“You could have at least told me she passed,” I muttered.
“I know, and I’m sorry about that.”
“Did she let you know if I have any brothers or sisters?”
“You have a brother and a sister.”
Hearing that stung. The thought of her being a mother to her other kids but not to me really hurt.
“I know that's a bit hard to hear,” my dad added.
“It is; that’s why you’re probably right. If she really wanted to see me, she could have found a way, especially with all this technology. Maybe it really was for the best that I didn’t know. Besides, I have a great mother figure in my life who showed me how to be a great and strong woman.
“I've never told you, Vivica, but thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I know it was hard being in a relationship with someone who already had a child. I’ll always be grateful that you stepped into the role of being my mother.”
She smiled. “You’re a wonderful person, Vanessa, so it was natural to want to be in your life. I've never told you this, but I couldn't have children of my own, so I'm blessed to have you in my life. I was able to play that role even though I didn’t think I ever would; thank you for allowing me to, Vanessa.”
I didn’t realize that I'd started crying until Mark wiped a tear from my cheek. I told her I loved her, and she did the same.
“Wow, I didn’t mean to be so mushy,” I said, laughing.
“It’s quite fine, Vanessa. But now, do you see why I didn’t tell you?” my dad asked. “You already had a family who loved you and was there for you matter what.”
I nodded. “I do, but I still would like to get some information about my mom. I need to know the rest of her medical history, especially since she had ovarian cancer. I'd also like to meet my brother and sister. They probably haven’t been looking for me, but I would like to get to know them.”
“Actually, they don't know about you. Their father told me that your mom never brought you up, only because I didn’t allow her to see you.”
I sighed; the situation was an entire mess. Hopefully, I could find a way to straighten it out.
After getting this information from my dad, I called my mom’s widower, hoping he hadn’t changed his number. I was relieved when he answered. We talked for 30 minutes; he told me about my mother and my siblings. Once I got their info, I hung up and breathed a sigh of relief.
“How do you feel?” Mark asked.
“I feel pretty good. I’m going to call Ronnell and Stacy tomorrow; hopefully, they'll answer.”
I’m sure they will.”
“I just can’t believe how everything happened. Even though everything is out in the open now, I still feel like I need closure.”
“And you'll get it. Just give it some time.” He hugged me tightly and held me for a minute.
Now that the situation about my mom had come to light, I could move on with my life, knowing that that part of my life is complete. Now, I can focus on my future with landing a great job and being with Mark. The job part was still up in the air, but I was confident things would turn around soon.
Vanessa
“Are you ready yet?”
I was in the mirror, staring at myself wearing the full-length beige gown with an exquisite design. I turned around to look at the back; I just couldn’t stop admiring it. I turned to Simone with a bright smile.
“I can’t stop looking at this dress. You did good, Simone!”
“Yes, I did; but you act like you’re the one getting married when it’s my wedding day,” she joked, playfully snatching her bouquet from me.
“It feels like I am, “I said, laughing with her. “I know I’m just the bridesmaid, but this is a wedding dress.”
“Enrique told me to go all out for our wedding, so I couldn't resist.”
I was still smiling as I looked myself over once again. It was six months after the confrontation with my dad, and Simone and I were in the wedding suite at Pavilion Ballroom. A few days after the fiasco at Suds, Enrique surprised Simone by popping the question during dinner. She was so in shock, she fainted. Once she came to, she accepted his proposal, showing off her platinum four carat diamond ring to anyone that would notice.
Enrique immediately asked Mark to be his best man, and he accepted. The relationship between them had slowly changed for the better. In the past six months, Mark had been asking for advice regarding the restaurant, and that made Enrique happy. He'd finally embraced the idea of Mark being a chef and had even asked Mark to teach him a few things in the kitchen. I know that made Mark excited.
As for Suds, the transition went smoothly for the siblings as they took their rightful spot as the owners of their stores. As for the Harrison store, as soon as Mark let Enrique know what Avery had been up to, he did some digging of his own to see if it was true. He even tricked Maya into getting the video that she'd recorded as evidence. We later found out that Avery had been practicing a number of illegal activities inside the store, including gambling and racketeering. He'd even been stealing money from the store’s vault to cover his bets. A week after Enrique learned this, the police came and arrested Avery on those charges while he was closing the store. I also came forward and filed a claim with the EEOC regarding his behavior. Once other female employees learned about what I did, a few more came forward, confessing that they’d also been harassed but were scared to say anything before. Now, there were enough charges against Avery that he’d be in prison for a good while.
Maya was also fired for her part in covering up the majority of Avery’s crimes. No one had heard from her since the day she was fired, which was fine by us. I hoped I didn’t ever have to see her again.
