Extraordinary.
The day had become extraordinary since I'd met the person who completed my half-empty canvas. My life had changed so drastically as love and struggles forced us to bloom into a broad picturesque of a happy family. Khloe and I were led to a life of imperfect yet seamless routine. Our life opened up to countless possibilities and we created our future together through ups and downs. We both aspired to be a better individual, not only for ourselves but also for each other.
After 'the incident', Khloe suffered greatly from trauma and we didn't have a choice but to seek help. I was traumatized too so we went together and helped each other to get healed from the past tragedy. Years had gone by and so we'd grown. Now, I was already the art director of a private museum, the Caslary Art Foundation, that was being financed by Quinn Blackburn for already two years. Not only did it showcase talented new artists, but it was also established for a cause, and that was to help the children suffering from leukemia. I surely didn't end up being a doctor just like my parents had hoped for but I certainly could help in different ways.
My wife was already a renowned digital artist and she had already started up a digital studio recently with a team she had met during her college. Xander was also in her team as the assistant art director. He'd been a good friend to us and he just got married a month ago to his wife, Sasha.
Speaking of marriage, Khloe and I had been married for six years already. My father somehow found out about it after a year and he was so livid at us, especially to my Klo. It created a gap between my parents and me, while Claire was also devastated that she wasn't able to attend the most important event in her daughter's life as her mother.
But eventually, they had forgiven us. Klo had promised to give them grandchildren as if she was the one who was going to carry them in her womb. I had no complaints though because I also wanted to have children. I wanted to have a family with my wife, hence why I couldn't break out the smile on my face as I gazed at the scene before me.
My father was a changed man after I gave birth to my 2-year-old daughter, Kassie, through an IVF process. I looked dearly at them as he carried her in his arms and chatted with her with a smile reaching up to his eyes. My two mothers were next to them watching their jolly engagement. Kassie has two forest eyes just like her mommy but she also has this long blonde hair and fair skin. You could already tell that she was our daughter due to a few similarities. We made sure of that anyway when we were searching for a donor. Kassie was going to break a lot of hearts someday because of her beauty and bouncy personality.
We were currently hosting a housewarming up party today. Our family was expanding so we needed to move to a new house with more bedrooms and space. We just moved a week ago and we were just settling in.
"Aummie, can you... can you please gimme cupcakes?" a cute voice spoke, causing my eyes to lower down to see A's daughter holding out an empty plate. I would always coo at Harley's cuteness whenever she would call me Aummie which was a combined word of aunty and Mommie. Klo was the one who'd taught that endearment to her adorable niece.
"Sure, which colors do you want?" I asked, tenderness in my voice as I held down the tray of cupcakes for her to choose from.
Harley bit her lower lip as her ocean eyes pranced around. Then she pointed at the two cupcakes with green frosting and candy sprinkles so I placed them on her plate with a kind smile.
"Thank you, Aummie," she said appreciatively before her gaze dropped down to my stomach. "Why your... your tummy is bigger than Aunty Bay? Did you eat a bigger watermelon?"
I let out an amused gasp as I caressed my ballooned stomach. Harley was referring to Bailey though because she was already 5-months pregnant with her first child while I was almost nine with my twins. So it was normal that I had a bigger tummy. But how could I explain this to this curious kid? Who gave her the idea that I ate a watermelon anyway?
"Hey, my love. You got your cupcakes?" Arisa, fortunately, chimed into our conversation, earning a sigh of relief from me. I didn't actually know how to answer her question anyway.
"Mommy, can you eat a watermelon so that I could have something to play with soon?" Harley asked her mother with her endearing puppy eyes.
Arisa cleared her throat before taking the plate in her hands. Then she lifted her daughter in her arms and gave her a cunning smile. "Why don't we ask Mama? I want to eat watermelons too."
Harley beamed at her mother's suggestion and clapping her hands in excitement. "Yay! I'll be a sister soon! I want two, pwease."
I rolled my eyes while smiling at their exchange. Arisa wiggled her brows at me before she walked off to Quinn who was chatting animatedly with our guest. My best friend had mentioned to me that she's ready for another kid. When I decided to go through IVF, Arisa was there, observing the whole process so that she could learn something out of my experience. They were just so busy with their career so they even had no time to even talk about it altogether. But it seemed that my captain was so eager this time as I watched her drag her wife out of the circle with Harley in her arms. Apparently, she was using Harley's charm to get Quinn's consent.
"Waltz, what are you doing?" my wife suddenly spoke behind me, snaking her arms around my waist and placing her palms gently on my tummy. "You shouldn't be standing and moving a lot. C'mon, sit there in the living room."
Turning inside her embrace, I faced my wife and chuckled at the concerned expression on her face. I kissed away the frown between her brows, making her smile in return. Within the bracket of our marriage, Khloe's love for me never faltered even once. She truly was doing her best to make me feel loved and valued all the time.
"I love you," I uttered softly, my eyes danced around her soulful and earthly pair. And this was me, getting emotional at this moment.
