Missing Pieces - Chapter 65
Hailey
Tuesday
I woke up with his arms wrapped tightly around me. I hadn't been this content since I was sleeping in his arms in Santa Monica. When I tilted my head up, I was surprised to see that he was already awake.
A smile spread across his face as he looked down at me. "It feels like I'm dreaming. I still can't believe that you're here."
I pressed my hand against his chest. "I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere."
We stared at each other in silence for a moment.
We had talked until dawn, filling each other in on the missing pieces of our time apart.
I told him about forgiving my mother. And about realizing that all my dad ever wanted was for me to be happy.
He told me that he was finally at peace with his past. We were both starting over.
Nothing was holding us back from being together. Except one thing.
The smile on his face grew even wider. "Are you still a fan of fast and crazy?"
"Since everything we do is fast and crazy, absolutely."
He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "I think we should get married."
It was fast. It was crazy. And I so badly wanted to say yes.
But he didn't know everything yet. Even though we had talked for hours, I hadn't gotten the courage to tell him about the baby.
I had wanted to know that he needed me just as much as I needed him.
His answer was in the way he looked at me.
The way he kissed me. The way he held me. He needed me as much as I needed him.
"Hear me out." The smile on his face was contagious.
"I'm in love with you. I want to spend every morning for the rest of my life just like this, with you in my arms. We're both starting over.
And we're choosing to do that together. We can make a life for ourselves wherever we want.
Here. We can go back to Indiana. Anywhere, Hails.
The only thing I care about is that we're together.
Yes. A thousand times yes. "I need to tell you something."
"Nothing you say is going to make me change my mind, Hails."
Maybe. "It actually does change things. Quite a bit." I sat up and pulled the sheet around myself.
"Hailey." He sat up. "I know that I hurt you. And I can't apologize enough times. I just need you to give me one more chance. Because I can't live without you. When we're not together, I don't feel whole. You saved me."
It was like he was saying everything I should be saying to him. I shook my head. "I just showed you the way I see you."
He smiled. "Then I don't see what the problem is."
"I'm pregnant." It sounded harsh in the silence. I knew he wasn't expecting it, which maybe made it sound even harsher.
He didn't say anything.
"I found out a few days after my dad's funeral.
And I don't know, it almost felt like I needed this baby.
I felt so alone. I was all my dad had. And it was like I had this gift that made it so I wouldn't be alone anymore either.
" I was rambling, but I couldn't seem to stop because Tyler was completely silent.
All I wanted to do was tell him everything I couldn't the first time around.
I needed him to know that I loved him more than life itself.
He was the world to me. The sun rose and set with his smile.
I smiled to myself, remembering my father say that to me.
"The ironic part is that this baby actually gave me strength to do what I needed to do all along.
Find you. So really, it's not the same situation as me and my dad at all.
Almost the opposite, really. I knew in my heart that we were supposed to be together.
But I've always been so scared of love. Petrified really.
Now it seems like I have this whole new perspective.
I'm not scared. Not of what we have. I love what we have. "
"You're pregnant?"
It was like he hadn't heard anything I just said. "Yes."
More silence.
"It's yours, if that's what you're wondering..."
"No, that's not...you're pregnant?"
I slipped my hand into his. The spark whenever we touched coursed through me. I could tell he felt it too, because the smile slowly came back to his face.
"Then it's possible that I love this baby even more than I love you." He leaned down and kissed my stomach. "It brought you back to me. And I'm nothing without you, Hailey."
I pressed my lips together and shook my head. "I'm nothing without you."
He smiled. "You still haven't answered my question."
"Are you still asking it?"
He placed his hand on my stomach. "Hailey, I love every part of you. This baby is a part of you. Of course I'm still asking. Will you marry me?"
Together we had grown so much. Together we were better than we were apart. Together we made sense. It felt like a new page had turned. It felt like I was finally free to be me. "Yes."
His kiss made me feel utterly complete. All of this was fast. It was crazy.
But if it wasn't for him, I would have spent my whole life searching for myself.
The version of myself that I saw in his eyes was everything I aspired to be.
I had been broken my whole life without even knowing it, and he had made me feel whole.
"Thank you for taking a chance on me." He pressed his forehead against mine. "Thank you for climbing into my car and driving me absolutely crazy."
I breathed in his exhales. Somehow that was all I needed to survive. "You were worth taking a chance on, Tyler Stevens. You just hadn't found the right person to take the leap."
He closed his eyes. And I knew he was feeling it too. It was beautiful. It was pure. This feeling was better than anything anyone could see. We both felt it in our bones. It consumed us. We weren't broken anymore. When we were together, neither one of us had any missing pieces.
***
All of the Forbidden Billionaires have found love…except Matthew Caldwell. Now it’s his turn.
Keep reading for Matt’s love story.