Page 28 of The Billionaire's Baby
“But I do because I want no walls between us,” he answered simply
He started his story and Adira listened silently. She knew this was a turning point in his life to be able to share with her something from his past that hurt him so badly. She laced her fingers with his and waited for him to continue.
“I was a young Marine. I had the money and she saw the dollar signs, saw my potential,” he said. “Hillary couldn’t stand her, but who does Hillary like? Remy barely said two words when she was around. The first time I was deployed she cheated on me with at least two guys. Remy saw her with one of them and told me. I was devastated. I came home for two weeks’ leave and we fought like cats and dogs. She asked me to forgive her and I refused. Her solution was to go into the bathroom and cut her wrists after taking pills. They were superficial cuts but enough to scare the shit out of me. At the hospital, they pumped her stomach and took care of the cuts and I told her I wouldn’t leave her, that I loved her. I still did, actually. We all seem to love what’s bad for us.”
Favian took a deep breath and continued. “I went back overseas and she emailed to tell me that she was pregnant. She sent me sonogram pictures and I was thrilled, but then, later on, of course, I came to find out it was all a lie. She was paying one of her pregnant girlfriends for the pictures. At around what would have been her sixth month I called home and she said she lost the baby and blamed it on me, said it was because I was gone all the time and that no one loved her or was there to take care of her. I wanted to die that day; the guilt ate at me and I wanted to go out in a convoy and catch a bullet.”
“Favian, no,” Adira said softly. Hearing him say that tore her heart apart.
“It’s okay, baby, common sense prevailed. I had more of an appreciation for life than most—even myself—realized at that point,” Favian said. “Anyway, I called Remy and he told me he hadn’t seen her in months. She wasn’t even living in the apartment anymore. With the connections Remy has, he was able to find her and found out the truth. I was done at that point. I came home and she ran to me like she was thrilled to see me, like nothing ever happened. I confronted her with the truth and she went postal. Took more pills and ended up in the psychiatric ward at Bellevue Hospital. It was there that I found out she was manic-depressive and her background was very troubled. I called her parents who I’d never met and told them where she was. They had been looking for her for years since she left upstate New York. I divorced her and they took her home. I was rubbed raw by that point. I’ve never been in a serious relationship since.”
“What happened to Kim?” Adira asked.
“The last I heard she was in a permanent mental health facility,” Favian replied. “Her mother said she had a complete break from reality.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said.
“It wasn’t my fault nor was it hers. She was just broken and no one could fix her problems. But it took something from me.” Favian looked at her and searched her eyes. “I don’t make this proposal lightly. I know how I feel about you and this baby. I’ve suffered loss before and then suffered a bigger loss when I found out the baby she said she was having wasn’t even real. I grieved for a child that didn’t exist and now I want to celebrate the real thing in my life. Marry me, Adira. I won’t be happy without you in my life.”
“Yes, I’ll marry you, Favian.” Adira caressed his cheek. “I love you, and I promise I will never hurt you. We may have a good row and I may get in a snit from time to time, but I’ll never use this child or the love we have against you.”
He kissed her. “I know, baby, this I definitely know.”
She nodded and smiled. “Then let’s get married.”
“Tomorrow,” he said.
“I think we need more time than that, love.”
“Oh, I know some people who know some people.” Favian winked at her.
“I have no doubt of that.” Adira yawned and snuggled closer into the crook of his arms. “I’m just going to close my eyes for a bit and then we can talk about it more.”
He gave a soft laugh. “You do that, mi querida, mi amor.”
She knew the meaning of those terms of endearment well and fell asleep in his arms. My darling, my love. This is what she meant to Favian and he meant the same to her. She loved him more than she ever thought possible and he felt the same way about her. The thoughts were like a balm to a life that had been so hard and so terrible for so very long.
Chapter Seven
True to his word, Favian did know a few people and was not willing to wait too long. Instead of the arrangements taking one week it took three, but was still a whirlwind of events. They were to be married at Michelangelo’s restaurant which would be closed for the day and decked out for a wedding celebration. Lynette flew in to be her maid of honor and while she was the only one that Adira had, Favian’s extended family from his mother’s side came in from Puerto Rico for the wedding.
