His Virgin Stripper

Special Chapter

Weddings. I never looked forward to them. When I was a child, I never got to see my parents. I didn't believe in family because I didn't have one. But standing there, looking at my future husband across from me, waiting with teary eyes, wanting to hold me, I knew he was my forever. I saw my future in him, with our son and more children running around, playing and giggling, filling our home with love.  

"Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine having this kind of family," I began, my voice trembling with emotion. "I was an orphan who left the place I once called home. I became someone I didn't want to be just to survive. But because of that, I found you, my love. Even though we didn't meet in the most ideal way, I'm so happy because you accepted me. You treated me with kindness, and while I was pregnant with our baby, I knew you were going to be a great father to her but I didn't let you know. And I was right. You took care of him when I was a wreck. I wish I had told you everything, so we could have cared for him together, but everything happens for a reason, and that led us to who we are now. I love you before, now, and always—forever, my love."

I paused for a moment, my heart pounding.

"Love?" Elijah's voice broke through my thoughts. "The first time I saw you, I never imagined you'd be the one for me. The mother of my children. But from the moment I met you, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I remember when you looked at me with sadness in your eyes that slowly lit up overtime. You were so vulnerable, and I found it cute because you somehow became happy when you were with me. Then, when you disappeared, I did everything I could to get to you, everyday. When I found out you were pregnant, I got mad. But when I looked into your eyes, so sincere and full of love, I knew that I had to protect the both of you. Marrying you was the best decision I've ever made, and I will love you and our son forever."

Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't imagine everything Elijah had been through. He was crying, too. His words meant everything.

"I do,"

"I do."

"You may now kiss the bride."

And with those words, everything melted away. Elijah leaned in and kissed me, passionately, and I kissed him back, feeling the depth of all the love we shared. I whispered against his lips, "I love you, my everything—my husband, my protector."

-------------

The aftermath of everything I experienced is shocking.

An interview happened six years later. Someone invited us.

It wasn't planned at all.  By then, we had already stepped away from most public attention. Life had settled into something quieter, something more intentional. We only agreed to this one because it wasn't about headlines this time. It was about closure. About looking back without feeling like we were still trapped inside it.

Elijah didn't like interviews.

I didn't either.

But this one felt different.

Aero was at school. Celestine was living independently now, continuing therapy but doing well enough that she didn't need constant supervision anymore.She's in college and studying already.  My mother was back in our lives in a steady, normal way.

As for Richard, he took his own life. I heard its because of pressure and guilt.

Everything felt different now.

We were just living peacefully.

Elijah adjusted his cuff beside me as we sat down.

"Still okay?" he asked quietly.

I nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "This feels... weird."

He gave a small nod, like he understood exactly what I meant.

When the interviewer started, her tone was soft.

"Thank you both for coming here," she said. "It's been six years since your story became public. How does it feel sitting here now compared to assumptions back then?"

I thought about it for a second.

"It feels good to be here," I said. "Back then everything felt like it was the end of me. Now it feels like something we already lived through."

Elijah leaned slightly forward.

"We were just trying to survive each stage of it," he added. "We didn't really understand why the public want our story."

The interviewer nodded.

"And when you look back at the younger versions of yourselves... what stands out the most?"

I smiled a little, not because it was funny, but because it felt strange thinking about it.

"How lost we were," I said honestly. "We thought every decision had to be perfect or permanent and to be quickly decided. Like if we made the choice, everything would collapse."

Elijah glanced at me briefly.

"I was proud of my wife for overcoming everything," he said calmly. 

"Life didn't collapse. It just kept going. And I learned how to move with it instead of against it."

The interviewer smiled.

"Your relationship has also been talked about for years. How would you define it now?"

Elijah didn't answer immediately.

He looked at me first.

Then he spoke.

"It wasn't perfect," he said. "It wasn't clean or simple. But it was something real. And we chose it every day until it became something stable."

I nodded.

"And I think that's what changed everything," I added. "We stopped waiting for things to feel easy before we committed to them. We just kept choosing to understand each other while things were still complicated. Kahit na masakit."

The interviewer paused for a moment, then asked softly, "And your family now?"

I took a breath.

Thinking of Celestine didn't hurt anymore.

Mom being a mother to us.

It felt like remembering someone I had finally understood instead of someone I had lost.

"They're all okay," I said. "We're not the same people we were six years ago, but we found a way to exist in each other's lives without destroying ourselves in the process."

Elijah nodded.

"We're not trying to fix the past anymore," he said. "We're just building them from what's left."

The interviewer leaned back slightly, then smiled.

"If you had to describe everything you went through now, with distance from it, what would you call it?"

I looked at Elijah.

He looked back at me.

I turned forward again and spoke slowly.

"We may have started as two completely different people," I said, "but we found ourselves in each other, creating one that knows itself. And building a strong foundation in order to keep our relationship going."