by Emma Vikes
“When I was looking for you all those years, there were times when I wondered what would happen if I couldn’t find you again? I couldn’t take any other woman seriously because I kept comparing them to you. Sometimes, I thought it would be better for me to live the rest of my life alone if I never found you again. I know I broke your heart and that was why we had trouble in the beginning.”
Maia kept staring at me as she tilted her head curiously.
I wondered if she got the gist of what I was trying to say. I didn’t think she did, so I let out a long exhale and ran a fingers through my hair. “I’m really hoping you know where I’m heading with what I’m saying.”
But Maia only looked dumbfounded. “No, not really, Ansel. You went from telling me that Sage and I were the best things in your life to bringing up our past. If you’re apologizing again, you know I’ve forgiven you already, right?”
I chuckled and nodded. “I know, I know, Maia. All is forgiven but what I’m trying to say here is that I don’t think there’s any other woman in the world I’d get down on one knee for.”
“What—”
Before she could ask anything, I got down on one knee and presented her with the ring.
Maia’s eyes widened as she stared at it in surprise.
“I’m not really great at speeches, Maia, and maybe that’s why I messed up what I was trying to say first and it didn’t make sense. What I’m trying to say is that I’m thankful you allowed me back into your life. I love you, Maia. For all that you are and for this little family we’ve created together. I love you so much that I don’t ever want to lose you again. You’re the only woman in this world I want to spend the rest of my life with…”
Maia was crying at this point as she looked at me with tear-filled eyes.
I could feel my eyes watering too and I had to take another deep breath to calm myself. “So I guess this is me asking you if you want to spend the rest of your life with me too, Maia. I’m asking you if you want to give Sage a little sibling, maybe two or three more?”
She narrowed her eyes at me when I said this.
I laughed and took a deep breath then I exhaled slowly. Looking into Maia dark eyes that I wanted to drown into for the rest of my life, I said, “I love you, Maia, and I want to build a bigger family with you. Will you marry me and make what we have official?”
Rather than nodding, Maia crouched so our eyes were within the same level and pulled me in for a kiss.
I could feel the love she was pouring out in the kiss and I almost dropped the ring.
Maia pulled away then rested her forehead against mine and whispered, “Yes, I’ll marry you, Ansel Moore.”
I grinned and slid the ring onto her finger and then we both stood up as I hugged her tight, kissing her. I had every intention to deepen the kiss when I heard squealing and suddenly Sage was right between us, clinging tightly.
Maia bent and kissed the side of Sage’s head as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
Right then, the fireworks filled the sky with bright colors, tearing Maia and Sage’s attention from each other to watch.
“Did you have this planned?” Maia asked in awe.
“I had an entire flash mob planned but I cancelled it because I knew you wouldn’t want something grand,” I replied, grinning as I watched it from right beside them. “This is the least I could do for my own dream proposal.”
Maia rolled her eyes at me but her attention was still focused on the show.
Sage was hugging her side.
I couldn’t take my eyes from either of them though and I couldn’t help but think of why I had broken up with her ten years ago. All I wanted back then was to build an empire for myself and along the way, I was certain I would just find someone else.
At that time, I didn’t realize my queen had already been there at my side. I felt lucky the universe allowed me to meet her again. I honestly was the luckiest man alive in the world. I had managed to build an empire and now that empire was complete because I had Maia and Sage by my side
I had a family and the love of a woman I’d thought I’d lost years ago.
That’s all that matters.
---
Did you like this book? Then you’ll also LOVE “The Broken Love – A Second Chance & Secret Baby Romance”.
Get ready to meet Leo Hudson, the charismatic and passionate photographer. Breaking hearts was Leo Hudson’s forte, second to photography of course. A reputable photographer with the natural charm to lure a girl in bed, he’s living the best bachelor life that any guy would envy. But then on his older brother’s wedding, he bumps into the only girl who once ever made the Casanova’s heart skip a beat.
Start reading “The Broken Love” NOW!
The Broken Love – Sneak Peek
He broke my heart and left me without knowing that I was pregnant. 7 years have passed. I meet him again. I hated him all these years.
And I hate him still 7 years later. But why am I not being able to just ignore him?
I am determined not to give him a second chance. But why can't I not stop thinking about him?
And when my 6-year-old son starts bonding with him well, I am getting weaker about him. ❤️
Oh, God! Please help, I can't possibly take this man back in my life, yet I am unable to control myself... ❤️❤️❤️
Prologue
Leo
It was raining in a relentless sheet of torrent, leaving us unable to enjoy the rest of our lake trip.
Eleanor sighed as she stared at the window, the rain didn’t even allow us to enjoy the view even a little bit because it blurred the window. A hot cup of cocoa was nestled in her hands as she sat cross-legged on the couch, a blanket wrapped around her back, her brown hair tied in a top-knot messy bun. She had her glasses on and there was an untouched book right beside her.
We could’ve done a lot of things outside and had so much fun. “This sucks!”
I could feel her eyes on me. “What?”