Klo placed her finger under my chin and leaned in for a kiss. However, the voice of our daughter broke us apart almost instantly. Kassie was reaching out for my wife and Klo immediately tended to her, carrying her away from my father. She was spoiling her too much, actually, that sometimes I would feel jealous of their attachment. Kassie would always look for my wife. She would cry for her whenever she would realize she'd been long gone already.
I just shook my head and decided to just sit somewhere comfortable as Khloe had advised me to. I was getting tired of standing already but once I turned around, I felt a gushing fluid flowing on my thighs. I looked down and then I started to get panic.
"Klo! Klo!" I screamed out loud, earning attention from everyone. I leaned my back against the dining table to support myself and held my stomach in fear. "K-Klo!"
"Oh gosh! Her water broke!" Sasha yelled from a distance while I began to feel the painful contractions. Painful than the last time I'd experience.
"Shit!" I heard Khloe hissed and at the same time, Kassie began to cry. Then I felt her arms around my back, causing me to blink towards her. She had this alarmed expression on her annoying face. "Damn! They're coming out! Stay with me, waltz!"
Arisa was quick to run towards me and they guided me outside. Our parents were also trailing behind us while the other guest was just watching me being dragged away. I tried my best to breathe properly at this moment while I struggled against the pain. "Fück! Klo! It hurts! Take me to the damn hospital right now!"
My wife tried to open her car door but she couldn't open it at all. "Oh dammit! Where's my fuckïng key?!"
"Khloe!"
At that same instant, an SUV car pulled over and once the window of the car slid down, Tiana looked over us confused and bothered. "What the hell is happening?!"
"Her amniotic sac already broke," Arisa answered her.
"What sac are you talking about?!" Tiana questioned further.
"Her water broke, for fùck's sake!" Bailey retorted at her wife who was sitting on the passenger seat. "I'm here pregnant and you didn't even know that?!"
"Take me——Take me to the hospital! My babies are coming out!" I exclaimed, pushing aside Khloe in frustration. I couldn't care less about her because she brought this upon my poor being!
"Oh shit! Shit!" Bailey cussed in terror. "Hop in, we'll drive you there!"
Arisa held me close and led me inside the car. I focused on my breathing technique once I sat in the back seat. Khloe followed in and grabbed my hand tight with hers while Arisa sat on the other side and grasped my other hand to support me.
"Yeah, just like that, waltz. Breathe in, breathe out," Khloe chanted, soothing me which just earned a glare from me. But I tightened my hold on her so that she could also feel the pain that was pulling my soul out of my body.
Tiana drove off but she seemed not sure about what she was doing as she glanced at us through the mirror, incredibly tense. "Hey, I don't know the way around here. Uhmm, Alexa, take me to the nearest hospital?"
"I got rid of Alexa. Just drive and I'll tell you where to turn around," Bailey said while tapping on her phone.
Tiana glanced briefly at her wife in surprise. "What?! Why did you get rid of her? That little machine always help me!"
"I don't want you to speak other woman's name out of your damn mouth! It's messing up my hormone!" Bailey countered back. "Turn right and why are you driving so slow? We have to hurry up!"
Tiana groaned out loud. "But it's not good for our baby. You shouldn't be here in the first place!"
"Don't shout at me. Ry is literally dying right now on the back seat!"
"Shut up, you two!" Arisa yelled at them I could also feel her becoming distressed already— not because of my current dilemma, but because of our friends at the front seat.
Getting more strained at their banter, I let out a scruffy scream to emphasize my predicament right now. What I was feeling at this moment got more intense and I pushed my head back at the unexplainable pain that went through my whole existence. It was really painful when I gave birth to Kassie but this was beyond my expectation.
"Hush, waltz. You can do it! Breathe! Fùcking breathe just like we'd practice!" Khloe cheered me up as if this was all easy and it frustrated me more than ever.
My eyes shot at her in anger. "C-Cant you see! That's what I'm doing right now! This is all your fault, Klo!"
Khloe looked at me, and her lips twitched in a small smile. "I know, and I love you for doing this for us."
I almost melted at her words but a sharp pain once again forced a scream out of my mouth. I couldn't help but to lean on my wife's shoulder and bit her skin in agony. I heard her hissed but she didn't let go of me as she drew me closer to her, welcoming my cold body in her warmth.
"Oh no! No! " Bailey cried out while fanning herself with her hands.
Tiana was frightened at her sudden wife's behavior while trying her best to drive safely as much as she could. "What?! Is our baby coming out too?!"
Bailey stared at her incredulously. "No, do you want to die? I'm not even in my third trimester yet!"
"But why are you freaking out right now?! You're making me nervous."
"Hello, can you see our friend back there? She's ugly sweating right now and I can't even imagine myself in this situation in the future. But I have to do it! What am I gonna do? I don't want to get fat like Ry here. Are you gonna leave me now that I'm also getting plump?"
