Her Bundles Of Joy

She wanted to forgive him so badly, to just leap out of this bed and kiss him senselessly, hug him forever only to make up for all the months they spent away from each other…but she couldn’t. She had to make Evan realize just how badly he’d screwed things up. Nicole wanted Evan to realize that he couldn’t hurt her like that and think he’d get away with a simple apology and love confession. She wanted him to fight for her forgiveness. To fight for her, to prove her he truly loved her…

“Everyone deserves forgiveness for their mistakes.” The dancer sighed as she recalled her father’s words. Yet, the man had disowned her for wanting to be her own person. How hypocritical was that? “You do, too.” Evan’s eyes lit up as he heard Nicole’s words. “But I can’t forgive you just yet.” The blue-eyed man’s shoulders slumped. “You hurt me real bad, but most of all, you left me to take care of our babies by myself. You missed a lot of things these past five months. Leon, on the other hand, he was wonderful to me. He was there for me whenever I needed him, and I can’t just ignore that—”

“Are you guys dating? He mentioned something about you two living together.”

“I’m living with him, but I’m not with him,” Nicole explained. “I tried to reciprocate his feelings. Believe me, I tried really hard, but I just couldn’t. I can’t fall for him when I love someone else. When I love you. But don’t get your hopes high. Just because I love you doesn’t mean I’ll forgive you just like that. I want you to recognize how big your mistake was, and I want you to win back my trust, my heart. If you finally believe that these children are, in fact, yours, then I won’t stop you from seeing them. I mean, not seeing them, as they’re not born yet, but you can come to my appointments and see them through the ultrasound machine.”

“I’d love that. Can I—” He inhaled deeply. “Can I touch your belly?”

Nicole nodded silently. Her heart raced at the mere thought of feeling the touch of Evan’s hand against her protruding stomach. For the first time since she got pregnant, Evan would touch his children. Their children. The dancer closed her eyes as his cold hand came in contact with her skin. Evan’s eyes filled with tears. His kids were right there, inside that beautiful woman’s belly.

“I can’t believe we’re having twins.” He sniffled. “Did I ever mention that Uncle Desmond and my father were twins?” Nicole shook her head. “Yeah, they were. It was so hard for me to live with my uncle after my parents’ death. Seeing my father’s face every single day of my life and knowing it wasn’t actually him…for years, it felt like I had been stabbed in my heart and every time Uncle Desmond spoke to me someone would come and twist the knife, opening my wound all over again and making an even deeper gash. Oh, it was so painful. Hearing my dad’s voice and knowing it was a slightly different tone, looking into his eyes and seeing that they didn’t hold the same depth that my dad’s did…And now I’ll be having twins…I’m sorry for crying in front of you, Nicole. I just feel really emotional. Like this is my second chance at having a family…”

Nicole’s heart broke at the sight of a sobbing Evan. This man might have hurt her, but he was still the man she loved, the father of her children. She sat up on the bed and leaned down to pull Evan into a firm embrace. She hated to see him crying, especially over his parents. Nicole knew how Evan’s wound was still very fresh even if a decade had gone by since the accident that killed his mother and father.

“Fight for me, Evan, and we’ll be a family,” she whispered in his ear. “I promise you we can have everything…I just…I just need to be sure you won’t hurt me again…”

He wiped his eyes as Nicole returned to her previous position. “I will fight really hard for you and the babies, Nicole. I’ll make you feel like the most loved person, and I’ll win your heart and your trust again. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, I promise. I just need to ask you one thing.”

“Are you sure you’re in a position to ask anything?” Nicole joked. Evan didn’t laugh. “Too soon?”

He nodded. “Don’t give up on me.”

“What?”

“That’s what I have to ask of you. Don’t give up on me, on us. I know Leon is like the perfect guy,” Evan rolled his eyes, “and I’m, like, the bad guy here. But, please, give me a chance to prove to you I can be the perfect guy, too. I can’t compete against the guy, so all I can do is beg you to not give up on us, and to not choose him…”

“Evan,” Nicole whispered. She could see in his eyes that he genuinely believed he’d lost all his chances with her. “I’m not a trophy for you to compete over with some guy, okay? But if I were, you’d be the only possible winner ever. There’s no competition because there’s no one in my heart but you. You need to compete against yourself, outdo yourself and prove to me all those things you said about your feelings. Don’t worry about Leon, I don’t see him as anything other than a friend. You might have hurt me, but you’re the only one I see. This won’t be easy, fixing things between us. But that doesn’t mean I’ll give up. Nothing good comes easily, right?”

Evan nodded in a way that reminded Nicole of a child. His kind, blue eyes were shining with hope. It warmed her heart. Nicole leaned down once again and pressed her lips against Evan’s in a chaste kiss. God, how she had longed for this. Longed for his lips, for his warmth, for him…

Evan leaned in for another kiss as Nicole pulled away from him, but she turned her head. The older man stared at her in confusion. The dancer shook her head calmly.

“Things between us haven’t been fixed yet, Evan. I kissed you because I missed you way too much, and because I wanted to reassure you that my heart is yours. But this doesn’t make things okay. As much as I love kissing you, it still hurts a lot.”

“I’m really sorry, Nicole.” The young woman searched him for any signs that could tell her if he was lying. She found none. He was genuinely sorry and the fact that Evan really loved her and wanted her forgiveness made Nicole smile. She didn’t want to feel as if she was only worth something if someone loved her, but damn. Knowing that Evan loved her with all his heart made Nicole feel extremely reassured and content. Being loved made her feel worthy…