Chapter Three
Selina's POV
I hesitate. I just crawled out of one bad marriage. Now I'm supposed to jump straight into another mess?
But if I say no, Derek's going to keep sending people to make trouble. My brother's still young, my parents are getting older, and I can't put them through that kind of fear.
And this man standing in front of me, rough as he looks, there's something steady and honest in his eyes. Nothing like Derek, who's always got an angle.
"Fine. I'll marry you." I take a deep breath and make up my mind.
The wedding is simple. No fuss, no ceremony, just the two of us signing papers at the courthouse in town.
Once I move into Gareth's place, I realize his life is even simpler than I pictured. A big log house. Two sweet kids: a six-year-old boy named Leo, and a four-year-old girl named Mia.
They don't shy away from me like I expected. If anything, they seem curious, a little shy.
"Hi, Selina," Leo pipes up.
Mia hides behind her brother, peeking at me shyly.
I crouch down, smile, and pat both their heads. "Hi, you two. We're a family now."
On our wedding night, I'm nervous, if I'm honest. At Derek's place, I'd gotten used to being picked apart, pushed aside. I'm braced for it here too. If Gareth throws it in my face that I can't have kids, or gets rough with me, I'm grabbing my parents and walking out the door, no questions asked.
But that night, Gareth just holds me close. His body runs hot, like a furnace. He pats my back gently with one broad hand and says quietly, "Get some sleep. I'm here. Nobody's going to hurt you."
The next morning, the smell of toast and bacon wakes me up.
I bolt upright and glance at the clock on the nightstand. It's already eight.
At Derek's house, Martha knocked on my door at six sharp every morning, demanding I get up and put breakfast on the table, and have the whole house running like clockwork. If I was even a minute late, she'd tear into me in front of the whole family and make sure I felt every word of it.
I throw on clothes and rush downstairs, only to find Gareth setting two plates of hot breakfast on the table. Leo and Mia are already sitting there, behaving themselves, little spoons in hand.
"You're up." Gareth's hard face softens a little when he sees me. He pulls out the chair next to him. "Go wash up, then eat. I already dropped off breakfast at your parents' place."
I just stand there. "You... you made this?"
Gareth raises an eyebrow. "Used to be in the military. Picked up a few things there. You don't need to do this stuff. That's a man's job."
My eyes sting. At Derek's, the kitchen was mine alone. Derek never set foot in it, let alone cooked for me. He just took everything I gave him like it was owed to him.
After breakfast, Gareth pulls a bank card out of the pocket of his old work jacket and sets it in front of me.
"What's this?" I ask.
"Everything I've saved up." Gareth keeps it short. "The PIN's your birthday. You're handling the household money from now on. If you want that flower shop, go put a deposit down on the storefront downtown. If it's not enough, I'll figure the rest out. And if these two troublemakers act up, you discipline them however you see fit. Don't hold back on my account."
"But..." I hold the card, and it feels like it weighs a ton. "Gareth, I might not be able to have kids. Are you really okay with that?"
Gareth covers my hand with his, and his eyes are serious. "Selina, I married you because I want to look after you, not so you'd give me pups. I've got Leo and Mia. That's enough. All you need to do is be yourself."
"Selina, we'll be really good!" Leo blinks his big eyes and raises his hand to swear he means it.
"It's Mom!" Mia corrects him, then calls out to me sweetly. "Mom, Mia loves you the most!"
Hearing that soft little "Mom," my heart just melts.
I pull both kids into a tight hug, and the tears finally spill over. I can't hold them back.
Just like my father always said, whether a man loves you isn't about how many sweet words he says. It's about whether he's willing to hand you the keys to everything he's got.
