Olivia’s POV
The third month had been unbearable.
Dad was ho and recovering well. The initial crisis was over. And without that distraction, all I could think about was Maxwell.
How much I missed him. How much I needed him. How much our baby needed both of us.
I’d driven past his office building countless tis, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. Had stalked his company’s website for any news about him. Had even, in one particularly desperate mont, called his office and hung up the mont his assistant answered.
I was losing my mind.
And then this morning, I’d woken up with our baby doing gymnastics in my belly, and I’d looked down at my pregnant stomach and thought: Enough.
Enough fear. Enough waiting. Enough letting pride and uncertainty keep from the man I loved.
So I’d gotten dressed, taken a taxi to his house, and stood at his gate trying not to throw up from nervousness while I waited for him to appear.
And now I was here, sitting on his couch, watching emotions play across his face as he processed my confession.
"Maxwell," I said gently, when he just kept staring at like he couldn’t believe I was real. "Say sothing. Please."
But he didn’t say anything.
He stood up so fast he nearly knocked over the coffee table.
And then he was crossing the space between us, and before I could even process what was happening, he’d grabbed my face in both hands and kissed .
It wasn’t a gentle kiss. Wasn’t tentative or questioning.
It was hungry. Like a man who’d been drowning for three months and had finally found air.
His lips moved against mine with a fierce intensity that made my toes curl, and I could taste salt - tears, though I wasn’t sure if they were his or mine or both.
I tried to stand, to et him halfway, but it was kinda awkward and he seed to realize this at the sa mont I did because he broke the kiss just long enough to kneel in front of instead.
"I love you," he said, his voice rough and broken and beautiful. "God, Olivia, I love you so much. I’ve loved you since I was twelve years old. I’ve loved you through twenty years of searching and waiting and hoping. I’ve loved you through every lie and every mistake and every mont we were apart."
His hands moved to my belly, spreading across the curve where our baby grew, and his expression crumpled.
"I love you both," he whispered. "So much it hurts. And these past three months have been the worst of my entire life because I thought I’d lost you. Thought I’d destroyed any chance we had. Thought you’d be better off without and my cursed family dragging you down."
"Maxwell..."
"I stayed away because I thought that’s what you needed," he continued, the words pouring out like he’d been holding them back for too long. "Because I thought my presence would only bring you more pain. But God, Olivia, it killed . Every single day. Not being able to see you. Not being able to know how you were doing. Not being able to be there for you and our baby."
He pressed his forehead against my belly, his shoulders shaking, and I realized he was crying.
Maxwell Wellington was actually crying.
For . For us. For all the ti we’d wasted.
I threaded my fingers through his hair, my own tears falling freely now.
"I needed you too," I whispered. "I missed you so much, Maxwell. Every single day. I kept driving to your house, sitting outside your gate, trying to find the courage to co in. But I was so scared."
He looked up at , his eyes red and wet. "Scared of what?"
"That you’d moved on," I admitted. "That you’d realized you were better off without and all my baggage. That you’d found soone else who wasn’t as crazy as I am."
Maxwell made a sound that was half-laugh, half-sob.
"Move on?" he repeated incredulously. "Olivia, I haven’t looked at another woman since the mont I saw you at that concert again. Hell, I haven’t been able to fall in love with another woman since I first fell in love with you twenty years ago. There is no moving on from you. There’s no better than you. There’s just... you. Always you."
He cupped my face again, more gently this ti, his thumbs brushing away my tears.
"You’re it for ," he said fiercely. "The only one I’ll ever want. The only one I’ll ever love. And if you’re willing to give another chance - if you’re willing to let spend the rest of my life proving that I can be the man you and our baby deserve - I promise I will never, ever let you down again."
"You didn’t let down," I said, my voice thick with emotion. "Your father tried to destroy us, but you stopped him. You protected . You almost died saving . That’s not letting down, Maxwell. That’s loving ."
"Then let keep loving you," he whispered. "For the rest of our lives. Let be there for you and our baby. Let wake up next to you every morning and fall asleep beside you every night. Let be yours, Olivia. Completely and forever."
I pulled him back up to , kissing him through our tears, tasting salt and love and three months of longing.
"Yes," I whispered against his lips. "Yes to all of it. Yes to forever."
Our baby chose that mont to kick, hard enough that Maxwell felt it against his hand still resting on my belly.
He pulled back, his eyes wide with wonder.
"Was that..."
"Our baby," I said, smiling through my tears. "Rebel seems rather happy we are finally getting our act together."
"Marry ," he suddenly blurted out. "Please. I know it’s fast and I know we’ve been through hell and I know I don’t deserve..."
"Yes," I interrupted, laughing and crying at the sa ti. "Yes, I’ll marry you, you ridiculous man. I’ve already said forever. Did you think I was planning to live as roommates?"
He laughed and kissed again.
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