Since Avery was no longer a factor in Suds and the siblings shared ownership of the Harrison store, they decided to appoint Rosario as general manager for all four locations. She now served as the go-to person for everything with the company. This would work well for the siblings since they all had enough on their plates with their own businesses.
Mark also decided to promote Dominic to head manager at the Harrison store. Even though he's had his issues with Elena, he was a far better manager than Avery. Mark informed him that if he heard anything about him and another employee, he would be terminated. Also, if Elena ever shows up at Suds, she’ll be arrested. Dominic must have talked to her, because she hadn’t been back since.
And under the new ownership, the no-relationship policy was officially gone. The siblings agreed it was fine for employees to date each other as long as their relationship wasn't too obvious at work.
Mark and Victor finally opened their restaurant two months ago, and it was immediately a huge hit. When he brought me to survey the final project, I was in awe. They named the place after Mark’s mom, Lucinda, and even decorated the place in her favorite colors, orange and cream. I didn’t know that until then, and it explained the color scheme in Mark’s place. He also incorporated a lot of Lucinda’s favorite dishes into the menu, which had people visiting the eatery more. It made Mark happy to be a part of something bigger than himself, and I couldn’t be happier for him.
As for my job situation, two weeks after my interview, I landed the consultant position at the PR firm. It was truly a blessing to go back to doing something I loved. I guess I had to thank Dominic for helping me with my Spanish. Even though I'd started a new job, I still worked at Suds, now as a consultant to help management understand their positions better. I loved the Suds family, so I wanted to do what I could to help the company grow.
Another silver lining was Hamilton not bothering anyone anymore. I actually hadn’t heard from him since that day at the police station, so I really hoped it stayed this way. I was finally able to access my retirement a couple of months ago but decided not to use it yet. I figured since I now had a job that paid good money, I could keep my retirement intact and use it when I’m actually retired.
And I'd finally given Mark an answer about moving in with him. I surprised him two mont
hs ago by popping up at his door with all of my things. Of course, he didn’t mind; he was just glad that I'd finally agreed to.
“Are you ready to become Mrs. Fernandez?” I asked, putting on her veil. She smiled as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.
“I was always ready, but I know why he never proposed until now. I’ve been dreaming about this day for a while.”
“I’m happy for you, and the fact that Mark finally accepts the relationship makes things even better.”
“That’s true. I’m glad that he and Enrique are in a good place now,” Simone agreed.
“They definitely are. Okay, are you ready?”
“Yep. Let’s do it!”
“Before we do, I just want to say that I appreciate all that you've have done for me. You took me into your home, you busted out Hamilton’s windows –”
“Which I’ll do again if he ever comes near you again. Thank God he hasn’t.”
“Of course not, especially since I threatened him with that restraining order. I bet he’ll think twice before he bothers me again.”
“Yeah, and I'm glad his wife left him. Good thing she finally came to her senses.”
“Why are we even talking about Hamilton?” I asked, frowning. “Let’s get out of here, so you can marry your man!”
“Yay!” Simone exclaimed. She hugged me, taking me by surprise.
“What’s that for?” I asked.
“For being you, and let’s just say that this wedding will bring a lot of surprises.”
“Like what?”
“You’ll see.”
I raised an eyebrow as she went to the door. She told me to hurry, so I quickly grabbed my bouquet of pink roses, and we headed outside.
The wedding was taking place outside at the ballroom’s gazebo, and it was absolutely beautiful. Pink and white roses were displayed through the gazebo, and pink rose petals were scattered on the white silk aisle. The sun was starting to set, which gave ceremony a more romantic touch. I looked around, taking in everything as I imagined the setup for my own wedding.
I smiled and looked around at the guests and saw my dad and Vivica, Missy, Simone’s mom, Christy and Max, and Victor and Xavier seated on the front row. Of course, the Suds family, including Dominic and Rosario, were also in the crowd. I smiled wider when I caught Rosario's eye, realizing we had a lot more in common than we knew in our professional lives. She admitted that she felt a little threatened that I would take her job; that’s why she was a bit cold to me at first. Now, we were actually cool and went to the Meka Lounge, along with Simone, for happy hour every Friday.
I looked at Mark; he was absolutely gorgeous in his black tux complete with a gold tie. He grinned as I approached the altar, and I was blushing. We’d talked about getting married, but I didn’t know when that would be. Honestly, I would love to get married now and start a family. I think I’ll be the happiest woman alive when it happens.
The wedding march started, and Simone began walking down the aisle with her dad. She was already in tears when she looked at Enrique. He wore a big smile as Mark patted him on the back. I still couldn't believe that my bestie was getting married, but she’s so in love with Enrique, and I couldn’t be any happier for her.
