Page 53 of Plus-Size Pregnant Mate

I could feel Ashley shaking, and I gave her hand a squeeze. "You did amazing."

She looked at me and gave me a tight smile. "I feel like I'm going to lose them.

She blinked her eyes, trying to push away tears. "I don't want to have a baby and not have them around."

I pulled her into my arms, giving her a tight squeeze. I understood her fear, but I didn't think that was going to happen. There was a chance from the look on her father’s face that he understood. It seemed he was starting to question his past decisions and maybe was seeing wrong in his doing.

We headed home, and as we got inside, Ashley kicked off her shoulders and groaned. "I don't want to cook. I don't want to do anything. I want to go into a dark hole and never crawl out."

"We can order in," I said as I walked over towards the kitchen, opening one of the cabinets. "And sorry, no dark holes are available around here."

I could hear her laugh as she sat down on the couch. I leaned onto the counter. "Ordering in then?"

"I love that idea," she said, throwing her head back and letting her hair hang over the couch.

"Can you come here for a second," I asked, grabbing the small box I had in my pocket. I pulled it out and placed it on the counter. "I have menus that you can look through."

Ashley turned, and her eyes stopped on the box. Her eyes widened, and I opened the lid, showing her a diamond ring.

Her eyes snapped up to mine, and she slowly pulled herself off the couch and walked toward me.

"Ashley, I never want to lose you. I love you and want to spend every second of every day with you. I know that we are in a rocky part right now, but we will get through it. And seeing you be so strong lets me know that I can't risk losing you again. So, will you marry me?"

She quickly nodded her head, moving and throwing her arms around me. "Oh my god! Yes!"

I kissed her, pulling her tightly against me. She then turned, grabbed the ring, and handed it to me. I grabbed her hand, sliding the ring onto her finger. It was a perfect fit.

Tears trailed down her face, and I cupped her cheeks. "You may not know what the future looks like with you folks, but I will always be here. Through the easy and through the hard, I will be here."

She started to cry. Her fingers tightened about my shirt. I pressed my forehead against hers. "And as crappy as everything is right now, I have a feeling that things will change. When this is all said and done, I know we are gong to have a beautiful life. I promise you that."

Chapter 27 - Ashley

I looked around the yard, spotting Owen standing next to all the guys. I couldn't help but smile seeing them together.

A lot had changed in the span of almost nine months. I stayed with Owen, and we changed a lot in our life. Starting with the apartment. After the wedding, we decided to remodel.

We ended up turning one of the rooms into my studio. It wasn't as large as the space that I had at my folk's house, but after putting in lights and light paint, it was mine. I could be as dirty and as loud as I wanted, and Owen didn't care.

We turned another room into the nursery, which I had painted with animals and the ceiling as a scene of the jungle. We bought a beautiful crib and a large rocking chair. It was bright, and I enjoyed sitting in there, imagining the baby in my arms.

Owen and I worked on rebuilding our trust and being together. We got along perfectly, but we had fights, especially with how hormonal I was. I had good days and days where I could hardly pull myself out of bed because I felt I had done everything wrong.

I started seeing my therapist again to move past everything with my parents and to start preparing myself for a better life. I had offered to include my folks, but they didn't seem ready yet.

I was okay with it, moving past everything and looking forward to a better future. I wanted to be the best version of myself that I could be when the baby arrived.

"Ashley, you're staring," Wendy smirked as she elbowed me softly in the side. Her brown hair fell over her shoulder as shetilted her head at me. "Should I move? Am I in the way of your fantasy?"

I rolled my eyes, unable to hold back the laugh. "I'm sorry. My mind traveled, but not to that. What were we talking about?"

Wendy laughed, and I couldn't help but blush. Wendy had become a close friend of mine. Owen had started inviting her over to hang out with me, so I would have someone to talk that would understand. And I found Wendy understood my feelings rather well.

She looked at her daughter in her lap, holding a cracker out for her. She ran her fingers through their hair and then gave her daughter a soft squeeze.

I was envious, placing my hand on my stomach, aching to hold my child and feel that love. I wanted to be the perfect mother, the loving, doting mother that I never got.

Wendy looked back at me, raising an eyebrow.

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