A/N The picture up there is what Rae and Kyle look like now, at age 26 ☝
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Five years later
•Rae•
"Kyle, don't!" I laugh and back away as he inches closer to me, holding the brush between his fingers. "I swear, if that thing touches me--"
I don't get to finish my sentence, because Kyle catches my arm and draws a blue line on my left cheek. I try to frown but it's so hard to do while I'm on the verge of laughter. "You're supposed to finish that! They'll be here any minute now." I point towards the paper he was previously working on before he decided to draw on my face instead.
"I'm almost finished." He draws another line on my other cheek before getting back to the paper he abandoned a few seconds ago. I inch closer to him so I can admire his work. I stand behind him as he crouches down to the floor.
"This is so pretty!" I exclaim, not being able to control my smile. "Why is the 'L' capital though? It's supposed to be in small letter." I stare at the words 'Happy birthday Carol.' neatly written with his flawless handwriting.
Kyle stares at it for a moment, realizing his mistake. "Shit."
I laugh as I hug him from behind, purposely smearing the paint from my cheek to his.
"Hey!" He tries to push me back but I keep clinging to him like a monkey. So he stands up while I'm still on his back. I tighten my hold around his neck, determined to not let him throw me on the couch like he usually does.
"You're-- chocking-- me."
I gasp and jump off of him, turning him around so I can check if he's okay.
"Just kidding." He smirks at me, which I return with a frown. "These hands can't even open a jar, let alone strangle me." He holds my hands and kisses each of my palms, making me smile even though I'm trying to stay mad.
"I can open a jar." I cross my arms.
"Oh please, Carol's probably stronger than you."
We suddenly hear Carol calling for me as if she knows we're mentioning her. We both burst out laughing and I go to get her since Kyle's hands are covered in paint.
"Hey baby, when did you wake up?" I coo, walking towards her bed as she stretches her little arms towards me.
"Ma," she whins. She still doesn't know how to say mom or mommy, ma is the best she can do.
I dress her up in her new pink dress and pull her tiny hair into two ponytails. I lean forward and kiss her forehead. She's so beautiful, taking Kyle's blond hair and my blue eyes.
"Are you hungry, birthday girl? Dad's painting something special for you. So I'll have to feed you. Hope you don't mind." I chuckle, carrying her out of the room. Whether it's playing with her, or reading her bedtime stories, she always prefers Kyle over me.
She smiles at me, making my heart melt like always. I'll never get used to this. It still blows my mind that she's turning one already. Where did the time go? It feels like yesterday that I carried her in my arms for the first time, while Kyle stood next to the hospital bed tearing up.
After Kyle and I got married four years ago, I kept trying to get pregnant but it took a little over two years. This little angel is worth the wait though.
I smile at the memory of our wedding. It was the happiest day of my life. Kyle's proposal was unexpected, to say the least. No fancy dinner, no 'get ready tonight, I have something important to tell you', no suspense and build up. He just casually dropped the bomb on me while we were watching a movie one night. I remember thinking I heard him wrong, but then he muted the TV and asked me again, a serious look on his face.
I had stared at him for a minute or two, with what must've been a dumb expression on my face. And then whispered 'Hell yes' as soon as the question sank in.
Our wedding ceremony was so simple. His only guests were his mom and uncle, and my only guests were my grandparents. Jess was my maid of honor while Trevor was his best man. We said our vows in the church, and that was it. We didn't even go on a honeymoon, because we both agreed it would be a waste of money. Wherever I went and whatever I did was a perfect honeymoon to me as long as I was with Kyle anyway. So we ordered pizza and watched movies that night, not even bothering to change our clothes.
I remember the day we found out our baby's gender. I asked him if we could name her Carol, in memory of my mom. He loved the name, so we didn't hesitate to decide on it since the meaning of the name was suitable as well. She was about to be born around Christmas.
My grandparents were ecstatic to become great grandparents. They were the ones who bought this house for us. When they offered us money the first time, it was five years ago and we couldn't accept it. But then when Kyle bought a car after he started working with Jeremy, they bought me a car too that same year, and I couldn't refuse since it was a birthday gift. And when they found out I was pregnant, they told us they couldn't allow us to live in that small apartment anymore, and we agreed since we wanted a comfortable home for our child.
Carol squirms, trying to escape from my arms so she can go to Kyle. I laugh and put her down on the floor before heading to the kitchen to prepare something for her to eat.
"No no no, don't kiss me on that cheek. Kiss me on this one. Your mom did this to me."
I look up and watch as he turns his face the other way so she can place a kiss on his clean cheek instead of the one I smeared paint on.