As I stood in front of Carmen, she suddenly hugged me. I was a little confused, and when I looked at Mark and Sebastian, they were grinning. I wondered what was going on.
The ceremony went off without a hitch, and the two were officially Mr. and Mrs. Enrique Fernandez. The guests gave them a standing ovation but eventually stopped when they noticed no one was leaving the altar. I was about to walk off, but Carmen gently pulled me back.
“What’s going on?” I asked with a raised brow.
“V, there’s something Mark wants to say,” Simone said with a bright smile.
I looked around, wondering why he would choose to say something to me during Simone and Enrique’s wedding.
Mark came over to me, gently took my hands, and led me to the center of the altar, Simone took my place behind Carmen and Enrique stood in front of Sebastian.
“Mark, what’s going on?” I asked, very confused.
“From the first moment I saw you at Suds, I said to myself, she’s going to be my wife someday. I don’t know how I knew so soon, but I did. In the past year, you have showed me so much about myself that I didn’t even know existed. You've taught me a lot, from how to love to embracing my true passion. You even helped me with my relationship with my dad, and I’m happy you did. You are the piece of my life that I didn’t even know I was searching for, and now, with you, my life is complete. I will never take that for granted.”
He took a ring box out of his pocket and bent down on one knee. The guests went crazy cheering and clapping. I stood in front of him, not sure what to say.
“That’s why, Vanessa Hartwell, I want you to be my wife. I want us to have the life we’ve been dreaming about. I want that dream to be a reality.”
I put my hands over my mouth, still in shock that he was proposing to me. I looked up and saw my siblings, Ronnell and Stacy, smiling at me. I returned it, realizing they were here because of Mark's proposal, a proposal I had no clue about.
“What’s you answer, Miss Hartwell? Will you be my wife?”
I looked behind me and saw Simone and Carmen wiping tears from their cheeks. I glanced at my parents, who had huge smiles.
“You know, it’s rude to propose at someone else’s wedding,” I pointed out.
“Technically, this is your wedding, too.”
“What?!” I asked, turning to Enrique. He nodded with a smile.
“Mark, this is insane! How are we going to have a wedding now? And everyone was in on it?”
“Pretty much,” Carmen confirmed.
“While you were tagging along with Simone, helping her plan her wedding, you didn’t know you were planning your own, too” Mark explained.
“That explains the dress I’m wearing,” I said and smiled.
“And the flower selection. I know you love pink, so I incorporated it into the wedding,” Simone replied.
“But this is yours and Enrique’s wedding; I don’t want to take over –”
“You’re not when it’s your wedding too, V,” Simone cut me off. “Mark got approval from me, and I was delighted that he asked. Who better to share my wedding day with than my bestie?”
“I don’t know. I mean, this is all so sudden,” I stammered.
“What have we said about taking risks?” Mark interjected. “V, I love you, and I’m ready to spend the rest of my life with you. I honestly think it was in God’s plan for you to lose your job and start working at Suds. Because if you hadn’t…”
“We would have never met,” I whispered, finishing his sentence.
I looked down at the ring then back at Mark, who looked so freaking sexy. I nodded yes, and Mark stood up to hug me. The guests clapped and cheered more loudly then I regained my composure so I could marry Mark. He put the ring on my finger, and Xavier came up with our wedding bands. They were set in platinum diamonds and were beautiful.
We exchanged our vows, and the minister introduced us as husband and wife. Before kissing him, I had to take a moment to reflect on everything we’d been through. I honestly didn’t think our relationship would last, especially since we worked together. But a voice kept reminding me to take a chance on love and that just because one man hurt me didn’t mean the next one would. Mark has proved himself a thousand times over that he was the man for me, and I thanked God for him every day.
Mark stared at me with a smile. “Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to kiss me?”
I smiled as he pulled me into his arms then gave me the sweetest, yet most thrilling kiss.
He pulled away and looked into my eyes. “I love you, Vanessa Fernandez.”
I still couldn’t believe it; I gently rubbed his cheek and replied, “I love you, too, Mark Fernandez.”
He took my hand, then we walked d
own the aisle. Everyone congratulated us, and Mark stopped to kiss me again. I wouldn’t have imagined that everything would happen the way it did. At first, I didn’t understand why I took a job at an unlikely place, but Mark was right: if I hadn't, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with him, and I never would've met such a great group of people.
So the notion that love can find you in the most unusual time in the most unusual place is true. I found my soul mate in Mark, and I pray that our relationship will grow stronger each day. But I know in my heart it will, because we’re so into each other. We always have and always will be.
Into You Page 23
