Chapter 75 Car Talk
Mariko's POV
Maddie was surprised and I couldn't stop smiling. Just looking at her reaction was like watching something from a dream. But then she turned around to face me, her surprised expression was gone. She seemed sad.
"I can't accept this," she said painfully.
It crushed my heart because I wanted to do something great for her, but I got it... Ash is the issue. He makes me even more desperate to deal with him once and for all. Through my crushed heart, I stepped closer to her and I gently placed my hands on her shoulders, holding her gaze. It was dark, but the other lights were shining, so I could see her face partially. She was still dealing with Ash. One of those reasons is that she gave the dress to her father so that her father could give it to Ash. It was bad timing on my side. I just wanted the best for her, and now she is thinking badly of herself once again.
"You can and you will accept it. I will not take no for an answer, and I am not Ash, okay?" I held her gaze.
"What if people just say bad things about me once they see that I have a car and I never had a car of my own, Mariko," she sighed.
"Screw what people think or say."
"I have had worse, I was...." she sucked in a breath.
"You were in the papers back then because of Ash," I stated. She was taken aback by my knowledge of it.
"You know about that?"
"Yes, I do. Your father mentioned it. I just haven't read it yet. But forget that. You are with me now, we will be getting married soon, and then we will welcome our twins into this world. I know the type of person you are. You do not ask for anything. You work very hard to get what you want. As your future husband. I can shower you with gifts. It is my right. Just because an ex of yours is jealous, which I also think he is, doesn't mean everyone thinks that way of you. You are genuine in what you do, so please accept the car." I tried to reassure her.
"I can't even drive," she said softly.
"I will teach you. You have to start going to driving classes so that you can drive even better than me," I smiled.
That made her smile and I was happy. "I don't know what to say about the car except thank you." she turned around to take another look at it. "It's beautiful."
"You deserve only the best," I said as I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her from behind.
She placed her hands on mine and moved them towards her belly. "The car has two doors. We are a family," she stated.
"I am buying a bigger car for myself, so don't worry," I kissed the top of her head. "Do you want to check the interior?"
"Yeah," she said with a faint smile.
I pulled away from her and took her hand in mine, leading her to the driver's side. Opening the door, I moved out of the way for her to take a seat. Her hands rested on the steering wheel. I closed the door and I walked around the car, getting into the passenger side.
"So, what do you think?" I asked.
"It is so gorgeous, I like it," she said, studying the interior.
"I'm happy that you are happy," I smiled.
I explained to her what everything was and what to do. We ended up just chilling in the car. It felt so peaceful. These are moments that I would cherish in my life. The little things, the surprises, the milestones...every memory with her. I just had to sort Ash out and that day is coming soon.
Maddie's POV
Mariko brought me through my negative thoughts. I felt like a little child on Christmas, getting her gift for the first time. My Christmas was not like many other families' Christmas and as we sat in the car, tears stung the back of my eyes. A lump formed in my throat.
"Are you okay?" Mariko asked.
"I didn't really have a Christmas growing up. It was spent in our apartment watching the Christmas movies and just having decent food. We couldn't afford the feasts that some families are privileged to have. I hardly got gifts, but I did get a gift from my mother, which was a necklace. It is still in the apartment in a little box. The only Christmas feast I was invited to was with Ash and his family. That time was when we were in the final year of high school, and they just didn't bother to look my way, but only Ash did. He was so kind and loving. He gifted me with a gift card and that was all that I had, and then it was the time when he had bought me a dress for the function. That caused more conflict with his family. At first, they were subtle about it, but it became worse that Ash had changed towards me and his father gave me money to leave Ash, but I tore that cheque up right in front of him. I had to leave Ash because he was hurting me. They were trying to set him up with wealthy females. I was good for nothing, a gold digger. After that break up...the worst part happened, but luckily it didn't last long. I was in the papers." I looked at him, he was watching me intently. Sadness in his eyes.
"I'm sorry that you had the life that you had and the painful experiences that you went through," he said. He reached out to cup the side of my face, and he removed his hand as he smiled, "Do you want to know my experiences of Christmas?" he asked.
"Yeah," I returned his smile.
"My parents had a huge house, we had a huge Christmas tree, all the gifts were placed underneath. My mother would always tell me to sleep, otherwise Santa wouldn't bring a gift that I really wanted. I would write lists of the gifts. I would get them all. My parents were family-oriented. I miss them a lot. They also gave to charities on Christmas. Right after lunch, we would go and hand out even more gifts." he looked over at me, that is the family that I would like to create. "We will have the same Christmas as I did for our kids. Bella is already getting it, now just for our twins and you," he smiled.
"I would like that."
I looked ahead at another couple getting into a car and driving off. I just want to have a perfect little family. I want my kids to have everything that I didn't ... couldn't have when I was growing up. I was sitting with the love of my life and I cherished this moment as I reached out to him and held his hand.