by Marie Kelly
He paused waiting for her to speak, but she had stood frozen watching him with an unfathomable look in her eyes as he had looked at her, his eyes unsure and pleading
“If you want to choose another ring then we can do that” he said softly “but I had this one engraved” he said, before reading her the inscription
Forgiveness and love
With that a small sob had broken from her lips as she had thrown herself into his arms, as he held her tightly against him
“I love you too Yanis, I have been so miserable without you” she cried, kissing his cheek and then his mouth as he had kissed her back laughing with her. As they broke apart she had held out her finger with a dazzling smile, her eyes once again bright with tears which perched on her eyelids
“And yes, I’ll marry you” she said looking at him with such love on her whole face, knowing that she didn’t need time to think about her answer, he had groaned as he placed the ring back on her finger where it belonged. As he held her hand looking at the ring he had smiled, one of his heart stopping dazzling smiles before asking her
“Do you still want to go back to the party” smiling as she had shaken her head, her smile mischievous.
“Not any more” she said huskily as she sat down on the large bed. With a soft moan, he had joined her and pulling her into his arms they had kissed.
That night they had made love so gently, each taking their time to explore the other as they had brought each other to new heights of pleasure, before finally as the dawn set, they had fallen into an exhausted sleep in each others arms, both content and happy.
The next morning they had woken late, still wrapped in each others arms. As she had moved against him he had propped himself up on one arm to look down on her. His face once again relaxed and his eyes bright as he had smiled down at her
“Good morning future Mrs Demitri” he had said huskily as she flashed a grin at him
“Good morning Mr Demitri” she had giggled back before suddenly clapping her hand to her mouth and quickly leaping from the bed, running to the bathroom. Yanis had sat up in confusion as he had heard her being ill, his face worried as she had returned, her face a little pale
“Lee, you are not well” he said his voice full of concern for her, as she had rejoined him in the bed
With a small smile she had laughed nervously
“Oh, it’s nothing, really” as she gave a small shy smile
“But you are not well…you need to see a doctor” he said his face and voice determined.
Lee had laughed
“I’ve seen a doctor” she said softly, before looking at him with a strange worried look on her face “I thought I had stomach flu…but apparently it should stop sometime in the next 3 months”
Yanis had looked at her in total confusion before realisation had come on him
“Your pregnant” he gasped in wonder as she had smiled shyly up at him, before nodding
Yanis had placed his hand gently on her stomach, his voice tight with emotion.
“How long have you known” he asked, his eyes questioning her
“Two days” she said softly, before placing her arms around his neck to look into his eyes
I was so unsure what to do, Yanis. I was scared you would think I had deliberately got pregnant to trap you into marrying me, proving that I really was some little gold digger…and then I was scared that you might use the contract to say that I couldn’t keep the baby because it happened while we were engaged…. and then I thought that you would force me into a loveless marriage”
He had smiled down at her his face radiating happiness
“So it’s true what they say about pregnant woman and their hormones” he said softly
Before pulling her tightly against him in a hug
“I never thought I could feel this happy, cara. I love you so much” he said kissing her gently on the lips, as Lee could feel her heart swell with happiness.
They were married two weeks later in a small ceremony attended only by a select group of people, including Peter, Jim and his boyfriend, John and the children from the orphanage, many of whom played key roles as ushers or flower girls. The press had the day after the orphanage event splashed over the front page that the Golden couple were once more together, showing the picture of their kiss in the hall itself. They were delighted when the couple had allowed them to take pictures out with the wedding venue itself, happily posing for the cameras, and happy when Lee had announced that she would be making money available for dance projects within urban areas, knowing that her good friend Mrs Green would have been delighted at how her money would be used to help others.
As they had stood face-to-face reciting their vows they had looked at each other with such love. Lee had still looked so slender the small life within her still unnoticed by anybody, but as they stood together he had looked down gently, his face full of love for his unborn child.
Finally so many things had made sense to him. Since losing his mother he had thought love was a weakness, something which brought about unhappiness and destruction to people’s lives. He had never wanted it for himself, never wanting to end up like his father, or alone with only memories like Mrs Green. However, finally he had realised that so many people were not fortunate to have the kind of love that both the older woman and his father had experienced, and he remembered how perfect his life had been before his mother’s death, when they were a family when they had been so happy. He also remembered the look on Mrs Green’s face, as she had told him that true love was so special. Looking down on Lee, he could finally understand now exactly what she meant, and he had felt his heart swell with the love for her which filled him. For the first time in his life he realised just how empty his life had been before she came into his, and he had smiled with pure happiness, seeing how she had smiled back at him with that smile which had so attracted him all those months ago.
