Hey guys, so as promised, there is the second update to the previous chapter.
Enjoy!
Edward's POV-
He focused on the presence of her warmth and softness in his hands and smiled longingly at her. "Emily, I'm here to say a lot of things today. Lot of things I need to apologize for before you can even think about forgiving me. And my sorry ass."
Emily's hands tucked his to make him stand again but he remained rooted to his spot. "It's such a cold night today, Edward-"
"No, let me complete this." He looked pleadingly into her eyes. "Please."
She now seemed to understand him as she made no move against him now.
"I've come to realize that I've been wrong in my judgment about our friendship. I'm purely at fault for all that had happened so far. I shouldn't have been such jerk so as to believe I could have anything I wanted, even at the cost of our precious bond, which you must know I so very dearly treasure…"
"Edward-" She said, her eyes now shining with unshed moisture.
"No, Lily, let me complete it." He said, swallowing a lump in his throat. "If there's something that I can do to make you feel any better, to return that beautiful smile back on your face, to make you think of me as a friend instead of an insensitive bastard I've been all this time, during our marriage…as short as that was…" He stopped in the middle, feeling his own eyes itch with moisture.
He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "If you can find in your big pure heart, somewhere, some space, just a little, to forgive all the mistakes I've ever done for both of us, all the unkind words I ever said to you, all the improper situations I ever put you into…because of my foolish greed and ambition, I shall be the happiest man alive on this earth now."
"While I should've asked you to be my wife properly that day, on my knees like this, and honestly, thinking about it now, if you had said 'yes' to my real proposal, I claim in all honesty today that I'd have been the happiest husband to stand before you now." He heard her take a deep breath as more tears pooled at the corner of her lovely brown eyes.
"But I still hope, foolish as it may look like on my part to say, if you'll forgive this… poor man who calls himself your friend, and can put aside all the differences between us…all the misunderstandings that ever existed between us, I want us to forget all about it, and start anew from the beginning. Again."
A lone tear trickled down her face and as it happened to fell, he caught it in his palm and put it close to his heart. He rubbed the spot on his chest that ached like he would die any moment, but still he kept firmly rooted on his spot.
"Tell me, Lily…" And then he looked at her, as if to make sure she wasn't hurt again by the use of her nickname given by him, "You'd always be Lily to me. If you accept it or not. We may be old enough to individually parent our own child right now, but you'd still be Lily to me. That you are very dear to me…and that you'd ever think of going away from me…from us…just know that it's more than enough punishment you've given me for the past four months. Anything more than that, and I'd not be able to carry it forward anymore. I'm sorry, Lily. But I don't have the guts in me to stay away from you. Call me a bastard, or an obsessive selfish jerk if you will, but that is the truth I speak of. From the depth of my heart. Please find in your bruised soul to accept it and let me and us, be in peace. Let us both not suffer anymore. I won't survive another argument and your absence from my side."
Emily hardly choked out his name as the tears continued to fall down her lovely pink flushed cheeks.
"I'm all yours to say anything now, Lily. Please scold me as you wish. I won't speak a word against it."
Suddenly, she burst into tears, wiping them and covering her face with her hands. "You're such a cruel sick nasty jerk…" She mumbled to herself as she continued to cry behind her hands. "Always making me feel things…always making me feel weird…weak and helpless. Always making me feel alone…" She said as she cried to herself.
Quickly scrambling on his feet, he cupped her face with his hand as he wiped her tears with the other, slowly bringing her head on his shoulder. She sobbed hard, blowing her tears away on his thin white shirt. He continued to pat her back upside down, still not sure whether she'd like the physical contact with him, even if it was just a hug.
Her little fingers gripped the sides of his shirt, her nails digging deeper, and his night coat on her shoulders long forgotten on the ground. He gasped in surprise as she crawled her little hands slowly on his back, fisting the cloth of his white shirt in her hands.
Finally, she gave into her agony and hugged him fully. "You're such a bastard."
He was still shocked to feel the whole warm and soft length of her pressing against him. He could feel his heartbeat pumping loudly in his ears. His ears and forehead flushed pink as she tightened his hold on him.
Hesitantly, he put his palm on her hairs, combing the length of her smoothness, to calm her nerves. "You're such a coward…" Emily gasped as she took a deep breath and rubbed her runny nose into his shirt.
He caressed her hairs as she put her head on his chest, withdrawing her hands from him, as if she just became conscious of her actions.
That she should not hug him. That she didn't like to initiate any physical contact with him. That she disliked how they once shared a closed intimacy against the wall, and he only barked nonsense at her to make her feel low about herself.
While it was all his own fault that he didn't have a single functioning brain cell in his mind when it comes to sensible things concerning her.
And that she didn't like him at all, was what worried him the most at the moment.
He smiled as she snuggled close to him, keeping her face hidden from him, probably from embarrassment.
She was such a cute little thing sometimes!
"I didn't mean those words."
"But I'm an imbecile, I know. You need not worry. I know myself."
She made an attempt to laugh, but then stopped at a smile.
He found himself staring at her little pit-ty dimples. She looked so different from this close. Her big brown eyes staring at him in confusion, wonder and compassion. Her white creamy skin soft under his hands. Her mouth shaped like a heart teased and dared him to taste them. The nectar lying beneath their softness.
Those tempting full lips standing plush and erect. They looked as soft as they felt, while kissing her, he realized. She tasted like heaven, and her body on him, her plush curves pressing against his hard body and oh, all the blood rushed to his south as he thought about more. He closed his eyes to hide his heat.
