Marrying my high school bully

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It was over a week since Leonardo managed to outsmart the cops and run away, and I’d admit that I lost my peace of mind ever since.

He could be lurking around, patiently waiting for the right time to strike and I wouldn’t know.

I wanted it all to end.

I wanted to live happily with my family, take a long break from work and just reap all the fruits of my hard work, but all of my wishes wouldn’t happen with Leonardo running freely while his daughter was behind bars.

Dexter came into the room with a brown envelope in his hands. Once he heard that Leonardo had escaped, he lost his peace as he aided the cops in searching for him.

He had become a shadow of his handsome self, as he was more interested in keeping Lilly and me safe.

“Hi, cupcake, how was your day?” I asked as he sank on the bed and kissed my lips lightly.

His hands moved to my abdomen which he caressed fondly. It was still flat as the pregnancy hadn’t gotten to three months. It was a good thing because I didn’t want anyone to know that I was pregnant until the case was settled.

“Stressful, but I’m fine. I can handle it.” His reply showed how exhausted he was, and I wanted nothing more than to relieve him of the stress.

“Do you want a massage?” I wriggled my brows playfully.

He shook his head and passed the medium-sized envelope to me. “I want us to talk.” He informed me while I was busy checking the contents of the envelope.

Two passports slipped out of it; one belonging to Lilly, and another for me. I dropped them as I realized instantly what his intentions were.

“What are these for, Dexter?” I asked calmly, wearing a puzzled look.

He held both of my hands, peering at me intensely. “You can’t continue to stay here anymore. You and Lilly aren’t safe here and you know the reason. Leonardo is out for you and I don’t think I’ll survive it if anything bad happens to the both of you.” His voice was soft, echoing his deepest fears, but I wasn’t going to leave him no matter what.

“We promised to be together, so why are you suggesting that I leave?”

“For your safety, sweetheart.”

“Well, I’m not leaving. I’m going to stay by your side until Leonardo is caught. This is my fight and I’m not going to shy away from it like a coward.” I disagreed.

He slowly retracted his hands, letting out an irritated sigh. He stood up, pacing quietly for a while then he stopped.

“This isn’t the time for you to be stubborn, Lorraine. You are carrying our babies, aren’t you concerned about them?” His tone was low, but harsh with concern. “Staying here all by yourself or even going to work without my presence is risky. He can barge in and hurt you and I won’t even be here to save you.”

“And you think that I can’t be found in the place you are sending me to? How did you even come up with this kind of plan?”

“I met with your father today and he was really worried. He wants you to go to Mexico for a while. I promise it won’t be for long-” His shoulders slackened when he saw my reaction.

My emotions suddenly spiraled over, overwhelming my sense of reasoning. I knew that he was right, but I didn’t want to agree with him.

He was trying to keep me safe, but it felt like I would never be safe if we weren’t together. I learned my lesson two years ago, and I wasn’t about to allow it to happen again.

I put on my robe and my pillow.

“Where are you going?” His voice was deflated as he ruffled his hair.

“I’ll sleep with Lilly tonight. I just need to process the fact that I won’t be with you for God knows how long because you want to protect me.” I said and shoved him aside as I traipsed towards the door.

“Are you really doing this? We are just having a normal conversation, why can’t you listen to me?” He asked gently, his eyes speaking volumes of how hurt he was.

My heart sank with guilt, but I couldn’t go back on my word.

“Goodnight.” I shut the door and headed towards Lilly’s room.

**********

Ever since I decided to break an unspoken rule in our marriage and went ahead to sleep in a separate room, my relationship with Dexter encountered a rough patch.

Our conversations were nothing short of mere greetings, then a barrage of monotonous questions and answers. He didn’t even eat breakfast with us, and he always went to work earlier than usual.

I’d handed over my position to Mrs Gonzales even though I was still the owner of the company, so I didn’t have any concrete reason to leave the house.

Most of my modeling jobs were put on hold as I decided to take a break from work. My body took it personally because I began to add weight gradually.

The silence in the house got to me as Lilly was always engrossed in her toys, and the nanny wasn’t always present. So it was just me and the almost empty house.

I scrolled through my phone and saw Dexter’s name. The need to speak with him washed over me, but what was I going to say to him?

A call from my father came in, disrupting my heart-wrenching thoughts.

“Hello, dad.”

“Princess, you sound depressed. Are you alright?”

I paused, taking a deep breath as I contemplated on whether to tell him what was happening between Dexter and me, or if I should keep it to myself.

I went with the former option as keeping it in felt like having a huge lump in my throat that would continue to make me uncomfortable until I let it out.

“Dexter wants me to leave for Mexico, and I don’t want to.” I confessed.

His deep sigh was audible. It was one of the things he did before advising me.

“You have to leave, Lorraine. I understand that you don’t want to be away from him, but don’t you think that a temporary separation will be better than a permanent one?” I stroked my chin in frustration because his words were getting to me.

“Dad, I-”

“Hold on, darling, I’m not done. I was the one who made the suggestion and I’d like you to listen to the both of us. We care for you deeply, Lorraine, so help us by listening.”

“I guess I’ll have to apologize to him because I kinda messed things up,” I uttered with regret. “Thank you for calling, dad. Talking to you has lifted my spirit.” I admitted.

We talked for a few more minutes then he hung up, leaving me to think of how to make a proper apology to Dexter.