damian's closet. I had only brought casual
clothes for the trip and I missed my professional attire. I guess I was sort of
like Damian in that sense. I worked in a bank so I always had to dress
professionally which I didn't have a problem with because I actually liked to dress
like that.
On my way out of the room, I went into Alexa's room. She was attempting to make the
bed with one arm.
"Here—" I said setting my purse down. "I'll help you."
"Are you going out?" Alexa asked.
"Yeah—with Damian." I said as I fixed the comforter. "Did Aaron talk to you?"
She nodded. "I can go right?"
"Yeah." I looked at her. "Just be careful please and—"
"No drinking." She interrupted me with a smile. "I know."
I smiled. "Okay." I fixed the pillows. "Do you need anything before I leave?
There's breakfast in the kitchen."
"Nothing, Mrs. Walker." She teased with a smile.
"Stop it." I said trying not to smile.
"Becca," she said as she walked towards me. "I know we're going back to Nevada but
if Damian makes you happy, and I know he does, you should give him another chance."
I smiled. "Okay. I'll think about it." I hugged her. "I'll see you tonight okay?
Please be careful and remember boys are evil."
"Oh yeah, that's why you are married to one."
I laughed. "Shut up."
"Go get him." She winked at me.
I shook my head with a smile. "Bye." I said as I walked out of the room.
That was the second person to tell me to enjoy my time with Damian. I didn't know
if they were setting me up but maybe it was time I listened.

--- --- ---

12. "You are my wife, Rebecca."
--
        
Damian's dad was an exceptional man. Apart from his career, he was a family man and
loved his sons and wife. He had always been caring towards me and did his best to
make me feel included, despite his wife's efforts to do the opposite.
He already had Walker's Pediatrics when I met Damian and knowing Damian, I knew he
took great pride in taking over his father's clinic.
"So how do you like being boss?" I asked Damian as he parked outside the building.
"A little harder than I thought." He admitted as he turned off the car. "But I love
my job. It is the one thing I know how to do right."
I nodded, looking away. He got out of the car and I watched as he walked around it
and opened the door for me. He offered me his hand. I took it and he helped me out
of the car. Once outside, he didn't let go of my hand. Instead, he intertwined his
fingers through mine. It was so natural, as if he did that every day. I looked away
so he wouldn't see my smile.
"Wow, it looks so different." I said as I looked up at the clinic. The building was
a beige color, which was different. The last time I saw it was smaller and brown.
Now, it looked bigger and I liked this color better. One top of the building facing
the street, was the word Walker in white letters with Pediatrics next to it in
colorful and curly letters.
"Yeah, we extended last year." Damian said as we walked.
"Well, it looks good."
There were trees and small bushes by the entrance, making it look friendlier and
more appealing. I caught sight of Damian and I walking on the glass door. There we
were, holding hands. We almost looked like a sane, happy, married couple. Damian's
hand felt good against mine, I felt something warm inside of me at his touch. I
didn't want him to let go.
He opened the door with his free hand and I walked in with him behind me. It was
bright inside. There was a waiting room to the left where two little boys were
playing with building blocks. Their mother, I guessed, was sitting down with a
magazine in her hands. There was a front desk across the room and a young girl sat
behind it, with a computer and papers one the desk.
"Welcome to Walker's—" she was smiling when she looked up and saw Damian. "Oh, good
morning, Doctor Walker." She looked at me in curiosity, her blue eyes glancing at
our hands.
"Hello, Wendy." Damian greeted. "Any messages?"
"Not right now, doctor." She smiled. "I'm sorry, is she your girlfriend?"
Damian glanced at me with a smile. "This is my wife, Rebecca."
"Hi." I said awkwardly.
"Oh." Wendy looked surprised. "I didn't know you were married."
"That's because I don't like to talk about my personal life with my employees."
Damian said. He sounded polite but I knew there was a message behind it. Mind your
own business...
"Right, sorry." Wendy turned red. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Walker."
"Same to you, Wendy." I said after a moment. I hadn't been called Mrs. Walker in
such a long time. It was weird to hear it for the second time today.
"Well, I'll be in my office." Damian said then turned to the left and walked down a
hallway. The sound of the boys' laughs diminished as we went into a door to the
left.
His office was bright because of the sunlight coming in through the two big
windows. The walls were white and there was a black desk with a lap top, one chair
behind it and two on the other side of the desk. There was a bookcase to the right
side with books and a black leather couch to the side. Damian let my hand go and
went to sit behind the desk. He looked at me in wonder, his hands crossed on his
chest.
"I like it here." I said after a moment as I looked around. "It's very—open."
He half smiled. "Sorry about Wendy. My staff here are great with the clients and
kids but—they all love a good gossip." He chuckled. "She's probably telling all the
nurses right now."
I laughed. As I walked closer to his desk. "What a disappointment it's going to be
for all of them to learn you are married."
He looked up at me. "Rebecca—I didn't tell them—"
"Stop." I smiled. "I get it, Damian, you don't have to explain it to me." I paused.
"I just don't know if it was a good idea to tell them I'm your wife when..." I
trailed off.
When we don't know what's going to happen to us.
Feeling guilty was familiar to me now. Damian hadn't told his employees he was
married because then he would have to explain what happened to his wife.
Damian stood up and walked around the desk. I turned around, leaning against his
desk as he stood in front of me with his hands in his pockets. He looked at me for
a moment and I stared back at him. I loved his faint five o'clock, it made him look
more mature, more handsome.
He took a step forward. "You are my wife, Rebecca." He said in a low, sexy voice.
I pressed my thighs together as my body responded to him. I looked away, a smile
playing on my lips. "You intimidate me when you look at me like that." I whispered.
You turn me on when you look at me like that was more accurate but I wasn't about
to tell him that. 
He walked closer, until he was inches away from me.
"Damian—" I whispered, resting my forehead on his chest.
I was defeated. My body wanted him and it was exhausting trying to fight against
it. He took his hands out of his pockets and placed them on my waist. His touch
made my body tense even more.
"Rebecca," he whispered my name in that low voice of his.
I took a deep breath as I raised my head slowly to look at him. His raised his
right hand and caressed my left cheek. His eyes roamed all over my face, down to my
lips, my neck, before he looked at me in the eyes. "You are my wife." He said
again, more possessively this time.
He pressed his body against mine as he leaned in until his nose touched mine. He
stayed there for a second. I closed my eyes as my arms travelled to his shoulders.
I put my hands behind his neck as he leaned in and pressed his lips against mine.
My whole body melted against his. He wrapped his arms around me as his lips began
to move against mine. He kissed me slowly. His lips caressing mine as if I were
made out of glass. I pushed him closer to me, my body burning with desire.
I hadn't felt this way in a long time. I hadn't wanted a man like I wanted Damian
in that moment. I wanted to feel his hands in every part of my body. How had I gone
all this time without his touch? How could I have forgotten how good—how right—it
felt to be in his arms? He began to deepen the kiss by using his tongue. It became
desperate. He kissed me as if—well, as if he hadn't kissed me in a long time. I
felt wanted. Wanted by my husband.
Damian kissed me desperately as if he knew that seconds later there would be a
knock on the door. The knock was faint bit we heard it and then the door opened the
in a second, Damian and I pulled apart.
I straightened up but Damian was still hovering over me. I looked at him. His lips
were swollen and I felt a strange feeling of pride knowing it was because of our
kiss. He looked angry to have been interrupted, his breathing was rapid.
"Dam—" whoever was talking stopped.
I continued to hide my face with Damian. I licked my swollen lips as I tried to
catch my breath.
"I am so sorry, I didn't know you were with someone." It was a woman's voice.
Damian sighed then turned around. "You have to stop doing that, Karen." He sounded
annoyed.
At the sound of her name, I looked up and saw Karen standing by the door. I hadn't
seen her in years—since Damian was in medical school before we even got married.
She looked older and her hair was longer, she had that ombre look going on. She was
wearing black dressed pants with a white button down blouse and a white coat lab.
Right. She was a doctor like Damian. I didn't know how I felt about seeing her
again. I'm sure I would feel if I saw her in the store or something rather than in
my husband's clinic as his fellow doctor.
I kept my face neutral as I crossed my hands on my chest casually. I could tell she
wasn't happy to see me either. I hoped she knew she had interrupted something.
"Rebecca." She cleared her throat. "I didn't know you were here."
I nodded. "Hello, Karen."
Karen's eyes moved to Damian. "I just wanted to let you know they're waiting for
you in room three."
Didn't nurses do that? I suddenly felt jealous at the thought of there being
something between Damian and Karen. They were together once and what did they say
about being around an ex? Your feelings came back?
"I'll be right there, thank you." Damian said, more calm now.
"Okay." Karen nodded then she walked out without another word.
Damian turned around and looked at me. "I hate that we were interrupted."
I smiled. "You should go to your appointment."
He put his hands around me then kissed me again. Short and sweet.
"I am not done with you." He said as he pulled away. He walked to the coat rack he
had in the corner behind his desk and took off his jacket and put on his white lab
coat.
I looked down at my feet. "I think I am done, though. Seeing your ex was sort of a
turn off."
He froze for a second then continued to adjust his lab coat. "It's not like that."
"So you're gonna tell me that there wasn't anything between you two before you saw
me again?"
He clenched his jaw. "I have to go." He leaned in and planted a kiss on my lips.
"I'll be back."
I bit my lip as I watched him walk out.
He didn't deny it.
I took a deep breath then sat down on one of the chairs. Okay. Damian was with
Karen, I was with Julian. We were even now.
I stared out the window.
Had they been sleeping together? I may be dating Julian but I haven't slept with
anyone else but Damian. Part of me wished I would have now. The part of me that
kept imagining Damian in bed with Karen...naked...
Damian hadn't admitted it but I knew there had been something going on between
them. It would explain the look on Karen's face when she saw me earlier.
The image of Damian and Karen naked in bed was becoming too real now...and I hated
it.

--- --- ---

13. "How long have you been sleeping with my husband?"
--
I roamed through the books Damian had on the shelf in his office. They were mostly
medical books and dictionaries except for some football magazines he kept on the
right side corner. He used to be a big football fan back when we met. He actually
influenced my like for football.
I didn't care about football before Damian. Now, I found myself watching the games
whenever I could. I had a preference over the Green Bay Packers mostly because of
the crush I had on Aaron Rodgers though I genuinely liked to watch football. It was
entertaining.
I reached and pulled a magazine out. A piece of paper fell down to the floor and I
reached down to pick it up.
When I looked at it, I realized that it wasn't a piece of paper. It was a picture
of Damian and I. It was back when we began dating, when I was in college and he was
in medical school. It was a selfie, our cheeks were touching as we smiled at the
camera.
I remembered taking this picture and if I remembered correctly—
I turned the picture over and smiled. On the back of it, I had written the words "I
love you, Damian" and drawn a small heart next to his name.
I felt a knot build in my throat as I stared at our happy faces. We were so young,
so unaware of what was going to happen to us. Of what I was going to do to us. What
Damian and I had—it was real. It was love. He was everything I've always wanted.
Someone with a career. Someone who cared about me. Someone who respected me. His
mom never thought I deserved him and maybe she was right. After what I did to
him...I'm sure she hated me even more now. I didn't want to see that woman again.
I heard the door open behind me and I turned around, thinking it was Damian.
Instead, it was Karen.
"Sorry," She looked embarrassed when she saw me. "Damian is right—I need to stop
doing that." She said then pointed to a cabinet Damian had next to his desk. "I
just need a patient's file."
"Of course," I said when I realized she was asking me for permission. As if she
didn't always enter his office without asking, I was sure she did.
I watched as she walked in and went to the cabinet, opening one of the drawers with
a key in her key chain.
I looked down at the picture again. We took that months after Damian and Karen
broke up. I squinted my eyes at Damian. Did you guys get back together? Did you
sleep with her? I asked him silently in my head.
"So how have you been?"
I looked up at Karen a little startled. I had forgotten she was in the room for a
second. I cleared my throat. "I've been good and you?"
"Great," She nodded as she clutched the folder on her chest. "So are you staying?"
I didn't say anything for a moment. Wouldn't you like to know? I wanted to say that
but I bit my tongue. I had no right to harass her. Or maybe I did have the right as
Damian's wife but I was ashamed. I should feel ashamed for what I did right? I was
selfish. I left Damian. I gave him up. I couldn't expect him to just stop his life
when I left. I guess it never occurred to me that Damian would get with another
woman in my absence. He had always been such a loyal man. I never had my doubts
with him. But he had a history with Karen. They went through medical school
together. They dated for more than a year. What did they say about having your ex
around? Something about old feelings coming back?
"No." I finally said looking down at my feet then looking up again. "I'm only here
for the week."
Let her wonder until what day I would be here. God. I was such a child. She'll
probably count the hours until I left though. She'll count the hours until I'm
gone, the hours until she has Damian by herself. I looked at the desk and the
images of the make out session with Damian earlier came flooding through my head.
Did he kiss her like that too? Touch her like that? Turn her on like that?
"Oh." Karen said. She hesitated and then took a few steps towards me as if she were
going to tell me a big secret and didn't want anyone to hear though we were the
only two in the room. "Listen, Damian—he wasn't doing good for the longest time. He
was barely starting to—" she stopped then looked at me. "I care about him, Rebecca,
and if your intention is to leave him again then don't play with him. Don't get his
hopes up."
I stared at her, feeling angry, sad, and shameful all at the same time. Who the
hell was she to tell me this? It was none of her business. One thing was for me to
understand that I left the road clear for her and Damian but now she was butting
into our marriage or whatever was left of it. The other part of me understood that
she was right.
I couldn't tell if she was telling me this because she genuinely cared about
Damian, though I was sure she did anyway, or because she was trying to guilt me
into staying away from him.
Maybe both.
If your intention is to leave him again...
The way she had said it... as if she had the right to protect him. To defend what
was hers. To defend him from me.
I felt anger start to build up inside of me as I glared at Karen.
I care about him, Rebecca.
I bet you do, Karen, I bet you do.
I crossed my arms in my chest as I straightened, trying to look intimidating. "How
long have you been sleeping with my husband?"
I wasn't thinking straight. I was angry. But more than anything, I was jealous.
Stupid jealousy making me do stupid things. Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut?
Karen looked shocked by my question and she didn't say anything for a second.
"Rebecca—"
Before she could finish, the door opened and Damian walked in. He stopped at the
doorway. He looked at me then at Karen then back at me. "Is everything okay?" he
asked slowly.
"Yes." Karen answered. "Just needed a file." She said then walked out without
another word.
I turned around and slipped the picture inside the magazine then put it back in its
place. When I turned around, Damian was looking at me cautiously.
"How was your appointment?" I asked him calmly. My anger was quickly dissolving now
that Karen had left the room.
"Good." He said as he walked into the room. He opened a drawer on his desk and put
a folder inside. "I just need to do something really quick and then we can leave."
I nodded. "Take your time."
He sat down and opened his laptop then began to type. I walked to the couch and sat
down. I decided to check on Alexa. It felt like I had her abandoned. I promised to
spend some time with her tomorrow. I texted her and asked her how she was. She
answered a few minutes later telling me she was at the beach watching Aaron playing
volleyball with his friends.
At least she was having fun. While I was over here tormenting my husband's ex-
girlfriend. I looked at Damian after a moment. He was concentrated on something in
his computer.
I care about him, Rebecca.
Karen's words replayed in my head and I felt jealousy begin to build up again. I
hated that she wanted to tell me what to do. As if Damian was hers. As if she were
his protector.
There was a reason why she felt the liberty to tell me that though and that
infuriated me even more.
For a moment, I didn't care that I left Damian. He was my husband, not Karen's. He
belonged to me, not her.
Without thinking, I stood up and walked behind Damian's desk. I placed my hand on
his shoulder then, before he had time to react, I pulled my skirt up so I could
throw my leg over and sit on his lap, facing him.
"Rebecca—" he looked surprised as he put his hands on my waist.
I placed my hands on his cheeks and leaned in to kiss him. He let out a soft moan
when I went down to kiss his neck. I kissed him until I ran out of breath. It was
like my anger was turning into lust and it made me want to somehow mark Damian so
Karen and everyone else would know he was mine. I felt his hands tightened around
me, then he buried his face in my neck. I felt his lips against my skin and I
closed my eyes for a second.
Damian was mine. He was my husband.
I opened my eyes then leaned in until my lips were close to his ear. "Have you been
sleeping with Karen?"
I felt his body tense and I pulled away to look at him. He seemed confused by my
question or maybe he was just surprised and he was trying to come up with a lie.
After a moment of him not saying anything, I took a deep breath then tried to stand
up but his hands held my hips in place, making me stay on his lap.
"Why are you asking me that?" he asked, his eyes searching mine but I wouldn't look
at him. "Did she tell you something?"
I looked at him. "Just answer my question."
"Tell me if she told you something."
"For what? So you could go tell her to keep all of your dirty secrets?"
He looked at me and didn't say anything for a moment. I wished the phone would ring
or that someone would knock on the door so he would have to let me go.
I knew Damian and I had to talk. We had to talk about what happened three years
ago. We had to define our relationship. So far, he hadn't reproached me anything.
He was being nice but I knew he was only doing it so I wouldn't leave. I knew that
there was a bomb that was ticking...and it was ready to explode any moment.
"Let me go." I told him looking into his brown eyes.
"No." he answered, his big hands still gripping my hips.
"Damian—we need to talk."
"Not right now." He said in a low voice. He raised his right hand and stroked my
cheek. "Please."
I bit my lip suddenly feeling guilty for even demanding anything from him. Jealousy
got the best of me.
I put my arms around Damian's neck and hugged him, suddenly feeling sad. I think we
both knew that it was over. Once we had that conversation, it would be the end.
Damian held me tightly, burying his face in my neck as if he knew what I was
thinking.
Silence fell over us for the longest time as he held onto each other, trying to
search the old Damian and Rebecca that fell in love four years ago...

--- --- ---

14. "Rebecca's going to kill me."
--
ALEXA'S POV
I was fifteen when my mom died. It was sudden. One day she was there and the next
she wasn't.
I always felt a little guilty about Rebecca dropping everything to be with me
despite the fact that she never made me feel like a burden. She was there for me.
I could never tell her this without crying but I was so grateful to her for taking
care of me the way she did.
She didn't have to drop everything to be with me. She didn't have to stay in Nevada
so I wouldn't have to move schools. She didn't have to work long hours so I
wouldn't have to but she did.
I didn't know where I would be without my sister...which was why I felt guilty
about going to NYU and leaving her. I worried about her being alone. It was the
reason I had called Damian that day.
"Hello?" he had answered.
"Hi. This is Alexa, Rebecca's sister."
I spoke fast and almost out breath as I gave him the hotel's address and then hung
up. I didn't know if he was going to show up. I didn't really know why Rebecca had
left him, she didn't talk about it.
The thing was, I knew Rebecca wasn't happy in Nevada. She was almost like a robot
going to work every day, asking how my day was when she got home, sitting in the
living room and watching movies in her time off...
Even when she started dating Julian, I could tell she wasn't entirely happy. Her
smiles weren't real. I didn't understand what had made her run away by I knew she
still loved him. There wouldn't be pain in her eyes whenever I asked her about him
if she didn't.
On Thursday, I could tell something was bothering her. Aaron had taken us shopping
to the mall and she was just walking along without saying much.
I wondered if she had gotten in a fight with Damian.
Maybe I had been wrong. Maybe Damian couldn't make her happy either.
During lunch, Aaron and I exchanged looks.
Aaron was her best friend once, maybe he could do something to cheer her up but he
seemed just as helpless.
I didn't remember Aaron being so attractive back when I met him in Rebecca's
wedding. Probably because I was much younger and had crushes on boys in bands. Of
course, he still was 6 years older than me. Maybe that's what made him
attractive...no, I was pretty sure it was his short brown hair and clear brown
eyes...his strong jaw...oh, and his six-pack definitely gave him points as well.
Eighteen wasn't that young for a twenty-four year old right? Maybe not for me but
for him, yes. It didn't help that I was his best friend's little sister.
Why was I worrying about this anyway? I was starting college. I was moving to New
York in a few months so it wasn't like I was going to start a relationship.
So I had a little crush on a twenty-four-year old. Pretty sure I wasn't the first
one. Besides, it wasn't so bad as long as nothing happened right? At least he
wasn't in his thirties.
"So where should we go next?" Aaron asked looking at Rebecca who looked up at him,
as if remembering that she wasn't alone.
"I'm actually meeting Melissa. She saw your Instagram post and found out I'm in
California, thanks by the way."
Aaron looked embarrassed. "Sorry about that."
"You should be," Rebecca joked with a half-smile. She looked at me. "I'm so sorry
about leaving you alone again. I feel like I have you abandoned."
"I don't mind at all," I assured her. "I mean, you have a lot of catching up to
do." I shrugged.
Rebecca nodded. "Yeah, we're leaving Sunday morning. This feels like the longest
week ever."
To me, it was the opposite. It was going by fast. This was probably the most
exciting week of my life. Aaron had taken me under his wing and took me everywhere
he went. Yesterday, he took me to see some of his properties. He invests in houses,
renovates them, and then rents them. He said he began with the money his dad left
him. That was really good business, if you asked me.
This had turned into a really good birthday trip for me. I felt a little guilty,
though, because I didn't think Rebecca was enjoying it as much.
"You're coming tomorrow to play volleyball with me and my peeps," Aaron told
Rebecca as he brought the cup to his lips.
"I haven't played in so long, Aaron," Rebecca said. "I'm pretty sure I suck now."
"You're coming, Reb, for old time's sake."
Rebecca rolled her eyes at him. "Fine," she said then stood up. "I have to go. Do
you mind hanging out with Aaron or do you want to come with me?"
"I don't mind," I said then looked at Aaron. "Unless Aaron is tired of me."
"Not at all." He grinned as he winked at me.
Rebecca looked at him then at me. "You guys better behave."
Aaron and I looked at each other and laughed. Rebecca shook her head with a smile
before walking away.
"You're not tired of me either?" Aaron asked after we threw away the trash and
began to walk.
"Not at all," I said mimicking his tone.
He grinned then put his arm around my shoulders. "Good. Now, what shall we do
today?"
Aaron and I ended up in San Diego. We went to Sea World. It was a beautiful day to
be outside and we had a blast. I went from the girl who didn't go anywhere to
touring California in just a few days. I didn't want the week to end. I didn't want
to start school again.
As Aaron and I looked at everything, I took a few selfies with him and posted them
on Snapchat. My friends were going to be so jealous. I knew they were going to
bombard me with questions once they saw the pictures and I loved it. A girl can
dream.
It was getting dark by the time we left the park.
"So do you know what's up with Rebecca?" I asked Aaron as we walked to the parking
lot.
"I don't have a clue," Aaron said as he ran a hand through his hair.
I looked up at him. "Does Damian really love her?"
We reached his car but we stood outside. There were people around us trying to find
their cars, others trying to strap their kids inside. I leaned against the hood and
Aaron stood in front of me.
"Damian suffered a lot when Rebecca left him," Aaron said. "I had never seen him
like that. Even my mom was concerned. I think she was desperate enough to look for
Rebecca and well, as you may know, she wasn't really fond of her." I nodded and he
continued, "So to answer your question, yes. I think Damian really does love her.
He knew he wanted to marry her after four months of knowing her." He looked at me.
"What about Rebecca? Do you think she still loves him?"
"I think she does," I said then shrugged. "She never really talked about him. I'm
sure we would have left if I wouldn't have called Damian."
Aaron smiled as he sat next to me, our shoulders touching. "Look at you being
Cupid."
I laughed, feeling myself blush a little at how close he was to me. "It doesn't
look good though, does it?"
Aaron shrugged. "I don't know. I think they're both really stubborn. They make it
hard on themselves. She loves him. He loves her. So just be together, you know?
Screw everything else."
"Wow, that's really romantic," I teased him.
He chuckled as he rubbed his shoulder against mine playfully. "I am a pretty
romantic guy." He turned to look at me. "What about you?"
I smiled. "Am I romantic? No."
"Aw, come on. Every girl is romantic and loves romance. Doesn't your boyfriend ever
do anything romantic?"
Was he trying to figure out if I had a boyfriend? Oh, Alexa, you're in trouble.
"I don't have a boyfriend," I said. "I've actually never been in a real
relationship."
Okay, that was too much information. He didn't need to know that.
"I haven't either," Aaron confessed, looking at me. I noticed his eyes looking down
at my lips for a moment, making me shake a bit.
"Cause you're a player, I'm guessing?" I teased as I tucked a strand of hair behind
my ear.
Okay, I was flirting. I didn't care. Aaron was hot and I could tell he wanted to
kiss me. I wished he would just do it. It didn't have to turn into anything else.
Just a kiss I could remember when I went back to Nevada. Just a kiss. Just one.
I hadn't been kissed in so long, I had forgotten what it felt like to have
someone's lips against mine.
Aaron stared at me for a moment. His brown eyes bore into mine and then they moved
down to my lips again. I parted them slightly, inviting him.
"I'm not," he said in a low voice as he leaned in. He chuckled as he brought his
eyes back to mine. "Rebecca's going to kill me," he said before closing the gap
between us. His kiss was soft and slow. It made the butterflies in my stomach go
crazy. He placed his hand on my cheek as he kissed me. After a moment, he pulled
away and looked at me with an amused look on his handsome face. "Wait. How old are
you again? Just want to make sure this is legal."
I pushed him away playfully. "You jerk."
He chuckled then leaned in to kiss me again.
I couldn't believe I was making out with the hottest guy I've every laid eyes on. I
was technically making out with my brother-in-law. I had gotten it my way after
all.
I had my kiss to remember.

