FOREVER [Niall Horan] ✔

Epilogue 4

3 Years Later

Ana's POV

I groan and rest my forehead on my knees after pulling them against my chest. It's been a couple of days since I started this project but I've been able to do absolutely nothing and it is upsetting me to an extent I didn't think it would. I only have a few days before I have you ship the final piece to my clients in Spain.

I've been simply staring at my sketchbook for the past half an hour, trying to scribble designs after designs but none I'm happy and satisfied with. There are so many things I have to do in so few days that it's stressing me out too much.

My clients have shown so much faith in me and I don't want to disappoint them. I try another few scribbles but it sums up to nothing at the end. As the time passes I start getting impatient and that's when I knew I had to stop myself or else I'll explode or probably stab the pen in my eyes.

I feel Niall's presence right after. He crouches down next to me and softly massages my neck, relaxing me. I lean into his touch and hum to myself in satisfaction. He travels his hands down and rubs my back in a circular motion, releasing my knots, as I momentarily close my eyes. "It's going to be just fine, baby," He mutters. "I'm sure you're going to come up with something amazing like you always do."

"I don't know, the deadline is in four days, Niall," I grunt as he keeps messaging my back.

"You're going to be fine, love, I have faith in you." He kisses the top of my head and a smile reaches my lips. It's been thirteen years and he always knows the right thing to say. I open my eyes and turn to look at his beautiful face. He looks at me for a mere second before I capture his lips with mine. I mould our lips together as he rests his hand at the back of my head, kissing me harder before abruptly pulling away. "Get up," He orders and stands up, pulling me with him. "Let's take a break."

"I cannot. I have to work," I utter.

He ignores me and ushers me towards the makeshift bed at my studio before asking me to lay down and I comply only because I know that he isn't going to let me go. He follows suit, tugs me closer to him before throwing his hand over my waist. He looks exhausted but so beautiful. "Don't beat yourself so much, love."

"I just don't want to disappoint anyone," I mutter and bite my lower lip. "José and Antonio have so many expectations."

"You're not going to disappoint anyone, love," He says and I nod, a little hesitant. "Just stop thinking about it," He divulges and I incredulously look at him.

"I cannot just stop thinking about it, Niall. It's important to me and I only have four days before I have to complete this and ship it to them," I scoff. "Why don't you understand that it's not that easy. Wasting my time like this is just going to delay the process but you don't want to understand that," I say, a little annoyed, as I push myself away from him. I'm not mad at him but a little with myself and I think that if Niall stays, I'll probably and unnecessarily burst my anger out on him. "I'm going back to work and I think you should head home. Bode and Harper would want one of us to be there during dinner," I say. "I'll be home in a few hours." I try to free myself from his hold but his grip only tightens.

"You have a very bad habit of never listening to me," He mumbles and pulls me back to his chest. "All I'm trying to say is try not thinking about it and maybe you'll know what to do. You have tried beating yourself for it and you still don't know what to do. So, I was just suggesting you completely forget about it for a couple of hours and I promise it'll be worth it." He offers me a small smile as I bite my lip, suddenly feeling a bit guilty for being rude to him.

"It's- it does not work that way, Niall," I grumble. "And I don't have a couple of hours. I have to come up with something that'll fulfil their expectations as soon as I can."