"Don't listen to him. He started it first!" I laugh, making her giggle too as she looks back and forth between us.
Focusing on my task, I still listen to them talk.
"Come on, read this, what does it say?" Kyle asks Carol, as if she could read if she tried hard enough. "It says 'Happy birthday Carol' and this right here is you. I drew your cute little face." He kisses her cheek twice, making her giggle.
He stands up and carefully carries the paper from the floor to the wall behind the TV. The doorbell rings as he finishes hanging it, and he rushes to the door.
I hear Trevor's voice, but Jess is the one who steps inside first, walking so fast that for a split moment I thought someone was chasing her. "Your favourite aunt is here!" she yells excitedly, and Carol wastes no time running towards her as fast as her little legs can take her.
"You're her only aunt." I tease her like usual.
Jess sticks her tongue out at me. "You're just jealous."
I shake my head in amusement. She can be even more childish than Gavin sometimes.
My eyes drift to the bump on her stomach. Jess is six months pregnant. And to think she was once worried about being a bad mother. She's such an amazing mom, and would sacrifice anything for Gavin.
Trevor walks in, holding Gavin's hand with one hand and a huge box with the other.
"Hey, Trev. Hey, Gav." I grin at them, putting Carol's sandwiches on a plate.
"Hey, aunt Rae!" Gavin greets excitedly. He can speak normally now, but I miss those days where he used to trip over his words. It was so cute to listen to. He's such a cute boy himself, taking Trevor's dark hair and Jess's gorgeous gray eyes.
"Look what we got you." Trevor sets the box down next to Carol, and she reaches out to touch it, almost falling off Jess's lap.
"Easy there. It's not like your present's gonna run away or anything." Jess laughs, putting her down. She takes the plate from my hands as I walk by her. "I'll feed her, you go clean up. You look ridiculous."
I glare at Kyle playfully. I forgot about that paint on my cheeks. "Your idiot brother decided it'd be a good idea to make me look like a--"
"Kitten." Trevor finishes for me, helping Carol open her present.
"Thanks for the help, Trev." I roll my eyes as he laughs at me, and pull Kyle along with me as I rush to the bathroom. "You need to wash your face too."
He obeys and lets me pull him into the bathroom.
"Can you believe it? Our baby's turning one today. One!" I exclaim, as we both stand in front of the mirror, scrubbing our faces with soap.
"I know right." He shakes his head, smiling at me as we make eye contact through our reflections.
I hear the doorbell ringing, and widen my eyes in excitement. "That must be your mom and Jeremy."
"Or your grandparents." He raises his brows at me.
"Oh please, they're always 'fashionably late' to everything."
I quicken my pace and finish cleaning my face before wiping it with a towel. Kyle does the same and catches up to me as I rush into the living room. Martha and Jeremy are here just like I guessed, and I greet them with a quick hug.
Martha holds Kyle for a moment longer, and kisses his cheek before releasing him. I smile at the sight. I remember how worried I was five years ago, thinking things would never be okay between them. But throughout the years, I've noticed him slowly forgiving her, and now it's like they've never been apart in the first place.
Martha hugs Jess next, kissing her cheek as well before releasing her. I remember when Jess gave birth to Gavin, how she would try to stay detached as Martha helped her out. They would take care of the baby together, but Jess would just shut her out most times. But as time went by, I've witnessed their relationship slowly improving, and now they can't even go a day without seeing each other.
Jess admitted to me last year that she regrets not inviting Martha to her wedding. Jess and Trevor's wedding was a huge, fancy one-- thanks to his family, but she didn't invite her mom because she still hadn't forgiven her at the time.
"Birthday girl!" Jeremy exclaims with a grin, setting a small box on the table. "Come get your present, you cute little thing."
Jeremy is such a cool uncle. I remember how quickly he got Kyle and Jess to warm up to him and see him as family.
I remember how Kyle refused the first time Jeremy asked him to take over the laundromat which used to belong to his dad. But it didn't take Jeremy long to convince him. I also supported the idea, and helped him out in getting Kyle to agree. He's Jim's first child after all, so that place is rightfully his. Kyle and Jeremy have been working together for four years now, and the business is going great so far.
"Awww look at this, everyone!" Jess points at the paper Kyle hung on the wall. "He drew Carol."
We all stare at it, silently admiring his work.
"That's Carol?" Gavin asks suddenly. "But Carol's not pretty. The girl up there is way too pretty."
We all laugh while he frowns, repeatedly glancing at Carol and then the drawing.
