Marrying my high school bully

Melissa

I peered down at Dexter’s sleeping face and sighed. Doctor Luca had constantly assured me that he would be fine, but I had yet to understand why he hadn’t woken up already.

If Leonardo had succeeded in killing him, I’d have resurrected his dead body and murdered him myself. I low-key wished that I was the one who shot him, but it didn’t matter anymore because he was dead and gone.

Staring at the tubes connected to his body caused goosebumps to cover my skin.

He was in the situation because of me.

My mind wandered as several thoughts filtered in and out of my head. Lilly had come earlier with Mary to visit him, but even her presence couldn’t stir him up.

No! He couldn’t remain this way forever. He had to wake up.

I took one of the chairs in the ward and sat beside him, entwining our fingers while I used my free fingers to caress his face lightly.

He was still the most handsome man I’d ever seen, even in unconsciousness.

“Cupcake, how are you doing today?” I asked, silently hoping that he would respond to me. “I just want to tell you that I miss you so much, and I want you to wake up. I feel so lonely because you aren’t here even though your body is. I miss your delicious delicacies and your grumpy attitude. You might be bossy sometimes, but I won’t complain anymore because you’ve done something more important than that which is laying your life for me.”

Beads of tears trickled down my cheeks as I brushed his slightly bushy eyebrows with my fingers.

“Just open your eyes, cupcake. We have several appointments to attend, and I can’t go on my own because I’ll be too tired to drive. Don’t you want to get updated on the growth of your unborn babies?” I sniffed and wiped my eyes with the back of my palm. “We have a wedding to plan, you know, and Doctor Luca said you’ll be playing with Lilly and me by next week.” I pouted, then let out a giggle. “You’d better not make him look like a liar because I don’t know if I can go on without you,” I admitted and felt his grip on my fingers tighten.

I jerked in surprise, my eyes widened as I tried to retract my fingers, but he held onto me. His jaws flexed once-no, twice and his lips quivered visibly.

My mind went into turmoil as confusion washed over me. The alert button was on the other side of the bed and I wouldn’t be able to call the doctor if he didn’t let go of me.

I patted his shoulder gently, then lowered my face to his. Our lips met and I kissed him tenderly while trying to loosen his grip on my hands, but it didn’t work, rather he kissed me back, his lips locking on mine.

Excitement seared through my body as I broke the kiss and shrank backward. His eyes fluttered open immediately, and his lips stretched into a knowing smirk.

“Hi, sweetheart,” He grinned, his face pale.

“You scared me, Dexter…” I trailed off as the lump of emotions in my throat restricted me from speaking further.

He gradually brought my hand to his lips and kissed me. “I’m so sorry, Lorraine.” He said sweetly, then winked at me. “You know, I underrated your romantic side. Your sweet words brought me back.” He admitted and I glared at him even though I wasn’t angry.

“So you allowed me to shed tears when you weren’t unconscious anymore?” I fumed. “Don’t you know that it’s unhealthy for the baby?” I scolded him.

I snatched my hand from him and folded my arms, looking away.

“I’m so sorry, honey. I’ll make it up to you, alright?”

My anger faded by the minute as I stomped my foot with an air of aloofness. “I guess I’ll just have to alert the doctor that you are back to life.”

I walked to the other side of the room and pressed the button, then sat beside him.

“Don’t ever do that again!” My palm was on his face as I tilted his face towards me.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, love, but for you, I’ll die over and over again. Because you’re worth dying for.” He said and my lips stretched into a bright smile.

Everything seemed surreal to me. A few minutes ago, I was praying that he would wake up and now my wish has been granted with the assurance that nothing like this would ever happen again.

“I love you so much,” I stated from a place of sincerity as he raised his free hand to cup my face.

“And with everything in me, I love you too.” He replied and leaned closer for a kiss.

The sadness and anguish that had been resting heavily on my shoulders for days vanished immediately, and hope laced with relief saturated my heart.

Our passionate kiss was disrupted by the creak of his door. We jerked away from each other, while I tucked my hair shyly with a blush creeping to my cheeks.

