Chapter 50 Finally Ours
Darcy's POV
I sigh for the hundredth time today. The house is quiet. Hazel is sleeping and Adrian is nowhere to be found.
He received a call from his assistant this morning about an urgent issue that came up at the office. It's Sunday but that doesn't stop his work.
Life has been so good that sometimes it feels too good to be true. Adrian never fails to care for me and love me out loud. And Hazel, she's just too adorable. I may not be her biological mother but she's my daughter and no one can tell me otherwise.
Maybe I could watch a movie or something. Doesn't sound like a bad idea. I turn on the television with the remote and the news come on.
My eyes widen and I sit up immediately. My heart pounds against my chest. What am I seeing?
A picture of us eating at KFC. My shaky hands fly to cover my mouth. Instinctively, I turn it off. No, I shake my head. I'm not ready for this.
And I did tell Adrian that we should be discreet but he refused. He was adamant, claiming we don't need people's validation.
My phone starts ringing and it's Adrian. Oh, right on time. I click on the answer icon and his voice booms in my ears.
"How are you doing baby?" He ask.
I gulp and steady my breath. "Uhm, it's.. it's bad," I stutter.
Shuffling sounds mixes with his heavy breathing. "Baby, what happened? Are you okay? Do you want me to come home? I can stop what I'm doing," he rushes.
A bright smile plasters on my face and butterflies fill my stomach.
"I'm okay babe. It's just that...," I pause for a moment. "I don't want to bother you. You know what? I'll wait till you get back from work. How is going over there?"
"Don't change the topic Darcy. I can't focus on work if you don't tell me what's bothering you. Please baby," he begs.
Adrian is slowly making me dependant on him. Emotionally and physically.
"Well, we're trending again babe," I finally say the words.
"For the good reasons or bad reasons?"
I smirk lightly. "I thought you didn't care about people's opinion."
He chuckled deeply, "you're right but I don't want anything to affect my woman. I might just sue the news media.
"Calm down babe. I can't tell if it's for the good or bad reasons. I guess I'm still traumatized from the last one, because I was quick to turn off the television when I saw the picture," I explain.
"Hmm, I understand baby. Just do something for me. Don't listen to the news. You can watch a movie or a reality show. I don't want anything to ruin your mood."
I bite my inner cheek. "I can do that. Besides when will you be down with work?"
"Soon. And babe, I'll take you out for dinner. Get dressed by seven," he informs.
My face becomes hot. A date. I'm finally going on a date for the first time in my life.
Playing hard to get wouldn't hurt. I try to fight back my fight to keep a straight face, my tone is firm. "Is that a request? And I feel like something is missing.
"Hmm," he clears his throat. "Miss Darcy, can you please go on a date with me?" He asks in a serious voice but I can tell he's also trying to be serious.
"Yes. I will," I reply as I laugh.
"Thank you my love," he smiles.
Hazel?
"What about Hazel? Who will look after her while we are outside? I don't want her staying with random people. We should take her along," I suggest.
"We'll figure something out."
The door bell goes off and I turn to look at the door.
"You can go back to work. I think the delivery man is here. I'll go attend to him. Bye, I love you." I blow him invisible kisses.
"I love you too."
The call ends and I walk to unlock the door. I check the camera to confirm who it is but I don't see anyone. Did I hear it wrongly?
I don't think so. I open the door and my breath hitch. I feel a tight tug on my chest.
I've always known she wouldn't stay away for long. Wrong timing as always. How did she find this place?
"Hello Darcy," she greets in a calm voice.
Goosebumps creeps onto my body. No matter how hard she tries to come off as a nice person, I can't shake off the real her.
"Hello," I mumble.
The atmosphere becomes tense as we both stare at each other.
"Adrian isn't home at the moment. Do you want to come back some other time?" I ask. Trying to be as polite as possible.
"Actually, I'm here to see you."
Me? Oh I see? My head screams for me to throw her out but that won't end well. However m, whatever it is this time, I won't let it affect what I have with her son or the peace I've gotten.
Adrian is a businessman and too many scandals can ruin his business, especially negative ones.
I open the door wider and step aside, so she can come in. She looks a bit dull and has lost some weight.
"You can sit," I offer and she mouths a "thank you."
I sit opposite her and cross my legs. I look at her with a blank face. She hesitates before saying a word.
I raise my eyebrow. Since when did this almighty woman fear or hesitate?
"Darcy, I... I'm sorry for all the pain that I caused you. It was unfair for me to have treated you that way. My son chose you and I didn't have any right to interfer or oppose." She whimpers.
My heart picks up the pace. An apology?
"I've never hated you as a person. I just disliked your status. I prioritized backgrounds so much that I lost focus on the most important thing that is character. A lot of poor people had hurt me in the past and that was how I got the strong dislike."
My head is a mess but I still try to keep a straight face. How am I so sure she's genuine?
"I know you may not believe my intention but I really do mean well and I'll work to regain all of your trust. As for Adrian, I've hurt him more times than I can imagine. I almost lost my son because of my foolishness. Seeing the hatred in his eyes for me made me rethink my actions. And so far, I've seen how much I've gone astray."
"Like I said, I'm here to apologize and I know both of you won't accept me with immediately. I recently signed up for therapy so I can heal the right way. I won't be seeing Adrian for a while. He needs space from me to heal too."
My heart continues breaking as the words roll off her mouth. The realization and remorse is real.
She takes out an envelope from her bag and places it on the table.
"Will you please, give this letter to Adrian?" I give her a curt nod and she stands to leave.
"Thank you for taking care and loving my son and granddaughter wholeheartedly. I wish you all well." She concludes and walks out.
I sit there blinking. Unable to wrap my head around everything that just happened. She's not trying to force her way back into our lives, instead she wants to heal. The knot in my stomach unties.
Later, my outfit is delivered. Makeup artists and other beauticians show up to give me a full glam.
Three hours later, the manager of the seven star hotel leads me up to the rooftop. Adrian keeps Hazel under the care of his assistant.
Now the rooftop is dark and I just stand there alone. Soon the lights come on and my jaw drops.
Beautiful rose decorations. Lit candles on both side of the walkway and there's a sign "will you be my woman?"
Tears sting my eyes and I start walking towards the sign. I've been waiting for this moment, since we reconciled.
I run my fingers through the sign with a smile on my face. A soft romantic song starts playing. I turn only to see Adrian approaching with Hazel in his arm.
Both of them holding flowers. My heart melts again. How did I get so lucky?
They finally stand before me. Both our eyes are blurry.
"I don't have the perfect words so please bear with me. The day you stumbled into my office and was able to quiet the chaos in our lives was the day I knew something was special about you."
"After spending time with you, I finally get to see for myself how special you are. And now that I've tasted what it's like to be with you, I never want to let go. I get to love you and it's a promise I'm making to you now. Forever I'm yours."
"Miss Darcy Ife, will you be mine... completely and as my partner?" He asks.
On cue, Hazel pouts.
My makeup is smeared because my tears keep flowing. My heart swells with more love for these two people.
I nod vigorously, "I will."
Adrian slams his lips on mine.
They are the light at the end of my tunnel.