--- --- ---

15. "Do you remember our first kiss?"
--
DAMIAN'S POV
My wife was hot. Undeniably sexy.
And I was the lucky man in the crowd who got to call the "sexy girl playing
volleyball" (as the guys next to me put it) my wife.
I didn't want to be an ass and announce it aloud so everyone knew but these guys
next to me were seriously starting to piss me off.
I mean, they weren't idiots. Rebecca looked stunning as she played volleyball. It
didn't help that we were at the beach. She was wearing shorts with a bright ink
bikini top and a white blouse on top.
She looked different as she played. Younger. Brighter. Happier. Sexier. It reminded
me of the good old days when we were dating. It felt like it was so long ago. So
many things had changed...except for one: I was still the lucky man to call her
mine.
Barely, a voice inside my head said making me clench my jaw.
Today was Friday. She was leaving Sunday morning. The thought of seeing her go made
me angry and sad at the same time. Angry at myself because I hadn't done anything
to make her stay. I didn't want her to leave. I had to do something.
I had taken the whole weekend off of work. It was the first weekend I had off in 4
years, without being on-call. I had asked a fellow physician to cover my absence in
case someone needed help. I had my phone off. Nothing mattered right now. Nothing
but Rebecca and the time I had left with her. I needed to make it count. I knew we
had to talk soon so I needed to figure something out. I couldn't lose her again. I
wouldn't lose her.
"Hey."
I turned to look at Alexa who was back from getting some water.
"Are they winning?" She asked as she watched the game.
"Yes, I think." I frowned. I didn't even know the score. I decided to change the
subject. "So you're going to NYU in the fall?"
She looked at me and nodded. "I'll probably leave in June."
"Why NYU?" I wondered. That was so far from California, even Nevada. I knew Rebecca
would probably feel sad about her little sister leaving so far away.
Alexa half smiled. "Honestly? I never thought I would get a full ride scholarship
to NYU and it wouldn't feel right to turn it down. I don't want to turn it down.
I've always wanted to go to New York. I'm super excited," she smiled, showing off
her teeth. She resembled Rebecca more when she smiled.
"Did you—" I put my hands in my pockets. "—not like living with Rebecca?"
"Oh, it's not that at all," she said quickly, almost looking embarrassed. "I love
my sister and feel bad about leaving." She gulped. "Really bad. In fact, I don't
know how I would ever leave if you and her don't..." she trailed off, there was a
certain sadness in her face.
"That's the real reason you called me," I realized. Now it made sense why she had
called me behind Rebecca's back. "You want to feel less guilty about leaving her."
Alexa looked embarrassed. "I'm horrible, I know."
"You're not, actually, if it were someone else, they would leave without caring
about how she would feel," I glanced at Rebecca as she played, just in time to see
her hit the ball.
"You need to fix things with her," Alexa said after a moment. "I want her to be
happy and I think you can do that." She half smiled.
I nodded. "I'm trying my best."
"For the sake of both of us, try harder," she laughed nervously.
I chuckled. "Yes, ma'am."
She was really mature for her age. I realized that we had something in common: we
both lost a parent. Of course, it could be argued that losing a parent at a younger
age was much worse than when being older. I couldn't imagine the pain she must have
felt losing her mother. And Rebecca—I just couldn't believe she didn't let me be by
her side.
"Dude, the girl in the white shorts is so hot."
Alexa turned to look at the guy who had said that which was someone over to my
right. I didn't even look and just focused my eyes on the game. I couldn't afford
to lose my temper over jealousy. It wasn't professional.
"Um, you guys know he is her husband right?" Alexa called them out pointing at me.
I turned to glare at the group of guys. They were all shirtless and holding beers
in their hands. They were probably in college, if not younger. They all looked at
me with wide eyes.
"Sorry, man," the same guy said, raising his hands in defense.
Alexa laughed as she turned her attention back to the game. I definitely liked this
girl. She was a great sister-in-law.
It was another hour until the game ended. More people had arrived by then with
coolers full with food and beer. There was music playing in the background. People
were already getting ready to take over the net once this game was over.
Aaron and Rebecca were laughing as they walked towards us after the game finally
ended. "We won!" Aaron cheered. "You were awesome, Reb, thanks for coming."
Rebecca smiled as she cleaned her face with a white cloth. Her cheeks were red,
making her look adorable. "It was fun," She said smiling shyly at me. "Thank you,"
she said when I handed her some water.
"Come on, let's eat!" Aaron said waving us over to his group of friends.
We needed up eating hot dogs and chips with Aaron's gang. It was the first time in
a long time I actually hung out with Aaron outside the house. It was actually fun
to watch the sunset. I didn't realize how long it had been since I had spent so
much time outside.
Rebecca and I ended up taking a walk down the beach after the group starting
getting too wild for our liking. Alexa had stayed with Aaron. They seemed to be
getting along really well.
"Come on," Rebecca said as she reached for my hand and pulled me into the water.
She laughed as the waves crashed onto us, getting us all wet. I smiled as I put my
arms around her and kissed her.
She smiled against my lips before parting her lips to allow me in. I wanted to say
so many things to her and at the same time, I didn't want to say anything that
would ruin that moment. I felt different when I had her in my arms. I felt like a
protector and vulnerable at the same time. She didn't know the power she had over
me. I would do anything she asked me to do—except let her go. I couldn't do that
again. I knew I would do anything to keep her by my side.
Rebecca put her arms around my torso and rested her forehead on my chest. We stared
at the waves for a moment, the water only reaching our ankles this time.
"Do you remember our first kiss?" She asked after a moment.
I smiled. "Yes, I do."
"You attacked me." She laughed.
I chuckled. "Yes, I did."
It was on our fifth date. We had ordered food in and had stayed in my house. My
parents were out and Aaron was in his room playing video games. We were in the
living room, playing UNO. I remembered that it was her turn and I watched her as
she stared at her cards. She looked so adorable as she concentrated on choosing the
right one, as if it was life or death. She looked so beautiful. Suddenly, I
couldn't wait and lunged at her. We ended up laughing and kissing on the floor.
How could I ever forget that? That kissed confirmed that I wanted to marry her. I
never thought I would ever meet someone and know, in just a matter of months, that
I wanted to marry her without a doubt.
Rebecca suddenly looked up at me. "We need to talk."
I nodded because I knew she was right. We needed to talk.
Without another word, we began to make our way back to what had turned into a
party. It was dark, only the streetlights illuminating the crowd, but it seemed
like it was only getting started. Rebecca went to look for Alexa while I waited by
my car. I looked up at the sky as I waited. It was clear, no clouds tonight.
Rebecca made her way towards me with a towel wrapped around her. She half smiled as
she leaned on the car next to me. "California has turned my sister into a party
girl."
I chuckled. "She'll be fine. Aaron will take good care of her."
She frowned but didn't say anything. We stood there for a moment, looking straight
ahead. There were teenagers in the parking lot, laughing and drinking. So worry-
less. So clueless about life.
Rebecca rested her head on my shoulder and we stayed like that for a long time,
both dreading the talk that was to come.

--- --- ---

16. "I'm sorry I hurt you."
--
I looked at myself in the mirror while I combed my hair. My skin was darker. I had
forgotten to put sunscreen earlier today and now I was sunburned.
Fantastic.
I fixed my bangs with my fingers and took a deep breath. I half-ran into the shower
as soon as Damian and I walked into the house. Now, my hair was damp from the
shower and I was wearing my pajama shorts with a white blouse. Thank God Alexa had
done the laundry. I couldn't wait to get home, though, to my own closet.
I was dreading the conversation that we were about to have. I didn't want to talk
but I knew we had to. The time was here.
With another deep breath, I turned the doorknob and opened the door. The room was
illuminated with the light on the ceiling. The TV was on but the volume was low.
Damian was sitting on the edge of the bed. He was still wearing his black suit. He
seemed tense. He didn't seem like the care-free man that was on the beach with me
earlier.
I frowned, sensing that something was wrong. "Damian?" I asked as I walked towards
him.
He looked up at me. He was definitely angry. "Who is Julian?"
I froze. "I'm sorry—what?"
Damian stood up and I took a step back at the same time, suddenly feeling
intimidated by him.
"Who the fuck is Julian?" He asked, clenching his jaw. "Your phone rang and I
answered. He was looking for his girlfriend."
I gulped. "Why did you answer my phone?"
"Answer the question, Rebecca."
I sighed. "Julian is someone I've been seeing."
Damian clenched his jaw. "For how long?"
I looked away from his glare and then back at him. "About three months."
Damian chuckled dryly. "And you were giving me a hard time about Karen." He shook
his head in disbelief.
I felt anger built up inside me. "So you're with Karen and I'm with Julian. What
the hell is the problem?"
Damian grabbed me by the shoulders. "The problem is that you left me!" He gripped
my shoulders. "You are my wife! And you left me!"
There it was. The anger he had been hiding for the past few days. In the end, all
it took was him finding out about Julian.
His words hurt but I knew I deserved it. I wanted this right? I wanted him to be
angry at me. I wanted him to yell at me. I deserved this and more. I forced myself
to not cry. I had to take this bravely.
"You left me, Rebecca," he repeated, angrily. "Without telling me anything. You
just disappeared without a trace. You didn't think about how that would make me
feel. You didn't give a fuck about me." He shook his head. "You are my wife. You
left me...and now you're with someone else? While I suffered, you were busy looking
for another husband."
"It wasn't like that." I chocked out.
He shook his head angrily. "While I looked desperately for you—you were already
fucking someone else."
I put my hands on his chest and pushed him away. "Oh please, like you haven't been
fucking Karen."
"I haven't!" He yelled.
I stared at him without saying anything, trying to decide whether he was saying the
truth.
Damian looked at me. He ran a hand through his hair. "There were times that I was
tempted—yes. Times when we were close—" he clenched his jaw. "Maybe I should have."
I looked away, trying to fight back the tears.
"But all I could see was you," he continued. "Not a single day went by that I
didn't think about you, Rebecca. I would think about how I could find you. I
wondered what I did to make you runaway so many times. You have no idea—" his voice
broke and I was pretty sure something inside of me broke too.
I looked up at him. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry I hurt you." I cleaned the
tears on my cheeks with my hands.
"Why?" He asked looking helpless. "Why did you do it?" I opened my mouth but
nothing came out. I couldn't answer his question without sounding like the most
selfish person on earth. Then again, that's exactly what I was: selfish.
"I—don't know," I said stupidly. "I—was desperate to get out. I was tired of the
life I was living—"
"So why didn't you talk to me?" He demanded taking a step forward. "Why didn't you
tell me, Rebecca?"
"I—What could you have done?" I said defensively. "You were starting your career.
You were so invested in your job, I didn't want to be the reason you got stuck!"
"What could I have done?" He asked in disbelief. "I would have done something,
Rebecca. I would have left my job if you wanted me to—"
I shook my head. "No, you wouldn't have, Damian, don't lie."
He grabbed me by the shoulders again and looked right into my eyes. "I would have.
You were my wife! I committed myself to you when I married you! You came before my
career. I would have. But how was I supposed to know that my career was getting in
between our marriage if you didn't say anything?"
I shook my head. "Come on, Damian, you knew!"
"I didn't!" He insisted. "What was I supposed to do? Read your mind?"
"How could you not know? Did you not notice how we stopped trying? How we stopped
going out on dates? We stopped spending time together, we stopped arguing.
Sometimes we went days without seeing each other! You thought that was normal?"
He shook his head and he began pacing in front of me. "We were both busy with our
careers..."
"You were too busy to notice." I accused. "You didn't even notice me anymore. You
didn't even notice the way your mother treated me!"
I closed my mouth. I didn't want to bring his mother in this conversation. I had
spoken without thinking. I didn't want to seem like the girl to blame her mother-
in-law for her marriage problems but the truth was that she was a huge part of my
marriage with Damian.
"My mother?" Damian looked at me. "What does she have anything to do with this?" He
sounded defensive and that made me even more angry. This was why I never touched
this subject with him.
I shook my head, looking away. "Forget it."
"No," he said standing in front of me, as if daring me to say something bad about
his mother. "Tell me. Help me understand what my mother has to do with you leaving
me."
I glared at him. "She never wanted me to be your wife, Damian, you knew that. You
knew she thought I wasn't good enough for you. You knew she hated me! And you still
brought me to live in her house!"
I was so angry, tears were streaming down my cheeks. I cleaned them away, angrily.
I never had the courage to say this to Damian back before I left. I was too scared
to be the nagging wife who pulled him away from his family. I didn't want to be
that person. I wanted to love Marianne. I wanted her to love me. I wanted us to
have a good relationship. Who didn't want their mother-in-law to love her? Who
didn't want their mother-in-law to think that one was worthy of their son? Of
course I wanted Marianne to like me. And I tried. Oh, I tried so many times. I
wouldn't have lasted living under the same roof with her for so long if I wouldn't
have tried.
"I asked you!" Damian said angrily. "I asked you if it was okay if we lived with my
parents for a while and you said it was!"
"I didn't know it was going to be hell living with her!"
"Oh come on, Rebecca, I'm not going to stand here and let you talk like that about
my mother."
I huffed. "Then I guess I should leave."
I turned to walk out but he reached out and pulled me right back. "Will you stop
running away and face your problems for once in your life?"
"Let me go!" I said pulling my arm free. "If you want to have an honest
conversation then you're going to have to accept that your mother is no angel."
He clenched his jaw. "Fine. Go on. Tell me what she did to you."
I shook my head angrily. "You think this is a joke. You think I'm just blaming this
on her."
"It sounds to me like you are."
I looked at him in disbelief. He was really starting to piss me off. It was time to
talk. Now or never."You were always so busy, Damian. You didn't even notice the way
she would treat me during dinner. Did you not see the way she mocked me whenever I
tried to make dinner for everyone? 'This pasta is too salty' 'the meat is undone,
didn't your mother ever taught you how to cook? Karen knew how to cook'" I recalled
all the times she judged my cooking. I was only getting angrier. Suddenly, running
away seemed justified. I had forgotten how hard it was to live with Marianne. "Or
all the times she hid the laundry detergents from me? Sometimes she would even lock
the laundry room so I couldn't use it. I would have to go to the laundromat around
the corner. Go and ask around. Jim probably still remembers me." I glared at
Damian. "I tried to tell you at first but you would get so defensive, it was
impossible to talk about it. You claim that I was your priority but I wasn't,
Damian. I came after your career and I came after your mother. Maybe running away
wasn't the right thing to do but it was the only solution I could find back then. I
was tired. So tired of being humiliated by her and ignored by you."
Damian looked at me for a moment. I could tell he was doubting the perfect image he
had of his mother in his head. I didn't have the intention of causing problems
between them but Damian and I couldn't talk about the reasons I ran away without
bringing Marianne into this. God knew she had a lot to do with me running away.
Maybe that had been her plan all along.

--- --- ---

17. "Did you miss me?"
--
Thinking about Marianne had brought all of the hatred I felt on the day I left.
Hatred and sadness.
The memories of the day I left started to flood my head. I could see myself running
out of the house after receiving the worst phone call in my life. I could see
myself crying as I shut the door behind me. I hesitated before getting in the car.
I remembered looking back at the house and thinking, what was I doing? I couldn't
just leave without telling Damian anything. And then I remembered thinking about my
little sister, somewhere, alone, crying by herself. And I thought about the way I
was living. I wasn't happy. Yes, of course I could just leave without saying
anything. Damian probably won't even notice my absence until next week. I was done
living like this.
I remember getting in the car, with just my purse, and driving away. I didn't look
back again.
"My mother—" Damian said after a moment. He shook his head. "Please tell me she
didn't—" he looked up at me. "Please tell me she didn't do those horrible things."
"I don't want you to hate her," I said to him. "I don't want you to fight with her.
I just want you to understand one of the reasons I left."
He gulped. "There just has to be an explanation for the way she treated you."
He was in denial. I didn't blame him. If somebody came and told me that my mom had
been a whole other person than what I thought she was, I probably wouldn't believe
them either. When I left, I was full of hatred towards her. I thought I hated her
at some point. She made it so hard to live in her house. Damian was never home so
he didn't see what happened. I thought I also resented him for a long time. She
would do everything in her power to make my life miserable. Mock me in front of her
friends. Hide the car keys from me so I wouldn't use it. It was the reason I ended
up getting my own car. The thing was that yes, Marianne was horrible towards me,
but I understood that she was still Damian's mother. Nothing was ever going to
change that. Which was why I wanted her to like me so bad. It just didn't work.
Now, I wasn't the woman full of hatred anymore. I was past that. At least, I
thought I was.
So, I half-smiled, trying to lighten up the mood, show Damian that the damage was
done and I had moved on. "Let me know what it is when she tells you."
Damian didn't say anything. Instead, he sat back down on the edge of the bed. He
rested his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor.
I leaned against the drawer behind me and crossed my arms on my chest as silence
filled the room.
Seeing him like that made the anger inside of me diminish. I knew it wasn't fair
for Damian to find out that his own mother was one of the reasons I had left
without saying anything. Maybe I had subconsciously done it to hurt Marianne too. I
knew how much he meant to her. He was her pride. There wasn't a single reason to
explain why I left. There were many. I loved Damian, he was the love of my life,
but sometimes love wasn't enough. Love was only a part of marriage. It was
important, yes, but so was trust, happiness, and spending time with one another.
Sometimes life got in the way of love.
I didn't know what I was thinking anymore. I was tired of arguing. Tired of
thinking about the past. I hated those awful memories. It was one of the reasons I
never spoke about it with anyone, including Alexa. I didn't want to remember
anything.
I hated to see Damian hurt. It wasn't like himself to look so vulnerable and
miserable. It was my fault he was like that. I hurt him. Now, I understood that it
didn't matter that I wasn't happy. Running away wasn't the right solution. It had
been selfish—the most selfish thing I had ever done in my life. I had damaged our
marriage. I had hurt Damian.
How could I ever fix this? I couldn't. I knew that a million "sorry's" weren't
going to undo the damage that I had caused.
"I'm sorry about Julian," I said after a long moment of silence. I stared straight
ahead, at the window. "It wasn't an exclusive relationship. I—we—I didn't sleep
with him," I said quietly.
Damian didn't say anything for a moment.
I knew it wasn't the time to dive into my so-called boyfriend situation but I felt
the need to come clean. I didn't want Damian to think that I had been unfaithful to
him. Okay. Maybe I had been unfaithful by going on dates with another man but at
least I could say that I didn't sleep with anyone in the time that I was separated
from him. I wanted Damian to know that.
"You know, my father warned me many times," he finally said as he looked down at
the floor. "He always told me that this career came with huge sacrifice...in a way,
I think he felt guilty that I had followed his footsteps..." he sniffed and I
realized that he was crying. "He would be so disappointed..."
"Oh, Damian." I walked to him and put my arms around his shoulders. He buried his
face in my stomach. "Your father loved you," I said softly. "And you didn't
disappoint him—there's no way."
He didn't say anything. Instead, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me
closer to him so that I was standing in between his thighs. I caressed the back of
his head as I tried to fight back the tears.
I felt so much guilt. I wish I could go back in time and fix my mistake. I never
should have left him like that. I knew that now but it was too late. The damage was
done. Now I had to suffer the consequences. He was still mourning his father's
death and there I went to break the image he had of his mother. God, I was
horrible.
I didn't deserve Damian.
I knew it and I was pretty sure he knew it too.
After a long moment, I felt Damian press his lips against my stomach. I felt my
body tense. His hands went under my blouse and I caught my breath when I felt his
big hands on my bare waist. He pressed his lips against my skin, just next to my
belly button. He began to fill my skin with soft kisses, making my knees feel weak.
Then he stood up and kissed me, hard, on the lips. It was so unexpected—I took a
step back.
"Damian," I murmured against his lips. I pressed my hand on his chest and pushed
him away gently, just enough to make him look at me. He seemed hazy, as if he were
drunk. I could also see lust in his eyes.
What was he doing? We were at each other's throats not so long ago. Did he drink at
the beach? No, he wouldn't have. He was a responsible doctor.
He placed his hand on my cheek. "I want you," he said as he pressed his lips
against mine.
He began to kiss me quickly and fiercely. I was flattered that he still wanted me,
especially after the argument we just had. He wanted me, even though I had hurt
him. I really didn't deserve this man.
Damian went down to my neck and I closed my eyes, as I put my hand behind his head
to press him closer to me. He pulled my blouse up and out of my head, leaving me in
my bra. I reached out and took his jacket off and he reached out to loosen his tie
and take off his shirt.
He continued to kiss me and I didn't realize we were moving until my back hit the
wall. Damian's hand was on my lower back, teasing my skin. I loved the feeling of
his skin against mine.
After a long moment, we stopped. I could feel his hot breath on my neck. We were
both breathing hard, trying to catch our breath. Suddenly, he reached out and
placed his palm against my cheek and pulled my head up so I would look at him.
"You are my wife," he said, his voice was possessive and sexy. "I want you to
stay," He said looking straight into my eyes. "We'll work it out. Just—stay with
me," He said kissing my lips. "Please."
I felt like crying but I didn't want to ruin the moment. I wanted Damian. I didn't
want to worry about anything else. I just wanted us to focus on us in the room,
half-naked.
"I missed you, Rebecca," Damian whispered as he kissed me. "I missed you so much."
He pulled back to look at me. "Did you miss me?"
I gulped, trying to fight back the tears. "Of course I missed you."
He half smiled and he looked younger for a second. He ran his thumb across my lower
lip. "Do you still love me?"
Oh God. He was making it so hard for me to not burst into tears. I didn't want to
cry. I wanted him to continue what he started and make me his. I wanted to be in
his arms. I wanted to feel his lips in every inch of my body. My skin was burning
with desire for him. Didn't he know? Could he not feel that I was dying to be his
again? Could he not see in my eyes that I wanted nothing more than to be in his
arms for the rest of my life? Couldn't he tell that I realized I made the biggest
mistake of my life when I walked out of his life?
I wanted to tell him this but I couldn't tell him without crying so instead, I
nodded. "Yes, Damian," I whispered as I pressed my palm against his cheek. "I love
you."
A tear escaped from my eye and he cleaned it with his finger as he smiled. He
pulled my chin up and pressed his lips against mine. I closed my eyes, savoring the
feeling of his body against mine. I had forgotten how good—how right—it felt to be
in his arms. I had forgotten how safe I felt. I forgot how loved he made me feel
when we were together.
This was how it was always supposed to be. This was what we had lost—and now we had
found it again. In that moment, nothing mattered but him and I. I didn't care about
anything else. I didn't want to think about anything else. Nothing mattered. I just
wanted to think about how good it felt to have his lips against mine, his skin
against my skin. I wanted to dive into the way he was holding me and stay like that
forever.
It was there, in our intimacy, that he whispered, "I love you too," before picking
me up and taking me to the bed, to finish what he had started.

