Chapter 25 - Part I

The first half had already been published earlier. The second half has been added.

*************

Apparently, I was out for two weeks.

And in that time, Terrence had managed to get a lot of things done. In short, he had done what I had asked of him as a dying wish and he had managed to ensure that Larissa never harmed my babies again.

She had lost her mind.

Really. It started when her father - my uncle - died when he had a cardiac arrest because of some monetary issues they were facing. From there, her quest for revenge had started. Her aim had always been to be so powerful that she could ruin me. No wonder, that when I had been offered to work in Allie's department, she recognised me and had me work right under her so that she could keep an eye on me all the time.

Her pregnancy was a huge buffer in her plan. Marrying Vincent Powers gave her the money and recognition, but the babies that came along with it, were not in her plans. It was clear she didn't want them, and despite many tries she failed at getting rid of them.

Her condition actually worsened during the year long vacation she had spent away with her husband. His love for her increased the little amount of guilt she carried with herself for doing what she did to the twins. On her return, not only did she find the twins alive, but she also found out that the woman she wanted to ruin was now slowly taking her place in the family.

It totally pushed her over the edge, and now she clearly is mentally unstable. I could understand that, because that much cruelty was too much even for the insane Larissa I knew as my boss.

I didn't get these answers from Larissa. It was what Terrence and Allie told me while I was being fed. I had declined from wanting any kind of closure from her. Honestly, I didn't need any explanations and "Why did you do this to me?" from her.

But maybe, one day, when the twins would know of the truth, they might want their share of a closure.

Terrence had left a while ago because a psychiatrist's visit was pending and maybe she would unveil more about Larissa. And he had to take Vincent to meet her for one time before she was finally put behind the bars.

I was noticing my best friend all the time, the lingering loneliness I could sense from her made me uneasy.

"Why did you do it, Allie?" I asked her slowly, rocking Raine because she was having a difficulty in falling asleep.

"What did I do?"

"How are you and Aaron, now?"

She froze, and then sighed. I gave her a questioning look, and she answered:

"I don't think we're together now."

"And why is that?" I raised a brow.

"Because I was being irrational, and upset him by making him chose between me and Terrence." Her shoulders slumped.

"Are you mad at him for choosing his loyalty when he was made to choose between love and loyalty?"

"No."

"Did he say that he doesn't love you anymore because you were being irrational?"

She frowned, "No."

"Then who the fuck said you are not together anymore?"

"No one." She sighed, "I just can't find it in myself to apologise to him. I fear he'll turn me down because I know I have been really rude and bitchy."

I smiled at her, "Go talk to him, idiot. He loves you. He's more hurt that you kept pushing him away when all he wanted to do was comfort you."

"How do you know that?" She asked.

"I heard a few things here and there when I was unconscious. And I heard you throwing a fit too. You said some real hurtful things then."

"I know." She nodded slowly, looking forlorn.

I held out my free arm and hugged her, "I love you, Allie. And I know that if I had been at your place, I would've had done the same thing, too. Now go and make things right with him. Hunt him down, talk to him and make everything right. Again; he loves you too much, but couldn't leave his friend alone in the time when I wasn't the only thing worrying him. Trust me, he'll be happy to see you finally talk to him."

I paused for a while at the sudden yawn that interrupted me.

"And I think I'll go to sleep, too. I want to rest for some time. Look, Raine has fallen asleep, too. Can you please take her and put her in the crib."

She nodded and took Raine while I snuggled in my bed. She kissed my forehead, muttered a "Take care." and went out of the door, a renewed purpose filling her strides.

I smiled as sleep overtook me.

***************

I woke up abruptly. It was a nightmare that woke me up, but I couldn't remember what exactly it was about. All I knew was that it set my heart racing, and sweat was running down my forehead.

"Hey," someone caressed my hair, "You're alright. It was just a bad dream." Terrence's voice sifted towards me and I grabbed his arm that held me tightly against him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, still heaving from the nightmare.

"Am I not allowed to sleep next to the ones I love the most?" He said, kissing my cheek and wiping the sweat off my brow.

I pulled away and looked around, "There's no other bed here, Terrence, you couldn't have slept in the twins crib." I said, pointing towards where the twins were asleep in the crib. "Where were you sleeping?"

I eyed the stool where he was sitting and he just shook his head, "Go to sleep, Alyssa. You need to rest so that you can come back home soon."

"I will, I will," I muttered and scooted so that there was enough space on the hospital bed for me and Terrence to snuggle.

"What are you doing?" He asked, when I patted the bed.

"Duh." I rolled my eyes, "Obviously, I want you to sleep next to me. After that nightmare, I don't think I'll be able to sleep properly alone."

He hesitated for a moment, but when I slightly batted my lashes at him and gave him an imploring look, he gave in, and took off his shoes and slid in next to me. A moment later, I was comfortable as I snuggled in his embrace with our arms around each other. There was truly no other place in the world better and safer than his arms.

"I missed you so much, Alyssa. I missed us so much." He kissed the top of my head, and then took my mouth in a kiss.

I melted.

I might have had been mad at him before, but I didn't have the strength to hold on to it now. The past month just proved that we had a long way to go and we still had a lot to learn. A little bit more trust in each other could have probably made the situation better than the current one.

"Alyssa." Terrence whispered after a few silent moments.

"Yes, Terrence?"

"Do you regret it? Do you regret loving me?"

My heart froze.

Another realisation struck me. If I was the one carrying the physical scars of the Larissa fiasco, Terrence was carrying the emotional ones. We both had suffered equally since Vincent and Larissa had come back from their vacation. But after I was dead to the world, Terrence was the one who had to go through a tough emotional phase.

My survival chances, twins' silence, Allie's harsh words, Vincent's heartbreak, and everything else was burdening down on his shoulders. Aaron was right - Allie just worded out what was going on in his mind. He was already blaming himself for my near death experience. His mother's accident happened all over again, and he was in deep already.

Deep inside the blame game.

"I love you, Terrence." I whispered, looking into his eyes, and I burrowed my face into his chest when I felt tears trickling down my cheeks, "I would never regret you even if it kills me."

I chuckled, "How would I have such a big mansion, so much money, so much of hot sex and my twins without you?"

"Alyssa..."

"It's not just that, Terrence. There's no one who would love me like you do, no one. And if I have to do this all over again, I'll still choose to find the twins. I'll still choose to come to you. I'll still chose to fall in love with you all over again." I threw a leg over him and cuddled him tightly, which led to him tightening his arms around me.

"I love you. Remember that, Terrence. The past few days have been very difficult for both of us, but I'm happy we've both come out of it, and everything seems to get better, now. And then, we've got a lot to do together, right? We have to get married, have more kids, and raise them all together. There's so much to do, babe."

"You heard that?" I could hear the smile in his voice and I looked up at him to find his blue orbs shimmering with unshed tears.

"Yes, Terrence, yes. I heard it all. By the way, we got to have more sex too."

"Sure, babe, sure." He choked out, "We'll do that, too. Just let me get you home first."