Professor C (camren)

16.5 - Jauregui (Part 2)

And finally, the first bead glided down her cheek because there was no other way to express just how much easier it was to breathe despite how tight her chest felt as her body braced for tears.

"No, dad. I got it. Everything's fine." She claimed despite the lack of conviction as her words were stolen by her emotions. "I just really needed to talk to you and tell you how happy I am. And tell you not to worry anymore."

"I'll always worry, Lauren." Michael countered softly in his version of a fatherly tone Lauren was familiar with; the very tenor his daughter needed to hear. "You know I only want the best for you, right? When you told me you and Sean were getting married, I hoped you would have a marriage like mom and mine. I wished he was your happily ever after but you were really miserable."

Mike couldn't see her but Lauren found herself nodding as her father began disclosing his concerns for his first born. It was what a doting father would say but Mike had always treated his girls as princesses, and when he saw them as such, he envisioned something better for them; something beyond a father could offer.

And Sean could have, granting Lauren offered him the smallest shard of her broken heart but even he could not put the pieces back together even if they were all in his hands.

"Dad, no one says those things anymore." Lauren protested and released a little groan of her disapproval despite the bliss brought about by his father's tender words that seemed to have never ran out of magic. She dropped her gaze onto the spotless carpet by the side of her thigh as her lips slowly stretched to force a somber smile despite the pride of a cleaning job done well swelling in her chest. "When you grow up, the prospect of fairytale love just becomes...I don't know...near impossible."

"That's why it isn't absolutely impossible." Mike defiantly insisted and Lauren's silence only meant she was conceding.

The little knowing hum that she heard from the other end of the line told Lauren just how proud Mike was of his feat, knowing full well how challenging it was to silence Lauren. Her growing skepticism over those bitter years only made it worse. And drowning in her consuming pride was an embarrassed child, who only realized just how wrong she was to shut her parents out.

Their love will remain to be incomparable and she wished that every single child, despite age, had parents like hers.

"How are you now that everything's settled?"

"I'm just so happy, dad. And right now, it's the only thing that matters." Lauren blurted out the first and most prominent thought in her mind, and for once, she meant it. "I'm definitely relieved that it's over. And looking back, it just makes everything really worth all the stress and exhaustion."

"I'm happy for you, too, baby. We all are." Mike croaked out, inundated by the weight of the news once more.

Mike had always been in touch with his emotions and he bravely exposed them like a fearless man would.

Before he could speak further, Clara's voice resounded on the other end after some static nose, and her snatching the phone from her husband. She was cheerful; a stark difference from the woman, who attempted to slyly coax Lauren into giving Sean a second chance. Clara didn't know any better. Her daughter had graciously omitted the little detail of the man's infidelity and only informed them of her feelings, or lack thereof.

Lauren would have wanted to stay on the line longer after Clara began talking about her beloved grandkids and their antics, but when she stood up to get some water, she found her unmade bed. And of course, she had to do it for the sake of her overhauling her life.

She just had to start the day right.

Lauren would have wanted to divulge on the happy news sooner but she found herself drowning in her work apart from convincing herself that despite the rough voyage, she was at the finish line.