--- --- ---

18. "I do want you to have something."
--
Damian and I didn't have sex until we got married. Aaron always liked to make fun
of me by saying that that was the reason why he asked me to marry him so soon. But
it was never like that.
My mom always valued abstinence from sex until marriage so that's how I was raised.
When I began college, I knew I had the choice of losing my virginity if I wanted
to. My mom had done her job by teaching me her values and as an adult, it was my
choice whether I wanted to follow them or not. I didn't really decide, it just
never really happened with anyone. I was busy with school and I didn't meet a guy I
really wanted to "do it" with—until I met Damian.
The thing was that I knew he was the right guy for me and I decided I wanted to
wait because I wanted a good, innocent relationship with him. He respected me and
never suggested that we did anything. It was like he knew that I wanted to wait for
marriage.
When Damian and I first made love in our honeymoon, I wondered how I had gone my
whole life without him. That night, on our first round of many, I felt the exact
same way.
It was a weird thing, to feel the exact same way I felt when I lost my virginity.
Damian was so gentle, just how I remembered him to be.
I stared at the window as I thought about our lovemaking all night. We barely even
had any sleep. I think we broke some kind of record and I still felt like I didn't
have enough of him. How was this possible?
Now, I was more sure that I couldn't live without him anymore. I did not want to.
I want you to stay, I remembered his words from last night.
He wanted me to stay. Despite all the pain I caused him, he still wanted me.
I felt him stir next to me and then he put his arm around my waist and pulled me
towards him. I felt his lips against the back of my head.
I smiled as I stared at the bright sunlight coming through the window. Would it
work, though? If I stayed...would it work? I was scared to come back and then
everything going back to the way it was before I left. I didn't want to go back to
that life again. I didn't want to be Marianne's victim. And Marianne...I hadn't
even thought about how she would react when she learned that I came back to her
house or Damian's life for that matter. I was sure she had been the happiest woman
alive when she found out that I had left and even more happy when I didn't come
back day after day...
"Good morning," Damian mumbled behind me.
I half smiled. "How did you know I was awake?"
He extended his palm against my bare stomach. "Your breathing."
"Wow." I smiled. "Very observant."
His arm tightened around me. "Always."
We laid in silence for a moment. Just enjoying each other's company. I loved
feeling his body against mine. It was the best feeling in the world. I had
forgotten that.
I didn't have to say good-bye to this feeling. Damian wanted me to stay. I could
stay. Yet...
"Do you forgive me?" I asked him, breaking the silence.
He huffed. "Forgive you for what?"
I turned around so I was facing him. "For leaving," I said as I looked into his
brown eyes. "Do you forgive me for leaving?"
He burrowed his eyebrows together. "Rebecca—"
"Answer me," I interrupted. "Please. I need to know."
He looked at me. "I have nothing to forgive you for. I am to blame—"
"Yes, you do." I gulped. "Damian, I was selfish. It's okay to admit it. I hurt you.
So I want to apologize to you for running away. I know that I made a mistake. I was
selfish and I shouldn't have done that. I'm so sorry."
His face softened. "Rebecca—"
"Damian," I interrupted again, a smile playing on my lips. "Stop trying to justify
my actions. What I did was wrong. So, do you forgive me?"
He half smiled as he reached out and put a strand of hair behind my ear. "If you
insist..."
I smiled. "I do."
"Of course I forgive you," he said. "Do you forgive me for being a shitty husband?"
I shook my head. "You were not."
He traced my lower lip with his thumb as he looked into my eyes. "I neglected you,"
he said, there was sadness in his voice.
I placed my palm on his cheek. "It's in the past now."
He half smiled. "Does that mean that you are staying?"
I bit my lower lip. "I do have to go back to Nevada," I said slowly.
Damian clenched his jaw. "I was afraid you were going to say that."
"I'm sorry," I said. "It's just—Alexa only has a few weeks of school left. She
already has her prom dress and she's graduating in May. It wouldn't be fair to make
her move. I want to do things right this time. I'll need to sell the house, quit my
job..." I trailed off, thinking about how this was going to take a lot more work
and time than anticipated.
"I'll come with you."
I half smiled as I looked up at him. "Damian, I appreciate that but it's not
necessary. Besides, I'm pretty sure you can't leave the clinic alone for two
months."
He hesitated. I could tell he didn't like the idea of me going back at all. He
seemed distressed as he sat up on the bed, leaning against the bed rest. He was
shirtless and his hair was messy on top of his head.
I pressed the white sheet against my chest as I sat up as well. I looked down at
the floor but didn't see my clothes anywhere.
"Damian," I said so he would look at me. "I know that it's not easy to trust
me...but if we are going to do this, then I'm going to need you to trust me." I
said slowly.
He nodded. "I know. I just hate that we have to be apart."
I smiled. "I know...but it'll be worth it."
He reached out to kiss me. "I do want you to have something," he said pulling away.
"What?" I asked suspiciously.
He pecked my lips and then got out of the bed. I watched as he walked into the
closet.
"Damian?" I called from the bed.
He came back with something in his hand and sat back down next to me. He looked at
me. "I want you to have this back," he said as he took out my silver wedding ring
from the box.
"Sounds to me like you want to mark your territory." I teased him. I was flattered
that he had kept my ring and even more flattered that he wanted me to have it back.
Looking at it again made me think back to the night I took it off and left it on
the nightstand next to Damian's side of the bed. That was the only thing I left
him. I thought nothing else needed to be said.
"That's because I am," he said with a smile as he reached for my left hand. He slid
in the ring without a problem then brought it up to his lips and he kissed it. "I
want everyone to know that you are my wife."
I smiled down at the ring. "Okay, Mr. Walker."
He reached out and placed his hand under my chin and pulled it up so I would look
at him. "I'm serious, Rebecca. I—" he took a deep breath. "I'm scared of losing you
again."
I bit my lip then put my arms around his neck and pressed myself closer to him in
an embrace. "That's my fault. I'm sorry," I pulled back enough to look at him. "But
you're not, Damian. Not because of a ring but because I love you and I want to be
with you."I felt heat rushing up my cheeks. Why was it embarrassing to declare my
love to my husband?
There was a smile playing on his lips. "Okay...but it'll still help if you kept
your ring on."
I laughed. "Okay, then. I'll have some explaining to do to my coworkers though," I
said as I looked down at the ring. It had a beautiful diamond in the middle with
tiny ones to the sides. I will have some explaining to do...to Julian...oh Julian.
What was I thinking when I started dating him? I never should have. Now I had an
awkward conversation coming with him...
"You put yours too," I told him.
He smiled as he reached inside the box. "Whatever you say."
My smile faded a little. "I wanted to ask you something," I said slowly as he put
on the silver wedding band on his fourth finger. 
"What is it?" He asked looking up at me.
I hesitated. "Yesterday you said that you were tempted to, uh, be with Karen..." I
looked at him. "How tempted were you? Do you still feel something for her?" My
voice was uncertain. I was scared of his answer but I had to know. Those words were
still lingering in the back of my head.
Damian winced as if I had hit him. He scratched the back of his head. "I shouldn't
have said that. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I was angry and jealous about you
dating someone else—it was an impulse. I was speaking without thinking."
I studied him. "Are you sure? I would rather you be honest with me now."
"I'm being honest," he promised. "It was just one night a really long time ago that
I was in bad shape and Karen...well, she was there but I swear that nothing
happened. I couldn't be unfaithful to you. I'm sorry for the horrible things I said
last night. I was angry."
I nodded slowly. "Okay. I believe you." In a way, I felt relief. I had to trust
that he was telling me the truth even if my jealousy wanted to convince me
otherwise.
Before he could say anything, there was a soft knock on the door.
"Rebecca?" Alexa called. "Are you awake?"
"Yeah, what is it?" I called as I got out of bed. I wasn't wearing any clothes, so
I tightened the white sheet around me. Damian seemed amused by my reaction. There
was no way I was going to let Alexa see me like this. The thought alone was
embarrassing. I knew she was an adult but she was still my little sister.
"Oh, just that the campus tour starts in an hour. Are you still coming?"
"Oh, yeah. I'll be ready in twenty."
"Okay."
I heard her walk away.
"I forgot about the tour." I murmured to myself as I made my way to the bathroom.
Damian stood by the bathroom doorway. "You know, we could save a lot of time if we
showered together."
I smiled as I turned on the shower. Water came splashing down.
"Not to mention that it'll be good for water preservation too..."
I laughed. "Water preservation, huh?"
He grinned. "It's an important issue."
I let the sheet fall for the floor and then got in the shower. "Well, what are you
waiting for?" I asked smiling at him.
Damian joined me in the shower and we kissed as the water ran over our naked
bodies. Then he reached for the shampoo and began to massage it into my hair.
"You're getting it in my eyes." I laughed as I took a step back into the running
water. I rinsed my hair and when I opened my eyes, Damian was looking at me.
"Damian..." I said as he took a step forward. He put his arms around my bare waist
and kissed me.
I meant to say that we shouldn't because Alexa was waiting and we didn't have time
but it was too late to care about anything when he was kissing me like that...so I
didn't say anything at all.

--- --- ---

19. "Somehow we have children."
--
Thirty minutes after the shower, Damian and I were finally ready.
"About time," Alexa said from the couch when she saw me. She had her phone in her
hand. It was the arm that was casted, yet she still found a way to hold her phone.
"I like that top." She complimented before averting her attention back to her
phone.
I looked down, suddenly forgetting what I had picked. I was wearing a dark green
blouse that I had left here with jeans and my slip-on Vans. It felt weird to dress
down. I felt younger. I was going to be walking all afternoon so I wanted to be
comfortable. "Thanks," I said.
"Good morning," Damian said to Alexa as he made his way to the kitchen. He, on the
other hand, was wearing a black suit. God forbid this man dressed down.
"Morning," Alexa raised her good hand at me and pointed to her fourth finger.
"Ring?" She mouthed.
I rolled my eyes at her. "Shut up," I mouthed back.
She burst out laughing and Damian turned to look at us as he twisted open the cap
of a water bottle. "What's so funny?"
I couldn't look at him without the images of the shower earlier flooding my head. I
felt filthy thinking about that with my little sister in the room so I was glad
when Aaron walked in through the front door.
"Morning, love birds," he teased.
Oh God. He was not helping.
"Alright." I sighed as I reached for my purse. "Shall we go?"
"Nice ring." Aaron commented as we walked to the car.
"Shut up," I said with a smile.
The weather was nice outside. The sun was out and it was pleasant now but I knew it
would get hotter the longer we were outside.
Aaron put his arm around my shoulders, like he used to back when we were in
college. "Just teasing, Reb. I'm really happy for you, kiddo," he said ruffling my
hair.
"Aaron!" I complained pushing him away. He laughed while I tried to fix my hair.
Damian unlocked the car and we all got in.
"You are going to love UCLA," Aaron said to Alexa in the backseat. "Man, so many
good memories in that school. One look at it, and you're going to forget all about
that New York fever."
I shook my head with a smile as I reached for my phone. I noticed I had a few
notifications. Some from work, a few texts from Julian...
Hey, been trying to reach you. Call me when you can :)
That was his last text.
I started typing something and then deleted it.
"Everything okay?" Damian asked as he drove.
I locked my phone and put it away. "Yeah," I said looking out the window. "You're
not working today?" It had just occurred to me that he wasn't at work.
"No," he said. "I took the weekend off."
"Wow," Aaron said. "First weekend off in, what? Four years?"
Damian rolled his eyes at Aaron through the rear view mirror. "Not necessary,
brother."
"Aw, did you do it for Rebecca?" Alexa asked.
"Alexa," I shook my head.
"I did, yes," Damian smiled as he reached for my hand and intertwined his fingers
through mine on his lap.
"Goals."
"How is that goals?" Aaron asked Alexa.
"He's taking time off his job for the first time in four years! For his wife! Who
also happens to be my sister sot that gives him extra points too!"
"She's his wife!It's his obligation to spend time with her! It's expected." Aaron
argued.
"Wow, thanks Aaron." I joked, making Damian laugh but they both just ignored me.
"So? People almost never do the things that are expected of them! So it's nice when
they do!"
"Oh God," I murmured turning to look at Damian.
"Somehow we have children." Damian joked making us laugh.
We arrived late to the tour but it wasn't hard to find a group of people following
around a guy walking backwards on campus. There were about 15 of us which made it
hard to hear the tour guide. We joined the group without saying anything, as if we
were afraid of the tour guide calling us out for being late.
"Don't even know why you got a tour guide," Aaron told Alexa. "I could have given
you a much better tour."
"Shh!" Alexa hissed, amused, as she pretended to pay attention to the tour guide.
The group was mostly parents with their kids. They were all holding school maps and
other papers. I looked around. It felt nice to be back on campus. As Aaron had
said, there were so many good memories here.
We followed the tour guide around as he kept talking and pointing at buildings.
Damian held my hand as we walked.
I was really going to miss him. I also didn't like the idea of leaving him alone
with Karen. Not because I didn't trust Damian. It was Karen I didn't trust. I
couldn't forget the voice of authority she used when she talked to me the other day
about Damian.
The tour guide stopped outside a small store on campus to give everyone a break.
"You want anything?" Damian asked me.
"Water, please."
"Anything for you," Damian said winking at me, making me laugh. It was always funny
and weird to see him act silly. He smiled before he followed Aaron into the store.
"So are you guys back together?" Alexa asked as we sat on a bench outside.
I turned to look at her. "I guess so, yes."
It was sort of hard to put a name to it. 'Getting back together' sounded like a
teenage phrase considering Damian and I were married but I guessed that's what we
were doing. We were getting back together.
She nodded slowly. "But we're still going back to Nevada, right? I'm happy for you
and everything, sis, but I don't want to move a month before school ends."
"Don't worry," I smiled. "We're not moving. I'm gonna wait until after you leave to
New York to come back to California. I'll need to quit my job and sell the house in
the meantime."
"Oh, okay," she said then reached for my hand and squeezed it. "I really am happy
for you, Becca. I'm glad you guys are working things out. Damian is a really good
guy and I can tell he really loves you."
I smiled, blushing a little. "I love him too...I never thanked you," I turned to
look at her. "For calling him, I mean."
It was crazy to think that if Alexa wouldn't have called him that day and told him
where we were, I wouldn't be "getting back together" with Damian. What a stubborn
and selfish idiot I would have been to let him go.
She smiled. "You're welcome."
I put my arm around her shoulders. "I'm gonna miss you when you leave. Promise me
you'll be careful."
"I'm not leaving tomorrow, you know."
"Still. Promise me you won't do drugs or sleep around with guys. Promise me you'll
respect yourself and your body."
"OMG, Becca, I swear." She laughed nervously. She looked around to see if anyone
was listening to us.
I smiled. "I know you don't want to talk about this but we have to. I'm not going
to make you promise you'll keep your virginity but I want you to promise you'll be
responsible—"
"Okay!" She said standing up. "I promise, just stop talking, please."
"What's going on?" Damian asked as he and Aaron came back from the store. The group
was starting to get together again to continue the tour. I stood up and took the
water from Damian.
"Nothing," Alexa said quickly.
"Why don't we ditch this and go eat somewhere fancy?" Aaron suggested.
Alexa nodded. "Yeah, let's go. This school is not that impressive anyway."
Aaron took a deep breath, as he pretended to be deeply offended. "I'll let that one
pass."
"Whatever." Alexa laughed. "Let's go!" She said turning around. Aaron and Alexa
began to walk in front of us. Damian and I followed.
I liked the way Damian looked for my hand to hold it. It was so natural, as if he
did it without thinking. It was like we had picked up right after we left off in
our marriage. The thing was that the last three years had happened and it felt like
this was too good to be true.
"How long do you think it'll take for Alexa's arm to heal?" I wondered as we
walked.
Damian shrugged. "It depends on how fractured her arm is and how fast her body
works to repair it. Normally, it takes around 2 to 3 months."
I nodded slowly. "I hope it's healed by the time she goes to New York."
He squeezed my hand. "I'm sure it will."
I smiled up at him. "If you say so, doctor."
"I do say so, Mrs. Walker." He smiled then looked at me as we continued to walk.
"Tell me about your life in Nevada."
"There's really not much to it," I admitted. "It's just work and taking care of
Alexa, not that she needs me as much as she used to."
"Okay...tell me about this—Julian."
I gulped as I looked at him but he was staring straight ahead. "I don't really want
to."
"I want to know," he said slowly. "Please."
I nibbled on my lower lip as we walked in silence for a moment. We had walked way
more than I had thought. "Okay...I met him through my coworker, Ariana, about three
months ago in her son's birthday party. He is a mortgage counselor in another bank.
He is really nice and when he asked me out—I just went with it. I didn't really
think about what I was doing."
Damian was silent for a moment. "And it wasn't serious?"
"No," I said quickly. "We've only been on three dates for the past three months. He
has been really respectful and hasn't even tried to—kiss me." I decide not to
mention the kiss on the cheeks. They seemed innocent at the time...now, not so
much.
Damian looked at me. I could tell he had liked to hear that. "You're not just
saying that to make me feel better right?"
"I'm being honest," I said with a smile.
He grinned. "And you'll talk to him as soon as you get to Nevada?"
"I promise I will."
He seemed to relax a little. "Okay. Are you sure you need to go back?"
I laughed. "Yes, I don't want to do the same thing I did when I left California. I
need to do things right."
He nodded slowly. "I'll try to visit you."
I smiled up at him. "That'll be nice."
We had stopped walking by then. We had reached the parking to. Damian leaned down
and put his lips against mine.
"Gross! Can you guys not?" Aaron called out from the car, making us laugh.
"And just for saying that—" Damian said before deepening the kiss.

--- --- ---

20. "What in God's name is she doing here?"
--
That night, I began to pack my bag to get it ready for tomorrow. I hated driving at
night so I wanted to leave early in the morning.
I had the bag on the bed and was folding my clothes before putting them in. I was
just taking the clothes that I had brought with me. There was no point in taking
any of the other clothes. I was going to have some real cleaning when I got home.
The TV was on behind me. Some comedy show was on.
As I reached for the blouse on the bed, I felt Damian's arms go around me from
behind. I smiled as I felt him kiss the crook of my neck.
"Do you really have to leave?" He asked as he tightened his arms around me.
I smiled. "Alexa needs to finish school." I turned around so I was facing him. "And
I need to do things right this time."
Damian was wearing his pajama pants with a black T-shirt. He had just gotten out of
the shower so his hair was wet which made it seem darker.
"I know it's not fair," I said softly, feeling ashamed. "But if we're going to
start over—"
"We're not." Damian interrupted. "We're not starting over. We're picking up right
where we left of."
I smiled up at him. "I like that."
Damian leaned in to kiss me on the forehead. "It'll be different this time,
Rebecca. I promise."
I hope so, I thought to myself as he kissed me.
There was suddenly a knock on the door. "Uh, Damian?" Aaron called from the
hallway.
Damian pulled back but he kept his arms around me. "What is it?"
"You're going to want to come, brother, someone's here."
Damian frowned and then went to open the door. I watched his body tense as he
looked down the hallway.
"Damian?" I asked taking a step forward. He turned to look at me, there was a dread
behind his eyes. "What is it?" I asked though I already knew. My body could feel it
and I knew this was coming.
Standing right outside the doorway was Marianne. She was wearing a pale pink skirt
suit with white heels. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked just how
I remembered her though the make up couldn't hide the look of sadness behind her
eyes. Or was it anger? It was anger now—towards me, of course.
"I cannot believe this!" She exclaimed, glaring at me.
I jumped a little at the sound of her voice and I hated myself for that. I didn't
want to show her weakness. I didn't want her to know the damage she had done to me.
Why was this happening now?
Aaron was standing a few feet behind her and Alexa was peeking out of her room. I
wished I could order her to go inside. I didn't want her to see this.
I wanted to close the door so it could be just Damian and I but I couldn't do that.
Marianne was here. In front of me. The woman I never wanted to see again in my
life. The mother of my husband.
"What in God's name is she doing here?" Marianne demanded, glaring at me. She was
looking at me like I was a piece of trash that needed to be thrown out of her
house.
Damian took a step in front of me protectively. "Mom, don't speak to Rebecca like
that."
"Are you serious right now, Damian?" She asked in disbelief looking at her son.
"This woman left you! She left you without telling you anything! God knows what she
has been up to these past years! I can't believe you just let her back into your
life! Into my house!"
"Mom, that's enough!" Damian exclaimed.
I hadn't heard him talk to his mother like that. Marianne recoiled. I could tell
she was shocked too. Her eyes were wide as she looked up at him.
"Damian," I said, placing my hand on his shoulder. I waited until he turned to look
at me. "It's okay. I'll leave."
"You're not going anywhere," he stated then turned to look at Marianne. "Rebecca is
my wife, mom, whether you like it or not. So I need you to stay out of my business
and know that if she goes, then I'll leave too."
Marianne scoffed. "You are my son. You are my business."
"Mom." Aaron put his arm around her. "Why don't you come cool outside?"
"No, I am not going anywhere. This is my house," she said glaring at me.
"Come on," Aaron said, ignoring her comment. He turned her around slowly and we
watched as he took her outside the door. I turned around and headed back to the
room. Without thinking, I began to finish packing my clothes and zipped the bag.
"What are you doing?" Damian asked behind me.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm leaving," I said reaching for my purse.
It was late and dark but I suddenly didn't care. I wanted to get out of here as
fast as possible. I wanted to go back to my house where no one could kick me out.
No one wanted to be in a place where one was unwanted.
"Rebecca—stop," Damian said as he reached for my arm.
I turned to look at him. "I can't stay here, Damian. Didn't you hear? Your mom
doesn't want me in her house."
"I'll be dealing with my mom," he said looking at me. "You are not going anywhere."
"I was gonna leave early tomorrow anyway. What's the difference in leaving a few
hours earlier?" I asked, mostly talking to myself.
"Don't do this, Rebecca," Damian said. "Please."
I looked into his eyes for a moment. I knew I couldn't do this to him...again. He
deserved better. So I sighed and let my shoulders relax for a moment. "You're
right. I'm sorry. I just don't feel comfortable with your mom here."
"I know," he said softly. "I'm sorry. She came earlier than she had said."
I looked at him. "What are you going to do?"
He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to talk to her. Wait here okay?"
I nodded. "Okay," I said as I looked past him. Alexa was standing by the doorway.
"Sorry," she looked embarrassed. "I just wanted to know if you were okay."
I smiled at her and Damian turned around to look at her. "Alexa, why don't you stay
here with Rebecca until I come back?"
Alexa half smiled. "You want to make sure she doesn't run away?"
Damian chuckled, easing some of the tension away. "Do you blame me?"
"Not at all," Alexa said as she walked into the room.
Damian kissed me on the forehead. "I'll be back."
I nodded then he walked out of the room. I closed the door behind me, afraid that
Marianne would barge in and yell at me more.
"Are you okay?" Alexa asked as she sat on the love seat. I sat next to her with a
sigh. It had been such a good weekend with Damian and now this was weighing it
down. Marianne's face was clouding above all of the happy memories Damian and I had
made these past days.
"Yeah, I may have overreacted. It's just that Marianne—she makes me really
uncomfortable."
"She's the reason you left isn't she?"
"She was a big part of the reason," I admitted. "I really don't want to move back
into this house when I come back."
"I'm sure Damian will get his own house after today," Alexa said. "He'll do
anything to make you stay with him."
I half smiled. "I don't deserve him."
"Don't say that, Becca. I know you feel bad for hurting him but you've been through
a lot too. He is God's way of recompensing you for that."
I smiled at her. "I didn't know you still believed in God."
She shrugged. "I did get mad at Him after mom's death but I do believe in Him."
"Well good." I smiled at her. "Hopefully that adds a little conscience to you for
when you're in New York."
Alexa rolled her eyes at me. "That's all you care about isn't it?"
"I just care about you being safe."
She smiled then looked at me all serious. "You have to promise you won't let
Damian's mom separate you from him again," she said looking at me.
"I do...though I'm sure it won't be easy..."
Alexa smiled. "But it'll be worth it."