Pouting, I jutted my chin at the window where it showed the sheets of rain falling outside. “We could’ve gone swimming in the lake or had a boat ride. You told me last night you wanted to go on a boat ride but I was too tired from driving. I should’ve…”
“We still have time, Leo,” Eleanor said, looking at me with her golden eyes sparkling despite the dim light of the cabin. “We can go back here on spring break.”
Spring break.
Spring break was months from now and I wouldn’t be here anymore. Rather, I would be in a different country, doing what I loved most and Eleanor didn’t know that because I had no plans of telling her that I was leaving. It wasn’t because I was inconsiderate and insensitive. I know that when I leave, she’ll be heartbroken and as much as I hated to do that to her- because she was such a beautiful soul- I couldn’t turn my back on such a big opportunity.
And I didn’t know how I was meant to say goodbye to her too. After all, she was the best hello that had ever happened.
The rain was falling heavily on a Friday night, which kind of sucked because it ruined the whole mood. To make matters worse for me, I didn’t have a jacket or an umbrella with me and I had just dumped Joanna and there was no way she was letting me back in their dorm and I had a feeling that if I stayed by the lobby, she would have the front desk drag me out. That, or she and all the other girls- who had shared the same fate with her as done by me- would drag me out themselves. So, I didn’t really have a choice but walk.
“Had I known that it was going to rain this hard I wouldn’t have dumped her yet,” I muttered to myself, my curly hair drenched and clinging on my nape, covering my eyes. I sighed and tilted my head up, eyes closed and allowing the rain to fall straight on my face. Slowly, I opened my eyes and it was as if the rain fell in slow motion, each drop sluggishly dropping from the sky and the streetlights acting like near stars. I took a picture of the scene in my mind, allowing my heart to jump for joy at the beauty of the rain, no matter how much of a hassle it was being at the moment
for me.
It was when I lowered my head that I saw her. Orange dress drenched by the rain, her hair clinging to her face, head bowed down and her face buried in her hands, shoulders shaking as she sobbed. There were many things that could’ve made her cry at the moment. Someone she loved could’ve died. She must’ve lost the love she thought was meant to be hers forever. Her life might be coming to a close, ending untimely.
But no matter what tragedy she must’ve been in.
My god, she was beautiful when she looked up at me.
And if I had my camera with me, she would’ve made a perfect muse in this rainy night.
The rain during that night was as hard as it was today and Eleanor was drenched, her orange dress soaked. I didn’t have my camera with me but I couldn’t help it. I snapped a picture of her on my phone and no matter how distorted that photo was because of the low camera quality, it didn’t matter. It was probably the best shot I’d ever made since I’d ventured into photography.
“Here.” I knew giving handkerchief was pointless. I could’ve offered to shelter her with an umbrella but I didn’t have one. So instead I sat beside her on the sidewalk, offering her my now drenched green handkerchief.
She stared at the wet cloth and when she looked at me, her eyes were brighter than any of the dimmed orange streetlights. They remained golden despite how dark it was at the moment. “Who are you?”
I shrugged. “Hello, I’m Leo Hudson. Is it okay for me to stay here beside you for a little while?”
“It’s raining,” she responded, looking up and letting the harsh droplets of water soak her even more.
Then she looked at me and I could see the curiosity in her eyes. But I flashed her a crooked smile, shrugging. “Better to be soaked with someone beside you than to be drenched in the rain alone.”
Like a bolt of lightning, an idea struck in my mind. I got up quickly and Eleanor looked at me with the same curiosity in her eyes that I’d grown familiar with. Over the last five months that we’d spent together, I’d come to learn that Eleanor wasn’t adventurous, too cautious and innocent to take risks. Everything in her life had to be calculated to reach her goal. If she was a boat, she had been riding the same temperate current. Slow sails but sure.
Sometimes, I had a feeling that I was the storm she didn’t see coming.
“Let’s go boating,” I told her, on my way outside, ready to get the canoe from where the owners had told me they stashed it.
“Are you crazy? It’s raining, Leo!” Eleanor stated, standing up, her arms on her waist and she stared at me as if I was insane. “We’re going to get sick!”
I cocked my head to the side, raising my eyebrows challengingly. “We got sick that night when we stayed in the rain. I asked you to dance with me in the middle of the street as it poured. When we came to that diner soaking wet. But we had fun, didn’t we?”
Eleanor looked at me, worry clouding her eyes. “Leo…”
I looked at her golden eyes, taking in the bronze streaks hidden behind liquid gold. “Do you trust me?”
“Do you trust me?” I whispered as I stood up, extending my hand to a girl who was yet to tell me her name.
She stared at me and barked a humorless laugh, shaking her head. She looked up, staring directly at the starless sky for a moment and then she took my hand. “What the hell.”
And just as she did that night, Eleanor nodded her head slowly and so the two of us went outside and she helped me take the canoe out to the lake. “Oh my god, it’s raining so hard, Leo!”
But she said this with a bright smile on her face and I remembered when she told me that it was only when she met me that she was suddenly emboldened with courage she never knew she had within her and it was every time I saw that bright smile on her face that I knew she told me the truth then. I helped her get on the canoe and hopped on to it after pushing it on the lake, the two of us began rowing in the middle, laughing as the rain continued to soak us, the wind tipping the canoe and the two of us holding on to it in dear life.
