Total pages in book: 196
Estimated words: 180438 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 902(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 601(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 180438 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 902(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 601(@300wpm)
We’d pretty much shut out the outside world and didn’t know much of what was going on, which had done wonders for both of us. Every once in a while, we’d do a live stream for our fans, but so far, they had been accepting and understanding of our need for this downtime.
We have the Sanders group to thank for that because they handled all the PR for us. With no outside interference and no pressing matters to see to, we had slowly gotten back to how things were supposed to be.
When the kid, as I’d started thinking of her, had made the suggestion that I see a new doctor, I didn’t think much would come of it. I’d been taking the medications prescribed to me and hadn’t had a flare-up or a wayward thought in months.
I was happy and healthy, and so was Ryder. Neither of us had any regrets. It had taken some convincing with Mom and Sydney who were wary of Ryder and I getting back together and going off somewhere together so soon after everything had happened, but I’d put my foot down and made the choice myself.
This is what I wanted; this is all I’ve ever wanted: to have a life with Ryder. Had things not happened the way they did, we would’ve been here long before this. But I’ve come to learn that it’s never too late for anything as long as there’s life.
So much has happened beyond him, and I. Rachel had been sentenced to a very long stretch in jail for her part in the whole mess, but the doctor had disappeared, and no one knows where he is.
Janie, too, seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth, and so had Nicole and Noel. There was a lot of speculation as to where they could be, but no one had any ideas. Janie’s Dad was sitting on death row for the murder of Mary Hudson, and that whole mess had been exposed.
I try not to think about any of that to leave it all behind me because it only fills me with anger and frustration. But, as much as I want her to pay for what she’d done, my life is much happier without the stress and in the end, Ryder and I decided that it was best to just let it all go.
He seems to think that wherever they are, they’re paying for their sins, but that’s left to be seen. These days, I don’t even wish her harm; I don’t wish her anything; actually, I try not to think about her. She’d taken enough away from me in this life, and I wasn’t willing to give her anything more.
I heard rushing up the stairs and took a deep breath, preparing to give him the shock of his life.
“I came as soon as I got your message. What’s wrong? Are you sick again? What did the doctor say?
Do we need to get you to the hospital?” His panic helped ease the knots in my stomach.
“Nothing happened, Ryder. Calm down. I’m perfectly fine. We are perfectly fine.”
“We? Who’s we?”
“I patted my stomach and looked at him.”
“We, your baby and me.”
“You… you’re pregnant?” I nodded my head as he made his way over to the bed where I laid.
I rolled my eyes when he got that stupid smile on his face. “How long? I mean, how pregnant are you?”
“Five months.” He touched my stomach reverently with a look of wonder on his face.
“We have to move the wedding up. I want my kid to be born after we’re married. Is that okay?”
“That’s perfectly okay, but how will we do it since we’re basically in hiding?”
“Do you need a big do?”
“No, we can get married just the two of us, my Mom and Sydney, and, of course, your mother as well.” It had taken him some time to forgive his Mom, but once I convinced him that she deserved a second chance, he’s been trying.
We’ve both spent the months here healing from the past and looking forward to the future, now we had one more thing to look forward to. “I guess that doctor back in L.A. lied about a lot of things.”
“Yeah, after everything came to light, I don’t know why I still believed him about my inability to get pregnant. I guess I’ve believed it for so long that it never crossed my mind to doubt.”
I guess it took a minute for the reality to set in, and once it did, we both rolled around the bed, holding each other and laughing. A year ago, I never would have believed that this was possible. I had given up all hope of finding my happily ever after, but now, here we are, and I’ve never been happier in my life.
I looked at my engagement ring with pride, and he took my hand in his, placing both of them over my stomach where our child slept.