Forever Yours: Broken Promises

Chapter 16

Tahleea's POV

Time has been passing by and I still feel like I'm in a warped zone, just going through the motions. I make sure my family is taken care of, TDL Logics continues to thrive and Dre and I have kind of patched up our relationship. For me, it's only for the sake of our children. I'm willing to make our marriage work so that my babies are happy and have both parents present.

We kept our plan by taking the Hassan clan to Disney World. Our parents and my crew and their children joined us. I can honestly say the week we spent together made me happy. My only wish is that my baby girl was with us. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of her. Since Amir's funeral, I've visited her gravesite almost every Sunday. People say that it's not mentally healthy to do that, but it's my way of coping and feeling close to her. My precious girl would have been five months old. With every month, I sit and imagine the things she would be doing. My little beautiful Tahlia Amir.

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I hired an event planner to oversee Dre's retirement banquet. With everything that I've been dealing with over the past year, I didn't have time nor the mental energy it would take to plan his banquet. My only responsibility was to provide mailing addresses to send out the invitations and shop for our attire.

I had already provided the guest list and mailing addresses, but I'm finding it to be a task to get this family together at the same time to shop for what we'd wear. AJ is still playing football, Drew is playing Rec basketball, and Tahlese is playing for the school youth volleyball league. I realized that I missed coaching, so I volunteered as the assistant coach for the team she plays for. It's also been therapeutic for me. Not to mention that I get to spend more time with Tahlese. She's such a daddy's girl though.

Dre enjoys being able to attend AJ and Drew's practices. To let him tell it, his boys are the best players on the team. He's already picked the professional teams they are going to play. I laugh just thinking about how he acts and can only imagine how he acts during their practice, especially for AJ. Those coaches don't stand a chance.

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It's the night of Dre's retirement banquet and I'm running around trying to make sure everyone's clothes are laid out along with their shoes and accessories. AJ and Drew were mostly dressed, but I had to style Tahlese's hair. I put her hair in a cute little updo and helped her get dressed. After I looked over the little Hassans and made sure they were ready for the party, I went into my bedroom to check on Dre.

Closing and locking the door as I walked in, I searched the room looking for him. He wasn't in the room or the bathroom. I noticed the balcony door was open. Walking out on the balcony, I see Dre leaning against the rails. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"What's on your mind Mr. Retiree?"

He turned around with a smile on his face and kissed me on my lips.

"Tee I've played football since I was able to catch. It's been my life. I've made a living for me and my family playing the sport I love. I can't help but wonder if life after retirement will provide any fulfillment. I guess I'm just scared that I won't have a presence or be relevant anymore."

I haven't come to the crossroads where I've been in this position, but I can definitely empathize with him.

"Dre, do you remember the reason you decided to retire?"

I opened the locket around my neck that holds a picture of our little clan and lifted it up towards him.

"You said you want and need to be a hands on father. Your crew is involved in three different sports. They love the fact that their daddy is at their practices and games. Though they may whine and sometimes complain, they love the fact that you can take the time to help them get better at what they do. Tahlese loves her occasional father-daughter dates. The boys enjoy their bro outings. They look forward to Sunday family day, because now their daddy is home to enjoy it with them. So if you're questioning your presence; it's needed Dre. Your children need your presence."

He pulled me close to him.

"What about you Tahleea? You've said how much our clan needs me, but what about you?"

I stood still just holding him. I couldn't look him in his eyes because I really didn't know how to answer that question. For me, his presence is to keep our family together.

"Dre, I love you. Your presence is very important to me. You are the head of this household. I love having you home."

I hope this satisfied his curiosity of how I felt about him being home, because I couldn't dig any deeper than this. He pulled me to his lips and I relaxed in his arms. I rubbed my fingers through his hair and deepened our kiss. He reached down to unbutton my jeans. I broke the kiss and looked up at him. I'm still working on forgiving Dre, so sometimes I have a hard time being intimate. He looked down at me, his eyes begging for me to give the ok.

Allowing him to pull my pants and panties down, I worked on pulling his pants down. When we were both naked from the waist down, Dre picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He walked into our bedroom and pressed me against the wall, entering me with deep and slow thrusts. It felt so good. I let go and allowed myself to enjoy the pleasure he was serving. I may not have totally forgiven him, but he's still my husband, I love him, and a girl has needs.

I don't know what happened. It was like a switch went off in Dre's head and he forgot he was making love to me. He pulled out and thrusted back into me with so much force. The pain felt like a whip had been cracked across my back. The force caused my body to jerk. He then took one of my legs and placed it over his shoulder, pulled out and forcefully thrusted in me again. I didn't know what made him switch up on me like this. Maybe it's because it's been a while since we'd been sexual. That thrust hit a nerve and I could feel a tear escape my eye. He repeated this a few more times.

I dug my nails into his back and silently screamed into his chest. I didn't want to scare my babies. The last thrust, he came inside of me. Something went wrong. This isn't like Dre to release before making sure I did. He looked at me with sorrow in his eyes. I knew something was going on, but right now I'm hurting so I got up and went into the bathroom. This is something we'd talk about later, but for now, I had to get myself together.

Dre and I were finally dressed and on our way to his retirement banquet. The little Hassans were adorable. AJ and Drew wore a tux to match Dre's while Tahlese and I wore an elegant dress to compliment the guys. I just love dressing up my family.

When we arrived, Dre opened the door for the children and then opened my door. We walked into the venue like one happy family. The decor was breathtaking. I looked around in awe. This event coordinator really knows her stuff. She didn't disappoint me at all. Dre complimented everything from the decor to the entertainment. The usher walked us to our table as the photographer took several motion and still pictures. As I looked around, everyone seemed happy and excited for Dre. He was finally able to be the family man he wanted to be and I'm happy for him.