--- --- ---

21. "I've been married all this time...since you met me."
--
I stared at the road ahead of me as I pushed down the accelerator with my foot. I
felt a weird sense of relief knowing that I was heading back home. Of course, I
felt a bit sad to leave Damian as well.
"Please promise me you're not going to disappear," Damian had asked earlier this
morning as we said goodbye.
Alexa was already waiting inside the car waiting impatiently.
Damian had his arms around my waist. I smiled up at him. "I promise I'm not going
to disappear."
He kissed me hard before he finally let me go. "I love you. Be careful."
"I will," I said and then pressed my lips on his. "I love you too. Call me, okay?"
He grinned. "Every day."
I smiled then hesitated before finally getting in the car. I waved at both Damian
and Aaron as I drove away. There was a sadness in Damian's eyes that I couldn't
make go away as he waved back. I could tell he didn't fully believe I wouldn't
disappear again. I didn't blame him. I know that only time would give me the
opportunity to gain his full unconditional trust. I had already convinced myself
all night that I will be back. No matter what Marianne thinks of me and no matter
how much she hates me. I wanted to be with Damian and she wasn't going to keep me
away. Not as long as Damian wanted me by his side.
Alexa had her eyes closed as she listening to music so I turn on the radio for some
background music.
There was something so relaxing about driving with music that I loved. I was
probably one of the few that actually enjoyed driving long distances. As long as it
wasn't at night, of course, mostly because I know I would fall asleep for sure.
The drive back to Nevada goes by smoothly and it actually goes by faster than when
we were on our way to California. It is around three in the afternoon when I pull
into the driveway of the house whom is in good shape, thank God.
There were a few leaves on the grass and sidewalk but other than that—it was all
good. I had been skeptical about leaving the house empty for the weekend. Little
did I know that I was going to end up leaving it alone for a whole week. It wasn't
that it was a bad neighborhood. I was actually friendly with my neighbors. It was
just me being precautious.
"I'm so tired," Alexa said as we walked into the house. "I'm going to my room."
I looked after her, wondering why she was so tired if she had slept for most of the
way. She disappears down the hall into her room.
It wasn't a big house. Just a normal size 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom house for Alexa and
I. This house made me a homebuyer and I found myself feeling a bit sad that I had
to sell it.
Maybe I didn't have to...maybe I could rent it. Who knew? I could have it as a
backup.
Maybe Alexa wanted to come back...maybe I would in the future.
After checking out the house to make sure there weren't any broken windows or
missing things, I go to the laundry room and throw the clothes into the machine. I
called Damian as I made my way to my room. I smiled as I threw myself on the bed.
God. It felt so good to be back.
"Rebecca? Everything alright?" Damian answered.
"Yes, everything's alright," I laughed. "You can't freak out every time I call you.
I just wanted to let you know that we're home."
"I will always worry about you," He said and I could hear the smile in his voice.
"I'm glad you're home." I heard some background noises on his side of the line.
"Listen—I'm so sorry but I'm at work and I have to go. I'll call you tonight?"
"Okay," I said with a nod. "Bye."
"Bye."
I stared at the ceiling and thought about how the last time I was on this bed, I
was the old Rebecca that blocked any slight thought about Damian. If I were to tell
that Rebecca that in a week, I would be back with Damian, I wouldn't have believed
it.
I put my left hand up in front of me. The ring was my back on my fourth finger.
Julian.
I sighed then reached for my phone again. I dialed Julian but it went to voicemail.
Seconds later, he called me back.
"Hey," I answered.
"Hey, Rebecca! Sorry I wasn't able to take your call. I was going through security
in the airport."
I sit up. "Oh? It's okay. You're traveling?"
"Yes, it's for work. I'll be in New Mexico all week."
I felt both relieved and disappointed. It seemed like this conversation was going
to have to wait. I was not about to drop this bomb over the phone. He didn't
deserve that and it wouldn't feel right doing that.
"Oh, okay. Well, I'm back in Nevada and I just wanted to see if we could meet but
it can wait."
"Uh, yeah, I'm sorry. Bad timing."
"It's okay. It can wait." I repeated. It could wait. I really didn't want to have
this conversation over the phone. There was nothing I could do but wait until he
came back.
"I'll let you go then," I said quickly. "Have a safe trip."
"Alright. See you soon."
"Bye."
I began to think about what I'm going to say to him when I see him. Then, after I'm
all stressed about it, I forced the thoughts out of my head and did some cleaning
around the dusty house instead. I washes sheets, mats, towels and cleaned
everything until the musty smell was gone from the house. The only room left was
Alexa's but she was sleeping and I didn't want to wake her.
I felt genuinely happy to be back home though I did miss Damian.
The next morning, Alexa head to school and I to work. We were back to our old
routines. It was so crazy to think about how we had only been gone for a week when
it felt like so many things had happened in that week. My life wasn't the same. I
wasn't the same Rebecca I was last Monday.
I was the first one to arrive at the bank. Mostly because I was early. I had left
the house 30 minutes earlier to stop for donuts for the branch. I smiled as I sat
down at my desk. The bank was small. There were four teller windows with an open
space in the middle for customers to get in line. There was a waiting area and four
desks on each side of the waiting space. Two were occupied by the bankers, the
other desk by the assistant manager, and the fourth by me.
I enjoyed my job as a manager and I found myself feeling a bit sad because I knew
my time here was coming to an end.
"Good morning! It's so good to see you, Rebecca!" Bonnie, the assistant manager of
the bank said when she saw me as she reached out to hug me.
Bonnie and I worked great together. She had to be the closest thing I had to a
friend here in Nevada. We had never hung out of work so that was saying a lot about
my social circle here.
"Hey Bonnie, thank you, it's good to see you too."
"How was your vacation?" She said as her brown eyes roamed all over me. "You look
great! Did you cut your hair?"
I shook my head as I touched my hair without thinking. "No, I didn't. I guess I'm
just well rested."
Then her face made a shocked expression. "Oh my god! Did Julian propose?" She said
as she reached for my left hand. "He mentioned he was thinking about doing it but I
didn't know when. Oh my god! Congrats!"
"What? He was going to propose?"
She frowned. "Yeah, he let it slip the last time he was here. But...why are you so
confused?"
Oh God.
"But we've only been seeing each other for 3 months..." I murmured.
What was Julian thinking? Had I misinterpreted our relationship this whole time? I
thought we were just casual. We were barely getting to know each other as more than
friends. Why in the world would he be thinking about marriage already? He didn't
even know me!
Bonnie nodded. "I know. I told him it might be too soon but I guess he ended up
doing it huh? And you said yes...?"
I finally looked at her as she waited for my answer. "Oh, Bonnie, no. I haven't
seen Julian since last week when we had our third date. I uh—" I sighed. "There's
something you didn't know about me. I am actually married. I've been married all
this time...since you met me."
Her mouth hangs open. "What?"
I nodded. "I've been married for the past four years. I left my husband three years
ago when my mom died. I came here to care for my sister and I never went back with
him. This week—we sort of got back together..."
I had practically filled her in into my whole life story. What I hadn't told her in
the last few years, I was telling her now. Maybe this would have been a little
easier if I would have developed an actual friendship with everyone here.
She covered her mouth with her fingertips as she looked at me with wide eyes. "Wow.
I can't believe it. Does Julian know?"
I shook my head, feeling ashamed. "No, I wanted to tell him yesterday when I got
here but he told me he was in a business trip and isn't coming back until next
week."
"Oh, no. I'm sorry I don't mean to make you feel bad. It's just...poor guy."
She didn't mean to make me feel bad but I was feeling a hundred times worse than I
felt before. And if this was how I felt after telling one person...I knew I didn't
want to feel this way every time...
I began to pull my wedding ring out of my finger. "Anyway, I think I'd like to keep
this a secret...until I tell Julian at least."
Bonnie nodded as she understood what I was asking her. "Of course." She smiled.
"I'm sorry I just can't believe you're married! What's his name?"
"Damian," I said with a smile.
"Is he from California then? What does he do?"
Before I could answer, the doors opened and Ingrid, one of the bankers, along with
our morning teller came in. They both greeted me with friendly smiles as I clutched
the ring in my hand.
"We're going to have to continue this later," Bonnie said quietly with a wink.
I smiled, wishing that I would have hung out with her more often. I felt like we
could have become really good friends if I had been a little more open. "Thank you,
Bonnie."
She nodded then turned and headed to her desk across from mine.
"There are donuts in the break room!" I announced to everyone.

--- --- ---

22. "Julian...there's something we need to talk about."
--
That week seemed to take forever. It was like the world was punishing me for the
great week I had before. It wasn't that anything bad happened. No.
It was that I couldn't wait for Julian to come back from his trip so that I could
talk to him. What Bonnie told me really concerned me and I wanted to make things
clear with him. I didn't care as much that I would hurt him because I was a little
angry at him for making assumptions and talking about proposing after only three
months of dating me.
It was finally Saturday and Julian had agreed to come to my house for dinner
tonight. I spent the afternoon going grocery shopping, making up a million ways the
conversation with Julian could go tonight in my head.
"Hey," Alexa said as I walked into the house. "Need help?" She asked looking at the
grocery bags in my hands.
"Yes, please."
"You okay?" She asked as we went back to the car to get the rest of the bags.
"Yeah, just nervous about tonight."
We made our way back into the house with the rest of the grocery bags.
"Don't you want me to stay instead?" Alexa asked. "I could stay in my room and I
won't make any noise, I promise."
I had told Alexa that Julian was coming tonight and had asked her for some privacy.
She already had plans to go out anyway so it worked out easily.
I half smiled at her. "No, it's okay. You go out with your friends. I—" I sighed.
"I need to do this myself."
"Okay," she sighed. "Do you really need to make him dinner though? I'm pretty sure
his appetite is going to be gone after you tell him."
I looked at Alexa. "Well, I want to do something nice. And I didn't really want to
just dive in right away..."
"Does Damian know that you're seeing Julian tonight?"
"Of course not. Why would I tell him? It would just make him worry for nothing. No.
I'm just going to have this dinner and have the talk and then everything will be
over."
Alexa shrugged. "If you say so..."
She helped me put away the groceries then she went to get ready while I began to
make dinner. I was making pasta Alfredo with shrimp. I've cooked this for Julian
and he really liked it. I also baked some garlic bread and chilled a bottle of
wine. I knew I was going to need it.
It was around six when I finally had everything ready and I headed to my room to
take a shower. I put on a blue dress that went down to my knees with black heels
and blow-dry my hair. I applied some mascara and some red lipstick. Then I went
back downstairs to set the table.
"I'm heading out," Alexa said as she walked down the stairs moments later.
"Okay. The keys are by the door. Be careful."
"Good luck!" She said as she walked out the door.
I stood in the middle of the living room and took a deep breath. This was it.
Julian would be here any moment. I had played the conversation in my head about a
million times by now and I was ready to get it over with but when the doorbell
finally rang, my heart still skipped a beat.
My heels echoed as I walked down the hall to open the door.
"Okay." I whispered before I unlocked the door then pulled it open.
Julian was standing on the other side wearing a big smile on his face. Julian was a
very handsome man. He had short black hair with two big hazel eyes. He had one of
those smiles that made you want to smile back even if you were mad or even if you
were about to break up with him. He was wearing dark jeans with a red plaid shirt
and black shoes.
"Rebecca," he said as he reached out to hug me. "It's so good to finally see you."
He kissed my cheek then pulled away.
I smiled at him. "It's so good to see you too. Come in."
He took a step into the house then turned around. "These are for you," he said
handing me a dozen red roses.
"Oh, Julian, you shouldn't have, thank you." I said as I took them. "Come. Dinner's
ready."
I made my way to the kitchen. The dining table was set with silverware and I took
out an empty glass vase to put the roses in with water. "Sit down, please, I'll
serve dinner."
"So how was California?" He asked as I served us dinner. I was grateful for the
distraction in keeping my hands busy.
"Good. It was fun. Alexa finally got to go to Disneyland. You know how bad she
wanted to go."
Julian chuckled. "Oh yeah. I'm glad she finally got to go. I hope it was everything
she ever wanted."
"Minus the accident, yes,"
"Right, how is she? Did she break her arm?"
"No, just a fracture. She had to get a cast but she'll be fine," I said as I headed
to the table with our plates.
"Looks delicious," Julian said. He reached for my hand after I sat down in front of
him. I looked at him in wonder. "I really did miss you, Rebecca," he said looking
into my eyes.
I looked down. I thought we could have dinner before I told him but I realized
there that that wasn't going to happen. I wasn't going to be able to sit through
dinner and pretend that everything was fine and then drop the bomb at the end. It
wasn't fair for neither of us. I pulled my hand gently. "Julian...there's something
we need to talk about."
"What is it?" He asked looking at me, as if trying to read my mind. I wished he
could.
I looked at him. "Did you tell Bonnie that you were already thinking about
proposing?"
I knew he would be able to tell that I didn't like that by the tone of my voice but
I didn't make myself say it another way. I was really bothered that he had done
that.
He chuckled nervously. "Oh, that. It was just a silly conversation. I know we're
barely getting to know each other. Don't worry, I don't have a ring hidden on me
right now." He joked but I didn't laugh.
"Julian—" I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.
"Rebecca, you don't have to worry about that. I shouldn't have made that comment.
Though I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it. Right now it may be
too soon but later, when the time is right, I would like to get married..." he let
the sentence hang between us.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered looking down at my lap.
He reached out and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Is there something wrong?"
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear as I looked into his eyes and I gulped. "I
haven't been completely honest with you, Julian, there's something about me that
you don't know—I'm just sorry I have led you on."
"Rebecca, it's okay. You haven't led me on. I know we are casual right now," he
said gently but there was a frown in between his eyes.
"I had a life in California before coming here." I began.
"Yes, I know you went to school there," he said reaching for the glass of wine.
Mirroring him, I also took a sip of the wine God knew I needed it.
"Yes." I hesitate as I twisted the glass of wine around on the table.
"Just say whatever you need to say," Julian said. His tone wasn't rude but I could
tell that he was getting impatient.
"I didn't just go to school," I said looking at him. "I—I also got married."
Julian nodded slowly. "Okay..."
"I still am." I told him. "I'm married."
He frowned. "I don't understand. So you never got a divorce?"
"No," I said. "I left my husband three years ago when my mother passed away. I—ran
away. From him."
Saying it aloud made me realize how childish my behavior had been. There were times
when I thought about everything I went through with Damian's mom that convinced me
that I made the right choice by running away. And then there were the days like
tonight when I said it aloud to someone who didn't know the reason behind it. I
wasn't sure that I wanted to go into detail with Julian. I didn't think it was
necessary. Deep down, I thought he wouldn't care anyway after I told him that I was
getting back together with Damian.
"You ran away from your husband?"
I nodded. "I did, yes."
He raised his brown eyebrows as he looked at me with concern. "It must have been
hell living with him. What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?"
I could tell he really was concerned for me which made me feel even more guilty. I
needed to get to the point quickly.
Before I could answer his question though, the doorbell rang. I frowned as I turned
to look at the front door as if I could see through it. "I'm sorry," I said as I
stood up. "I'm not expecting anyone. Will you give me a second?"
"Of course," Julian said.
I walked across the dining room just as the doorbell rang again. As I reached out
for the doorknob, I had a gut feeling that I knew who it was but I still pulled it
open and my stomach dropped.
Standing outside was Damian wearing a gray suit with a white dressed shirt
underneath. He was holding a bouquet of colorful flowers with one hand and a small
gift bag with his other.
"Hey," he said with a goofy grin on his handsome face like a little boy doing a
mischief.
"Damian—" I breathed. "What are you doing here?" I said pulling the front door
closed as I stepped outside.
"I wanted to surprise you," he said then frowned as he studied my face. "Is it not
a good time?"
"I'm sorry," I said feeling bad for killing his surprise. I wished I had been alone
in the house, missing him. It would have been the best surprise to open the door
and see him here if that were the case but it wasn't. It was bad timing. "I was
actually—"
Just then, the front door opened and Julian appeared at the doorway behind me.
"Rebecca?"
I noticed the way Damian's shoulders tensed at the sight of him, as if he knew who
he was. I didn't know what to say for a second. I was happy to see Damian but at
the same time, I wanted to finish my conversation with Julian who thought that
Damian was—
"Is this him?" Julian asked pointing at Damian. "Is he bothering you?"
"Who the hell do you think you are, pal?" Damian demanded, glaring at him.
Julian took a step forward, getting in between Damian and I. "I'm here to protect
Rebecca from you."
"Julian—please—" I chocked out nervously.
Damian huffed. "I don't know who you think you are but I would get out of the way
if I were you."
"Or what?"
Everything happened so quickly then. Damian took a step forward. In response,
Julian pushed him away. Over Julian's shoulder, I watched as Damian glared at
Julian and then he threw the flowers on the ground before throwing his fist right
across Julian's jaw.