" What are you saying?! My wife is not ugly and she's not fat. She's a pregnant woman! She's fucking beautiful. Take it back!" Khloe exclaimed this time, defending me. I would appreciate it but she was arguing with the kids right now. We were all in mid-twenties here, dammit!
"Oh gosh! Can you just all shut up? Tiana, just concentrate on driving, will you?!" To my surprise, Arisa was the only one who seemed so composed right now. It should have been Bailey but her mind was twisted for some reason since she got pregnant. Well, I would be crazy too, if Tiana's the one who was taking care of my being. Tiana couldn't handle herself sometimes but I knew that she was trying her best for Bailey too.
I just closed my eyes, concentrating on myself while I listened to them quarreling again inside the car. I swore to all of my being that this was going to be the last. The entire ride was quite funny, actually, if I were not in the state of immeasurable ache.
At last, we'd finally reach the nearest hospital and once Tiana stopped in front of the hospital emergency department, the health officers helped me down the car. They sat me in the wheelchair and the doctors immediately aided me once I was already inside the building. I clearly knew what was waiting for me next and this was the one I hated the most yet I was also certain that it was going to be fulfilling in the end.
I didn't know how long it took and how many times I'd been pushing my twins out of me, but once I'd finally heard their cries, a tired smile flourished on my face. All the sleepless nights, tantrums, and insecurities were all worth it. It was an immense feeling I wouldn't trade for anything.
Khloe placed a kiss on my sweating forehead as we gazed at our newly born babies who were in the arms of the nurses. "Oh damn, waltz! You're so amazing. You did a good job again. Look at them, they're so adorable."
I breathed out all the happiness in me as I held Khloe's hand firmly. My wife tucked aside the hair out of my face, then whispered sweet nothings to my ear. Her voices soothed me so my body relaxed eventually, relieved that all of this ended in bliss.
Then I found myself waking up in a hospital room, full of people whose so important to me. My daughter, Kassie, was playing with Harley on the couch while my parents were chatting next to them. Arisa and Quinn were standing near the glass window, hugging each other sweetly. And Bailey was sleeping on Tiana's thighs as they settled on a single couch. And when Khloe noticed me, she immediately sat on the chair next to my hospital bed.
"Hey, how are you feeling, Toes?" she asked, her earthly eyes spoke concern and gladness in them. Her question alarmed the people around us, including my daughter who hopped from the couch and ran towards me.
"Mom!" Kassie cried out but my mother-in-law was able to stop her by carrying her in her arms.
"H-Hey, honey. Just stay with your grandma for a while, okay? I love you," I responded to my daughter with a smile, giving my best not to make her feel neglected even though I still felt so weak. Then I shifted my attention to my wife when I felt her hand on mine. "Where are they, Klo?"
"Don't worry. They're gonna be here in——"
Before she could even finish, the door of the private room opened, revealing our personal obstetrician with two nurses carrying my pair bundles of joy. My eyes couldn't break out from my babies as they walked towards us. One of the nurses stood over me and leaned down to hand my baby to me.
And when I finally got to caress one of them in my arms, my energy boosted up as if I was reborn again. Nothing could ever take away this feeling of euphoria while holding the extension of your life in your arms, indeed. I stared down tenderly at the tiny being in my arms, and my eyes began to brim with tears of contentment. Then I glanced at Khloe and she was already carrying our boy, careful on how she held him dearly. Our eyes met and she was also tearing up just as I was while the people around us watched us in delight.
"I hate to break this moment, but we need to know your babies' name for record-keeping," Doctor Firth said with a kind smile on her lips.
"Karson Holt Summer for my boy," I almost said instantly, exposing my excitement about introducing my son and daughter to the world. I knew their name already in my heart just as Khloe was.
"And Kara Hunter for my girl," Khloe said, kissing Kara lightly on her cute head. My babies were almost identical with their rustic hair and tanned skin just like Khloe's. But they had pairs of endearing ocean eyes just like mine. They were rare souls giving me a lot of reasons to be happy and grateful every day.
And this was how my life became extraordinary. Despite all the waves and storms we sailed through, Khloe and I had finally fulfilled our dream together. But we were still not done yet because there was more to dream to build and create. And as long as I am with my prankster wife, I couldn't care less if those dream tumbles out or manifest in our future. There was no perfect painting, indeed. Every canvas is an adventure on its own and you just have to paint it with your own shades.
And surely our lives were painted by us, with the color of a majestic rainbow.
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A/N:
Time to question you all:
* Now that this first phase came to an end, who's your favorite character now?
* Which of the three stories is your favorite, and why?
* Did my writing improved or not? Any constructive criticism there?
* Should I include a lot of smut scenes in my future stories? Or should I tone it down?
Well, that's all. Thanks for supporting me here in Wattpad. Thanks for the follow and stars. But don't forget to follow me on Dreame App too. Should I create a Patreon account or that would be too much? Hahaha...Anyway, I hope you like the ending of this story. I wish safety for all of you. Wear your mask and practice social distancing. Have a good day!
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