My One Regret

by Krissy V

  When we break away and everyone has gone silent Jordan continues, “We are getting married and I am so happy to be able to say that I will be spending the rest of my life with the one person who is my soul mate.”

  Everyone starts wolf whistling and clapping, so Jordan calms them down and then he says “right let’s get this auction started and then let’s have some fun.”

  When we leave the stage he pulls me into a quiet room and holds me close, we stand there swaying to an imaginary beat. We don’t say anything to each other, because we don’t need to.

  I look up at him and say, “I know I have always lived by the rule ‘no regrets’ but Jordan you were always my one regret. We wasted so many years apart and that saddens me.” I look at the floor because I can feel the tears coming to my eyes.

  He puts his finger under my chin and makes me look up at him. “Cassie, no regrets remember. We are the people we are today because of that time we spent apart. We never really let each other go, our hearts were always searching for each other and we were never far from each other’s minds. I’m just so sorry that it took two huge heartbreaks for you, for us to come together again. I promise you that I will never let you go again and I will always spend my time making sure you are happy. I love you Cassie and I can’t wait to show you how happy you make me.”

  “I love you too Jordan. Now come on, let’s go and have some fun!”

  We kiss really deeply and then he takes my hand and pulls me out of the room, ready to face the life that we are embracing together.

  The End

  Or is it?

  Three Years Later

  “With Arms Wide Open”

  “Come on Cassie, don’t be a lazy bones! We have a big day ahead of us today,” Jordan says in my ear. I moan and turn around slowly to face him. He is lying on top of the covers and he is fully dressed. How does he have so much energy at this time of the day?

  “Go away. Leave me alone. I’m tired.” He swats me on the bum and laughs. “Ok I’m getting up.”

  I climb out of the bed and he jumps off the bed and comes around the bed to hug me. “I love you Cassie, now get dressed, we have lots to do.”

  After I have showered and got dressed I go downstairs. Jordan is standing at the patio door looking out at the sea. It is such a wonderful sight; I could stand here and watch him all day. I creep the last few steps so that he can’t hear me and I wrap my arms around his waist to hug him tight, well as tight as I can do with my big belly, which is full with a baby Jordan.

  “Hey baby, are you excited?” he says turning around in my arms and hugging me back. He rests his chin on my head and I can breathe him in, he smells divine and I don’t want to leave his arms.

  “I’m very nervous, I hope everything goes well.”

  “Of course it will, it is going to be a great day. Come on we’d better get Lilly and go down to Pebbles.” He walks out of the room and goes to the playpen in the corner. He reaches in and lifts Lilly out and into his arms. Lilly is eighteen months old and she loves her daddy, she puts her arms around his neck and rubs noses with him. Then she giggles and my heart swells with even more love for this man that changed my life.

  He puts her down on the floor, puts her coat on and takes her hand. She walks with him to the front door then turns around and says “ma ma ome on” and waves at me to join them. I smile at her and take her other hand and follow them through the door and across the bridge to the street.

  Walking down to Pebbles Lilly gets tired, so Jordan picks her up in one swift movement and puts her on his shoulders, she loves sitting there because she is high up and she can rub his hair.

  My life has changed so much in the last few years. After the charity night when we officially opened the doors for Pebbles we became known as the ‘stepping stone to a better life following abuse’. We get lots of people coming through our doors unfortunately, but we treat each one of them individually, depending on their circumstances. Some of them work for us for a while so that they can rebuild their confidence in a controlled environment, before they continue with their lives. Mr. Stanley is still there helping us out; he is very good at training them all in how to work in a café. Joyce still helps with the counseling and Mr. Stanley and her are an item. They are so cute together and we have them over to dinner regularly as they are such wonderful people.

  The first year was tough because I had David’s trial to go to and whenever I thought I was getting over it, the police or lawyers would ring to ask me more questions. Eventually, David got his comeuppance. He was sentenced to rape and attempted murder. He tried to plead insanity, but when he was analysed they said that he was faking it. He was sentenced for nine years and I hope that when he is in prison he takes the time to realise what he did and what he took from me. I try not to think about him, but sometimes when I am working and a young teenager comes in with a similar story then it comes back to me in a flash. I have learned techniques to bring myself back from the edge and they work very well for me.

  We walk into Pebbles and everyone is there; mum and dad; Jezza and Bonnie with their son, Hadley; Tony and Danni; Joyce and Mr. Stanley and even Chad’s Mum, Sarah is here. She has been over to visit us quite a lot in the last couple of years and she loves Lilly and can’t wait for Baby Jordan to come along. It might seem weird to some people that she is so happy for us, but she really is a lovely person and treats me like a daughter, so it is only natural that she is here today. There are lots of the people who we have helped here today as well and I smile at each one of them. They all have their own stories to tell and we have helped them to become the people that they are today, I am very proud of that fact. I get really embarrassed because today is such a big day and I don’t want it to be a flop.

  Jordan and I were married two years ago today. I was pregnant with Lilly, but that isn’t why we got married. We got married because it was what we were always destined to do. We were meant to be together and we both knew it. When we first opened Pebbles, we worked really hard with the café and the charity and after about six months I got sick and didn’t really think about being pregnant. I was worried that I was getting cancer like Chad and didn’t really say anything to anyone. Jordan noticed, of course, that there was something wrong and eventually he managed to convince me to go to the doctor. He came with me and held my hand and when the doctor told us that we were having a baby, Jordan starting crying. He had wanted this for so long and never thought he would be a father. He had never wanted a long relationship during the time we were apart and he had told me he definitely didn’t want children with anyone other than me.