--- --- ---

23. "Why did you leave him?"
--
It was all a misunderstanding.
I was in shock to have seen Damian punch Julian and I didn't have time to react
quickly. Julian, on the other hand, wasted no time. One second he was touching his
jaw with his hand and the other he was punching Damian back.
What the hell was happening?
"Damian!" I gasped, my eyes were wide as my mind tried to process what had just
happened. Julian had shoved Damian, Damian punched Julian in response and then
Julian punched Damian back. It was like the scene of a movie. At the same time, it
was like I was on a kindergarten playground.
Damian shook his head to the side and then took a step forward. Quickly, I jumped
in between them placing my palm against Damian's strong chest. I had to stop this
now when I could. Before it got even messier.
"Stop it!" I demanded looking up at him. Damian's lower lip was swollen from the
left corner. He was angry and I had a feeling that all of that anger wasn't just
directed at Julian.
"Why don't you wait for me inside?" I asked him, trying to beg with my eyes. I
needed him away from Julian.
"Rebecca what—"
I turned to look at Julian. "Julian, please, don't say anything," I said to him
then turned back to Damian. "Damian, please, wait inside for me."
Damian hesitated. He kept looking from me to Julian before he finally nodded once
and he walked inside but not without shooting another glare at Julian who was
glaring right back at him.
"Are you crazy?" Julian asked as soon as the front door closed. "Inviting him into
your home?"
"Julian, Damian is not going to hurt me," I said turning to look at him. His lower
lip had cut open and was also swollen. It was like they had mirrored their throw
punches. I was angry at both of them for their actions but I knew they weren't
entirely at fault. It was all a misunderstanding that I had caused.
He frowned. "You said you left him."
"I did but it wasn't because he hurt me. Damian never put a hand on me. He
wouldn't."
There was a moment of silence as Julian tried to process what I said. "So what you
were trying to tell me earlier..."
"Was that I am back together with him." I finished for him.
"Huh," he said as realization hit him. "I'm sorry..." he murmured as he sat on the
porch stairs. After a moment, I sat next to him and we didn't say anything for a
while. It was dark outside. The road was quiet except for a car that drove by.
There was this thick space between Julian and I that felt like a cold wall.
"I want you to know that I didn't go to California to see him," I finally said. "I
had no intention of seeing him, it just sort of happened. I owed him an
explanation. I owed it to him—" I gulped down the knot in my throat. I didn't know
why I felt like crying but I didn't want to. I deserved no sympathy from Julian.
"Why did you leave him?" Julian asked looking straight ahead.
"Many reasons. Stupid reasons." I sighed. "But it wasn't because I didn't love him.
I was stupid. I thought I needed a new life to feel happy again. So that's what I
did. I didn't think I would see Damian again." I admitted then smiled sadly. "Life
had other plans."
"You love him?"
"I do," I said softly. "I'm so sorry, Julian, I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was
married."
"I guess I was hoping he was a douche." Julian chuckled sadly.
"Yeah that would make things easier." I joked. "But Damian is anything but. I don't
deserve him, if anything."
Julian turned to look at me. "I doubt that."
"I'm sorry," I said again.
He half smiled as he put his arm around me and hugged me sideways. "It's alright.
I'm sorry for punching your husband. He can sure throw a good punch," he said as he
touched his lower lip with his thumb.
I smiled but didn't say anything. After a moment, he stood up.
"I should probably go," he said.
I nodded as I stood up too. "Thank you for coming. I'm sorry it wasn't the kind of
dinner you were hoping for."
"Yeah, you owe me a dinner now." He smiled. "Can I just ask you one more thing?"
I nodded and waited for his question.
"You really believe there is no future with us? Is there any doubt in your mind
that you want to stay with him?"
I thought about his question then chose my words carefully. I didn't want to hurt
him any more. "There is no doubt in my mind. I'm sorry, Julian. It's just not fair
for you. I know you will find an amazing woman that truly deserves you."
He nodded. "May God hear you."
We laughed softly and then he hugged me tightly. "You probably won't see me at the
branch anytime soon," he said as we pulled apart.
"I understand."
I decided not to tell him that I won't be working there for long. Tonight would
probably the last time we saw each other.
"Goodnight," he said before turning away.
"Goodnight," I whispered but he was already getting into his car.
I stood there for a moment, until his headlights disappeared down the street.
Taking a deep breath, I picked up the flowers Damian had thrown to the ground and
then walked inside the house.
I made my way to the kitchen. Damian wasn't there but I began to put the flowers in
the same vase as the roses Julian had brought me. It was like a symbol of peace.
I felt Damian's presence behind me before I saw him.
"You didn't have to throw the flowers you know," I said as I fixed them into the
vase. "They were the least at fault of the situation."
"Seems like you were having a romantic dinner," Damian said instead. "Sorry to have
interrupted." His voice was cold.
I finally turned to look at him. He was standing behind the island in the kitchen.
I leaned against the kitchen counter as I looked at him. I suddenly felt exhausted.
"Damian, come on, you know it wasn't necessarily romantic."
"Do I?"
I took a deep breath. "Julian had been on a business trip all week. I didn't get to
see him until today. I was in the middle of telling him I was married when you rang
the doorbell."
He shook his head in disbelief. "You keep doing it."
"Doing what?"
"Keeping things from me."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "I'm sorry. I didn't know I had to report everything I
did to you."
"You know that's not what I mean," he said. "You have to realize that this could
have been avoided if you would have told me you were seeing him today."
"It could have also been avoided if you would have told me you were coming."
"I was trying to be romantic." He shook his head. "And I find myself being accused
of hurting you.."
I gulped. I realized that I wasn't being fair to him. It was all a
misunderstanding. All because I hadn't told Julian sooner.
"You come back to Nevada and you go back to pretending you're not married," Damian
continued looking at me in disbelief. "Mom told me and I didn't want to believe it
—"
It was like he turned on a spark within me. "Your mom?" I interrupted. "I thought
you were here because you were trying to be romantic."
He clenched his jaw. "I wanted to see you."
"What did she put in your head? That I was lying to you? That I had given you the
wrong address? That I was playing with you? Cheating on you?" I asked looking at
him. He didn't say anything but his silence said it all. "Tell me, Damian, I want
to know what she told you."
"She didn't—" he sighed. "She's just worried about me. She doesn't trust you—"
"She never has." I told him.
"I came here because I wanted to see you—"
"Don't lie to me. You came because your mother put things in your head and you
wanted to see if she was right."
We had walked closer to each other by now but we still kept a distance. I was close
enough to see his swollen lip, his tired eyes, his messy hair...I was hurt. He was
trying to make me feel bad for having Julian here when his intentions for coming
here weren't fully because he simply missed me.
"And what do you want me to think when I get here and see that man in your house?
You hide things from me, Rebecca, you don't communicate. You proved my mother
right."
I huffed as I shook my head. "I haven't even moved to California and Marianne is
already causing us problems."
"You need to work to get her trust. She is my mother, Rebecca, you can't ask me to
blow her off. You can't ask me to choose."
"I know she's your mother. That's why I tried for a year to live with her, to get
along with her. I worked to get her trust three years ago, Damian, and she had no
interest in getting to know me. For some reason I don't understand, she hates me.
She doesn't want me as your wife and she never will."
"We just need to talk—all three of us—"
I cleaned a tear that had rolled down my cheek, angrily. "No. You just don't
understand. She is different with you than she is with me." I shook my head. "Maybe
it's good that you came. Maybe we should take this as a sign—"
"Rebecca—" he reached out to grab me but I took a step back.
"No, Damian, your mother hurt me and you don't believe me. You don't take me
serious. You said you weren't going to let her come between us and look at us. One
week later, we're already fighting. This is not the life I want," I said shaking my
head. This is why I ran way...
"You have to understand—my father passed away. I—I can't abandon her."
I looked at him sadly. "I am not going to make you choose between your mother and
I. I'm choosing for you." I walked past him then stopped. "You should go." I told
him before making my way to my room where I locked the door and hid myself in the
closet. It was there that I finally stopped fighting the knot in my throat and
burst out crying.
--- --- ---
24. "Cupid Aaron."
--
Aaron's POV
I walked into Walker Pediatrics feeling determined. I needed to see my brother and
talk some sense into his knucklehead.I hadn't step foot on the clinic for a while
now. I didn't usually come because I didn't have a reason to for the most part. But
today was different. The time was up.
The waiting room was filled with parents and their children. There was a lot of
noise from the kids yelling and them playing with their toys. There was also a
movie playing on the TV and I wished they would turn it down. A loud TV only made
people want to talk louder to talk over it.
I walked up to the reception desk and grinned at the girl behind it. "Hi, I'm
looking for Damian?"
The girl adjusted the glasses on her nose. "I'm sorry, Dr. Walker is not here
today. Did you have an appointment?"
"I'm Aaron," I said. "His brother. I'm trying to get ahold of him did he come at
all?"
He hadn't answered his phone though that wasn't a surprise because he hadn't been
answering my calls for days now.
"I'm sorry, no," she said looking apologetic.
"Aaron."
I turned around at the sound of my name and saw Karen making her way towards me.
She was wearing her white lab coat and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. "Hi,
Karen."
She nodded. "Hey. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, I came to look for Damian."
"Damian hasn't been here for two days," Karen said.
"Really?"
I was surprised. He hadn't been sleeping at the house either. What if something
happened to him? I began to think about places where he might be...
"Yes, I'm worried about him," she said, concern was clear in her eyes.
"Me too," I said. "I'm going to look for him. Thanks for letting me know."
"Please let me know when you find him," Karen said behind me and I turned to look
at her. "So I know he's okay."
Oh, it was obvious she really cared about my brother and it wasn't in the friendly
way.
I nodded. "I will. Bye." I turned around and walked out of the clinic.
As I walked to my car, I tried to think of where he might be. Damian didn't really
go anywhere except to work from home and vice versa. He wasn't home when I left. He
hadn't been home for two days. I knew he was having a rough time which was why I
was worried about him.
He came back from Nevada on Saturday, four days ago. I knew things hadn't gone well
the moment I took a look at his face. I told myself I would give him time, knowing
he wouldn't want to talk about it. Damian shut down when he was angry or melancholy
or both.
But he didn't come out of his room Sunday and that night he was gone.
I took out my phone and went to my messages. Maybe he had gone back to Nevada?
Alexa, I texted, is Damian with you guys by chance?
I got in my car and started the car while I waited for the reply. Thankfully, Alexa
replied quickly.
No, she texted.
Are you sure? Maybe he's with Rebecca?
I'm with Rebecca right now, she texted back. Then in another text: is something
wrong?
I sighed as I typed, I haven't seen him in 2 days...don't know where he is.
Minutes later, she called me.
"Hey," I answered.
"Hey," she whispered. "Give me a second." Seconds later, "Sorry, I had to come out
in the patio. You really haven't seen him in 2 days?"
"No. I thought maybe he had drove back to Nevada."
"No, he's not here. He was here on Saturday...I wasn't here but Rebecca told me..."
"They had a fight didn't they?"
"I think they broke up."
"They can't just break up, they're married," I said to her. "Do you know why they
fought?"
Alexa cleared her throat. "I don't know the details but, um, I think it was about
your, um, mom."
"Ah." I sighed. Of course it was.
"Should I tell Rebecca he's missing? She has been ignoring his calls so she's still
mad but...should I tell her still?"
"No," I said. "She's just going to worry. I'm going to look for him, I think I
might know where he is."
"Okay, let me know when you find him so I know he's okay."
I almost laughed at the fact that she was the second one to tell me this. "Okay,
thanks, Alexa."
"Good luck, bye."
The line went dead.
Back when Rebecca ran away, Damian would hide in a hotel room where he could be
alone sometimes. Most of the time where he could drink without worrying about
driving or hurting anyone which could cost him his medical license.
I went on the internet and hacked into his e-mail, praying he still had the same
password as 3 years ago. I sighed of relief when I logged in successfully and
wondered if I should tell him it's good to change your password at least once a
year. I decided not to.
I was able to find a hotel confirmation receipt in one of his most recent e-mails.
I grinned as I looked down at my phone. I knew where he was.
I put on my seatbelt and pulled out of the parking lot. The hotel was all the way
in Santa Monica, about an hour away. I made it there in 40 minutes speeding through
the highway.
I felt myself feeling more angry at him as I got there. Damian was an intelligent
man, obviously, but he was so naïve when it came to his relationship with Rebecca.
He hadn't known how to keep her then and he was letting her go again now.
I knew I would have a talk with my mother too if I needed to but right now it was
Damian who needed someone to yell at him for being an idiot.
The hotel was on the ocean side. Damian's room was on the 15th floor. The elevator
stopped about 3 times on the way up for people before I finally reached it. I
walked down the hall until I found his room number and knocked.
I had to knock a few times before I finally heard movement on the other side and
then the door opened. Damian looked like crap. He was wearing shorts with a white
T-shirt. His stubble looked dark against his skin. The circles under his eyes
seemed darker than usual. I could tell he had had a few drinks.
"Aaron?" He asked narrowing his eyes. "What the hell are you doing here? How did
you find me?"
I decided to ignore the question about how I found him.
"Mom was worried about you. She almost called the cops," I said. Not entirely a
lie. Mom did look worried this morning and she was dramatic enough to call the
cops.
Damian sighed. "Leave me alone, Aaron."
He tried slamming the door but I stopped it with my palm and pushed it open. I
walked into the room before he locked me out. Damian grabbed a beer from the fridge
then sat on the couch facing the ocean. It was a really good view. It made me want
to go out there and play some volleyball.
I helped myself to a beer and sat on the couch diagonally to his. We sat in silence
for a moment. I hadn't seen Damian in this state since Rebecca left. Damian was
always responsible and serious about his job and he didn't drink even if he wasn't
on call. So when he did start drinking, it was a sign that he was feeling low.
"So you had a fight with Rebecca." I began.
Damian looked annoyed. "I don't want a pep talk."
"But you need one. No, you know what? Screw pep talks. I'm here to tell you to get
your head out of your ass."
He narrowed his eyes at me. "You don't know anything, Aaron, leave me alone."
"Stop acting like a boy," I said setting the beer on the center table and leaned
in. "Be a man, Damian."
Damian clenched his jaw before standing up and pushing me, making me fall back on
the couch. I stood up and got on his face. "You want to hit me? Hit me if it'll
make you feel better. Hit me if it'll take you out of this ridiculous phase."
He had his fists clenched at his sides but after a moment of glaring at me, his
shoulders relaxed and he suddenly looked miserable.
"I love her," he said as he sat back on the couch. I sat next to him.
"So fight for her," I said placing my hand on his shoulder.
He shook his head. He seemed to be miles away as he stared at empty space. "I can't
seem to get it right. What if I can't make her happy? What if I make her give up
her life to come here and she ends up being unhappy again? Maybe she deserves
better..."
"Damian, if you love her you need to make her your priority. She needs to come
before your job and before mom."
He looked at me. "I'm trying."
"You need to try harder, man," I said to him. "Or you're going to lose her for real
this time. Listen, I know Rebecca. She's very inpatient. If she doesn't see that
you are doing anything to make things work between you too, you'll lose her
Damian."
"I don't want to lose her." He murmured mostly to himself.
I felt bad for Damian. He looked so lost, so miserable. I could tell he was
struggling. He wanted the perfect happy life where both your wife and mom got along
and were best friends. I loved mom as I was sure Damian did too. We were different
though. Damian always had a soft spot for mom. He was always the good boy, momma's
boy. It was the reason he had let mom decide where he and Rebecca would live and it
was the reason Rebecca had ran away. Damian needed to draw a boundary line.
"Rebecca is so sure mom is never going to accept her as my wife," Damian said. His
voice seemed sad.
"Do you believe her?"
He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know. I know she wouldn't say that unless
she really meant it. It's just—" he turned to look at me. "Is mom really a bad
person?"
"Nah," I said. "She just wants to rule our lives too much." I sighed. "Listen, I'm
all about respecting mom and listening to her opinion, sure, but that's it. Don't
let her get in your marriage. You need to buy a house and take Rebecca with you."
Damian met my gaze. "Why do you care so much, Aaron?"
I shrugged. "I just see how much you've suffered and how much Rebecca suffered when
she lived with mom. You two love each other and should be together. And I mean,
you're a knucklehead when it comes to relationships so I feel it's my duty to play
Cupid."
"Cupid Aaron." Damian chuckled as he reached for his beer.
I wondered how many beers he has had. I could only hope he would remember this
conversation when he was sober again.
God knew he needed a wake up call.
--- --- ---
25. "Thanks for noticing."
--
Rebecca's POV
Alexa had never looked so beautiful—so mature— than how she looked on her prom
night. She was wearing a long, red dress with thin straps and an exposed back. Her
hair had been straightened and had been put into a high ponytail, it reminded me of
a horse tail. She had black shiny heels and her make-up looked like it had been put
on by a professional.
I wanted to cry just by looking at her. It was happening. She was a young lady. A
young adult. My little sister wasn't so little anymore.
I tried not to think about how she would be gone to New York in less than 2 months.
I wasn't prepared for that yet.
"Rebecca, are you crying?" Alexa asked as she rolled her eyes at me. She reached
for a tissue and handed it to me.
"I'm sorry," I said as I composed myself. "You're just—well, you're not a baby
anymore."
She raised her eyebrows with a laugh. "Thanks for noticing."
I laughed then smiled sadly. "I just wish mom were here to see you. She would be so
proud."
"Stop it or you're going to make me cry and this—" she pointed at her face. "—took
hours."
"Okay, right, no crying," I said. "Have fun tonight."
She looked down at her phone. "Tina is here," she said then looked at me as if
barely realizing that I won't be going with her. "You're gonna be okay?"
It was my turn to roll my eyes at her. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me. Enjoy
your prom night. Remember to supervise your drinks and don't go into dark alleys
alone."
She laughed. "Okay, okay."
I watched from the front door as she walked to her friend Tina's car. She waved at
me before she drove off.
I walked back to the house which suddenly felt really lonely. I realized that this
was how it would feel when Alexa left for college. Was this how parents felt when
all their kids were grown up and left the house?
I locked the door behind me then headed to the living room and cuddled in the couch
in front of the TV. I pulled the blanket around me for comfort then reached for the
bag of Munchies while I watched TV. They were giving The Office episodes all day
which was one of my favorite shows.
I had spent more time on this couch in the last 3 weeks than I ever had in the last
3 years. I had been working from home, only going to the bank one or two days a
week just to make an appearance. I hadn't felt like going out.
I hadn't spoken to Damian since that Saturday night 3 weeks ago.
He did call me a few times during the 2 weeks after that day but he hasn't called
me at all in 5 days. I knew I had no reason to be mad about that. I had ignored all
his calls. Didn't I want him to leave me alone?
The answer was no, of course. It was just that every time I thought I was over our
fight, I would remember it and then I would get angry all over again. That Saturday
I realized that nothing had changed. Damian was still believing his mother over me.
He was putting her first. Despite everything she had done to me, I wished nothing
bad to Marianne. She was still Damian's mom. The problem was Damian. He didn't
believe me. He still let her put things in his head. He didn't trust me. I knew I
was partly to blame for that but it was still not fair. I refused to go back and
live the way I was living...even if I lose Damian...
Yet, despite not answering all his calls, I didn't want him to leave me alone. I
just didn't want to talk to him a week ago.
Now...now it was different.
Something had happened.
Something good? Something bad?
No, not bad...just bad timing...
I found out I was pregnant yesterday. I had my suspicions already but I didn't
confirm it until yesterday.
I had been feeling really tired—too tired—and that wasn't like me. At first, I
thought it was because I was upset about the fight I had with Damian, and I was,
but it was still not normal. I knew my body. I knew something was happening.
My period was also late though I didn't think much of it because my period has
always been irregular. Never on the same day. Usually on the same week but not
always. For sure once a month. I used to take the pill back when I was a teenager
to help regulate it but I never actually followed the schedule so it didn't work. I
had learned to live with it.
It was always a nice surprise.
That nice surprise hadn't surprised me this month yet which added to my suspicion.
So yesterday I finally got the courage (and energy) to go to the pharmacy. I took 3
different pregnancy tests and they all gave me the same result. Positive.
I was pregnant.
And here I was on the couch watching The Office while eating chips, pretending that
everything was fine and normal but I was pregnant.
There were cells working in my womb forming a little human. A little human that
would have a heartbeat in a few weeks.
I stopped eating chips, suddenly feeling guilty. I should be eating something
healthier like vegetables right?
Clearly, I didn't know the first thing about being pregnant except how tired it
made me feel.
I didn't want to think about it because I didn't know how to feel. I hadn't given
much thought about being a mother.
Before my mom died, sure, I knew I wanted to be a mom one day. But seeing my mom
die, losing her, and seeing Alexa lose her—it changed something in me.
It made me terrified of having children because it terrified me to think about me
dying and leaving them alone in this world without their mom. I knew it was
different for me because no matter what happened between us, I had Damian's support
while my mom didn't have my dad's help.
But it still scared me. Especially now that Damian and I were having issues.
I felt terrified. Pregnant and terrified. It was like the title of a Lifetime movie
except it was real and it was my life.
So that was why I was cuddled in my couch and watching The Office, because it was
better than facing reality.
I didn't know what I was going to do.
Of course I was going to tell Damian. I just didn't know when or how.
He hadn't called and I was ready to answer now. I knew I could easily call him but
his silence made me wonder...had he given up? And if he had, should I even tell
him?
I was the one to tell him I wouldn't make him choose between his mother and I. I
was the one to ask him to leave after all.
This pregnancy didn't just magically solve our problems. Damian still believed his
mother more than me. He was still letting her come in between our relationship.
I imagined what it would be like to bring a child into this and I cursed myself for
not being more responsible. I couldn't even remember if we used protection every
time—obviously not.
And here was the consequence.
I didn't know what to do. I wished I could talk to someone but at the same time, I
didn't want to share the news with anyone yet. It would make it real.
The screen of my phone suddenly lighted up next to me and I reach for it eagerly.
A text. From Damian.
I know I'm not your favorite person right now...
The 3 dots blinked on the screen as he typed another text and I stared at them,
eagerly, waiting for the next text. He sent 4 separate ones:
I just want to say sorry
I haven't given up, Rebecca, I'm working on it. I want you to know that.
Take care of yourself and Alexa
I love you.
My eyes welled up with tears and I was suddenly crying.
I didn't know how much I really missed him until now. I suddenly missed everything
about him: his eyes, his arms around me, his voice, his face, his laugh, his
smile...
I cleaned my face.
Get ahold of yourself, I told myself as I sniffed.
I haven't given up, Rebecca, I'm working on it...
Working on it? What did he mean by that?
It didn't matter. What mattered was that he hadn't given up on me. He still loved
me. There was light at the end of the tunnel because he still loved me.
After reading his texts over and over, I suddenly knew what I had to do.
I got off the couch and walked upstairs to my room and got my laptop.
I love you...
I knew what I had to do. I didn't know how it was going to go. If it was going to
make things better or worse but at least I would be doing something.
So I went on the internet and purchased plane tickets because I finally knew what I
had to do.

