“I really like what you’ve done so far,” Bella said, holding her stomach and looking around the new room. “Especially the shade of pink.”
Leon smiled. “Well, thank you! I did it all for you,” he said with a grin. Bella put her hand on the new crib, looking Leon in the eyes.
“I love you,” she said sincerely, kissing him. Leon’s grin widened.
“Isabella Nolt-Blair,” he said, getting down on one knee. “You’re the most beautiful, kind, caring person I’ve ever met.” Bella’s eyes began to water as Leon reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a box. Leon looked at her and smiled lovingly. “Will you do me the honor of marrying me?” He opened the box to reveal a shimmering diamond ring. Bella put her hands over her mouth as the tears began running down her face. She nodded with a laugh.
“Yes.” She said finally. “Yes- I’d love to marry you!” Leon’s grin grew. He slipped the shining ring on her finger. He stood up and the two embraced passionately.
It had been exactly five months since Bella’s divorce from Lain was finalized, and since the night Lain found the paternity test results, Bella had been living with Leon. Bella and Leon were the happiest they’d ever been, and they started their relationship together not long after the incident.
As the five months passed, Leon’s savings quickly grew into enough for him to completely renovate the house, adding two new rooms-- a monochromatic master bedroom and the baby’s new pink-themed room-- as well as expanding the bathroom and adding all new furniture. In a tour of the house, Leon decided that he would propose to Bella, in the hopes of having the wedding right before the baby would come.
In the two months following Leon’s proposal, the two arranged their entire wedding. Bella sent out invitations and designed her dress while Leon picked his tuxedo. They both got together and picked their seaside wedding location. The newly engaged couple were living happily ever after at the end of their fairy tale. There was close to absolutely no stress when the day of the wedding came.
As the sun began to set about an hour before the wedding ceremony, Bella looked at herself in the mirror holding her stomach. She couldn’t help but ponder the last year of her life. She was about to marry a man that she had met barely a year ago, and she wasn’t completely sure if the marriage was created purely out of love or forged partially because of guilt and obligation from the baby. Bella sighed and looked herself in the eye. Today was her day. She shouldn’t have any doubts about the wedding. Leon had given her everything she ever wanted and more- much more than Lain had ever given her. But there he was again in her thoughts. Lain. Bella bit her lip.
Shaking her name out of his head, Bella looked at her dress in admiration. It was everything she had hoped for and more. Just like her wedding was going to be. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
“We should probably head down to the beach, honey,” she heard Leon say from the other side.
The Recurve Strand park was fixed up many years ago as the must-have place for nocturnal weddings in Sunset Valley, so it was natural for Leon and Bella to have their weddings there. Bella’s heart still skipped every time she saw it. Placed by the buffet table in the back, two candlelit wooden tables were placed furthest from the sea for guests to enjoy their meals. Starting from the two tables was a trail of grass lit by eight candles that lead the way to the wooden wedding arch. The arch itself was surrounded by bushes and purple, pink and yellow flower beds that were all looked over by three majestic aspen trees. There was literally no other place that the couple could have chosen that would have the same beautiful, calming effect.
Leon and Bella both arrived to the beach with the first of their guests just as the sun dived below the horizon. As the night inched forward and the remained of the people showed up, the wedding began without a hitch. The ceremony began, Leon and Bella said their vows and “I do”s, and before they knew it, their marriage was sealed with a kiss.
After the wedding, people began getting out of their seats and talking amongst themselves. One of the guests even commented on how great the wedding was. It wasn’t too long before the crowd began to thin and people began to go home.
“I think I’m going to head up to the house,” Bella said to Leon after chatting with the guests for a long while. “I’m getting tired.”
“I’ll be up soon, I just want to wait for the beach to clear.” Leon said with a smile.
The groom and bride kissed, and Bella departed for the house. The walk wasn’t long, but it was hard for Bella to leave her groom so suddenly after the wedding. She only hopped that he would be home and in bed soon so they could spend what little time they had left together before they had the baby.
As Bella bent over to get the spare house key from under one of the cobblestones in the walkway, she felt a sharp pain in her side. Quickly unlocking the door, and going inside, she threw the key on the table. She closed the door and leaned against it, breathing heavily. Her eyes widened when she felt something trickle down her legs.
Bella took a deep breath and screamed as pain shot through her abdomen. She reached into her dress and pulled out her phone, using her other hand to squeeze the doorknob for dear life. She pressed call and put the phone to her ear, breathing heavily. The phone rang, and eventually went to Leon’s voicemail. Bella screamed again, throwing her phone on the floor in agony. She stepped forward and flung the door open behind her so she could waltz her way outside to hail a taxi to the hospital alone.
After Bella left, the flood gates open and people began running out like mad. Once everyone was gone, Leon sighed and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the wedding arch. Tonight for him had been, for lack of a better word, magical. A year ago in his life, he would have never dreamed he would have even had the chance to marry Bella, and now he had gone and done it. Leon lifted his gaze to the sky. The stars looked amazing. His life was absolutely perfect. No question about it.
Slowly, Leon stood up from the chair. He checked to make sure he still had everything on him, and he turned on his heel to go home and see his wife. Leon stopped dead in his tracks when he turned and saw what was standing at the end of the trail of grass. His hands dropped to his side, and his eyes grew. “Hello, Leon,” sounded a familiar voice. Leon could feel his phone vibrating in his jacket pocket, but he was too shocked to grab it. Slowly, he opened his mouth.
“Brooke.”
