Page 106 of Give Me Forever Love

“Axel’s a tough boy. He can take it,” Bryce says, ruffling his hair and giving him a wink.

“I can take it, but it still gets on my nerves,” Axel replies.

We all laugh. “Say you’re sorry, Rylee,” Bryce says to our girl.

“Sorry,” she mumbles. I smile and run my hand over my slightly swollen belly. We have another baby on the way, and I’m hoping for a boy like Axel. I love that kid.

“You want an ice cream?” Austin asks his little one.

“Yeah,” Axel says excitedly.

“What about you, Ry?” Austin asks.

“Can I, Dad?” she asks.

“Of course,” he replies. He lets her down. Austin grabs her hand and Claire takes Axel’s as they go off to grab some ice cream at the small festival we’re at in the Georgia Mountains. Lee used to take the boys here every year. He says he remembers running off with Jace and exploring while Lee and Emily walked around. Kids can’t do things like that nowadays. It’s too scary.

“Don’t get any on your dress,” I call out to Rylee.

“Okay,” she says with a smile. I smile back because I love her so much. The air is crisp, and the trees surrounding us are golden brown and bright yellow. I breathe it all in.

Life has a way of working out, ya know? There was a time when I was just a poor girl with nothing and no one. I was stuck in a perpetual nightmare.

But I fought my way out. I didn’t let my circumstances define me. I worked hard because something inside of me knew what my stepdad was filling my head with was a lie. I was worth loving; I did deserve better, and look at me now.

I think about all those years ago when my mama wanted to take me to seeCinderella. I didn’t get to see the movie that day, but I did eventually see it, and it made me both sad and happy. It showed how life can truly be for a person even as good as she was, but unlike Cinderella, some people don’t get their happy ending. Look at my mama, for instance.

Life can be incredibly hard to get through. Sometimes, the princess doesn’t get her happily ever after. Sometimes, she doesn’t get her glass slipper back. Sometimes, she stays locked in the dungeon forever because she can’t see the beauty of the beast. Life will knock you down, chew you up, spit you out, and then ask you, “What you gonna do about it?”

That…that is real life. But then, there are those moments where you find the diamond in the rough. You see the silver lining in all the fucked-up mess, and mine is grabbing my hand, whispering, “Go somewhere with me.”

I turn to look at him. “Anywhere. Where you go, I go.”

He grins and veers us away from everyone. We walk past the Ferris wheel and to the edge of the woods, down a small path that isn’t too far from the festival but far enough to fade out the people’s voices.

I hear water up ahead, and we break through a clearing. My eyes widen at the waterfall as it rushes down the side of the mountain. Bryce grabs me and kisses me like it’s the first time.

This is my diamond.

My silver lining.

My glass slipper.

The end….

but wait.

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