Light In Darkness {Second book in the series of Eternal Love}

47 Epilogue

A strong marriage rarely has two strong people at the same time. It is a husband and wife who take turns being strong for each other in the moments when the other feels weak.

~Ashley Willis

~~~~~~

Stacey smiled as she ran her hand through her hair, standing in front of the mirror. Her eyes closed on their own as warm, soft lips landed on her right shoulder. Two warm arms went around her waist and rubbed her protruding belly.

Darius grinned, keeping his chin on Stacey's shoulder. She opened her eyes and kept her hands on his, feeling the kick.

"He loves football, doesn't he?" Darius' voice held amusement as he felt another kick but this time stronger than before.

"He is like his dad, after all." Stacey smiled warmly at the reflection of her swollen belly in the mirror.

Darius chuckled at that and made her turn around in his arms. He bent down and kissed her belly, saying, "Hey there buddy. You need to be a little careful with your kicking. It hurts your mom."

Darius kissed again and felt a soft kick against his lips which made him pat Stacey's belly.

"I love how you can so easily make him understand everything. He is definitely going to listen to you more than me but I don't mind being the lenient parent." Stacey caressed Darius' hair as he looked up at her.

"I have to be the strict one." Darius pouted to which Stacey giggled at him and said, "Okay. Sometimes we will switch the roles."

Darius grinned boyishly at her and stood up, taking her in his arms. Kissing her forehead, he mumbled, "Thank you for giving me this little gift. I still can't believe that we have been pregnant for five months now. And day after tomorrow is our wedding. Then you will be officially Mrs. Brooks." 

"Hmm. I love the way it sounds." Stacey whispered softly, resting her head on his shoulder.

They heard a gentle knocking at the door which made them grin at each other. The door opened and Stella thrust her head inside, smiling at the couple.

"Can I come in, dad?"

Darius grinned at his daughter and nodded his head, saying, "You know you do not have to ask, princess."

"I know, Sun."

Darius and Stacey sat on the bed, waiting for Stella to climb up on the bed.

It had been half a year since Darius proposed Stacey. After coming back from London, the couple had been inseparable though they had some healthy fights here and there but at the end of the day both of them craved to be in each other's arms so their fights lasted for a few hours. They went on many dates and every time they acted as if it was their first date, enjoying themselves thoroughly. The dates were sometimes planned by Darius whilst others by Stacey and they even involved Stella in some of the dinner dates to make it a family date. It was a night date in their mansion when Stella had a sleepover with one of her friends, Marcella that Darius made sweet love to Stacey on their bed as promised. He worshipped just like he vowed to do to his caramel goddess. After ten days Stacey announced about her pregnancy to Darius on a date whilst later that day hey broke the news on Stella.

The hard part was to announce this news to the Adneys for Victor and Eliana lost their child due to increasing complications. They were afraid of the couple's reaction but Eliana was the happiest to hear the good news. In fact she helped out Stacey a lot whilst Darius got some tips on parenting from Victor.

Above all Stacey was worried about Oliver, not only Stacey but everyone was worried about him. Losing his unborn sibling changed him for the worse. He became distant and edgy, always in anguish and a type of sadness that no one had the power to confront with. In his anger, he broke hearts but the heart that he broke down most cruelly was of Stella. He stopped talking to her altogether. Everyone including Darius tried to mend his heart but every effort proved to be futile. Stella was hurt and sometimes she heard it well but the others times the distance in her eyes from the world was visible which only added concern to her parents. She even tried to talk to Oliver but that was a day she could never erase from her memory. That day was the last one when she tried to confront him as he yelled at her, barking some harsh words. After that day it seemed that she was not the same Stella.