Bad Desire: New Beginnings - Fast Forward

Part 31 - a real happy ending

1 year later (part 4 - probably the final part too!):

Once everyone was finally seated, it was Todd's turn to make his way onto the stage. He was reluctant at first and had previously pleaded with Felix to do it in his place. He wasn't a fan of public speaking, which was surprising considering the huge amounts of confidence he held. However, with so many expectations coming from people he didn't even know, it had put a great deal of pressure on him.

"Right, I'm not great at this whole speech thing, so I'm going to keep it short. I just want to welcome you all and introduce you to the collection." Todd began, running his hands over his dark jeans.

It was obvious he was nervous. His true vulnerabilities were coming through, as he was finally in a situation he had little control over.

"I just want to start off by thanking you all for coming. To be quite honest, this year has been fucking crazy and I kept questioning why Sophie chose me over everyone else. But I actually surprised myself in the end because I didn't just create something that represented Sophie in the best way, I had fun doing it too."

As Todd glanced around the room, his gaze soon fell on his brother and Juliet who were sat hand in hand, and also their children surrounding them. It caused some ease to flow through him for a moment, as in some crazy way, they finally felt like his family too.

He then proceeded to catch sight of Sophie's children in the crowd, gleaming back at him. Even Amiya was stood on a chair, just so she could get a good view. However, there was still one particular face he was searching for, one face he was desperate to please but also a face he knew would give him all the reassurance he needed.

"I want to thank all of the team who have helped me on this too, because I couldn't have done it without them and yeah, I really hope you all like it." