BABY FOR MY HONEY

START AND END?

CHAPTER 4

Six years ago–

I stared at the enigmatic eyes of the man before me, kneeling before me. I was in shock, and I never expected this to happen--not so soon.

Oh my god! I whispered to myself.

I have just graduated from college, and I turned 21 just a month ago. My parents gave me this cruise package from New York to Barcelona as a token for graduating from college with honors.

I hoped Devlin would not pop the question right now. Oh, please, not right now.

My chest was in an up and down motion and I was on the verge of choking as the beating of my heart reverberated in my ears, and I felt the tension clogging my throat.

No matter how I wished for the event not to happen, Devlin still popped the significant question.

“Please marry me, Sairah. Let me love you forever,” Devlin murmured, slowly raising a diamond ring I didn’t know where he acquired.

Oh no, oh no!

But--amid all the tensions flowing inside my being...I couldn't bring myself to turn him down.

“Dev–” I whispered. My eyes were wide open, and I could feel the heat around the rims of my eyes. Anytime soon, tears would fall, and I knew I would cry.

“Marry me, Sairah. Right now!” he asked again. Now I could see the anxiety in his eyes.

How could I marry this early and without my parents by my side?

But–how could I say NO to him?

He was expecting my affirmative response. It was cold in this place, but oh–thick sweat rose from my skin.

Amidst the people inside this ship, just like us enjoying the cruise, they too were expectantly waiting for my response. Devlin going down on his knees caused a stir. I couldn’t, in the life of me, let him down. Not now, not Devlin--I couldn't hurt him.

“Sairah?!” he asked again. He was on his knees for minutes.

I swallowed the thick saliva in my throat and uttered, “Y-Yeah,” I breathed the words under my nose. I didn’t know if it was audible.

“Really?” He was a bit unsettled, I know. He was arching his eyebrows, confirming what I had just said.

I repeatedly nodded, “Yes, Dev–I will marry you!” I had already said it, and I couldn’t retract my words.

He placed the ring on my finger and stood up, hugged, and kissed me like there was no tomorrow.

When he had let me go, he uttered, “I love you!”

I could feel his sincerity inside my heart.

“I love you too,” I uttered those words sincerely, not because he said it first, but because I felt that love inside of me.

I knew he was the man for me. He would be the only man for me. It was just–

Why the hesitation?

The marriage was too soon. I wanted my dad to give me away and my mom by my side. I wanted a long-planned wedding and all its glitz and glamour, and definitely, not while we were surrounded by water–in the middle of the ocean near Seville.

I met Devlin only like ten days ago–a whirlwind love affair.

His family were the owners of this ship. Devlin would take over the family business soon.

He was pleasant, gentle, and sweet. A dream man material, and oh– he was sexy as sin. On top of that, I believed he loved me, we had been together since the first day I was on this ship, and we never parted. We were glued to each other like the sole and heel of a shoe.

At the back of my mind–whatever– Que sera sera, whatever would be, would be.

And I married him, and it brought a smile to my face that I married a wonderful man.

What went wrong? A lot went wrong.

Married to Devlin Walton for six years but not living together. He lived in California. I stayed in New York. He traveled the distance every two weeks, supposedly to be with me. That was a fantasy, a lie.

He traveled because I asked him to. If it were for him, he’d rather stay in California. Who would welcome air travel for hours every two weeks? I dread the time that he will get tired of doing this for me.

I could feel his hard chest at my back and the gentle air he expelled from his mouth as if his lips were touching my nape.

I slowly opened my eyes and stayed immobile under the sheet, not moving an inch. I didn’t want to disturb his sleep, and I wanted to feel his body next to mine.

But—I felt a hand below my breast move, pulling me closer to his body. He was awake.

At least now, it seemed easy for him to cuddle me. It took him almost a year before he managed to cuddle me after we made love. He was fighting over the feeling of disgust at my presence.

The doom of my marriage was not for lack of effort on my part. I tried every means possible, including trampling all over my dignity as I wanted to keep him married to me.

It was a fairytale-like story. A billionaire fell in love with an ordinary fresh graduate woman. He doted on me, gave me everything I needed, and we were supposed to raise a beautiful family until an unfortunate event ruined it all for both of us.

It crushed my dreams on the ground, making it hard for him to understand me and my complexities. It was not his fault, and he just got tired of dealing with me.

I also broke his trust in one desperate move, and I ruined our marriage.

Devlin lowered his head to peer at me, and a carefree look flashed across his face.

“Are you hungry?” I asked.

Although we had not eaten anything since I arrived here, it was already a little past midnight, and food was far from my head. But Devlin had traveled far and might be hungry, and I didn't know if he had anything since he arrived.

He didn’t respond. Instead, he crushed his lips on mine. Devlin’s kiss always burned with hot passion as he kissed in a domineering manner.

It took over an hour for us to satiate our passionate desire, draining our bodies even more in our fiery exchange. It was almost two in the morning when Devlin finally let me go and cook for him.

And again, after the food was somehow digested, our passionate exploration resumed.

It was always like this whenever he was around as if we were making up for the days and weeks that we were not together, f*****g each other, morning, noon, and evening, even at dawn before the sun rose. It was always a tiring and exhausting day whenever he was in town, and our time together wasn’t enough to remove the heat from our burning bodies.

Why was I doing this? Why did I let myself be reduced to a mere bed companion?

I have my reason; good and acceptable motivation.