I Think I Could Love You Forever

Chapter 7: He Left The Watch

3 Years Earlier

"Babe, you get some rest, I'll get the baby," Aleks said as he got out of bed, pushing my arm down. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

I slowly went back to sleep as Nikita stopped crying, feeling Aleks get back in bed. He held me close, kissing the back of my neck. I laughed and held his hand, a smile painting my lips as I fully fell asleep. I woke up to the sun in my face a few hours later, the bed feeling oddly cold on the other side. Aleks wasn't there, but that wasn't surprising because he usually wakes up earlier than me. I got up and checked on the baby, not worrying about where Aleks was. I picked up Nikita, going downstairs and doing house chores. "I wonder where Papa is," I said to the baby as I folded laundry.

After about 30 minutes I found a note on the kitchen table, a watch next to it. After I read it and looked at the watch, which was clearly broken, I started crying. "No, no, no, no, no..." I grabbed my phone and sat down, holding Nikita on my lap. "Aleks, fuck, pick up!" I tried calling him 10 times, no answer. I gave up and called my mom and Ani, both of them just as surprised and horrified as I was when I told them what happened. They were here within 15 minutes, Ani taking the baby from me. "Did he leave anything other than the note?" Mom asked as she held my hands, Ani getting a bottle for Nikita.

"Yeah, um, he left the watch I bought him for his birthday a few months ago."

Present

Dima's been acting weird since we came back from Sochi. He was constantly shaking, he rarely kisses me, he almost can't look at me. I don't know what I did.

He grabbed the blanket, pulling it over the both of us. I turned over to face him, an odd look on his face.

"Baby, did I do something wrong?"

He looked up, his eyes wide open and his pupils small, as if he had just seen a ghost. "No, no, Sergey, you didn't do anything," He said as he pulled me closer to him, leaning his head on my shoulder. "Is that  the problem? Did I not do something you wanted?" He laughed, kissing my neck. "No, baby."

"Why won't you look at me?" He was surprised by this question, a smile painting his face. "I-I... I was gonna ask you while we were in Sochi, but what you said before the flight there scared me..." I sat up as Dima got out of bed. "What were you gonna ask me?" His cheeks turned red, his hand behind his back. He stood closer to me, a soft look on his face. He got on one knee as he showed a nervous smile, a ring box in his hand. "W-w.. will you marry me?" I gasped, covering my mouth as I looked at the ring, then back at him. "I- um.." His eyes became hopeless, a frown across his lips as he hung his head.

"Yes."

He looked up, smiling wide at me. "Yes, I will marry you!" He jumped up and kissed me, tears of joy in the corners of his eyes. "Oh my god..." We paused and looked into each other's eyes, then hugged each other tightly. "Wait, I wanna see the ring." He laughed, handing it to me. "Dima, it's beautiful." He pecked lightly at my lips multiple times, making me laugh. "I love you," I said to him as he got back in bed. "I love you more." He cupped my face in his hands, kissing me softly.

I took a picture of the ring, sending it to my mom and Ani. "Baby, how long have you had the ring?" I asked him, looking up from my phone. "2 weeks, why?" He gave me a look of suspicion, making me laugh. "You've been planning this for 2 weeks?"

"Yes.." I sat between his legs, Dima wrapping his arms around me. We just sat there, talking, kissing, laughing. Something felt right. I took another picture, this time of both our hands. Dima held me tightly as I scrolled through my phone, his chin resting on my shoulder. "What if I post it on Instagram?" I asked him, turning my head to see him. "Tag me." I smiled, opening stories. I posted the picture, immediately getting replies and questions from friends and fans. "Let's go back to bed, I'm sleepy," I told Dima as I leaned back against him, he kissed my forehead, laying down. We drifted off to sleep, Dima holding me in his arms. I couldn't remember the last time I went to sleep in the arms of a man, more specifically while happy. It felt like a wound was healed. Dima gave me everything I wanted, everything that I needed. I was healed from trauma.

It didn't sting anymore.