--- --- ---

26. "What are you doing here?"
--
I landed in California at 9:47 am on Monday morning.
I was only here for the day. I would be on a flight back home tonight at nine. I
had twelve hours. I was here on business. I was Rebecca The Problem Solver today.
Part of me was terrified but the other part was determined and for once, my
determination trumped my fear and cowardice.
This needed to be done.
Once I did what I had to do, my conscience would be clean. I would know I did
everything in my power to be all one happy family. This was going to help me move
on and I needed to move on so badly...especially now.
I was meeting with Marianne.
She didn't know, of course, and that made me feel better—and powerful. She was
going to be at a restaurant in Beverly Hills at 10:30 thinking she would be meeting
with Aaron for breakfast. Aaron was the only one who knew I was here (besides Alexa
who had stayed back home).
I didn't know what I was going to say yet. I was hoping the words would come to me
once I saw her face to face.
Yep, my big plan was to have a sane and mature conversation with Marianne. That was
my plan to solve our problems. I knew it was a long stretch. I knew it could turn
ugly very quickly but I was going to try my best to be patient with her. Patience
was not a quality of mine but I needed this to work.
I planned to confront Marianne and demand what her problem was. Why did she hate me
so much? What did I do to her? From my knowledge, I had done nothing to her except
marry her son which turned out to be the biggest offense against her apparently.
Was she mad that she didn't get to choose Damian's wife? I knew she loved to
control him.
That would be a good starter, I thought to myself sarcastically as I walked through
the airport. I hadn't brought anything else other than my purse with me so I easily
moved through the crowds.
We were going to be in public so Marianne would have to behave herself. If there
was one thing I knew about her was that she would never ridicule herself in front
of other people. She was different with others. That was her problem. She was a
hypocrite.
I didn't know if I was going to tell her about the baby yet. I didn't want to
because I hadn't told anyone and I didn't want the first person to know to be the
one woman who hated me...who also happened to be my unborn child's grandma.
No, I didn't want to tell Marianne especially because I hadn't even told Damian
yet.
I almost smiled as I thought about him. We were in the same state, literally. I
missed him. My body ached for him. I just wanted to see him. I wanted to see his
face, his eyes...I wondered if he missed me as much as I missed him. I also
wondered how he was going to react when I told him I was pregnant...
Maybe I should just go to the clinic and see him. I could hide in his office all
day or we could go somewhere private...
Rebecca, no.
No, I thought to myself shaking my head, remember you're mad at him. And you need
to do this. You need to have this conversation with Marianne. Then you can say you
did everything you could.
I finally walked out of the airport and got a taxi to drive me to the restaurant.
It was a sunny day. At least the weather was nice.
Aaron hadn't asked me why I wanted to meet with Marianne. One of the best things
about him was that, if he was your friend, he was your friend unconditionally. No
questions asked.
It was a shame we weren't as close anymore and we probably never will be. Aaron
deserved a true friend that would be there for him when he needed them. I hoped he
had someone like that.
The taxi dropped me off on the curb, outside the restaurant a few minutes after ten
thirty. When I walked in, there was a line to get seated so I got in line.
I looked around as I waited and then I spotted her. She was sitting off to my right
in a table for 2 and right next to the window. I sighed then straightened up before
walking to her.
At first, she didn't see me approaching. She didn't look up until I was right by
the table. She looked confused. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and she was
wearing a pink blouse with black dressed pants. I couldn't see her shoes but I
would bet money she was wearing black, shiny heels. She always dressed up like she
was going to an important place.
There was a cup of coffee in front of her.
As I met her gaze, I thought back to the last time I saw her back in her house when
she arrived unexpectedly.
I cleared my throat. "Hello, Marianne."
She narrowed her brown eyes at me. "What are you doing here?"
My body was tense but I acted cool and natural as I took a seat on the chair across
from her with and, with a smile, I said, "Well to see you, of course."
I could tell she seemed surprised by how I was acting. I had never spoken to her
like that. I was always a coward. Always keeping quiet when she insulted me or when
she did things to hurt me. Keeping quiet or running away. I wasn't that Rebecca
anymore.
"I flew all the way from Nevada to see you." I continued when she didn't say
anything.
Her face expression changed in realization. "I can't believe it. Aaron—" she
stopped herself then looked at me as she reached for her purse. "I am not going to
set myself up for this humiliation."
She tried to stand up but I reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Sit down,
Marianne," I said raising my voice so she knew I wasn't afraid to make a scene. "I
flew here to talk to you and I am not leaving until we do."
Shock was clear on her face. After a moment, she finally sat back down and set her
purse down again. "How dare you touch me like that?"
"You've handled me like that many times," I said calmly looking into her brown
eyes. "Doesn't feel good does it?"
She narrowed her eyes at me. "What do you want?" She spit the words like venom,
letting me know she wasn't happy to be here. I wasn't either.
"I told you—I want to talk. That's all." I assured her with a smile.
The waitress came over then. "Anything I can get you to drink, ma'am?"
"N—" Marianne started.
"Yes, please," I said looking up at her. "An orange juice. Also, may I get a menu?
It's my first time here."
"Oh yes, of course," the waitress said. "Give me one second."
I nodded with a smile on my face because I knew Marianne was glaring at me. If
looks could kill, I would be dead for sure. This was kind of fun.
The waitress came back with a menu, promising to come back in a moment to take our
order.
"It's my first time here," I said looking at the menu. "What do you suggest?"
"Stop it with the charade, Rebecca," Marianne said looking very much annoyed. "Tell
me what you want to tell me and be done with it."
"Oh it's not going to go your way," I said looking up at her. "I intend to at least
have a pleasant breakfast, considering it is very unpleasant to be here with you.
I'm sure you feel the same way."
"If it is so unpleasant for you, then why are you here?"
"I told you already. I want to talk."
"About what?"
"About us, about Damian," I said then rested my arms on the table as I leaned in to
look at her in the eye. "But mostly, I want to talk about why you hate me so much."
"Oh please," Marianne said. "Don't tell me you want to play the victim now."
"I have been—" I stopped and cleared my throat. I needed to compose my anger. "I
have been the victim. Your victim."
She didn't say anything so I continued. "I think it's time to have this
conversation, don't you think? I know you hate me. I want to know why."
"Does abandoning my son without saying anything not seem like a sufficient reason
for you?"
I half smiled. "You hated me long before that, Marianne. I am not an idiot. Please
stop treating me like one."
She glared at me. "Why the sudden interest?"
I shrugged. "I realized something."
"Oh yeah? What is it?"
"I realized that you and I both can't be in Damian's life. It's what Damian wants,
of course, but he doesn't understand that there's a chance that might not be
possible. Ever."
"So you're trying to mend things with me because you know you'll lose him
otherwise." Marianne looked satisfied. It was crazy how sure she was that Damian
would always do whatever she said. It was so shallow of her. She was so selfish.
I smiled at her. "I was ready to give him up, Marianne. I really was. I want you to
know that despite all the hurtful things you've done to me, I've never been the
woman to make a man choose between his mother and wife. I—" I looked down at the
table then looked up again. "After losing my mom, I understood how important it is
to spend time with our parents while we have them." I told her and I thought I saw
her face soften but it was so quick, I was sure I imagined it. "Damian loves you
and he is afraid to hurt you. So I was ready to give him up...but something
happened." I gulped. "And now I can't. I won't. So this is me trying to mend things
between us before talking to Damian."
Marianne shook her head with a smile. "So you're saying you're doing me a favor."
"I'm giving you a chance."
"My son is not going to choose you over me. I am his mother. I don't know what
fantasy you have in your little head, Rebecca, but that's all it is, a fantasy.
You've always been so—naïve. Though you were smart to marry my son. A doctor. A man
from a good family and a bright future. You don't deserve him. You never have,
especially after what you did to him. What made you come back? Did you run out of
money? Or—"
"I didn't marry Damian for his money," I said as calmly as I could. "Is that what
you think? Is that why you've never wanted me as his wife?"
"I never wanted you as his wife, that is true," she said. "Damian should have
married someone like him. Someone with a career. A woman from a good family name.
Someone like—"
"Someone like Karen." I interrupted her. "You wanted Damian to marry Karen. That's
always been your problem hasn't it? I wasn't the woman you chose for Damian so you
resented me instantly."
Was it possible that I was right? Marianne resented me for Damian's decision. She
couldn't hate her son for disobeying her but she could hate me.
"Karen was perfect for Damian. She still is," Marianne said then smiled. "And when
you leave Damian again, he'll finally realize he is too good for you and move on."
I looked at her for a moment, thinking about her words. That was the thing though.
It wasn't just the words, it was the way she said those words. She had always
spoken to me in a condescending tone. Always trying to make me feel smaller than
her. For a second, I wondered if this was how she treated her late husband. Now I
had no doubt she had married him for money. For security. For a good last name to
come after hers.
Money was important, yes, and my mother always wanted me to marry good. Whose
mother didn't want that? This was why she didn't want me to marry Damian. My mom
thought I was marrying him for money. I could tell she felt guilty because it was
something she had always told me when I was younger. I think that changed when she
got sick. . .when she realized that money couldn't buy us the important things in
life, like time or love.
But I fell in love with Damian. I loved him. I know I always will.
I was sure Marianne loved her sons—in her own way—but her love for wealth and
control had made her unhappy. She was never going to accept me as Damian's wife
because she didn't give a damn about love.
I wasn't the problem. She was. And Damian was going to have to understand this.
"Are you ladies ready to order?" The waitress asked then with a writing pad in her
hands.
Marianne ordered then the waitress turned to me.
"I'm okay, thank you."
"Your appetite is gone, dear?" Marianne asked after the waitress left.
"You know, Marianne, I came here with every intention of understanding and even
forgiving you for everything you've done to me. That's all I wanted," I said
looking at her. "But being here and talking to you has made me realize how shallow
you are. And now I know that when you lose Damian, it won't be my fault."
She sighed. "You already left him once, I'm sure you're going to leave him again so
we won't have to worry about silly apologies and repentance. Just make sure to stay
away next time. Leave the divorce papers signed if you would. It would save me a
lot of time and money," she said bringing the coffee cup to her pink lips.
I huffed. I couldn't believe this woman. "I am not leaving Damian. I am his wife.
I'm not going anywhere." I reached for my purse. "You're going to regret this,
Marianne, when you are all alone. Without your sons. Without your grandchildren—" I
stood up. "I know I sure as hell don't want you around my kids."
"What are you talking about?" She asked looking up at me.
"Oh and one more thing—" I lowered down so I could look at her dead in the eye.
"Stay the hell out of my marriage."
Without another word, I turned around and walked out of the restaurant where I
finally let my breath go. I hadn't even realized that I had been holding it.
I had done it. I didn't know if this conversation had been positive or negative yet
but I did feel lighter. I felt at peace with myself. This was it. I had done
everything I could to fix things with my in-law. Now I wouldn't feel guilty. I
wouldn't feel guilty about making Damian choose between his mother and us—our baby
and I.
--- --- ---
27. "Uh-your face is familiar."
--
I walked down the street after leaving the restaurant. I wasn't that hungry but it
was almost noon and all I had had for breakfast were a few sips of the orange
juice. So I went into a café a few doors down from the restaurant where I had met
with Marianne.
I was still thinking about the conversation I had had with her. Her words kept
repeating over and over in my head. My son is not going to choose you over me. I am
his mother. Karen was perfect for Damian. She still is.
It was so hard to not let her mean words hurt me. All these years, I've wondered
what I did to make her hate me so much. Now, I understood that I did nothing wrong.
It wasn't me. It was all her. Sometimes people were just hateful and that was their
own personal problem. The worst part was that she knew what she was doing and she
didn't care. I was done trying to make peace with Marianne. I wasn't going to keep
wasting my time with her. So I forced her out of my head.
There weren't many people at the café and I took a seat after ordering a sandwich
with a small broccoli soup.
As I had lunch, I thought about calling Damian to let him know I was here. I kind
of wanted it to be a surprise. Then again we hadn't spoken in weeks so maybe it
wouldn't be the kind of surprise I thought it would be. Plus, we didn't have a good
history with surprises which was mostly my fault considering I had gotten mad at
him for showing up unannounced in Nevada.
I took out my phone and clicked on his contact number. I found myself feeling
nervous as the dial tone rang in my ear. It went to voicemail. He was probably busy
with patients.
Well, he can't say I didn't try.
Suddenly eager to see him, I finished up my lunch and got ready to leave after
calling to ask for a taxi. As I walked out into the sunny afternoon, something
across the street caught my eye. It was mostly the color. Pink. The same color
Marianne had been wearing earlier. It belonged to a woman standing across the
street in the arms of a man. The man had his back to me.
As I walked to the curb where the taxi was waiting for me, I realized that it
wasn't just the color. It was the same blouse. Then I realized that it wasn't a
coincidence because the woman across the street was Marianne.
Shock paralyzed my body as I realized that it was Marianne in the arms of another
man. They were making out in the middle of the street like there was no tomorrow.
I couldn't believe it.
They pulled apart after a moment and then Marianne's eyes met mine. She was across
the street but I could see the shock and fear clear on her face as she saw me. The
man suddenly turned around and he looked around as if trying to figure out what
Marianne was so horrified at. He was young. Probably around Aaron's age. Young and
handsome.
I forced myself to look down and open the door. I got in the taxi and gave him the
address to Damian's clinic. I looked straight ahead as the taxi drove by down the
street.
I couldn't believe what I had just seen.
Marianne kissing a man much younger than her. She had a dirty little secret and I
had caught her in the act. It was obvious Aaron and Damian didn't know—it was all
clear in the fear on her face when she saw me.
I didn't give a damn about Marianne's personal life—unlike her, I stayed out of
other people's relationships, but it made me angry that she judged and hated me for
nothing, acting like she was the perfect woman when she was hooking up with a man
that could be her son and hiding that from her sons.
Wow. The audacity. She lived her life making people believe she was a woman of
morals and education and judging people who weren't like her when that wasn't even
the real her.
This was exactly why people shouldn't judge other people.
I wasn't going to tell Damian or Aaron—it was enough for me that she knew that I
knew. That was going to be enough torment for her.
I was so consumed in my thoughts, I didn't even realize when the taxi stopped.
"We're here, ma'am," the taxi driver said clearing his throat.
I nodded. "Right. Sorry."
After paying him, I walked out of the car then made my way into the clinic suddenly
feeling a bit sick. I didn't know if it was because I had eaten too fast or maybe
it was from the pregnancy but it made me want to get into bed and stay there all
day.
Inside the clinic, the waiting room was full of parents and very hyper children.
Some kids were playing and others were watching TV while others were yelling for no
apparent reason. Watching this made me a little scared knowing that I would be one
of those exhausted parents soon.
"Hi, Wendy right?" I asked the receptionist behind the desk.
She looked up and her eyes widened. "Oh! Hi, Mrs. Walker."
"Is Damian here?"
"He is. But I'm sorry, Dr. Walker is in a consult. He has a full schedule..." she
said as she looked at the computer as if trying to figure out if she messed up
Damian's schedule.
"Oh, it's okay." I assured her. "I actually didn't—"
"Rebecca?"
I turned around at the sound of my name. Behind me was a man with a familiar face.
He had short brown hair with tan skin and brown eyes behind glasses. He was wearing
dressed pants with a button down shirt tucked in.
"H-hi?" I said though it sounded like a question. I knew I had seen him before but
I didn't remember where.
He offered me his hand. "I'm Jack...and you don't remember me." He realized with a
polite smile.
"Uh—your face is familiar," I said as I shook his hand.
He chuckled. "I'm Damian's cousin. I was in your wedding—I believe that was the
last time I saw you."
Something in my brain clicked and I smiled. "Right! Yes, I remember you now. Sorry,
it's been a while."
He nodded. "Yes, it has."
"You work here?" I asked when I realized he had a white lab coat on.
I was trying to remember everything I could of him. I believed he was the son of
one of Damian's aunts. I didn't remember him being around much through the time
Damian and I were dating then again Damian was always too busy to spend time with
his family. I did remember him at our wedding though. It wouldn't surprise me if he
was a doctor too. Most of Damian's family from his dad's side were doctors and
nurses or had other medical careers. Intelligence obviously ran in the Walker
family.
"I'm on trial for now." he joked with a smile as he let my hand go. "I completed my
residency recently and can finally say I'm a doctor. I asked Damian if I could
spend some days here shadowing him so here I am," he said with a shrug.
"Well, congratulations, that's awesome."
"Thank you," he said with a smile. "How have you been? We haven't seen you since
the wedding...everyone's been wondering..."
The Walkers were really nice people. I met most of them on the day of my wedding
four years ago so my memory of them is a bit hazy but I remember all of them being
very nice like Damian's father was. I knew it was only natural that they would
wonder whatever happened to Damian's bride.
"I'm sorry," Jack said quickly. "I didn't mean to—"
"No." I interrupted him. "It's okay. Damian and I went through a...rough patch. But
we're working on it."
Jack grinned. "Well, I'm glad. You need to come over to spend some time as a
family. Maybe Thanksgiving?"
I smiled. "That would be lovely."
"Cool. Everyone's going to be so excited. I'm going to announce it in the family
group chat so you can't back out now," he said as he took out his phone.
I laughed nervously and I was going to say something but I stopped when I saw
Damian walking out of an exam room from down the hall. He stopped to talk to a
nurse before he looked up and saw me.
I bit my lip nervously as I offered him a small smile. I looked at him and I
couldn't help but think about what I had seen earlier. How would Damian react if he
knew his mother was having some kind of relationship with another man months after
losing his father?
He looked surprised as he walked but he smiled when he reached me. "Rebecca—" he
took a step forward as if to kiss me but he glanced at the full waiting room and he
stopped.
"Hi," I said suddenly feeling shy.
"Is everything okay?" He asked suddenly looking alarmed.
"Yeah, everything's fine." I assured him. "I—" I wanted to tell him that we needed
to talk but I knew how it would sound in front of all of these people, especially
his cousin.
Damian seemed to read it in my face because he nodded once. "I'm so sorry—I have a
busy day. I can see if we can postpone some appointments—" he said glancing at
Wendy.
"Please don't." I said. "I can wait. Do you mind if I wait in your office though? I
have no where else to go."
"Of course not, come on," he said placing his hand on my back.
I turned to look at Jack. "Nice to see you again, Jack."
He smiled and nodded. "Don't be a stranger. Remember...Thanksgiving."
I smiled. "Okay."
Damian looked at me as we walked to his office. "Thanksgiving?"
I looked up at him with a shy smile. "He sort of invited me to spend Thanksgiving
with your family."
"He hasn't even invited me." He joked.
I laughed quietly. "Sorry."
Damian opened the door for me. "No, it's fine. It's great actually. I like that
you're thinking of being around for Thanksgiving..." he let the sentence hang in
between us.
I looked up at him and bit my lip. "Damian...we need to talk."
He nodded as he put his hands in his pockets. "I know. I wish I would have known
you were coming."
"Sorry, it was sort of last minute. I do leave tonight at nine..."
He looked a little disappointed. "Okay. I'll try to give us as much time as I can,"
he said as he glanced at his silver watch. "I'm sorry. I have to go. You need
anything?"
"Nope, I'm good. I'll probably take a nap on the couch," I said with a smile.
He offered me a crooked smile. "Whatever you need. I got to go."
"Okay," I said. He didn't move for a moment and I reached up and pressed my lips
against his. "I'll be right here."
There was a smile playing on his lips when he turned around and walked out, leaving
me alone in his office. I stood there looking at the door as I pressed my palm
against my lower abdomen where I imagined my womb was.
I was going to give Damian an ultimatum and I did feel a bit guilty but it had to
be done. I could only hope that he would understand me and defend our marriage like
I was ready to. I ran over the list of things, or more like people, I wanted to
talk to him about in my head:
1. Marianne2. Baby3. Karen
Not necessarily in that order but those were the key points. I knew I was about to
ask a lot of Damian but it was all necessary in order for our marriage to work and
now I had to do everything to make this work. I wanted this baby to have both
parents together and I would do everything I could to make that happen ...except
going back to the unhappy life I used to have.