I spared Doctor Luca a backward glance and I discovered that he was finding it hard to maintain his stoic expression.

“For the past few days, you kept me on my toes with your unconsciousness, and the first thing I get to see on finding you awake is an intimate moment with her?” He tried to sound stern, but his voice came out playful.

I said nothing, as I was too embarrassed to respond.

“It was her kiss that brought me back to life anyway, so you should thank her for doing the real work.” He joked and I slapped his arm playfully.

Doctor Luca sighed and rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m going to have to run some tests on you, then you can continue once I’m done.”

“That’s fine,” He agreed while I stood up. “But she’s staying.” He said with a tone that left no room for argument.

“That’s fine, after all, she’s your lifesaver,” Doctor Luca retorted with a hint of sarcasm, “So she has every right to be here with you.” He said and we all burst into laughter.

**********

Just like Doctor Luca promised, Dexter was out a few days later, and we were on our way back from the first court sitting. Since Leonardo was dead, Emilia would have to bear the brunt of her sins alone.

Her father took the easy path, and I couldn’t imagine the number of years she would have to serve if the judge decided on that.

Lilly was munching on one of her favorite chocolate chips while going through the picture book I bought for her. Dexter and I had both decided that we didn’t want her to get used to the devices at such a young age.

“I want us to take us somewhere,” Dexter said as I was about to ask him why he took us through a different route from that of our house.

“Where is it?” I probed, then ran a thorough scrutiny on my dress and gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me in advance? What if I’m not properly dressed for the occasion?”

He chuckled and pulled over. “You will always be gorgeous in anything you wear; be it a mickey-mouse-square-pants onesie, or an oversized T-shirt. But presently, you look so good that anyone who sees you will have to take another glance, and what you’re wearing is just appropriate for where I’m taking you.” He replied and I swatted his cheeks with a blush.

“You do know how to make me feel good by your words. I feel better now.”

“It’s my job, Mamacita, so hold on till we get there.”

An hour later we stopped at a space of land where a chopper was. By merely glancing at his face, I knew it belonged to him so I didn’t bother asking.

“We aren’t done with the journey?” I asked as he helped me out of my seat.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

“Nope, but with the chopper it would be faster.” He assured me.

My curiosity heightened, and my toes curled with the suspense but I trusted that wherever he was taking us would blow my mind.

The blades of the chopper were already in motion and the breeze emanating from it caused my hair to toss around wildly. Dexter carried Lilly and together we got into it.

It took off and I shut my eyes, resting on the crook of Dexter’s neck. Exhaustion from the long journey slowly crept in so I shut my eyes and gave in to the tempting grip of a good sleep.

“Wake up, sweetheart,” Dexter’s gentle voice disrupted my sleep and I jerked up, glancing around the new surroundings.

We were in a different place entirely, and I couldn’t identify where we were. All I knew was that we were standing in front of a grand building that could be likened to a mansion. It stood alone within lawns, with beautiful trees bordering towards the end.

“Where are we?” I whispered and my eyes continued to rove over the beauty of the house.

“This is our new house.” He announced, “I bought it after I found you again.”

My jaws dropped and I quickly palmed my lips to stop myself from drooling. “What do you mean?” I asked with excitement dancing in my voice.

“Don’t you like it?” His brows were knitted as worry crossed his features.

“I love it, Dexter. How did you know that I didn’t want us to be in California anymore?” My voice quivered so I swallowed and drew in a deep breath. “After everything that happened, I wanted a fresh start, but I didn’t know how to tell you because of your work. Now what I dreamt of has become a reality.”

His thumb caressed my cheek as he stared at me lovingly. “That means I’m not only a good husband but a mind reader as well. We have been through a rough patch, and I want to eliminate the memories from our minds, but for that to happen we need to leave them behind and create new memories.”

“Oh, I love you, Dexter.” I croaked with a bright smile.

He kissed the tip of my nose and said, “I love you too, but you’ll love me more once you see the interior of the house.” He winked at me. “Let’s go in.”