Forever Love (Stauren) {Book 2: Completed}

Chapter 32

°•°3rd person°•°

Steven's feet pounded up the staircase to find Lauren, the picture of Cleo clutched in his hand. He pushed his way through the open door to find Lauren, Caiden, and a little girl who was curled up in a ball in the corner of the room.

Cleo.

Without a word, Steven ran towards the girl, taking her aback by picking her up into a tight embrace. Cleo's eyes widened for a moment before resting her head Steven's shoulder.

From the moment they touched when Steven pulled her up into his arms, Cleo knew who it was. "Daddy," she whispered with a smile as Steven fell to his knees, stilling holding his daughter. He never wanted to let go. All Steven wanted to do was hold Cleo, hold her for the first time in almost two years.

Lauren stepped back in shock once she realized what was happening. "Oh my god...Cleo," she choked out, a small smile forming on her face.

•°•°•°•°•

°•°Lauren's POV°•°

"Was my old mommy bad?" Cleo asked as she laid on my lap, her head resting on my chest.

From what I could tell, she had understood most of it. I was grateful that she decided to call her her mom, for it was one of the immediate fears when I realized that it was truly Cleo.

I ran my fingers through Cleo's hair. "Yeah, she was...she did really bad things."

"And that's why she's bad," she concluded, sounding a bit sad. "If she was bad...does that mean that I'm bad too?" This time, Cleo lifted her head from my chest and looked up into my eyes. I had missed her beautiful brown eyes that resembled Steven's.

"Of course not, sweetie," I answered, putting on a small smile which she quickly returned. "I'm sorry that you're going through all this. It must be scary."

"I always knew that my old mommy wasn't really my real mommy. She didn't treat me like a mommy should," Cleo answered, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Don't worry about that anymore," I began, bringing to her in a hug once again. "I'll be a better mommy than her...I promise."

"I'm glad to be back," she whispered.

Then, Steven walked into the bedroom and grinned at the sight of me holding Cleo, who hadn't noticed him yet. "There's some dinner downstairs if you want some, Cleo. Caiden and Emmie are already down there."

"M'kay," Cleo said happily and jumped off of my lap to go her something to eat.

Once she was gone, Steven sat down on the end of the bed and tapped his fingers on my foot. "I'm happy that she feels comfortable around us," he said.

"She said that she was happy to be back." I sat up and scorched over to where he was on the bed. My forehead gently pressed against his, our noses almost touching as I said, "I can't believe that we have our baby back."

"Me either." With that, he closed the space that was between our lips with a passionate kiss. I ran my fingers down his toned arms and to his fingers.

After we both pulled away, I spoke again. "I'm gonna take a quick shower while they eat." I stood up after pecking Steven's lips once more and went into the bathroom to turn on the shower.

Quickly, I stripped off my clothes and stepped into the warm water. A released a happy sigh as the water ran down my body, and I turned around to begin the process of washing my hair.

After I finished my hair, I heard the bathroom door open and in seconds, arms wrapped around me from behind. "What are you doing?" I asked Steven with a smirk.

"Taking a shower with my wife...who is yet to find her wedding ring." He returned the smirk a I lightly slapped his shoulder.

"I'm gonna find it," I promised, turning around to face him. "Now are you gonna kiss me or what?"

"Yes ma'am."

Once again, our lips collided, love present in the kiss that we both shared. Steven traced his fingers up and down my sides, the water raining down on us the whole time. My fingers tangled into his wet hair as I jumped up, wrapping my legs around his waist. A soft moan escaped me as his lips trailed down my jaw and neck.

Suddenly, the water turned of, but Steven and I had no clue as to why. We both turned our heads to look up at the shower head which was now only barely dripping a few drops of water.

Both of us exited the shower and quickly dried off before putting on clothes.

As soon as we got downstairs, Emmie ran up to us. "Why'd the water shut off?"

"It's probably nothing," Steven said, Caiden and Cleo coming into the living room where we were. "I wouldn't worry-"

Then, the lights shut off, all of us looking up. Cleo let out a small squeal of fear, hinting that she was scared of the dark. I stroked her hair soothingly, and she hugged my waist tightly.

"Come on, it's late," Steven started, still looking at the lights that had gone out. "We should all just go to bed."

"Yeah, but I think guy three should sleep with us tonight," I added, Steven nodded in agreement. "Just in case."

Just in case.

•°•°•°•°•

I didn't want to sleep that night. All I wanted to do was hold my baby girl in my arms the whole night. So I did. I held her close to my chest, not letting good. I needed to know that she was actually there, that she was actually in my arms again after 18 months.

My baby girl was back.

A/N
Chapter question: Aren't Emmie, Caiden, and Cleo adorable in the pictures attached to this chapter?!?!?! (I hope they show up)

Sorry for the boring chapter, but there's only a couple more chapters left until I end this book! I haven't decided if I will do a third book (which would be the final book).

Chapter shoutout goes to MeganGwilym !!