Kyle picks Carol up and kisses the back of her hand. "My daughter looks wayyy more beautiful in person than she looks in any of my drawings. Right baby?" he asks her bumping their noses together, and she giggles in response.
Everyone smiles at them for a moment, and I almost tear up. This is my favourite thing to watch. The little moments between the two of them are so sweet I wish I could videotape everything and keep it forever. My phone's gallery is already overflowing with all the pictures I took of them.
"Wait, why is the 'L' capital in Carol?" Jess asks, and I burst out laughing while Kyle grumbles.
"I asked him the same thing!" I exclaim, and everyone else starts laughing too as they notice the annoyed look on his face.
The doorbell rings, and I quickly stand up. "I'll get it!" I rush towards the door, excited to see my grandparents. We haven't seen each other in three days, and I'm already missing them so much.
I open the door and here they are, looking flawless like always. Grandma is wearing one of her expensive necklaces, and is holding a huge box in her hands. I help her get it inside before giving them both a hug.
They greet the others and the birthday celebration begins.
If someone told me a few years ago that I'd be here now, cerebrating my daughter's birthday in a room filled with the laughter of ten people, I wouldn't have believed it. But now here I am, surrounded by all these people that I love, filled with so much joy that it seems like it's too good to be true. But it is true. This isn't a dream. It's my life now.
My life was hell ten years ago. I was all alone, and I thought I'd always feel lonely for the rest of my life. I remember that room in the mental hospital, those dark nights I've spent crying, all those months I thought I'd be better off dead than continue living feeling so empty. I've gone through so much pain, and at the time it didn't seem like things would ever get better.
You never know what happens in the future. You can never tell in which direction your life would go. But there's always hope, so you should never give up on yourself. I've learned that now, and that's what I would teach my daughter as well. Because even though I used to think things would never get better, here I am now, more happy and content than I've ever been in my life.
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A/N Oh wow, I'm feeling emotional here lol. I can't believe I won't be writing this book anymore. I'll miss the characters so much. Thank you so much to anyone who've been reading, voting and commenting on this book. Counting both book 1 & 2 together, you've read 60 chapters of this book and that's a lot. So thank you so much for coming this far.
I remember jumping in joy when book one hit 1k and now its 32k and sometimes I just stare at it and think 'how?!' Lmao it just blows my mind because I don't deserve all that. And this book is at 4.3k reads now and I can't even believe it. It only took me 5 months to write this and it got all these reads and votes in such a small time. I also have 600 followers now. How?!
I remember when I first started writing book 1. I was only fifteen and had no experience in writing (in English) I didn't know basic grammar rules, didn't know I was supposed to leave a gap between two paragraphs, and I didn't even capitalize the letter 'I' lol. I'm seventeen now, and I've improved a lot since then. I only had 2 followers and zero readers when I first started writing it, and I remember changing the plot as I got more readers. And I'm glad I didn't go with the original plot lol. Oliver would've committed suicide, and that's one of the things I'm glad I didn't go through with.
There are still so many things I should go back and edit in book 1, and it seriously makes me cringe when I read some of the scenes and I sit there questioning myself 'what was I thinking?' But despite all that, you guys have been supporting me since the start and I'm so grateful for that.
Just like I thanked the ones that supported me in book 1, I'd like to thank the ones who supported me in this one too. A special thanks to Fleur-capricieuse. You've been the number one supporter of this book. When you voted and thanked me for updating as soon as I published a new chapter, it was the sweetest thing ever and some days I updated faster just for you. You're not only my reader but you've become a close friend and I'm glad I found you through this book.
Stxy_you, psstitsmepotato, funtaesies, The-Novel-Dork, pavitrish, gomezdelrey, Glassy_heart, SimplyNormalXXlife midnxght_living, RuthTijani, OoO2187, okbxmmxr, stopattackingme, lovelyDevil_sky, toxxic_bby, nasagivemespace, pshyco_bitch, mynameisnotthatlong, Amanda841616, stellestramella2, hazyeyes4, cloudsread, bandurok, siya0503, yosie29, The-Novel-Dork, AssiaErguigue9, RissyBae7, SharonKipsang5, kadieeemarieeeand ad-dammy (who came up with the ship name Norey😁) You guys have been my motivation. I love you all and I'm so thankful for all the support and appreciation you've showed me. And thank you so much AuroraWalker356 for reading, for the amazing aesthetics you made for this book, and for suggesting this book to all your followers.❤
I'd also like to thank every single person who've given this book a chance, including all you silent readers. I love you all, bye. Stay safe.💙