Taking A Chance On Love || m.t.✔️

完结 Epilogue

4 Years Later

Mark and I looked at each other. We both were completely exhausted, but joy shone through our eyes. We sighed in relief, finally able to breathe after a full hour of coaxing our twin tornadoes to sleep.

Now, as we peered over the edge of the large crib, we smiled at our beautiful twins, a boy and a girl. Mark hugged me from behind and I melted in his embrace. It had been a long road, but we were finally home from the hospital with 2 new additions to our family.

"We're parents now, for real this time," Mark said with a soft smile.

"Yeah," I said gently, looking down at our adorable sleeping miracles.

I tore my eyes away from the twins reluctantly and turned to walk toward the couch nearby. Mark followed me and never left my side as we both settled in comfortably. I cuddled close and laid my head on his chest, Mark's arms encircling me before he laid his head on top of mine.

In the comfortable silence, my mind wandered back to the early days of our marriage, even to the day Mark and I first met, and how our marriage had progressed since then. It hadn't been easy, it still wasn't at times, but I wouldn't have traded it for the world.

I took a chance on love. I loved, I lost, I grieved, I grew, I cried, I laughed, and I lived. My journey was as smooth as a mountain range, but it was filled with beautiful moments as I hiked each step. There was no destination, merely the joy of the journey. Did I regret it? No. Would I regret it? Never.

One thing kept popping in my mind however, ever since the day I found out I was pregnant...the first time. Now that I was actually a mother, the question grew louder in my mind, begging to be voiced.

"Mark?"

"Hmm?" His voice vibrated in his chest as I listened to his sure and steady heartbeat.

"How do you know we'll be good parents? I mean, I've seen parents make a lot of mistakes, even the good ones, and we're both busy people, plus your career forces the limelight on you all the time...will we be able to give our kids the normal childhood they deserve?" I hesitated. "I've planned for this moment for so long...but now that it's here, I don't know what to do," I said hesitantly, absentmindedly drawing circles on my husband's chest.

After a moment of thinking, Mark hugged me tighter before speaking.

"Honestly, I don't know. Parenting isn't easy, especially with twins, but we'll take it one day at a time. They've got 2 parents who love them, 4 grandparents who will spoil them, and a whole lot of aunts and way too many uncles too. With this village, I think our kids will be just fine. We've got this," he ended, pressing a gentle kiss to my lips.

I eagerly responded, relishing the now rare moment of peace and quiet with my love. My eyes slipped closed as I lost myself in the feeling of his soft lips moving against mine, his stubble beneath my fingertips, and his scent filling my nose. His tongue swiped my bottom lip, asking for access, which I quickly gave. He deepened the kiss and began to caress my waist, causing me to nearly forget my surroundings entirely as I brought my hands up to tangle in the soft strands of his hair.

Mark had just moved me onto his lap when our now sharpened ears caught on to a slight stirring coming from the direction of the crib. We both froze mid-kiss and our eyes flew open in panic. Hearing the stirring again, we swiveled our heads to the crib, silently hoping the stirring would stop. It did, and we both let out a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, it didn't last.

We heard a whimper, then a sob, then a full-fledged wail. That wail doubled as the other baby woke up and turned the one baby show into a duet. We sighed in tandem, my forehead resting briefly on his as we shared commiserating smiles.

"You get Thing 1, I'll get Thing 2," he said as I got off his lap. I chuckled and we headed to the crib. Beholding our son and daughter clad in matching Dr. Seuss onesies, I picked up the baby wearing "Thing 1" emblazoned on his shirt while Mark picked up our daughter sporting "Thing 2" on hers. Trying to shush and coax them back to sleep since it wasn't yet time for them to nurse, we walked all around the room trying to appease them.

Despite our efforts, the dynamic duo wailed louder due to the sudden sound of the doorbell. I nearly cried in frustration as Mark ran to open the door so the bell would stop. Flinging the door open in wild-eyed panic and frustration, we found Jackson and my new friend Ten from NCT standing at the door. Glaring at them both, I immediately walked over to them, an idea forming in my head.

"Hey! We're here bearing gifts," Ten said excitedly before realising the chaos that was before him.

"Uh...did we come at a bad time?" Jackson asked, looking at Mark's annoyed face.

Biting back the colorful words in my head, I quickly whispered something in Mark's ear. He chuckled mischievously, nodding in agreement.

"No, come on in and put the gifts somewhere, we don't care," Mark said over the wailing.

Glancing at me, he quickly shuffled toward the shoe rack and slipped his feet into some sneakers while Ten and Jackson were sufficiently distracted. I followed suit, grabbing hats and masks to shove into a purse I had hanging on the wall. By the time the two turned around, we were standing behind them, startling them nearly out of their skin. With one last glance at each other, we grinned. I thrust the baby in my hands into Ten's bewildered arms while Mark did the same to Jackson, making sure they supported their heads well.

Suddenly holding 2 squirming and screeching newborns, the two looked over at us in wild-eyed panic as we beamed brightly at them, backing away slowly. By the time they figured out what we were doing and began to protest, we were almost at the door.

"Have fun bonding with your niece and nephew!" I yelled over the cacophony, grinning so wide my face hurt.

"We'll be back later, have fun with the babies," Mark added with a cheeky wave.

With that, we opened the door and stepped out, slamming it in their faces and cutting off the sound of angry sobs and desperate protests. Sighing in relief, we laughed and ran hand-in-hand down the hallway to the elevator.

"We've definitely got a village with too many uncles," I remarked with glee. I could just imagine what poor Jackson and Ten were up against, and I would have been lying if I didn't feel the tiniest bit of schadenfreude about it.

"See? I told you we'll be just fine," Mark said, kissing me just before the elevator opened.

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Mochi's Musings:

My musings and thanks will be placed in the next chapter, please head over to it for my thoughts and a sneak peek at my upcoming short story!