Conrad
I arrived home from work and saw that Joshua was still here, but there was no sign of Maya.
“Where is Maya?” I ask concerned.
“In bed. She has had a stressful day. Your ex showed up outside of her work today. I tried to get her to eat something before she went, but she refused.” He sighs.
I appreciate Joshua and everything he does for us, especially Maya. He takes good care of her when I am not around. I sigh because Maya didn’t tell me she spoke to Bridget.
“Thank you. You can head home now, Joshua.” I smile.
“Okay, Sir. Call me if either of you need anything.”
I walked him out, and we said our goodbyes. I head through to the bedroom and find Maya curled under the covers, sound asleep. I will need to wake her up because she won’t sleep tonight if she sleeps too long. Not only that, but she needs to eat something.
I sit on the edge of the bed and gently stroke her face, “Maya, sweetheart, wake up.”
She groans but stays asleep. I reach down, kissing her forehead, but that doesn’t work either. I have one last option. I press my lips to hers in a gentle kiss. She moans softly and finally stirs awake.
“Conrad.” She whispers.
“Yes, angel, I am home,” I say softly.
She opens her eyes and smiles up at me, “Hello.”
I can see in her eyes she has been crying. She slowly sits up, bringing her knees to her chest.
“You have been crying again,” I say sadly, “Joshua told me what happened. Why didn’t you tell me Bridget showed up?”
“Because you were busy with work. I didn’t want to bother you.” She sighs.
“Maya, you will never be bothering me, angel. What did she want?”
Maya explained what happened and what was said between them. All of this needs to stop. People need to leave us the hell alone.
“Conrad, when is all of this going to be over? It is too much.” She whimpers.
I kick my shoes off and climb into the bed next to her, pulling her close to hug her tightly, “I don’t know. I wish I did.”
One way a lot of it could be over is if we tell everyone we are together, but if we do that, other things will become difficult, and Maya will be out of a job.
“It is one thing after the other. Things shouldn’t be this hard.” She sobs.
“No, they shouldn’t. Are you having second thoughts about us?”
Her eyes went wide, “What, no, of course not. You are the only thing keeping me going. You are the only good I have in my life. I don’t know what I would do without you.” She replies and caresses my face.
“Promise?” I ask.
I know she has enough going on, but I need to make sure she is still sure about us.
“I promise, Conrad.” She smiles and kisses me softly.
“I know things are hard, but we will get through this together,” I reply and kiss the inside of her hand.
“You don’t want to get out while you can?” she asks nervously.
I pull her over me so she is in my lap and rest my hands on her hips, “No, never.”
“I don’t know how you have stuck around with all the drama I seem to bring with me.” She says sadly.
I hate she blames herself for it when none of it is her fault.
Maya stares at me intensely, waiting for my reply. I think now is the right time.
“Because you have become my entire world. I love you, Maya; nothing or no one is going to stop me from wanting to be with you.”
The nervousness in my voice is evident because I have no idea how she will react.
“Y-y-you love me?” she stammers.
“Yes. I love you. I have been wanting to tell you before now, but I didn’t want to scare you off. I don’t expect you to say it back unless you are ready.”
I wouldn’t pressure her into saying it back before she is ready. She may not be in the same place as I am since she has been through so much.
I watch her lips curl into a smile, “I love you too.”
I smile back brightly, “Really?”
She giggles and nods, “Yes, really.”
I place my hand on her face and capture her lips in mine. I keep the kiss sweet and gentle. I feel better finally telling her. When we part, I rest my forehead to hers.
“No matter what happens, sweetheart, I promise I am not going anywhere. Nothing will stop me from taking care of you and loving you.”
She flings her arms around my neck and hugs me, “You are such a good man, Conrad. I am not sure what I did to deserve you.”
“You deserve the world, Maya. I want to give you that. I want to be the man you can trust. The one you know would never hurt you.”
Yes, things are good in our relationship, but I know part of her is still scared after what happened with her family and Callum.
“I do trust you, and I know you will never hurt me, Conrad.”
I stroke her hair, “I hope it always stays that way.”
Maya hugs me tighter, “Me too.”
“We will get through all of this. I promise. Now, will you please come through and have dinner with me?”
“Okay, if you insist.” She whispers.
“I do. You need to take care of yourself, even in the midst of everything else going on.”
She nods, “I know, but you are cooking.” She giggles.
I chuckle, “I am fine with that. What would you like? I will make whatever you want.”
She pulls away from me, thinking about it, “Hmm, spaghetti with some pasta sauce and cheese. Something simple and tasty.”
“Sounds delicious. Come on, beautiful, let’s go, and I will make dinner.”
Maya climbs off the bed first and helps me to my feet. I slip my arm around her shoulder and kiss the top of her head, leading us to the kitchen.
“I can help.” She says.
“No, I will get it. You hop and relax. I know how much you enjoy watching me cook.” I smirk.
Maya smirks back, “Mmm, yes, I like it a lot.”
She hops up on one of the stools and I make a start on dinner for us. I don’t mind doing the cook. I like to cook for her.
“How about we try to get away next weekend?” I suggest as I prep.
“It depends on work. I don’t know if I will be working on Saturday.”
“Well, you can find out. Even if we go away for the one night.”
I think we could be doing with getting away, even for a night.
“I will see if my schedule for the weekend is out when I go in tomorrow.”
I nod and concentrate on what I am doing. I get lost in my thoughts. I haven’t heard from Bridget, but I am wondering if I should meet with her. Maya shouldn’t have to deal with her. I don’t know if it would make things better or worse. I am not sure of anything right now, but I need to do something.
I will try not to let it occupy my mind tonight. I want Maya to try to forget about it all, and if she senses I am stressed and thinking about it, she will stress out, too. I will do what I can to keep her mind off everything, even for a few hours.