His throat went dry at the thought of kissing her. To do that, she should surely punch him in the middle to teach a lesson. He was too habitual in stealing kisses from her.
His eyes opened and went across her small pointed nose and he could even count the number of freckles.
One, two, three, four, five… He was busy staring into her face as she made move to call him. "Edward?"
He broke out of his reverie to discover his name upon her delectable lips. "Yes?" Her name came out rather breathless after.
"Your hands are cold. " She put her hand on his forehead and arched her eyebrow. "But your forehead is burning." Then, she cupped his whole face in her hand. "Your cheeks are hot too. Are you okay, Edward? Did you catch a cold?"
"I'm okay," He said as he quickly removed himself from her and stood at a distance. "It's nothing." He said breathlessly as if he had been caught off-handed kissing her here in his mind.
She ran his fingers along his back and observed that he was wet too. "I think you should go back now. Temperature is too low, you'll get sick in no time-" She said and then, she sneezed two times. Herself.
They both looked at each other. A slow smile curled at her lips and then into a full blown laughter. He laughed along with her.
"See, see, who nags a lot and catches a cold. Herself." He said to her, as he picked his coat from the ground and put it back around her.
"I'm alright. It's just these clothes. They're too uncomfortable."
"But you look pretty. Gorgeous..." His eyes ran a length of her. "...and beautiful."
"I look pretty to you? I do? You never said that before." She noted with a pout.
"You looked like you've smacked my ass if I even dared to treat you like a girl before."
"And now? What changed now?"
"Well, I can't help but notice since you are growing from all the sides." All the right sides, he noted in his mind.
Emily smacked his arm playfully. When she was about to smack him again for being shameless, he caught her wrist in his hand as he asked, "Am I forgiven, then?"
She took her time to answer. "I think, yes. It was a mistake from both sides, I guess. And I went too emotional on my part, I admit-" He put a finger on her lip.
"Too forgiving you mean." He completed her sentence. She smiled in return.
"But there is something that I need to tell you before everything goes back to normal." Emily said as he looked him straight in the eyes. "Something that can change things between us."
He comprehended her words for a moment as he took her hands and said, "I believe I said I'll be strong enough for both of us to survive this journey, Lily. If you'll just speak to me about what it is, maybe we can sort out misunderstandings too."
She looked worried as she nodded. "I really wish you'd understand me."
"I will go on my knees once more if you want." She shook her head in his response.
"Just stay here. And listen. It's more of a reason why I married you in the first place."
His eyebrows creased. "Because of Lara?"
"No, because-"
"Wait, before we go through this, I want to gift you something." Edward said, as his fingers slid into his pockets and came out with palms closed. He held it in front of her.
"What is it?" She whispered in curiousity.
He responded by moving his closed palms across her hairs, tightening something over them. Running his fingers on the object for the last time, he settled and fixed it in place, on her hairs.
Emily touched the diamond hairpin with her hands as her mouth flew open with awe. "Edward..." She whispered, her throat constricting with emotions.
"I've waited for so many years to gift you this. I never knew how to approach you about this but since we agreed to keep no more misunderstandings and secrets between us, I hope I'm taking the right step in bringing my gifts for you, in your knowledge, for all your birthdays we celebrated all these years."
"Gifts?" Emily said, as her eyes shined with tears.
"Yes, gifts. I've whole many boxes filled with real gifts I've wanted to give you for all these years. I've waited and thought about them for a long time before I decided that these cute little things belong to their real owner. And that is you, Lily." He said, as he grinned, his white teeth on full display.
Emily looked lost in thoughts at his words. His mind told him to gift her with that flower of daisy too, that remain hidden deep into his pocket.
He didn't know why he picked a flower for her on his way, but he was reminded of her beautiful enchanting smile as he thought about daisies blooming on this beautiful night.
"So, tell me what you were about to tell me?" He asked, his heart beat slowing down to normal as he thought about so many things that sorted out between them.
He could be with his Emily for now, and that was all it mattered to him. Be it a day or a night, It's God's wish, but he knew he wouldn't mind soaking under the rain with her, staying cold nights out in her warmth, enduring the windy weathers of the season, or celebrating his birthday with her tinkiling laughter as a music to his desperate ears.
____
Phewww...it was one hell of an intense chapter to write. I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
So how was the chapter?
Unexpected?
Emotional?
Interesting?
Or didn't expect Edward's apology that soon?
I can't say that I expected it either but when I began to write the chapter, it was the only natural flow that the story followed.
That - Edward should properly apologize to Emily scene - should be written at least once.
I was hoping to end this book on a happy note soon. I can't drag these characters forever. Honestly, I hardly have any time, brains and efforts left to write the whole new book again.
But I'll still try to give Edward's side of angst too, as much as possible. He will suffer as well, don't worry.
Anyway, did you guys think you liked Edward's apology? Did it seem sincere?
Or was it an act of emotions just to get Emily back? Well, he can't be that insincere, can he?
What do you think of their relationship now? Edward decided to finally gift her the real things he bought for her. I suppose that counts something as an improvement.
Anyways, take care in this harsh pandemic. I really wish for it to get over soon. It's so negative and depressing to live in the environment where people are dying everyday, there is shortage of space to burn bodies, screams of people echoes in your ear when they die due to the shortage of oxygen and every third person in dying in someone's household everyday.
Many of my friends have lost their parents and I can't even express how sad and lonely their life have seemed to become. It's a God's wreath, which just doesn't seem to stop!
I'm vaccinated for a relief, are you guys vaccinated too?
Please take your care very much. It's my personal request.
I'll pray, you guys pray too.
