6 YEARS LATER
After giving birth to 3 kids you need a rest. Not that I really get one these days, but I try my best to relax as I fall deeper into the bubbles of my bath. The smell of lavender and roses make my nose happy, the small red petals floating around only attempting to add to the effect.
I hum to myself as I close my eyes, letting my arms fall into the warm water of the bath softly so the warm liquid can coat my skin.
"MUM!"
I'm startled, opening my eyes as I slip and latch onto the sides of the bath for dear life. Water splashes out of the tub as I turn to see Avery sprinting into the bathroom as she pushes the door wide open.
"Aves, mummy's trying to have a bath." I say softly and she just giggles.
"But look at my dress." She says and grins proudly, her bubbly 3-and-a-half year old voice happy, making me smile, "I'm a princess!"
Avery twirls, her puffy pink dress swirling out and her light-brown, wavy hair flying around her. She looks so happy it makes me want to pick her up and kiss her cute rosy cheeks.
She has been obsessed with Disney princesses lately, as kids are, and I'm pretty sure I know half the lines from Tangled and Frozen by now. I bet Avery would dance around in front of the TV all day if she could.
Thomas has now been introducing her to dance lessons with Nicolas now shes a bit older and she constantly demands that Disney songs be played to waltz to. Although she hardly cares for the steps and does her own thing.
I'd love to give her a hug, except for the fact I'm naked in the bath and have no privacy from my kids anymore. I cursed myself for not locking the door, as it was only pushed closed when I was so desperate for a long soak.
"You look beautiful sweetheart." I say and Avery beams, playing with the ends of her fluffy pink skirt.
"Avery where did you go?"
I hear Thomas's voice and his footsteps come down the hall as he looks for our daughter. He passes and sees Avery, looking past her over at me as he steps into the room.
"Hey Tom." I say, giving up on having any peace and quiet.
"Hey Bells," He says before looking at our daughter, "Avery did you apologize for interrupting mummies bath?"
"Sowy mummy." Avery says and turns me to, looking not in the least bit apologetic.
"Go find your brother Avery, and tell him to stop bothering Lilli as she needs her nap." Thomas says and Avery nods obediently like the good little girl she is, before running away down the hall.
Nicolas, our 4 and a half year old, adores his little sisters. And Thomas adores him just as much, loving having a little prince and teaching him the importance of protecting his younger sisters. It's adorable really.
I look up at my husband who's looking at me like he wants to devour me. He's been doing that a lot more lately. To be honest I don't want any more babies right now though.
"You look exquisite." He says and squats down to be at eye level with me.
I look at him accusingly, "Is that because I'm naked?"
"No, because your mine." Thomas says and kisses my wet lips, his itchy stubble scratching my skin softly.
"Might as well put a sign across my forehead, property of Prince Thomas."
"That would be correct. Everyone should know your mine. My wife," He pauses and runs a hand over my hair, "My princess," He moves his hand to caress my cheek, "My whole world."
He kissed me again, slower and softer.
Padding of feet down the corridor has us pulling apart as our son comes into the room. Until he realises I'm in the bath, and a cute embarrassed blush covers his cheeks.
"Oh, sorry Mum." He says and moves to where Thomas is, "Dad, give mum some pivacy." Nicolas tugs Thomas's arm, getting him to stand up and trying to pull him out of the room.
"Privacy bud."
"Privacy." Nicolas tests the word out as he exits the room holding onto his fathers hand. Thomas shoots me a smirk on his way out, and I know he finds things our kids say hilarious, as do I.
I'm still amazed how much Nicolas looks like his father. He has his short brown hair and a mix of bluey green eyes.
Avery has lighter brown hair, quickly growing long and wavy that she loves. She has green eyes like Thomas.
And Lilliana, our youngest, is only 1 so her hair colour might change. Currently her hair is blonde, but I think it will start becoming more brown over time. She's our greedy one, eating whatever's put in front of her. But what I love is her big blue eyes.
I spend a few minutes in the bath, soaking my skin and washing my body before I'm interrupted again.
"Mummy." A knock on the bathroom door has me looking over to see Nicolas hovering in the doorway. See what I mean about not getting a break?
"What is it Nicky?" I ask and he is still by the door.
"Can I come in?"
I smile, "Of course buddy, what is it?"
Nicolas smiles and comes into the room, pausing as he makes sure not to come too close, "I'm hungry."
"Can daddy get you something to eat?"
"He said to ask you if I could have food."
"Of course he did," I say quietly before looking back to my son, "Hey, where's your cute little jacket gone? You look cold."
"I gave it to Avery, she was cold too." Nicolas says with a shrug.
