Dear Laura 2

Chapter 12

The following day, we went on a private cruise that he set up for us. It was a mini picnic with all my favourite fruits and delectables. That man never ceased to amaze me. He went all out to express his love for me, and I loved him a lot more because of that.

As we were on the cruise, my phone rang and it was a Face Time from Emma. I could had sworn I saw Abdul roll his eyes the moment he realised who it was. Her and I talked, and I caught her up on the latest. Until Abdul accidentally bumped into me and my phone fell into the ocean. I have no idea how it happened because I was so focused on Emma.

"Oh my gosh!" I yelled in frustration.

"I am so sorry baby. That was a mistake, I really am sorry. I will get you another one. Your contacts are backed up right?" Instead of responding, my gaze was fixated on the spot where my phone fell.

"I'm really sorry." He continued to apologise. To a not-so-pregnant person, that apology would have been enough to calm them down. But of course, my emotions were heightened and all I did was cuss him out.

"How could you? How are you sober and missing your steps like that? What the fuck is wrong with you?" I yelled and he looked taken aback. Probably by my bravery to use vulgar to his face. He was big on being respected. I did not care in the moment, I was simply being controlled by the hormones coursing through me, caused by my eleven-week-old foetus. Or baby. Like I said, I'm bad at biology.

He stared at me, like he was still questioning my bravery and seeing if I would continue. I did.

"A person can't walk. It's not that hard you know, left right, left right. What stupid person fucking bumps--." I suddenly felt heat where his hand collided with my cheek. The sound echoed through the ocean. I was astounded. I could not believe what he had done.

"That hurt you son of a bitch!" I yelled while trying to massage my cheek. I could feel the print of his fingers on my cheek. It was so painful, it stung when I caressed my fingers on the prints.

"You are so pathetic." Without reluctance, he slapped me again on the same cheek. Tears flowed from my eyes and the pain on my cheeks was unbearable. I was so angry with him.

"You are hurting me, Abdul." My voice broke into a whine and that's when his eyes turned remorseful.

"Oh my gosh baby. I am so sorry. You were insulting me a-a-and I got furious and I just, I lost it okay. We talked about this Mia; you cannot talk to me like that. It triggers a side I never wanted you to experience. Why would you cuss me out like that?" He wanted to touch my cheek but I stepped back and refused to let him touch me.

"Please do not push me away baby. I love you."

"I hate you!" I managed to yell even though my voice was breaking.

"No, no, no. Please don't say that. You dont mean that Mia. Take it back." His tone was a mixture of aggression and anxiety.

"Take it back Mia." He pressed as he looked into my emotionless eyes.

"Why? So you can feel better about yourself? I will not. I hate you Abdul and you are toxic."

"Mia please don't say that baby. I am so sorry." Tears flowed on his face. At this point he was crying more than I was.

"Are you seriously going to cry now?"

"I am truly sorry Mia. I really am. I did not mean to hurt you baby. It was impulse. I will never do it again."

"Get the fuck out of my sight. And take me home. Now." I had forgotten we were in the middle of the ocean until that point. He ruined the whole experience for me.

"Why are you even acting like a victim? These are the reasons I slapped you. How can you talk down at your partner like that? Why do you think it's acceptable to speak to me like that? You provoked me Mia. Stop acting like you did not start this. Deal with the consequences of your actions."

"I--." I attempted to speak but he interrupted me.

"You just want to paint me out to be the bad person. I do all I can to show you how much I love you and instead of appreciating me, you insult me. Dropping that phone was a mistake, I even promised to buy you another one to fix my mistake but what do you do? You insult me and throw cuss words at me. You know how unappreciated I felt? It hurts so much to know that none of my efforts are worth it. If you are still punishing me for what happened with Hope or how I was treating you while I was still with her, just say that. Because I am doing my best to amend but clearly it isn't enough. What can I do to show you how much I love you? I guess a promise ring didn't do the trick.

"I am so sorry I am still not the perfect man for you. I thought I was trying. I am such a failure.
I can't seem to do anything right. Even loving the best girl in the world. How could I cause you pain like that? I clearly do not deserve you." He was on his knees and his whole face was stained with tears. In that moment, the fingerprints on my face did not matter, I just wanted to reassure him. I felt sorry for him. I wanted to tell him that he thought wrong.

Seeing him fall apart caused a pit in my stomach, I could not really shake it. I pulled him into my arms, letting him rest his head on the nape of my neck. His heavy breaths created tingles all over my body but I had to focus on his emotions.

"Baby, get up please." I softly spoke. My heart had softened due to the heartbreaking words he said. I was worried about him. He got up and I took him into my embrace then caressed his back to soothe him.

"I do appreciate you. I am sorry for yelling and for disrespecting you. Please forgive me baby. I will respect and appreciate your efforts more." I meant every word that was diving off my tongue.

"And I forgave you for what happened with Hope. May her soul rest in peace. I am over all that, trust me. You are not a failure, and your efforts are evident." I went on to reassure him until he wiped his tears. The tension was slowly disappearing as I melted my body into his arms. His sobs quieted down and he looped his arms around my neck, his breathing steadying with every word I said.

"I am sorry I hit you baby. I don't know what got over me. It will not happen again. Okay?"

"It's okay baby."

"Did you mean it when you said you hate me?"

"No baby. I will never hate you. I love you too much." He seemed pleased with my answer. So much that he kissed my forehead and told me that he loved me too.

I untangled myself from his arms and looked into his eyes.

"I am madly in love with you." The words rolled off his tongue and floated to my head, causing it to swirl into a crazy spiral. His grip around my waist was firm. Goosebumps swarmed every part of my body that he touched. I was losing control, and he was claiming it. He placed a warm peck on my lips.

He then brushed the fingerprints on my face and whispered, "I am so sorry princess." Butterflies took over the pit in my stomach as he spoke. It felt right again. I was not angry anymore. I just wanted to go home and get him to please me like he had never before. From that day, I knew that I will never fall out of love with that man. I would never be able to get myself to leave, even if I wanted to. I was so hooked and there was no saving me.

He bought me the iPhone 15 pro max the following day. I found it on the counter, next to some roses and pancakes. There was a note telling me that he was at work and would see me when he got back. I spent the day setting up my phone only to find out that none of my contacts were backed up, I could not log into my old icloud account, and I would not be able to contact my family nor Emma. And unfortunately, none of those people were on other social media platforms. I decided to deal with it another day because I was trying to keep my stress levels low.