Candy ✔ (In Editing)

-Chapter Seventy-One (For Justin, Love Candy)

"This is for my dear husband, Justin Oliver Hudson.

Since I was a child I've always had my ideas about love. I wanted the love that I saw from Disney movies. I wanted a happy ending for myself, something that ends with a long awaited kiss and marriage.

My parents showed me that kind of love too. They were so love and did almost everything together, they were inseparable. I don't know if I've told you this before  but my parents were divorced once and funny enough I could still see the love they had for each other deep in their eyes. My dad would come to our house some early morning to see her but his excuse will always be that he just missed his kids so much. On those morning Momma would make the breakfast extra special. Waffles, bacon, eggs, toast and everything you could ever imagine that makes breakfast delicious. Sometimes they'd forget they are divorced. My dad would kiss Mamma's forehead like he did when they were married. They held hands without realizing it. Tumi and I used to laugh at them betting on how long it will take them to get back together. My dad even went to therapy so he could get better. It was a surprise because he didn't believe in therapy but for my mom he went there every week for six agonizing months. When they finally got together nobody was really surprised if anything we were relieved from the tension.

Their love taught me that love doesn't die or run out even after you cut ties with someone. They taught that true love is strong and it's limitless. That soon became what I wanted too. I wanted something real. I was not oblivious to the pain my parents felt before, during and after the divorce but the love and trust they had in each other helped them pull through.

I believed I wasn't going to get that type of love. I had three failed relationships to my name and although my mom kept telling me that I was still young I thought my love life was over. I didn't go searching anymore instead I buried myself in books and built a strong cage around my heart.

When I came to New York, I just wanted to be close to Tumi and study in a new scenery. Then I met you that day at the charity ball. You stood there across the room in a fitted suit and mask, and drank champagne from a regal flute while openly staring and smirking in my direction. The first thing that came to mind was 'what an arrogant ass'. And yes you proved my thoughts right when you basically demanded that I dance with you. 

I thought I was crazy you know? Like I felt like we were the only two people in the room. I finally lived the dream of dancing with a prince in a beautiful and lush ballroom. Except you weren't the beast from Beauty and the Beast nor were you Prince Charming from Cinderella. You were Justin Oliver Hudsin. A real estate agent and businessman who claimed to be Head of Surgery at Saint Jeremiah Hospital.

Poor you didn't know that my brother worked at Saint Jeremiah Hospital and I knew that you weren't the Head of Surgery because I already knew who the Head of Surgery was. You know I question why you lied about it... but that doesn't matter now.

That night was the beginning of something special and I couldn't even deny it. After weeks of not bumping into you following the ball, I thought I was not going to see you again. Surprise, surprise I see you in my business lecture. I was happy to see you but the cage around my heart narrowed tighter. It screamed for me to stay away, it saw you as a red flag. My mind agreed it told me that you probably think I'm one of the girls you hook up with from time to time. I was embarrassed about my actions. The lack of self-control I had with you that night was not something I was used to. If anything I lived to ignore guy that were 'red flags'.

You proved me wrong. You proved me so wrong. You showed me a different side to you. You showed me that I made an error of judgment with you. You introduced me to the city and taught me how to be a local. You made me feel like I belong in such a huge city. You made this city feel like home to me. You did not only do that, you unlocked the cage I had around my heart. That scared me so much at first especially because I loved you so much way before you said the actual words. I said I love you first believe it or not. Remember when I said "Ke a go rata" that one night almost a year ago. Our relationship was still new and you asked me what it meant the next morning but I just smiled and changed the subject. I remember hearing you say you love me that night too but I was too sleepy so I wasn't sure.