--- --- ---

28. "You're making me dizzy."
--
I did end up taking a nap in Damian's office. It was short and sweet. Sleeping
sitting down wasn't comfortable and it made my neck ache but I still felt refreshed
after it. This pregnancy was already draining all of my energy. I hoped this wasn't
how it would be during the whole term.
A few moments after waking up, I walked to the window and was there when the door
opened behind me. I turned around and saw Karen walking in. She was always showing
up here.
I wasn't an idiot. I knew she still had feelings for Damian. I knew there was some
part of her that still hoped they would end up together and there wasn't a doubt in
my mind that Marianne had something to do with that. It was one of the reasons she
was on my list.
"Rebecca," she said as she looked at me. "I heard you were here. How are you?"
"Hi, Karen. I'm good, thank you. How are you?"
She was wearing a pale pink pencil dress under her white lab coat with white pumps.
She smiled as she walked to the file cabinet. "Good. It's been a busy day but it's
almost over."
"Yeah, at least it's over," I said to make conversation. It wasn't that I disliked
Karen. She had never done anything to me...that I knew of. She had always treated
me with respect. My problem with her was the small part of her that hoped she could
get back together with my husband. A woman in love with a forbidden man could be
dangerous.
Damian walked in then and his brown eyes met mine. "I just finished my last
consult. Did you want to go somewhere else?"
I glanced at Karen who looked uncomfortable as she made her hands busy with files.
I looked back to Damian. "Actually, we can stay here if that's okay with you."
I didn't really want to have this conversation in a public place and there was no
way in hell I was going to go to Marianne's house.
He smiled as he took off his lab coat. "Yeah, that's fine with me."
Karen cleared her throat. "I'll, uh, finish the paperwork and then head out."
"Thank you," Damian said.
She nodded. "Good seeing you, Rebecca."
"Thanks, you too."
She walked out closing the door behind her.
"I'm sorry you had to wait."
"It's okay, Damian. I didn't tell you I was coming..."
He walked closer to me with his hands in his pockets. "I wanted to apologize for,
you know, what happened when I was in Nevada."
"You already did," I said looking at him apologetically. "I'm sorry I wasn't
answering your calls. I was kind of angry at you."
He chuckled. "It's okay. I did act like an ass."
"Did everyone leave already?" I asked him as I took a seat on the couch.
"Mostly, yes. Karen and Wendy are probably finishing up the paperwork," he said as
he sat next to me, our knees were touching and that casual touch made me warm
inside. I missed him so much. I wanted to do nothing more than be in his arms, kiss
him, but I knew we had to have this conversation. I didn't want to leave without
telling him everything I needed to tell him.
"We need to talk..."
"So you've said."
I looked down at my lap as I bit my lip nervously.
"Rebecca—" Damian reached out and put his hand under my chin. He pulled it up
gently so I would look at him. "You're making me nervous. Just tell me what you
need to tell me, please."
"I—" I stopped. "I don't know where to start."
I had so many things I wanted to say that I didn't know what to tell him first.
"Did you get here today?" He asked instead.
1.    Marianne2.    Baby3.    Karen
Maybe I should stick to the order of the list. I looked at him. "This morning, yes,
I, uh, I came to speak with your mother."
His shoulders tensed. "With my mother?"
"Yes...I didn't come to fight." I assured him. "I honestly just wanted to have a
real conversation with her. I wanted to know what I could do make things right
between us. But your mother's problem is beyond me, Damian. She has never wanted me
for you and she never will. I need you to understand that."
He nodded once. "I've been thinking a lot about it since Nevada," he said looking
down. "I—" he sighed then looked at me. "It's really hard for me to accept that my
mom has bad intentions towards you. She is my mother and as her son, it's my duty
to respect her."
I felt disappointment flow through my chest. This was what I was scared of. I was
scared of losing Damian to Marianne. No...I was scared of losing Damian. Period. It
made me sad to think about the possibility of Marianne being right when she said
Damian wouldn't choose me over her. She seemed so sure of it...maybe it was because
she knew she was right.
"I thought about it a lot..." Damian continued looking up at me. "Truth is that I
understood one thing and that is that I don't want to live without you."
"Damian—" I reached for his hand and put it in between mine on my lap. "That is
sweet. And maybe that would have been enough three years ago but it's not today. I
need you to believe me. I need you to trust me. Please."
He brought his eyebrows together in a frown. I could tell he didn't understand me
just by looking at him. He really didn't. "Rebecca—I—"
"Damian, I'm pregnant." I blurted out without thinking.
Damian's eyes widened as he straightened up. "What?"
"I'm pregnant." I repeated. "It's the reason I'm here. It's the reason I came to
speak with your mother and it's the reason I need you to believe me."
"You're—pregnant." He said slowly, tasting the words in his lips. "Oh God." He
chuckled as he reached out to hug me. His chest vibrated as he laughed. "I can't
believe it." He pulled away and kissed my cheek then my forehead. I laughed as he
filled my face with kisses. "You're serious? You're really pregnant? We're having a
baby?" I could see how happy the news made him. It was clear in his eyes. God I
loved this man.
"Yes," I said laughing at his reaction. It was more than I could have asked. "We
are."
"Wow," he said as he stood up. He ran a hand through his hair as he paced in front
of me. "What are we going to do? I don't want to be apart from you. I could go with
you to Nevada—"
"Damian." I interrupted. "Calm down. Please sit down, you're making me dizzy."
He turned to look at me then he got down on one knee in front of me. "Rebecca, you
have no idea..." he shook his head with a smile. "You have made me the happiest man
on earth by giving me these news. I wish you knew how happy I feel right now."
I smiled at him as I reached out and placed my palm on his cheek. "I think I might
have an idea. I'm glad the news make you happy."
He chuckled. "Are you kidding? I love you." He reached for my hand on his cheek and
kissed it.
Seeing how happy and excited he was about the baby made my nerves ease up little by
little. I hadn't really celebrated the news because I had been so nervous about the
uncertainty of my future with Damian but now...Damian's reaction was contagious. It
was impossible not to feel happy. In that moment, everything was perfect. I wanted
to freeze time and stay in this moment forever...but that wasn't possible.
I reached out and placed my palms against each of Damian's cheeks. "Now, do you
understand why I need you to trust me?"
"Rebecca, I'm yours," he said and I could tell he really meant it. His eyes were so
sincere. "I'll do whatever you want me to do." He kissed my hand.
I half smiled. "Damian, I'm being serious."
"So am I," he said looking into my eyes. "I love you and I want you by my side. You
were my dream before and now—" he shook his head with a smile. "There are no words
that could explain what you mean to me now. So talk to me. Tell me what you want.
Tell me what you need and you can have it."
I knew it was the moment to talk but I couldn't help myself. I reached out and
pressed my lips against his. He wrapped his arms around my waist as he kissed me
hard.
Rebecca, focus.
I was trying to but Damian was so intoxicating. His smell, his lips, his arms
around me...I wanted to let myself melt in his arms and let him hold and kiss me
for the rest of our lives. He had never been more attractive and I had never loved
him more than I loved him right now.
"Damian," I whispered after a moment, pulling away and pressing my fingers against
his lips. "I'm sorry," I giggled breathlessly. "I shouldn't have—we really need to
talk."
He looked at me for a moment before he nodded and stood up pulling me up with him.
"Maybe we should sit at the desk." He suggested with a smile.
I laughed. "Yeah, that's a good idea."
He pulled the chair out for me then went around his desk and sat in front of me.
His lips were swollen, reminding me of how much I wanted him but I needed to get
this conversation over with. I couldn't get ahead of myself.
"I'm listening," Damian said looking at me, urging me to speak.
"Okay." I took a deep breath. "When you left Nevada, I was ready to let you go. I
knew I couldn't put you in a position to make you choose me over your mother.
Then..." I met his gaze. "Then I found out I was pregnant and I realized that I
could. I want you to know that I didn't want to make you choose, and I still don't,
but it is necessary now." Damian nodded encouragingly and I continued. "I spoke to
Marianne and I realized that her problem is something that I can't solve. I don't
hate her, Damian, but she seems to hate me. She's stuck with the idea of Karen
being the right woman for you—"
Damian clenched his jaw. "Karen and I are just colleagues."
"Karen still has feelings for you." I told him. "And I think you know."
Damian looked away. "I have always been clear with her. I don't like her like
that."
"I know Karen still hopes you two will get back together and she's going to keep
thinking that...as long as you keep being in her life..." I let the sentence hang
hoping he would pick up on what I was trying to tell him. I felt like I was taking
away his mother and now his right hand at work but he needed to understand that
those women had to get out of his life in order for us to live ours peacefully.
Damian studied me. "Does it make you uncomfortable? Me working with her?"
"Honestly," I said looking at him. "Yes. It does. You wouldn't like it if I worked
with Julian."
"You do," he said. He wasn't accusing me. He was just stating the fact.
"But I would be leaving that job. I think we should agree on keeping our exes out
of our lives for good, don't you think?"
Damian nodded slowly. I could tell he was in conflict with himself. He was too good
for his own good. "Yes."
"Damian, your mother is never going to stop coming between us unless we put a stop
to it. With Karen being around...I know Marianne will keep using her to cause
problems between us. Do you trust me when I say this?"
He hesitated. "I told you that I have thought about my mother. Looking back helped
me acknowledge that my mother hasn't exactly been pleasant towards you. I also
realized the big mistake I made when I brought you to live in my parents house. It
wasn't very responsible of me." He paused. "I don't know why she doesn't love you,"
he said sadly. "You are my wife and I love you—that should be enough for her to—"
he shook his head looking defeated.
I bit my lip while I gained the courage to tell him the next words. "Damian, you
asked me to tell you what I needed and what I need, what we need is distance...from
your mother. I am not going to prohibit you from seeing her or anything because
it's not my right...but I do ask that we keep a distance, for a little while. I
need you to put our marriage first. I need you to choose me. Choose us."
"Rebecca—" he reached out for my hand and put it between his. "You are my wife. I
love and respect my mother, I always will...but you are my family now. You and the
baby you are growing are my family and I promise that I will stand up for you like
I should have all those years ago."
His words were like music to my ears. "Really?" I asked fighting back the tears.
He smiled at me. "Really." He let my hand go to look for something on his laptop.
"And to show you how serious I am..." he turned his laptop around and I looked at
the screen. "I am closing the deal on this house in a few weeks. It was supposed to
be a surprise but—" he shrugged with a smile. "You're the one who ended up
surprising me."
I stared at the screen on the computer. It was a beautiful house. Two-story. Pretty
window frames with a garage on the side. "Oh my god. Are you serious?"
Damian smiled, looking pleased with himself. "Of course. This will be our new
house. It has three bedrooms," he said then smiled at me. "I bought it thinking of
our future children which is good considering I had no idea one of them was already
on the way."
He bought this house before he knew I was pregnant. He bought this thinking of me,
of our future.
The tears were impossible to fight now and I stood up and walked around the desk to
hug him. He pulled me down and I sat on his lap. "Rebecca," he said gently as he
cleaned the tears on my cheeks. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I said shaking my head. "I'm just so happy." I looked into his eyes. "I
thought I was going to lose you."
He half smiled. "The situation with my mother hurts but it would be nothing
compared to the pain I would feel if I lost you again. I will do anything for you,
for our baby. Don't ever doubt my love and dedication to you. I promise I'll do a
better job in showing it to you."
"You're making a lot of promises," I joked. "You might need to start writing them
down."
He chuckled as he hugged me and pressed me closer to him. "I love you. Thank you
for being here."
I pressed my lips against his cheek and kissed him then buried my face on his neck.
"I love you too," I whispered as I closed my eyes. We stayed like that for a long
time. I felt pure happiness being in his arms. I felt so loved.
After a moment, I felt him press his hand against my stomach. "A baby," he murmured
then chuckled. "I can't believe I'm going to be a dad."
And I was going to be a mom. The thought still scared me but it was different now.
I had Damian. He had chosen me. He had chosen us. I put my hand on top of his and
smiled against his neck.
It still seemed surreal. We were going to have a baby. A baby that was the product
of our reconciliation, of our love...nothing was going to be the same from now on.
--- --- ---
29. "Damian, please don't do this."
--
Damian's POV
A baby.
I was going to be a father.
It was 2 weeks after Rebecca had been here in California to tell me she was
pregnant and I still couldn't believe it. It was one of those things that you would
forget for a moment as you went throughout your day and then suddenly the thought
would pop into your head and it would make you feel happy and smile out of no where
and everyone would wonder why you're such in a good mood. At least that was how it
had been for the past two weeks at work.
I hadn't told anyone the news yet mostly because I wanted to keep it to myself for
a moment. My secret happiness. Just between Rebecca and I...and Alexa who was the
only other person that knew.
Of course, I would have to tell Aaron and my mom soon...
It somehow seemed surreal that Rebecca was pregnant probably because we weren't
living together yet. If it was hard to live in a different state than her before,
it was even harder now. All I wanted was to be with her to care for her and give
her anything she needed.
Alexa will be leaving to New York during the second week of June which was two
weeks away. I didn't want to leave Rebecca alone. I wouldn't. So I told her I would
go stay with her until we could both come back to California—after she sold her
house.
"Damian, that's not really necessary." She told me over the phone when I told her I
would go stay with her.
"Of course it is." I insisted. "I want to be with you."
"What about the clinic?"
"I will leave Karen in charge for now."
She got quiet on the other line at the mention of Karen. I knew Rebecca wasn't
jumping with joy at the fact that I worked with Karen—I should have known sooner. I
understood. I really did and I wanted nothing more than make Rebecca happy...the
thing was that I needed Karen right now. She was the only one who knew the clinic
as good as me.
When I told her that I was going to Nevada to spend time with Rebecca, Karen didn't
object in staying in charge of the clinic. And I thought that maybe Rebecca and I
were wrong. Maybe Karen didn't have any feelings for me and it was all okay.
And then I said, "Rebecca is pregnant and I want to spend as much time with her as
I can."
My smile faded when I saw Karen's reaction. She was trying to hide it but I knew
her too well. She was hurt. I immediately regretted saying anything at all. I
wasn't thinking about what I was saying. I was too excited.
"Wow." Karen finally said then cleared her throat. "A baby. That's—great! Exciting.
I know you've always wanted a family, Damian, congrats."
"Thank you," I said quietly. "Yes, it's very exciting."
She nodded slowly, as if she were trying to assimilate the news. "Well, I better
go," she said after a moment grabbing her purse. "Have a good trip. Don't worry
about the clinic. I'll take care of it."
I decided not to tell her that I wouldn't leave for another week. I had things to
do and could use the time off work anyway.
"Thank you," I said but she was already walking out the door.
That was when I realized Rebecca was right. I couldn't keep working with Karen for
the good of both of us. She needed to move on too. I would eventually have to let
her go. It felt selfish but it would have to wait until after Rebecca and I came
back. If I let Karen go right now, I wouldn't be able to go to Rebecca and I needed
to be there with her. Karen was the only one who could look after the clinic for an
undetermined amount of time. We didn't know how long it was going to take to sell
Rebecca's house and settle things at her job.
Meanwhile, the deal for the house I had bought for Rebecca had closed two weeks ago
and I used the week before I would leave to Nevada to get as much furniture inside
the house as I could. It was mostly just the living and dining room furniture along
with our room. Rebecca had helped choose it through pictures I would send to her.
We would take care of the baby's room together once we moved in. Every time I
passed the room next to ours, it was a reminder that it will soon be occupied by a
baby.
Everything was coming together quite nicely.
Though the hard part was coming and that was telling my mother I was moving out for
good. I also hadn't told tell her she was going to be a grandma. Yet. Mostly
because I've been trying to find the right way to confront her about how she
treated Rebecca.
One evening, as I got home, I found her in the dining room table going over
something in her iPad.
"Hi, sweetie," she said glancing briefly before looking at her iPad again. "How was
your day?"
"Good," I said looking at the living room then down the hall. "Is Aaron home?"
"No, he's out."
"Good." I repeated then pulled out a chair and sat in front of her. "I was hoping
we could talk."
"Of course," she said distractedly. "What about?"
"Rebecca."
She froze at the sound of her name then, slowly, she put the iPad aside and finally
looked at me. "Why? What did she tell you?"
I frowned. "Why do you always express yourself like that whenever we talk about
her?" I asked her, loosening my tie.
"Express myself how?" She asked looking all innocent like she had no idea what I
was talking about.
"With dislike. In bad taste," I said. "It makes me think that everything she told
me about how you've treated her is true."
"Rebecca has always exaggerated everything." She said almost rolling her eyes.
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Mom, I think you like to forget that Rebecca is my
wife. She's not going anywhere. You need to accept that."
Her brown eyes met mine. "How do you know she's not going to leave you again? You
took her back so easily, she can very well do it again."
"Rebecca left because I was failing her as a husband—" I paused and looked at her.
"And because you mistreated her."
"I didn't—"
"Mom, please don't lie to me."
I loved my mom. What kind of son would I be if I didn't? But it was time for me to
be a man and stand up for Rebecca. Stand up for our marriage. For our child and any
other future children down the road.
I think that the years I spent in school and then at work made me miss a lot of the
reality that was going on at home when Rebecca and I were newlyweds. Deep down,
maybe I began to accept that my mom wasn't the woman I thought she was. The doubt
planted itself back when Rebecca came back and told me about it first. I guess I
didn't want to believe that my own mother would be capable of mistreating a person
on purpose. My own mother mistreated my wife without me noticing. I was so consumed
in my career that I didn't see what was going on at home with my wife. Maybe
Rebecca would have never ran away if I would have paid attention.
It was too late for that. I couldn't do anything about the past except learn from
it. Now, as I looked into my mother's eyes, I knew. I knew everything Aaron and
Rebecca had said was true. It made me angry but, most of all, it made me sad.
I shook my head in disbelief. "I don't get it, mom. Why?"
"She never deserved you."
"Because she isn't who you chose for me?" I took a deep breath, trying to calm my
disillusionment. "I've always tried to please you. I've always done everything
you've asked to make you happy but going as far as letting you choose a wife for
me? No. Even you have to realize how unfair that would have been."
"I just wanted what was best for you. I always will and that woman—" she stopped.
"I would have spared you the pain she caused you when she left if you would have
listened to me and not marry her."
"Jesus, mom. I don't need you to spare me anything." I stood up, suddenly needing
to move to keep myself from yelling at her. I placed my hands on the chair and
leaned in so she would look at me. "I'm an adult. A grown man. I am capable of
making my own decisions. I don't regret marrying Rebecca. I never will. If
anything, I'm glad she ran away because now I know the truth about your intentions
towards her. If I could choose all over again, I would still marry her. I love her.
She is the love of my life. I don't know how to make you understand that."
"I don't think I ever will," she said her voice full of arrogance and
determination.
I couldn't believe it. She was disappointing me with every word she said. How did I
not see this before? I wanted to go crazy just thinking about all the things she
did to Rebecca and all the other things I didn't know about. Now I understood that
she had no boundaries. Oh how Rebecca must have suffered under our own roof and I
was too blind to see it. My mom was wrong. I was the one who didn't deserve
Rebecca.
I reached for my jacket and griped it. "Rebecca is pregnant." I told her.
I watched as she opened her mouth in complete shock. Or maybe she was just angry at
the news. I didn't know anymore.
"Not that you deserve to know." I continued. "But there you go. You know now. So
every time you miss an important day in my child's life, you'll remember that it's
because of your own hate towards Rebecca. I won't let you mistreat her anymore and
even less, mistreat my child. I'm leaving, mom. I hope you can find some type of
happiness with your hateful heart."
Her eyes filled up with tears as I said this but I found it easy to walk away to my
room. I took out my suitcases and began to put all my clothes and what was left of
my things. I had already taken Rebecca's clothes and other things to the house over
the week so there wasn't much left. It took me less than thirty minutes to get
everything I needed.
"Damian." My mom called after me as I walked down the hall, to the front door.
"Damian, please don't do this. Please don't leave." She cried.
I stopped before the front door and turned to look at her. I wanted to tell her so
many things but I knew I was just going to hurt her more. She was already crying
hysterically on her knees. "Goodbye, mom," I said instead before walking out, the
door shut behind me as if shutting my mom from my life.

--- --- ---

30. "For the record."
--
Rebecca's POV
I looked down at the toilet and waited. And waited. And waited. Nothing was coming.
This had been happening way too often now and I was tired. I would feel like
throwing up so I would run to the toilet and then the feeling would linger but I
wouldn't throw up. I hated throwing up so when I had to do it, I just wanted to get
it over with. Unfortunately, pregnancy didn't give a damn about what I wanted.
I sat on the floor, somehow knowing that if I went back to bed, I would just need
to come right back. The toilet and I have developed a relationship during the last
few weeks. I see the toilet more than I see Alexa. I didn't have "morning"
sickness. I had "night" sickness, it always started at around ten and went through
the night. Though when I Googled "morning sickness" I found out that it could
happen at any time during the day. It didn't make sense why they didn't just call
it "sickness" but whatever.
I haven't been feeling well enough to go to work. I tried at first and it was fine
for the first few weeks when I came back from California and then something
changed. One night, nausea kept me from sleeping and that was the first night of
many that I spent on the floor next to the toilet.
I was really hoping this wasn't a view into my future for the rest of this
pregnancy. I was tired. I looked tired. I just wanted to sleep through the night.
I had my first doctor's appointment on Friday and I was hoping for reassurance.
Sometimes I wished I had a friend to talk to about this. Someone that knew what I
was going through. I'd never missed my mother more than these last few weeks. She
would tell me it was normal. She would stay up with me. She would hold me and kiss
the top of my head to make me feel better.
I didn't even realize I was crying until I tasted the salty tear on my lip. I was a
mess.
The sound of my phone vibrating on the nightstand makes me frown and scramble up to
my feel with a groan. It was late. Probably around four in the morning. Alexa was
sleeping in the next room. Who could it be?
My eyes widened when I looked at the caller ID. I felt my heart beating hard
against my chest.
"Damian? Are you alright?" I answered, pressing the phone hard against my ear.
"Rebecca," he said. "Yes, I'm okay. Sorry. Did I wake you?"
I felt relief go through my body. He was okay yet he didn't sound okay. I knew
something was wrong with him by the sound of his voice. I sat on the bed slowly and
faced the T.V. Pirates of the Caribbean was on though I had it on mute, not wanting
to wake Alexa up.
"No, you didn't."
It was his turn to sound concerned. "Why? Are you alright?"
I half smiled. "Yes...and no. I can't sleep. I've been up vomiting...or at least
trying to."
"Oh. Sorry. I wish I could do something to help."
"It's okay. I know it's part of growing a baby." I smiled weakly. "I wish you were
here though."
"Well, that's actually why I was calling you. I'm at the airport about to board a
plane to Nevada."
I frowned. "Really? I though you weren't coming until tomorrow."
A few weeks ago, Damian told me his plans about coming to stay with me until we
were both able to return to California together. At first, I didn't know if it was
a good idea just because of his clinic. He had never left it for a long period of
time but Damian insisted so I just went with it. Now, I was so glad he was coming
to me. I missed him terribly. I knew it would have gotten worse when Alexa left to
New York next week so I was happy Damian was coming. Besides, I hadn't been able to
hire an agent to sell the house yet because I'd been too sick to do anything
lately. With Damian here, he would be able to help me with that so we could leave
sooner. But he wasn't supposed to come until Thursday which was tomorrow, so he
could be here for the first doctor's appointment. I knew he had already purchased
the plane ticket for tomorrow which meant he had bought another one for today which
confirmed that something was up with him.
"I changed my mind. I miss you and I want to be with you."
My chest fluttered at his words but I frowned. "Damian, is everything okay?"
There was a moment of silence on his end which only made me more nervous. "Are you
hurt? Are you okay?" I pressed, imagining the worst. Though if he was hurt, it
didn't make sense for him to come to me. It wasn't like I could heal him.
"I'm okay," he finally said. "Perfectly fine in one piece, don't worry. I just—" he
sighed. "I had an argument with my mother and—" he paused. "I just didn't want to
be alone."
He sounded so vulnerable, my heart ached for him. And then nausea began to creep up
on me again. I swallowed, as if that was going to help. "Oh. Okay. Well, I can't
wait to see you. You'll be here in an hour then?"
"Yes, around six."
I let myself be comforted by the thought of seeing him in less than 2 hours as I
stood up to go back to the bathroom. "Okay. Call me when you get here..." I
frowned. "Or Alexa if I don't answer."
"Okay. I will. Try to get some sleep, please."
I looked down at the toilet with heavy eyes. "Sure, I'll try."
"Rebecca?"
I closed my eyes, trying fight the nausea. "Yes?"
"Nothing. I just can't wait to see you."
I actually smiled. "Can't wait to see you either. Now hurry to me."
"Always."
A minute later, after hanging up, I was hurling above the toilet. I actually
vomited a clear-yellowish liquid and I knew, from reading online articles, that it
was because I had an empty stomach. I promised myself to eat after I got some sleep
since I didn't have the energy to do anything else. I also made a mental note to
stop Googling everything. How ironic. My husband was a doctor for God's sake. I
needed to get a grip.
Moments later, I did feel a bit better. At least good enough to go back to bed and
close my eyes. I kept my phone close, trying to stay half awake for when Damian
called but I failed miserably and fell asleep.
I didn't remember him calling so I thought it was a dream when I felt his warm body
behind me as he put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I didn't
open my eyes, afraid he might disappear if I did. I just snuggled closer to his
body and imagined that he was home, there in my room.
When I woke up, there was sunlight coming in through the curtains. Feeling a bit
groggy, I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. It was when I was brushing my
teeth that I remembered Damian was supposed to be here.
"Rebecca?"
I frowned as I dried my face with a towel then walked out of the bathroom. Standing
by the doorway was Damian. He was wearing a gray suit with a white undershirt. His
tie was loose around his collar.
"You're here," I said, a smile forming on my lips.
He crossed the room and put his arms around me. He picked me up so my feet were
dangling in the air. "Hey, how are you?" He asked as he nuzzled his face in the
crook of my neck.
"Hmm," I said happily as I breathed him in. I didn't realize how much I missed him
until now. I was so happy that he was here I wanted to cry. "Better now that you're
here."
He put me down on the ground and touched my cheek. "What's wrong?" He asked and I
realized he was cleaning a tear.
I sniffed. "Oh please ignore me. I cry for everything these days," I said with a
laugh.
"I'm not going to ignore you," he said softly as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"Come here." He reached for my hand and pulled me gently. I walked over to him and
sat on his lap. He placed his left hand on my knee and looked at me.
I smiled at him. "I'm fine. I just cry over everything. You'll see."
He frowned. "But you're not in any pain right?"
"No." I smiled. He was so sweet. "I'm just emotional. Just hormones."
He reached out and placed his palm on my stomach. "How's little Damian?"
I laughed. "The baby's good."
Damian looked at me and his brown eyes scan my face. "So how do you feel? What
symptoms have you been experiencing?"
I smiled because he was such a doctor. "Just nausea and vomiting. I haven't been
able to sleep through the night. I must look horrible," I said, touching my face
just barely realizing this fact.
"You look wonderful," he said giving me a reassuring smile.
I looked at him. "When did you get here?"
"A few hours ago. You were asleep so I laid next to you on the bed. I was scared to
wake you but you didn't." He smiled, proud of himself.
"I thought I was dreaming," I said with a smile then I carefully asked, "How are
things in California?"
"Good," he said with a nod. "Most of the furniture is in the house now. Everything
is taken care of. All it needs is you."
I smiled then reached out and placed my palm on his cheek. I felt the tiny spikes
of his five o'clock shadow underneath my hand. "What happened with your mother?"
He looked away. "Nothing." He took a deep breath then raised his eyebrows.
"Everything."
I caressed his cheek but didn't say anything. He looked conflicted. I didn't want
to make him talk about it if he didn't want to right now. I wondered what Marianne
said to him that affected him so much. He looked so sad now that I had brought her
up. It made me regret asking.
"I'm sorry for not believing you completely when you told me about what you
experienced when you lived with my mother. I'm so sorry, Rebecca. Please forgive
me."
I pressed my lips against his. "It's forgiven." I assured him, running my thumb
across his lower lip. God. I was so in love with this man.
"My mother—she disappointed me. The image I had of who I thought she was is
broken." He turned to look at me. "I left the house. For good."
Three years ago, maybe that would have been music to my ears but I knew that Damian
was hurting and I hated that. Why would Marianne want to hurt her own son? It was
so despicable.
I put my arms around Damian's neck and hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry, Damian. I
wished things were different."
"I know," he said softly. "Me too."
I pulled away to look at him. "For the record, I'm really happy you're here."
He smiled then kissed me. "I'm happy to be here too. We don't ever have to be in
different states again."
"I like that."
He touched my cheek with the back of his hand. "You need to eat."
I nodded slowly. "I know. I'm going to shower first, though."
"Alright. I'll go cook something up."
I raised my eyebrows. "You?"
He chuckled. "I was actually helping Alexa cook breakfast, believe it or not."
"Wow." I teased him making him laugh. "I'm gonna go shower then." I stood up and
turned for the bathroom.
"Rebecca."
I turned to look at Damian who was looking at me, a smile playing on his lips.
"I love you," he said then shrugged with a smile. "For the record."
I laughed then shook my head with a smile. Just when I thought it was impossible to
love him any more, he proved me wrong. The best part was that it wasn't just words
anymore. Damian was showing me how much he cared and loved me through his actions
and thinking about that, made me want to cry.
He stood up and chuckled. "Come on, don't cry."
We laughed as he hugged me while I cried. I really was a mess. I looked up at
Damian, through teary eyes and said,
"I told you I was crying for everything."
And he smiled at me like I was the most precious thing in the world.

