Fighting Fate

Chapter 28

I sat at the table replaying the entire conversation over in my head. I wondered when things had gone wrong. I couldn't help but think they just started wrong and got worse from there. I heard the door slam and I took a deep breath as Erik walked back into the room. He looked and felt apologetic. "I am so sorry this ended up this way," he said as he came in front of me. I stood and he grabbed my hands. He lifted them to his lips and kissed them both.

"I don't know what to say. I want to be happy. But I just can't," I said then cupped his cheek for a second before walking away.

The first thing I did after I heard the door shut quieter is call Bonnie. "So your boyfriend's mother comes to meet you. Within a span of twenty minutes she mentions your weight. Within an hour, announces that she doesn't want to be here and that her son is going to propose, then proceeds to do anything to turn said girlfriend off including insincere racism." There was silence on the other side of the line. "You there?"

"I am so confused. What is your life sometimes? So Erik brought his mother to town so she could meet you and be there when he proposed. Which, to be honest, I did know about the proposal. But I didn't know she was that bad." I began to cry, it felt like I couldn't control it.

"I don't want to be away from Erik. I want to marry him. I want to be happy. But how can I do that when his mother hates me?"

"Well it's not like they're that close?"

"Really? You would still be with Zenia even if Miss Charlotte didn't love you?"

"I mean I know why you're feeling the way that you are. I would feel that way too. But, Amour are you really going to say goodbye to Erik because of his mother? Not like we have parents to understand how they feel either way."

"You're not wrong," I said with a sigh and sat down on my bed, taking off my shoes. I smiled as I whispered to her, "Someone wants to marry me?"

"Not just someone. Erik. A man you very much love. It's happening for you," Bonnie said, "I want you to enjoy it. So go take a shower, calm down, change into something amazing and my future brother in law will meet you at the front of your house in ninety minutes."

"Fine. Fine. I will," I said but couldn't control my smile, "You gonna come over tomorrow? We can go get lunch or-"

"Lunch tomorrow. I'll bring it to the house. Have a good night. I love you."

"I love you too."

I did as Bonnie said and changed clothes. I spritzed on some perfume then headed down the stairs, heels clicking the entire time. I could feel Erik's nervous energy on the other side. Opening the door, I saw him there in a very expensive and also tailored suit. I grinned so widely and he did too. He walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me. "You look so amazing, I don't even want to share you," he whispered in my ear. I smirked as I pulled away and kiss him chastely. "I am so sorry about my mother. I promise I will send her home. you don't even have to ever see her again."

"I'm sorry too. I acknowledge my reactions weren't exactlu mature nor helpful."

"It's not on you. I promise. Look, I was going to talk about it over dinner. You notice I don't talk about my mom much?" I nodded and we went over to my porch and sat on the stairs , "I told you she's one of my favorite people. That we were close. Which I suppose we kind of are. But I think I only really think that because she was the only parent I had. When I really think about it, she was kind of supportive of me giving up alpha. She wanted to keep her position but didn't want me to be where her husband were. It was like her husband and my father became separate people. I think she lost her son and her husband that day. And I've been pretending that's not the case ever since."

"I'm so sorry, Erik."

"It's fine. Better that I know now. I'm Alpha now. And I might be the Alpha of a worldwide pack one day. I can't be the hurt son anymore. I have to be the healed man," he said then stood up and reached out his hand to me, "Let's go to dinner and discuss our future."

"Sure you don't just want to show me the ring now? Who needs a special occasion?" I said cheekily.

"You. And me. Please, just let me have this?" he asked me. I nodded and stood up, wiping off the back of my sweater.

"So where is dinner?" I asked him. He smirked at me but didn't reply as he pulled me along.

We arrived at a beautiful hotel, the New Orleans Westin and I knew immediately where we were going. There was a beautiful cocktail bar at the top. Lovely view but not exatly the best place for a proposal. "Don't worry, we're just starting here," he said to me. I wasn't worried. I was along for the ride.

The bar was beautiful. We sat down and were served champagne immediately. "I hope you don't mind that I ordered for us. They are giving us this special tasting platter," he said to me and I shrugged.

"I don't mind. I trust you." We only stayed there for an hour or so. Then we began walking for a bit, "So what's the plan now?"

"For you to be a little more patient."

"I am being patient." We got to an art gallery that I'd never been to before. The exhibit was pictures. But they were all so familiar. The first was the front of the museum where I worked and we met. Then the next was the diner. It kept going like that. A picture of moon rings on an altar. My jaw dropped and I looked back at Erik. "Did you take these?"

"I did," he said and wrapped his arms around my waist. He kissed my temple as we got to the end of the v shaped gallery, there's one last artwork. But it wasn't a photo. It was a painting. "Can't take credit for this one. But I did commission it." It was the two of us and Erik was behind me. Both of us had our hands on my growing stomach. He had a ring on his hand and I had two on mine. The ring was pear shaped and large. I brought my hand up to my mouth as I was so amazed. Turning around, Erik was on one knee with just a ring in his hand. The same ring from the painting. "I know we have had our ups and downs. I know I have made my mistakes. But I also know that there is no one in this world that I love more than you. No one I want to spend my time with more than you. No one I want to spend my life with more than you. So, Amour Verona Bennett, will you marry me?" he asked. I nodded and he slid the ring onto my finger before standing and kissing me.

"I love you."

"I love you too. I was going to do our families here at first but then everything happened with my mom,"

"I would've been fine with our families."

"Good, because I still invited yours," he said. Then, on cue, a door opened and Bonnie, Zenia, Grams, Lucy, Eva, Vincent, Sabine, Monique, Davina, Elijah, Bette, and surprisingly, Klaus came out. Bonnie squealed as she walked over to me and I laughed as we hugged.

"Congratulations. Great ring, right?" she asked me. I nodded.

"You both did well." I hugged everyone else.

"I'm surprised to see you here," I said to Klaus and he smirked.

"Well I'm one of the only artists Erik knows personally."

"You helped him with all of this? How growing of you," he shrugged and walked off as soon as he possibly could. I eventually made my way back to Erik, "This has truly been a night to remember. And I cannot wait to spend my immortal life with you." I kissed him again. And again.