"Aw bud. Listen to me. Go tell daddy to turn the heater on and that mummy says you can have a snack."
He grins happily, "Thank you."
"Also, can you remind your dad that your cousin is coming over? You remember Gabby?"
"With Auntie Charlie?" Nicolas asks hopefully and I nod.
Thomas's sister Charlotte wanted to visit, bringing her husband and baby, and I think I knew what she wanted to talk about.
I had a hunch that Charlotte was pregnant again. Not that she had officially announced anything, but I had a feeling.
After her first kid, Gabriella, and how much she loved it I knew she was dying to be pregnant again.
"Yes of course."
"Ok, I'll tell daddy. Bye mummy." Nicolas says and bounds happily out of the room.
I finish my bath, get out and get changed ready for the day.
I head down the corridor, past the pictures on the wall from our wedding and family portraits. When I enter the kitchen area I smell chocolate and I see Thomas with a wooden spoon in his hand, dolloping spots of batter onto our sons cheek. Nicolas is laughing as he sits on the island bench, his face covered in chocolatey goo.
Looking over I see Avery on the couch in front of the tv watching some kids show and nodding to the beat of the background music.
"Hey Tom, what you boys making?"
"Brownies." Nicolas says with a triumphant laugh and Thomas pulls me to his side, kissing my cheek with a chocolate smell on his tongue.
"Smells delicious." I say and Nicolas puts his hand into the mixed bowl, taking another glob to eat. Glancing to the oven I see they had already put in the tray but our son was still licking the remains from the bowl.
Nicolas bursts into a fit of giggles as he eats the mouthful, knowing he's being cheeky.
"Alright. I think that's enough chocolate for you Mr. We have to get ready to have your cousin over." I slide the bowl away from him and Thomas helps our son off the counter.
As Nicolas moves away, eager now to watch the television with his sister, Thomas looks right at me.
"What do you think of the brownie idea? I thought maybe our guests would like some freshly baked goods."
"Charlotte will love them." I say, knowing it was his sisters favourite.
"I know. That's what I thought." He says and then moves so he's pushing me gently up against the counter. He takes both my hands and laces his fingers with mine, smiling as he brings them up to kiss them.
"I'm glad you managed to do a bit of baking successfully."
"Thanks to your excellent teaching, my love." He says with a grin, "And also just using the pre-made box mix."
That makes me laugh, "Of course."
"Now, we have about 20 minutes give or take before the brownie is ready. What do you say we do?" Thomas asks, a glint in his eye as his smile tipped up into a smirk.
I smile, turning my head to check our kids were still sitting by the tv, which they were, thoroughly occupied.
I then turn back to Thomas, "What are you suggesting we do Tom?"
He leans forward so his nose brushes mine, "Well, as much as I love the dessert that's coming, I think you, Bells, taste much sweeter."
And then he kissed me, filling my heart with warmth as I think of all that we had created with our love.
~~~~~
ANOTHER 15 YEARS LATER
"But daaaad! I want a selection!" Avery cried, being pouty as always over something she didn't have.
I fix up Avery's hair for the photos, gently brushing back the brown curls that had been neatly done. I tried to focus on getting her to look neat but as I moved her hair is just gave me a clearer look of her scowling face.
I tisk at her, "You don't need a boy in your life right now Avery."
"But please!" She begs and throws her hands up dramatically, "Why does Nick get everything?"
Avery's beautiful skin was covered in wrinkles from the way she was scrunching her nose unhappily. Her hair was long, a stunning golden brown, and while usually straight with a few waves at most, was done in elegant curls for the photos.
I smile and smooth the creases on her dress, explaining myself, "Because he's older. Maybe if you stopped sneaking out all the time we would think about it."
"I don't sneak out every day." She says, crossing her hands over her chest and ruining my attempt at getting it wrinkle free. Avery was 18, going on 19, and desperate to explore her romance now apparently. But how she wanted to do it was generally without any permission.
Lilliana scoffs, from where she stands looking into a mirror just off to one side of the photo set, "Yeah right, I've seen the headlines. How many guys have you seen just this week? You've got your maid in on it too I bet, helping you get out."
Lilliana was fixing her makeup, adjusting the bright red to standout from her pale skin. She ran a hand through her dusty blonde hair a few times while looking in the mirror to get it how she wanted.
Thomas butts in, now finished with Nicolas's tie, "Girls, that's enough. We just need to get the photos done and then you can discuss whatever it is you need to."
"You need to get your act together Aves." Nicolas tells his sister and she just sticks her tongue out at him.
While Avery wasn't the youngest she certainly acted the most childish, with quite the temper.