--- --- ---

31. "Amazing, isn't it?"
--
Hey guys! Thank you all so much for your patience throughout this journey! We are
finally here. The last few chapters of this story begin. Hope you guys enjoy :)
___________________________________________________________________
The doctor moved the wand across my gel-y stomach.
I was nervous. I didn't know what to expect in this first visit. Damian said they
would look for a heartbeat. I guess that was what terrified me most. A heartbeat. I
didn't want to think anything negative but what if they didn't found one? I was
already in love with this baby. I knew Damian was too. I didn't want to disappoint
him. I wanted to have this baby more than anything in this world.  I suddenly
couldn't see my future without it. I just couldn't.
I had found the OB-GYN online about two weeks ago. Debra Wickman was her name and
she had a lot of good reviews. She was a nice lady. She seemed to be in her late
30's with her black hair pulled back. She moved the wand lower on my stomach and I
looked away, suddenly impatient.
Damian was standing right next to me. He held my hand as he looked at the monitor.
He had went over my blood results as Dr. Wickman explained them to me. She said my
blood pressure was normal and she confirmed that I was indeed pregnant. She said I
was about 9 weeks which was what I had calculated. I would be due around late
December. December 21st was the date she gave me. She also suggested that I start
taking prenatal vitamins. I told her proudly that I already did.
I focused on Damian as we waited for what seemed forever. God. I loved Damian. He
was so handsome. So gentle. And most importantly, he loved me. He actually loved
me. I couldn't wait to start this exciting part of our lives. We were going to
become parents. Parents. How did that happen?
A sound filled the room then and a gasp escaped from my mouth as I turned to look
at the black screen. Lub-DUB. Lub-DUB. Lub-DUB. Lub-DUB.
Dr. Wickman turned to smile at me. "And we have a heartbeat."
"Oh my God." I whispered as I listened to the sound. I couldn't believe I was
listening to my baby's heartbeat. A baby that was inside me. A baby that was mine.
The baby looked like a little bean in the screen and Dr. Wickman pointed to. She
was saying something but I couldn't really pay attention to her. All I could hear
was the heartbeat. It was like a miracle. Damian and I had made that baby.
Damian was grinning. "Amazing, isn't it?"
I nodded as I cleaned the tear on my cheek. "It really is."
The room was silent for a few minutes as Damian and I tried to memorize that sound.
The baby had a heartbeat. I wished I could listen to it all day. Then I realized I
had a phone! I took it out and recorded a whole minute of my baby's heartbeat.
Dr. Wickman left the room afterwards to go get the sonogram pictures. I cleaned the
gel off my stomach with the towel she had handed to me then Damian helped me sit
up.
"Well both baby and mom are healthy," Dr. Wickman said when she came back.
"Thank you so much," I said to her as she handed me the pictures.
"Oh it's my pleasure. Congratulations to the both of you."
"Thank you, ma'am," Damian said but I was already walking out of the room to find
Alexa in the waiting room. She had wanted to give us some privacy and now I
couldn't wait to show her the pictures.
"How was it?" She asked when she saw me.
"We heard the heartbeat!" I said excitedly then handed her the pictures.
"Oh my God, Rebecca." She hugged me. "I'm so happy!"
"I'll be due in December. You better come home for it."
She smiled. "Are you crazy? I'll miss finals if I have to!"
We laughed while Damian joined us. "Let's go have some lunch?" He suggested. We
nodded then followed him outside. I texted Aaron the video of the baby's heartbeat
as Damian drove. Aaron was calling me seconds after sending him the video.
"You're pregnant?!" He shouted in my ear making me pull away the phone.
"Yes!" I said turning to look at Damian, confused. "I thought Damian told you."
Damian chuckled. "Oops. I forgot."
"He did not!" Aaron said at the same time. "I can't believe this!"
"You can't believe that I'm pregnant or you can't believe that Damian didn't tell
you?"
"Both!" He laughed. "Wow, Rebecca, this is great news! You're gonna name him Aaron,
of course."
"He could be a she and no, are you crazy?"
"Wow, I'm hurt." He joked. "I didn't even know Damian was with you, though. Kind of
rude of him to not tell me anything."
I glanced at Damian as he drove. "Yeah, you two might need to have that
conversation later. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier."
"I forgive you, Rebs. This is really great, though, I'm truly happy for both of
you. You guys are going to be great parents, I know it."
I smiled, suddenly feeling emotional. "Thank you, Aaron. I'll talk to you later?"
"Sure. Later, Rebs."
Damian reached for my hand. "How butthurt is he?"
"He actually took it pretty well," I said with a smile.
Damian chuckled. "He'll hold it against me, just wait."
I smiled as I looked down at the pictures. "I'm so happy."
Damian turned to smile at me as he stopped at a red light. "Me too."
I looked up at him and he leaned in to kiss me.
"Uh, the light is green." Alexa said from the backseat after a moment.
We laughed as we pulled apart. I really was happy. Everything was going
suspiciously good. I couldn't remember the last time I felt so—whole. Though I knew
this was going to change when Alexa left for New York. I knew she was an adult now
but she will definitely be taking a part of me the moment she got on that plane. I
wished I could fly with her to New York but I had to stay for work and the house. I
suddenly couldn't\ wait to leave Nevada. I wanted to be in California already. In
that house Damian bought for us—for our little family.
Before I knew it, it was the end of another week and I was saying goodbye to Alexa
at the airport. It was harder than I thought it would be. I didn't want to let go
off of her.
"Please be careful," I said onto her ear as I hugged her tightly. "Don't do
anything I wouldn't do."
She laughed softly. "I won't do anything then."
I smiled, feeling sad. "Deal."
"I really need to get in line," she said after a moment.
I knew she was right. She still needed to go through security to get to her gate. I
wished I could go with her. I probably won't see her until December for winter
break. It was crazy to think that the next time I would see her, I would be close
to having my baby. In a way, Alexa would always be my first baby. I took care of
her since she was little since mom worked all the time. I was going to miss her so
much. And worry about her, of course, but I knew I had to let her go. She needed to
live her life. I was proud of her for doing this. She really was an actual young
adult and she was leaving.
"Okay," I said after a moment. I knew the line was just getting longer. I pulled
away and swallowed the knot in my throat. I didn't want her to see me cry. "I'm
done."
Alexa smiled at me. "I'm going to be okay, Rebecca. I promise. Don't worry about
me."
"I'm always going to worry about you." I told her touching her shoulder.
"I know. Try not to though. I'm going to be fine. I'll call you everyday."
"Yeah right, you're gonna call me everyday."
She laughed. "Okay maybe not every day. I'll text you everyday, that's more
realistic."
"Just be careful. Take care of yourself."
She nodded. "I will." She looked behind me and smiled at Damian. "Bye, Damian. Take
care of my sister and the baby."
Damian took a step forward, next to me. "I will, I promise."
Alexa smiled then hugged him and then me quickly. She looked at us for a moment.
"We're all going to be just fine."
I smiled because she sounded so grown up. "Yes, we are. Now go before I buy a
ticket and leave with you."
She reached for her carry on and smiled. "Okay. Bye."
"Bye."
She turned to go get in line. Damian put his arm around me as we waited for her to
go through. She waved at us one last time before disappearing even farther into the
airport.
"She's going to be just fine," Damian said softly. "She's a smart girl. If she can
handle my brother, she can handle anyone."
I smiled but I was crying. Damian put his strong arms around me and embraced me in
a tight hug. I was so glad I had him here with me now that Alexa had left. I knew
that I was going to be okay. I pulled away when I remembered that we were in the
airport. Damian held my hand as we walked to the elevator. The ride back home was
silent. I was trying to come to terms with the fact that Alexa was gone. She was
responsible for her own self now. She was an adult and though I would always worry
about her and check up on her from time to time, everything was up to her now.
"Are you okay?" Damian asked when we got home.
I set my purse on the dinning table and nodded. "I'm going to be."
Damian smiled at me. "Yes, you will."
He reached out and put his hands on my cheeks then leaned in and pressed his lips
against mine. "Just let me know when you feel lonely and I'll come right over to
make you feel better," he said softly.
I smiled as I put my arms around his waist. "I might take advantage of that."
"Please do," he said against my lips before kissing me.
"I love you, Damian Walker." I told him after we pulled away.
He smiled. "It always feels so good to hear you say that."
I kissed his neck, right on his Adam's apple. "I love you."
He looked down at me. "And I love you."
"You know, we are alone in the house..." I smiled.
He chuckled then surprised me by literally sweeping me off my feet. He carried me
over to the couch. It was the same couch I had spent so many lonely nights on in
front of the TV—trying to pretend that I was okay, trying not to think about how I
was married, trying not to think about Damian but missing him anyway—that Damian
laid me down on and made love to me that night.

--- --- ---

32. "You knew about this?"
--
The days went by faster than I thought they would after Alexa left. I worked my
last two weeks at the bank while Damian worked with a real estate agent to sell the
house. He also checked up on the clinic from his laptop or by checking in with
Karen. I wasn't thrilled about the fact that Karen still worked there but I
understood why he had left her in charge. I couldn't be selfish. He had left his
clinic in the hands of someone he trusted to be with me. It wouldn't have been fair
for me to give him trouble for that. I just hoped he had really listened when we
talked about keeping our exes out of our lives.
I focused on selling or donating most of the furniture, decorations, and clothes I
no longer wanted. We had a few families visit the house. The house was actually in
great shape so we got a few offers really quickly. Damian and I worked with the
real estate agent to choose the best offer and then we were on contract with a
couple that had two kids.
It was late August when Damian and I headed back to California. We took my car. The
stuff that I was taking with me fit in my trunk and the backseat so we didn't need
anything else. The house purchase was still processing but we could do everything
through the internet which was very convenient for us.
I was 22 weeks pregnant and I was showing. I didn't even know when I started to
show. It felt like I went to sleep with a flat stomach one night and then I was
showing the next morning when I woke up. According to the app, the baby was as big
as the head of an endive. Two weeks ago, Damian and I found out we were having a
little girl. A baby girl. She was so going to be daddy's girl. I couldn't wait
until she joined us. I had felt her move a few times now. The first time, it scared
me. It was such a strange feeling to feel something move inside of you. I thought
something was wrong.
"D-Damian!" I had called from the room.
Damian rushed out of the shower wearing only a white towel around his torso. His
hair was still dripping water. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know," I said looking at him. "I felt something." I glanced down at my
swollen belly.
Damian sat down in front of me on the bed and he reached out and placed his palm
against my belly. We sat there, in silence, until it happened again. Damian
chuckled. "There's nothing wrong, love, that is our baby girl moving."
"Moving?" I repeated stupidly. "Oh. Wow."
He smiled and we stayed like that for a while before he went to change and then he
got on bed with me just so we could wait for her move again.
Now that morning sickness had finally left me alone, I was finally starting to
enjoy the pregnancy. I already loved this little bump of mine. I loved it whenever
Damian reached out and placed his palm against it. I loved it when he talked to our
baby. Damian was going to be a great father, I could already tell. He always made
sure I was comfortable. He always fetched me anything I needed, which was food most
of the time. He was just so perfect to me.
"What about Victoria?" I asked Damian as he drove. We had been driving for about 4
hours now so we only had a little over an hour left before we got to our new home.
It was past 10:30 in the morning so it was a good time in the day too. I was
already thinking about what I was going to buy for the house. First, I needed to
see it to see what Damian had already bought.
"That's a very grown up name," Damian said as he looked straight down the road.
"Well, she is going to be a grown up one day, babe." I told him.
He frowned. "You're right."
I laughed at his reaction. "Okay. What about Chloe?"
"Chloe Grace." He said then shrugged. "It could work."
Damian really wanted the baby to have "Grace" as her middle name. I'd never been a
fan of middle names. I didn't have one myself nor Alexa but Damian had been so shy
about asking me to give her that middle name that I agreed. He said he'd always
liked that middle name. He had heard it a lot from his little patients. He said it
meant "blessing" as in "God's grace". I loved that meaning. Damian and I were
obviously not religious people but I think we both liked to believe that there was
someone higher above looking over us. Someone that would look over our daughter
when we weren't with her. Just a little bit of faith to keep us sane.
"Anna Grace," I said, tasting the name on my lips.
"Maya Grace," Damian said, a smile playing on his lips.
"Ava Grace."
"What about Alexis Grace?" Damian asked glancing at me for a second before turning
to look at the road again.
"Alexis Grace Walker." I smiled. "Huh. I think I like it. Alexa would be thrilled,
I'm telling you."
Damian chuckled. "Aaron would be too."
"Oh yeah!" I said looking at him. "I forgot Alexis is his middle name." I smiled,
excitedly. "You know what? Let's do it. It would have such a beautiful meaning
behind it. Named after her aunt and uncle. I can't wait to tell them."
Damian grinned as he reached for my hand. It had become a habit of his to hold my
hand when he drove. I loved it. Just then, his phone started to ring. He reached
for it in his pocket then answered it with his right hand while he held onto the
steering wheel with his left. "Walker speaking."
I looked out the window as he talked on the phone. It was a short call that ended
with "I'm on my way there."
"Everything alright?" I asked him after he hung up. He seemed tense.
"Aaron spent the night in jail."
My eyes widened in surprise. "Oh my God. Why? What happened?"
"Apparently he got in a fight with mom's boyfriend," Damian said sounding annoyed.
"I didn't even know she had a boyfriend." I could tell he wasn't thrilled about the
idea of his mom having a boyfriend by the way he said the word.
I gulped, wondering if I should tell him that I knew Marianne had been dating
someone. I also wondered how he was going to react when he found out how young her
boyfriend was. "Are we picking Aaron up?"
"He's already out. We're going to my mom's house," he said glancing at me quickly.
"I hope you don't mind. Aaron wants to talk to me."
I shook my head quickly, avoiding his gaze. "Oh, no. It's okay."
Damian sped down the road. I could tell he couldn't wait to get there. I tapped my
fingers against my belly nervously, wondering if I should tell him what I know. It
wasn't much. I mean, I had just seen her kissing a man from across the street. I
had no idea who he was. I didn't know anything.
I wondered why Aaron had gotten in a fight with him. He probably found out and got
angry or something. Though as cruel as Marianne was, she still had the right to go
on with her life however she wanted to.
We reached Beverly Hills in no time. Before I knew it, we were pulling into the
driveway of Marianne's house. I didn't think I was going to be back so soon. Damian
hurried to open the door for me then I followed him into the house. I felt like an
intruder. I knew I wasn't wanted in this house but I had to be here for Damian. He
had done so many things for me, I could do this for him. The front door was open
when Damian turned the knob.
I could hear an argument going on between Aaron and Marianne and when we walked in,
both of them turned to look at us. They were standing in the living room. Aaron was
wearing jeans with a black shirt. I could tell it was the clothes he had been
wearing last night. He had a cut on his left eyebrow and there was the faint hint
of a black eye. Marianne was actually dressed down in black leggings with a long
blouse that went down below her waist. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and she
had no make up on. She seemed mad but I could tell she had been crying. Damian took
a step forward and I stayed back against the front door. Marianne's eyes roamed
over my face then down my stomach before she finally looked at Damian.
"Can someone explain to me what the hell is going on?" Damian demanded.
"Mom's boyfriend is 12 years old."
Marianne's eyes widened. "How dare you joke about this?"
Aaron kept his gaze on Damian. "He might as well be! He's my age! He could be her
son!"
"Aaron, how did you end up in jail?" Damian asked, trying to keep his cool. I could
tell he was impatient in knowing what happened.
Marianne's shoulders sagged and she looked away. Aaron sighed then he clenched his
jaw. "Yesterday, I got home late. I heard movement coming from mom's room so I went
to say goodnight to her." Aaron glanced at her, his expression suddenly softened
then he seemed angry. "There was someone stealing jewelry and I don't know what
else from her closet. I thought it was a thief so I attacked him. Mom woke up
hysterically and called the cops. Turns out the thief was mom's secret boyfriend."
I frowned suddenly feeling sorry for Marianne. She had been used. It must be a
horrible feeling.
"And then the cops arrest me too!" Aaron continued. "He's the one stealing and I
get arrested!"
"Where is he?" Damian asked through clenched teeth.
"In jail. I made mom press charges against him. She didn't want to."
"This is humiliating enough," Marianne said angrily.
"Mom, why did you hide this from us?" Damian asked.
"I thought she had told you," Marianne said looking at me.
Everyone turned to look at me then and I felt heat on the back of my neck. Damian
moved his head to the side. "You knew about this?"
I gulped as I met his gaze. "I—saw her on the street with someone. Didn't think it
was any of my business."
Damian took a deep breath. "Rebecca—"
"Stop." Marianne interrupted closing her eyes. We all looked at her until she
opened her eyes. She looked different in a way. For the first time since she met
me, she wasn't glaring at me when she looked at me in the eye. She held my gaze for
a moment as if she were debating on what to say next. She seemed to be in conflict
with herself. She finally moved her gaze from me to Damian. "Don't get mad at her.
She—she was just minding her own business." Marianne looked at me again. "I thought
for sure you would tell Damian to try to use it against me but you didn't."
"Of course I didn't," I said quietly. I was shocked. I couldn't believe this was
happening. Marianne was actually showing kindness towards me. Was this really
happening? It was kind of sad that it took her to go through this to show an ounce
of humility. I knew this didn't immediately make her the best mother-in-law but
this small thing was a big step for Marianne.
"Thank you," Marianne said pursing her lips. "For respecting my privacy." She
swallowed, as if she was swallowing her pride. She was.
There was a moment of silence in the room. Aaron widened his eyes at me in shock,
it almost made me want to laugh. This was really happening. Maybe in the future,
Marianne and I could actually have a normal relationship as in-laws. I knew we were
probably never going to be best friends but there was a light at the end of the
tunnel. Maybe my daughter would have a grandma after all. It just occurred to me
that Marianne was the only grandparent she could have. I really hoped Marianne
would change so my baby could grow up with as much family as possible.
"Anyway," Marianne finally said, raising her chin. "I want to be alone." She turned
and began to walk down the hallway. She stopped halfway and turned her head.
"Aaron, I think it's time you move out."
Aaron opened his mouth in shock but he looked amused. Marianne walked into her room
and closed the door behind her.
"What just happened?" Aaron asked the question we were all wondering.
"She just kicked you out, mate," Damian actually chuckled. I could see his
shoulders relaxing.
Aaron nodded. "She did, didn't she?"
I smiled at him then he reached out and gave me the biggest bear hug. "Ow." I said
as he hugged me tightly, my feet were up in the air.
"Aaron." Damian warned, looking annoyed with his brother.
Aaron set me down. "Okay, okay. If he was protective before," Aaron said raising
his eyebrows. "Poor you."
I rolled my eyes at him. "Are you alright?"
He shrugged. "I'll be fine. I'm just glad I got to beat that fucker's ass before he
went to jail." He grinned then as he looked at me. "What do you know? You're really
pregnant, aren't you?"
I laughed, glancing at Damian who rolled his eyes at his brother. "Yep, I am. It's
a girl."
"A girl! Wow!" Aaron placed his hand on Damian's shoulder. "Congrats, man, that's
awesome."
"Want to know her name?"
"Rebecca," Damian said and I turned to look at him.
"What? Don't tell me you changed your mind."
"I don't want to name my daughter after someone with a jail record," he said.
"Wait, what? You're naming her after me?" Aaron asked, sounding flattered.
I smiled at Damian. I loved how he had said 'my daughter'. "You're just mad right
now." I looked at Aaron. "Her name is going to be Alexis Grace Walker."
The biggest grin appeared on Aaron's face which then made him wince in pain.
"Named after Alexa," Damian said.
"Yeah, right." Aaron chuckled. "Stop being petty."
Damian shook his head but he was smiling. "You can't be a doctor now, way to go."
Aaron huffed. "Thank God," he said then grinned again. "Alexis. I love it. That's
so awesome. She is going to be the most spoiled niece in the world, that's for
sure."
Damian sighed. "Okay. That's it. We're leaving. You should too."
Aaron nodded. "I guess I have bags to pack. Any chance you guys have an extra room
for the homeboy?"
"Nope," Damian said reaching for my hand.
"I'll tell Alexis about this one day, watch."
I laughed then waved him goodbye as Damian led me out of the house.
"We're changing her name," He said as we walked to the car.
I smiled. "No, we're not. Alexis will be her name." I placed my hand on my belly
for the hundredth time that day. "You love it don't you, girl?" I gasped when I
felt a kick on my hand. "Oh my God! Damian! She kicked!"
Maybe it was my imagination but I could have sworn she kicked. Damian chuckled and
looked at me adoringly. "She already has me around her little finger."
I reached out and kissed his cheek then smiled at him. "She does, doesn't she?"
She really did.

--- --- ---

33. "About time, don't you think?"
--
There was always something so fascinating about a fresh start. A blank piece of
paper. A clear canvas. That's what it felt like when Damian and I finally got to
our house that afternoon. A fresh start. The house was perfect. It was everything I
thought it would be though I know that Damian was who made the house complete. It
wasn't the bedrooms or the beautiful kitchen or the yard on the back. It was us. We
made this home. Soon, Alexis would complete us.
"I'm so sorry about your mother," I said to him after we walked around the house.
He had left the baby's room empty for me which I appreciated. I couldn't wait to go
buy furniture and other things for it but I felt like I needed to say something
about what had happened that morning.
"It's sad but she brought that upon herself," Damian said quietly. I could tell he
was upset. I wasn't sure if he was angry at Marianne or Aaron or the boyfriend—
maybe he was angry at everyone...including me.
"I meant I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I had seen her with someone."
He looked at me. "It's okay. It turned out to be for the best, didn't it?"
"I guess it did."
"I really do hope she does change and that it's not just a phase."
"Me too." I looked up at him. "Why were you so mad at Aaron? Because he beat that
guy up?"
Damian chuckled softly. "Honestly? I'm kind of pissed that he has a police record
now."
I laughed. "Out of all the things!"
He laughed with me then smiled. "Though I am kind of jealous that he got to beat
that—man up. I know my mom is no angel but what he did to her—" he clenched his jaw
then shook his head. "I'm glad I wasn't here or I might have gotten in trouble
myself." He sighed away his frustration then he kissed the top of my head. "Come
on, let's go. We have a lot of things to do."
We spent the rest of the day in stores buying things for the house. The only reason
we stopped was because we couldn't fit anything in the car anymore so we went home.
Damian refused to let me carry anything into the house so while he unloaded the
car, I talked with Alexa on the phone.
She was ecstatic when I told her the baby's name. She sounded happy over there.
Then again, she did tell me she had met someone so I'm sure that had a lot to do
with it. My little sister was in love. Already. At least according to her. He
sounded like a nice guy though of course, she would only tell me the good things
about him. I was glad she was happy though. She was experiencing love and living on
campus in an exciting city. I couldn't wait to see her in December.
Damian and I spent the rest of the week settling into the house. We moved furniture
here and there...okay, Damian moved it. Poor him. He was so patient with me.
Eventually, we were finally settled in. I couldn't stop looking around the house,
admiring everything. It truly was a dream come true. This was it. This was where
our children would grow up in. This was where Damian and I would grow old together.
On Monday morning, Damian went back to work and I realized then that I had nothing
to do. I wasn't working and frankly, there was no point in looking for a job right
now. The baby was going to be here in about four months. I probably won't work
until she was at least 6 months old. Even then, I knew I wasn't going to want to
leave her with strangers so young. Maybe until she was one. I knew I didn't have to
work. Damian's salary was more than enough and I probably won't work for a while
but eventually, I would want to do something. At least a part time. I refused to be
useless for the rest of my life.
"You could help me administer the clinic," Damian said that evening when I told him
about this.
We were sitting on the wooden porch swing we had put outside on the backyard. It
was a beautiful night. The weather was perfect. There was no city noise. Just the
faint noise of a cricket close by. We were facing the backyard. We actually had a
cute little tree and I planned on planting other plants later. Damian had his arm
tight around my shoulders. I put my arm around his waist.
"Administer the clinic? You think I could do that?"
"Of course," he said. "You have your degree and experience."
"Right," I said slowly. "But doesn't Karen help you with that?" I didn't want to
seem rude but I didn't think I could work with Karen.
"Karen actually quit today," Damian said quietly.
I looked up at him. "She did?"
He nodded. "She did. As soon as I got there, she said she needed to speak with me.
She said she was happy for me and you and that it was best for everyone if she
left."
"Wow." I was surprised.
"I know. I'll always be grateful to her because she was such a big help to me...but
I'm glad she was the one who chose to leave or else I would have done it."
I bit my lip. "I'm sorry."
He smiled. "Don't be. She was right. You were right. We're all better off this
way." He paused. "I think I'm going to hire my cousin Jackson full time. I want to
train him so he can take over the clinic when I need him to. I'm going to try to
spend as much time as I can at home now, especially with this baby coming."
I smiled at him then reached out and kissed him slowly. "It's so crazy how
everything is coming together."
"I know." He half smiled. "About time, don't you think?"
"Yes, I think."
He chuckled then placed his hand on my cheek. "I love you so much, Rebecca, this is
just the beginning of a wonderful life, I promise you that."
He kissed me, as if sealing his promise with the kiss. I loved him. I loved this
baby. I loved this life with him. I had no words to tell him that I felt exactly
the same way so I just kissed him, hoping to make him feel how much I adored him
and how thankful I was that he had forgiven me and taken me back. I thanked Aaron,
Alexa, and the universe for bringing me back to him.
Damian didn't know it yet, but it was already a wonderful life by his side. It
could only get better from here.
--- --- ---
Epilogue
--
Damian's POV
Two years later...
I turned over on the bed and put my arm around Rebecca. She was laying on her
stomach, facing away from me. I frowned when I felt something in between us on the
bed and opened my eyes.
Alexis was laying in between us. She was sleeping soundlessly, her bottle tucked
under her arm, her favorite blanket on her other hand. Thank God this bed was big
enough for three people. She must have sneaked in last night. I touched her brown
curls carefully, not wanting to wake her up. It was crazy to think how she would be
turning two in just a few weeks. Where had time gone? I could still remember when
her tiny head would fit on the palm of my hand.
This baby girl had the hearts of all of us won. She was the apple of my eye. I
tightened my arm around Rebecca's waist. I could feel her back rise and fall as she
slept. I was so grateful for the life Rebecca and I had built over the past 2
years. I couldn't imagine my life without her, without Alexis.
I once resented Rebecca for running away. I resented her for leaving without a
trace. For leaving without saying goodbye or giving me an explanation. I almost
went crazy looking for her. I felt lifeless during the years that she was gone. And
then she was back and we got the opportunity to fall for each other all over again.
We found forgiveness. We found our love again. I don't think I've ever thanked her
for running away. I don't think she had the faintest idea of how grateful I was now
that she left. I was thankful that she had ran away because I knew for a fact that
we wouldn't have the life that we had now if it weren't for that. If she wouldn't
have left, I would have never known how unhappy she was by my side then. If she
would have stayed, she would have eventually gotten tired and maybe we would have
ended up divorcing or she would have never said anything and we would have ended up
in an unhappy marriage. We wouldn't be in this house today. We wouldn't have
Alexis. The mature relationship that had been growing slowly between my mother and
Rebecca wouldn't exist.
I didn't understand it then because I didn't know what the future held. Now, I
would go through it all over again if I had to. If it meant I ended up with Rebecca
and our daughter and any other future children we might have. I loved my life with
her. She had no idea how much I loved her. The mother of my daughter. My wife. My
Runaway Wife.
THE END.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR READING!!!

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