Chapter 31

                                    

                                          

"Maybe I shouldn't sell my house just yet. Maybe you and Ellie should move into the new house and I should just wait. See if we can even make this work," Morgan said, his eyes fully detached from me.
I had given up on trying to stop the tears from flowing. 
"Please, don't do this," I whispered, my voice breaking.
"If it's Ellie you're worried about, I can still take her on the same weeks I take Indie," he stated. While I was genuinely grateful to know he loved Ellie to the point where he was willing to continue being a father figure to her even if we weren't together, I didn't want to believe that he was actually suggesting that we spend time apart.
"It's not about Ellie," I cried. "I don't want to lose you."
"You're not losing me. I'm just saying that this clearly isn't working for you, and honestly Aubrey, being constantly in the line of fire isn't really working for me either. So, why don't we just spend some time separately to figure out if we're better apart than we are together."
"I don't want to be apart from you," I whispered. He looked at me and wiped my tears with his thumb. "I love you. I'm sorry if I didn't show it enough or if I did dumb shit. I'm sorry I didn't let you make me juice instead of coffee. I'm sorry I'm so fucking gated and hard headed all the time, I know I have work to do, but please don't do this."
"What if I hadn't walked in, Aubrey? Would you have kissed him? Slept with him, maybe?"
"No! God, No. I don't want Jared, Morgan. I want you," I cried softly.
"But you're not sure about me. You trust him a hell of a lot more than you trust me."
"I am sure about you!" I defended myself.
"Not enough to want to marry me," he mumbled, looking down. "The worst part is I was actually gonna ask you. I had this whole thing planned and- Doesn't matter," he said, stopping himself. "I asked him to help me pick the perfect ring for you and it's just- It's messed up. To think that you two were-," he sighed.
"Nothing happened between Jared and I. You have to believe me," I begged.
"I believe you, Aubrey. But had the situation been reversed, you wouldn't have believed me."
I hated to admit it but I knew deep down that he was probably right. Had I walked into a room where some girl was about to kiss him, I would probably have packed my bags right away. I could see where he was coming from, but I refused to let go. I wanted to be with him and I did love him. I loved him more than I'd ever loved anyone else. I felt like my brain was about to explode. I couldn't even fathom having to know he lived alone in that house while I was getting settled in the house he had bought for us and our growing family. The thought alone paralyzed me. All I could think of was how broken my heart felt, when I felt a kick in my stomach. I looked at Morgan, shocked.
"What?" He asked, confused. I took his hands and put them on my stomach. She kicked again.
"Did you feel that?" I asked. He smiled.
"Yeah, I felt it," he said, grinning, not taking his hands off me. She kicked again. "She's strong," he chuckled. 
"She's telling you to stay," I mumbled. He grinned, avoiding my eyes, and kneeled in front of me, his hands still on my bump.
"Is that what's happening, babygirl?" He said softly, talking to my stomach. "You don't want me to be away from you and mama?" He asked, and the baby kicked again. "This is crazy," he said looking at me. "She's kicking so hard."
"I know," I said. "It hurts a little," I giggled, trying to wipe away the tears. "I think she likes the sound of your voice," I said softly. He looked into my eyes, got up off his knees and sat down next to me on the couch.
"I wish you loved me as much as I love you," he whispered, grazing my cheek softly with his thumb. 
"Did you really get me a ring?" I asked, my voice breaking as I said the words out loud. He looked down and nodded slowly.
"It was dumb, it's jus-"
"Do you still want to marry me?" I whispered. He looked up to face me, his eyes locking in with mine. He nodded yes.
"Can I see it?" I asked.
"Like this, right now?"
"If you want, I mean you don't have to-"
"I want to," he said, cutting me off. "I had this whole thing planned where I was gonna take you out to the river and do this whole speech about how much you mean to me but, here," he said, pulling a box out of the backpocket of his jeans.
"You were planning on proposing today?" I asked, shocked. He nodded.
"That's why I wanted to go fishing," he said, using air quotes. "I wanted to pick the perfect spot and have a little set up ready for you with blankets and a couple of white Christmas lights hung up. Making it romantic, you know, like you wanted," he shrugged. I felt my eyes well up with tears.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered. "I ruined your plan. I would've loved that," I admitted.
"That's not what you told Jared," he mumbled. 
"I didn't mean it like that. I meant that the reason we weren't engaged wasn't because of you, it was because of me. I was saying that to defend you," I mumbled.
"Girl, I don't need you to defend me. Especially not with Jared," he chuckled. 
"I'm sorry. You're the most thoughtful and caring person I've ever met," I whispered.
"Do you wanna see the ring?" He asked. I nodded.
"Okay, let me do this properly," he said, getting on one knee in front of me. "Aubrey Jean F-"
"Just Aubrey," I whispered. He rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry, carry on," I mumbled.
"Jesus, woman," he chuckled. "Aubrey Farrell, no Jean, will you marry me?" he asked, opening the little jewelry box to show me the most beautiful yellow gold diamond ring I had ever seen. The band sparkled with marquise diamond vines throughout to perfectly compliment the center round-shaped diamond. It was breathtaking.
"That must have cost you a fortune," I whispered, covering my mouth with my right hand, not taking my eyes off the ring.
"Is that a yes?" he asked. I nodded frantically. He took my left hand gently and slid the ring on my finger. It was a perfect fit. I looked at my hand and back at Morgan.
"I love you so much," I whispered. He smiled.
"I love you too," he said, putting a strand of hair behind my ear and letting his soft lips dance one mine. I felt the butterflies in my stomach come alive. He pulled away softly. 
"I got it engraved too," he said, pointing at the ring. I took it off and looked at the inscription inside.
"Forever yours, Morgan," I read out loud. "That's beautiful."
"Forever yours," he whispered to me.
"Forever yours."
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Back at it again with some lovey dovey stuff! I hope y'all like that! What do you think should happen with Jared?
Xo 
LadyBug