"You can't talk. I know your dying for a girlfriend."
Nicolas sighs, being sensible as usual, "There's a difference between wanting to fall in love and wanting a girlfriend Aves."
"Right. Love blah blah blah." Avery says, not interested in it in the least, "I've heard this before. Mum, can you tell Nick it's not all about love and it's about having fun?"
I sigh and look at my daughter, "Well, I would, but the selection is about love Avery."
"Mine won't be. I don't care about love." Avery states as she tosses her hair back, going over to the mirror and touching up her own lipstick.
Lilliana gives up on having any space at the mirror now her sister is there and comes back to to me, "Avery and a selection don't mix."
The door to the room bursts open and noise erupts, as at last the others had come.
Finally, Charlotte and her family arrived through the doors, ready to be in the Royal family photoshoot. Today was all about the families of Thomas and Charlotte, so we got together with our kids.
Gabriella, Charlotte's oldest, came charging in with a cheery smile as ever, whipping her dark hair around everywhere in front of us as she pulled Lilliana into a hug.
Gabby and Lilly had been besties for years, as they were the cousins closest in age and spent the most time together as young ones.
Charlotte's other child, Joshua, also came in with his dad, also trying to fix his tie. Josh had just turned 14, the youngest of the bunch. Charlotte always commented how he was just like his father, and he was certainly the spitting image of him.
Josh ran in and greeted his older cousins, all of them happy to see him.
"Finally you guys arrived." I say and Charlotte comes and pulls me in to her.
"You should be glad. It takes hours for me to look this good." Charlotte says with a laugh.
I greet the family and then we are given a few minutes to finish touch ups. There's a round of greetings as the two families mingle.
Charlotte pulls Nicolas into a crushing hug, "Aw, I am so excited for your selection Nicky. You are going to love it."
"You think so? I thought you said it was long and hard." Nicolas says to his Aunty.
Char laughs, "Oh it is. But in the end you'll fall in love which is the most important part."
"At least that's good." Nicolas says, a pleased look in his eye.
"You'll meet the girl of your dreams." Charlotte confirms.
If anyone could say that it was true, it was Charlotte. She didn't even want a selection yet still found her soulmate, and was the happiest I had ever seen her when she got married.
From what I've seen so far of my son, I can tell Nicolas is a hopeless romantic. Not that he's ever had a girlfriend, but I know he's been waiting for his selection for his chance. Thomas says he's admitted to wanting to find true love, which is really sweet. He seems genuine as treats his sisters like true princesses, the main two girls in his life apart from me.
And he's always been curious as to how I found the selection, wanting to know all the details about how I fell in love.
It was cute really, and I couldn't be prouder of the son I had raised.
The photographer calls us over and directs us where to stand, arranging all our children in the front. Thomas takes my hand and pulls me around to stand beside Charlotte and her husband.
"Mum," Avery says, turning around to me for a second, "Do I have lipstick in my teeth?"
My daughter gives me a cheesy smile and I shake my head, "No you're fine. You look beautiful sweetheart."
Avery turns around to face the camera and I adjust her hair over her shoulder so she looks neat.
Thomas beside me has an arm looped around my waist, "Bells?"
"Hmm?" I hum, turning to him briefly while we wait for the photographer.
He smiles, "I love you."
"I love you too."
We both smile at one another before turning to see the camera man was ready to start shooting.
I couldn't wipe the smile from my face or slow the rapid beating of my heart, but it felt so perfect being here surrounded by my own little family and Charlotte's.
Thomas squeezes my waist gently and leans his head against mine. And in that moment I knew that I wouldn't rather be anywhere else in the world.
~ The End ~
~~~~~
And that's a wrap
I just want anyone reading this to know that I am so, so extremely grateful for every single read, vote and comment on this story.
It's taken me a while to finish, and I've put it down and picked it up several different times but I'm so glad I got to the end.
This story got over a million reads which is absolutely insane. I'm not a professional writer by any means and the fact so many people read my work makes me so proud. So thank you all.
And I know a lot of this book is cringe or the characters make stupid decisions, but by the end I tried to dial that down a bit. I know it isn't perfect and I look back at what I wrote and laugh sometimes. I just hope it wasn't too painful to read and that you enjoyed at least some of it.
Want more? Please go check out The British Princess, the sequel to this story that follows Charlotte's selection. I'm working really hard on making that story more interesting, drama filled and exciting for you guys. Not to mention you will find out who the lucky husband in that was mentioned in this story briefly, but you've got to check out that story to discover who it is.
Another big thank you and if you like my work perhaps check out some of my other stories.
As always, stay safe, remain positive and
Happy reading : )