Page 129 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

“Just kiss her already!” Vina screamed.

“I love you.” He kissed me before I could say the words back.

It was a soft kiss that held so much meaning and different emotions. I forgot about everyone in the room and pressed my body to his as our lips molded perfectly together, sending tingles through my body. Standing here, in his arms, I knew I wanted all my lasts to be with him. Every pain had taught me a lesson, and every lesson had changed me. Maybe we had needed to fall apart to realize how much we needed to fall back together. He smiled against my lips when we broke apart.

“I love you more,” I whispered with a soft smile.

He kissed my forehead and put his arms around me. I hugged him back, relishing in the warmth from his body. I could hear his heartbeat. It was beating rapidly.

Was he that nervous?

Tristan kept one arm around me as we walked to where everyone was standing. I was happy to see Daniel, Malva, and Donia.It’d been so long since I had seen them. Vina must have invited them.I spoke to a few people before we cut the large cake and popped open the big champagne.

Everyone got a slice, and we had a toast with the champagne. We were all sitting in a circle on the sparkling white marble floor. There was no furniture since the house was still new and empty. We laughed as my mom told everyone about the tricks I had pulled when I was little, so I could skip school because I couldn’t face my classmates who had witnessed me pee on myself because I couldn’t solve a math problem on the board. It was embarrassing, but I was glad to see everyone laughing. I was surprised my mom was here. I hadn’t spoken to her in months. I didn’t know who had invited her, but I was glad she was here.

I looked down at Kayla, who was sitting between my legs and eating the little piece of cake I had given her. Her mouth and hands were dirty from the cake. I turned to look at Kayden, who was between Tristan’s legs. He was so engrossed in trying to remove Tristan’s wristwatch from his wrist.

I took a glance at Adrian. He was sitting next to Vina. He stared at her as she laughed at something Donia had said. I knew Vina liked him, too, but she was doing a good job at hiding it.

Everyone shared a funny and embarrassing experience from their childhood, which made the moment wholesome. I’d never dreamed of a moment like this, the feeling of peace, joy, and laughter flooded me with warmth. I took a glance at Tristan and found him staring at me. He winked at me, and I shook my head at him, trying to hide the redness on my cheeks. I looked away and stared at Kayla, who was rubbing her dirty hands on her shirt.

“Don’t do that, sweetie,” I whispered, taking her hand.

I stood up and took Kayla to the kitchen to clean her. I sat her down on the marble countertop and turned on the tap. She giggled as I put her hands under the running tap. She tried playing with the water, but I turned off the tap.

Tristan walked in when I was cleaning her mouth.

“Do you want me to show you around the house?”

“Yeah. I can’t feel my butt from sitting on that floor.”

We took the twins with us. The house was bigger than I’d expected. It had many rooms—a movie room, a gym, and—my favorite—a sauna. We stayed on the wide balcony, overlooking a lake, when we were done with the tour.

“So, should we take it?” he asked as we stared at the great view from where we stood. It was breathtaking.

I couldn’t wait to wake up to the beautiful sunrise and feel the cool air on my face.

Nice neighborhood? Check. Great outdoor space? Check. The view and accessibility? Spectacular.

I loved the house. It was perfect.

“Yeah,” I replied.

The twins ran to the railings. Kayden was trying to force his head between the small space in the railings while Kayla was pointing at a bird and jumping in excitement.

“Thank you,” Tristan whispered, wrapping his arms around me and kissing my neck.

“For what?”

“For saying yes. For accepting to be my everything, to be my wife, to be my best friend, to spend the rest of your life with me, to be the mother of my kids—”

“Tristan,” I called, shutting him up. “I know what it means to sayyes,” I said, and he chuckled softly.

“Daddy, butterfly!” Kayla screamed, pointing at an orange butterfly.

Tristan walked to where she was and picked her up. “What did you say, princess?”

“Butterfly. It’s butterfly, Daddy,” she said and pointed at it.

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