  We had organized the wedding, so we went ahead with it as planned, it was my dream wedding. We got married on the beach beneath our house. It was beautiful, simple and the most romantic wedding I have ever been to. I was just so happy to become Jordan’s wife. I remember the moment he removed my necklace that he had given me when I first went to San Francisco, the one I have been wearing every day since he gave it to me. He replaced it with a necklace almost identical to that one, but this was made out of white gold and diamonds. “I promised you that one day I would give you one made out of real diamonds and today I can fulfill that promise Cassie.” He kissed me on the neck. It is so beautiful. I smiled at him, god I love him so much.

  We have opened small satellite offices of PEBBLES in some of the other holiday resorts in the South West and Jordan travels around them to make sure that they continue to run with the same philosophy that we have for Pebbles. Each of these offices is run behind a café so that we can offer the rehabilitation and confidence building sessions as we do here. I stopped travelling once I had Lilly. We are so excited to be having a baby boy and I know it is only a matter of time before we meet him.

  Today isn’t about Pebbles; it isn’t about the charity; it isn’t about Lilly or our new baby – today is about me, Cassie. When I walk into Pebbles a lady approaches me. “Hi Cassie, it is such a pleasure to meet you. We have heard a lot about you and your char
ity. Congratulations on releasing your latest book. Can you tell us about it?” She is from the local newspaper and she is here to interview me, as today is my release day.

  I had released a couple of books as an indie author and then a publishing company, penguin books, snapped me up. After many meetings with them they convinced me to write my story; write about my life and what happened to me and what I have done to turn my life around. Apparently, everyone thinks that I did something good in my life, but it was Jordan who founded the charity not me. I still can’t see what everyone else thinks I did.

  “I know that I write romance stories with a bit of a dark twist in them, but this book is more like an autobiography of my life. It is my story about my personal heartaches and pain that I suffered; it is about how I got through those dark days and found something so wonderful.” I smile at Jordan and take his hand. “If one person reads my book and finds some comfort in my story then that would make me a very happy person.”

  Everyone claps their hands and I blush. Jordan hands around glasses of champagne to everyone. We are there for most of the day, eating, drinking, talking and having fun until someone says that I have made the number one spot on amazon for kindle books. Everyone starts to clap and hug me and then Jordan raises his glass and says “To Cassie’s Story”. Everyone holds their glasses in the air and repeats “Cassie’s Story!”

  The End

  Playlist

  If I could turn back time - Cher

  If I could - Regina Belle

  Another day in paradise – Phil Collins

  Girls just wanna have fun - Cyndi Lauper

  With every beat of my heart – Taylor Dayne

  Here and now – Luther Vandross

  I’ll be your everything – Tommy Page

  Why? - Annie Lennox

  All I wanna do is make love to you - Heart

  How am I supposed to live without you – Michael Bolton

  If wishes came true – Sweet Sensation

  Release me- Wilson Phillips

  White wedding – Billy Idol

  It’s a nice day for a white wedding- Billy Idol

  My heart will go on – Celine Dion

  I don’t wanna – Jagged Edge

  Viva las vegas – Elvis Presley

  Photograph – Nickelback

  Collide – Howie Day

  Going crazy – Natalie

  A million love songs – Take That

  Scars – Boy Epic

  Let me go - Gary Barlow

  She will be loved – Maroon 5

  You raise me up - Westlife

  Truth is – Fantasia Barrino

  I believe in you – Amanda Marshall

  The one I love - David Gray

  I just wanna make love to you – The Rolling Stones

  You raise me up – Westlife

  Thank god I found you - Mariah Carey

  With arms wide open – Creed

  Acknowledgements

  There are too many people to thank, so I just want to say a thank you to everyone who is a part of my life. You rock!

  Sneak Peek into the Future

  Some on the projects which I am working on to look out for in 2015!

  Swan – Autumn 2015

  It’s ironic that her name is Lily Swan because she’s always felt like the Ugly Duckling. The one that nobody wants ...

  Would you change yourself for a man?

  Would you consider surgery to get the man you want?

  She did ...

  Little did she know, it was the best decision she ever made .....

  Sunshine in Amsterdam – Late 2015/Early 2016

  Can true love be found in the most erotic city in the World? This is a story of six wonderful women who travel around the Cities of Europe having fun and living life to the fullest. Join the Sunshine Tour to find out!

  Other Works In Progress

  There are other works in progress which I will tell you about as they become closer to release!

  About the Author

  I know that most of you know about me so these are my other books that I have written:

  Til Death Us Do Part Series

  For Better or For Worse – Book 1 in Trilogy – No Longer Available

  In Sickness and In Health – Book 2 in Trilogy – No Longer Available

  To Love and To Cherish – Book 3 in Trilogy – No Longer Available

  To Have and To Hold – Book 4 Standalone

  For Richer or For Poorer – Book 5 Standalone

  Sunshine Tours

  Sunshine in Madrid

  Christmas Novella

  A Taste of Christmas Dublin Style

  Anthologies

  Love Reborn

  When Destiny Calls

  Keep your eyes on my facebook page:

  www.facebook.com/authorkrissy.vas

  Keep your eyes on my blog page:

  Authorkrissyv.wordpress.com