Then the rain began to pour slowly, gently this time until it was a drizzle and the two of us looked up. Eleanor giggled and she looked at me. “The wind could’ve tipped us over and we could’ve drowned.”
I shrugged. “But we didn’t. Come on, Ellie, admit that you had fun in that brief moment. Just like when I asked you to dance with me in the rain in the middle of the street.”
“And a truck was honking at us, desperate to get us off the road,” Eleanor replied shaking her head but she looked at me, her brown hair looked dark and almost black because it was wet and her clothes were sticking on her body, teasing me the same way it did that first night. There was a ghost of a smile on her face. “You’ll be the death of me, Leo Hudson.”
“You know that I’m the only thing making you feel alive,” I whispered as I moved closer to her, my hand reaching out to touch her face. My thumb gently caressed her cheek as I stared at her, marveling at how someone like her managed to remain untainted by the world.
Eleanor looked down. By now, the rain had come to a stop and the two of us were in the middle of the lake, freezing but neither of us had the intention on going back to the warmth of the cabin. I wish I brought my camera with me right now but the rain would’ve ruined it or the wind earlier would’ve pushed it out of my hands and into the water. I was all for risks and adventure but that was one risk I was never willing to take.
“They told me to stay from you,” Eleanor whispered and I almost didn’t hear it but the world was suddenly quiet. “They said that you’re bound to break my heart. You’re Leo Hudson, after all.”
I swallowed. I shouldn’t have dabbled with this game. I should’ve left her alone in her apartment that morning and the past five months wouldn’t have happened. “What did you say?”
“I’ve been in calm waters, Leo, like the one we’re in now,” her voice was so quiet when she said all of this, “and the one we were in just a moment ago, that’s what you do to me. You’re this raging storm that changes my course every time.”
I knew how important her goals were to her. She was willing to drop everything that was considered fun as long as it meant being one step closer to what she wanted, what her parents wanted. “Then why are you here?”
And then she looked at me and all I could see were her golden eyes, staring right into me. “Because I’d rather be soaking wet in the storm you bring than stay dry and never have been with you in any way.”
I licked my lips and then placed my hand on the side of her neck, my other hand lifting her head so she was staring at me again. My brain was screaming at me to stop before things escalated and I break her even more knowing that tomorrow, I won’t be here anymore. Or I could tell her about it, Steve Maddock’s offer. I could tell her that tomorrow, I would be heading into the Amazon and she probably wouldn’t hear from me in a while and I didn’t know when I would be back.
But then I remember her in her orange dress, crying under the rain, waiting for someone who never came.
“I want to find love,” she whispered to me, staring at the stars that continually fell. There was a meteor shower and we’d climbed on top of the hill, spread a blanket and watched the stars light the world one last time before they fell.
“Is that your wish? Why did you say it out loud?”
She turned to me, her eyes bright despite the moon and stars being our only source of light. “It’s not. But maybe saying it out loud would help make my wish come true.”
Eleanor wanted something I could never offer and even when if I tell her and she waited for me to come back for god knows how long, I would come back still unable to offer what she wanted. Love wasn’t part of my package and commitment wasn’t even negotiable. But as Eleanor stared at me right now, her eyes flickering on my lips and back to my eyes, I couldn’t stop myself no matter how much I tried and my lips crashed into hers, the sudden collision almost tipping us over but we managed to steady the canoe as Eleanor responded to my kiss and I f
elt her own urgency.
My hands slipped into her wet shirt, feeling the heat of her skin, my thumb brushing the curve of her breasts as she moaned into my mouth, her back arcing, body desperate to be near mine. “Leo…”
I pulled away from her, breathing heavily as I moved my hands to grip the edge of the canoe, willing whatever self-control I could muster. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”
Eleanor had made it clear the first night. She didn’t want anything to happen between us because she wasn’t that kind of girl. I should’ve dropped her there and then, made a lame excuse like I always did but for some insane reason that even I couldn’t comprehend, I stayed with her.
But Eleanor pressed a hand against my cheek, her golden eyes looking at me with an intensity I’d never seen. “Let’s go back.”
There was something in her gaze that told me something else but the two of us rushed back to the cabin and the rain started to pick up again, by the time I’d pulled the canoe out of the lake, it was falling heavily all over again. “Jesus. It’s a good thing you said we should go back.”
But when I turned around, Eleanor was standing there behind me, her clothes sticking to her body like a second skin. Her white shirt was transparent now and I could see the outline of her black bra, giving me a clear view of her breasts and I closed my eyes, my mind flashing back to when I was gently caressing her breast in the canoe with my thumb and my thumb felt like it was on fire with the feeling.
“Leo,” she said my name quietly, in a whisper and she took a step closer to me, her golden eyes were unreadable and I stood still where I was, my heart pounding in my chest as Eleanor continued to step closer. And then she was right in front of me, our faces so close that I could feel her breath on mine. Eleanor licked her lower lips slowly and then she kissed me, eyes closed and lips resting softly against mine.
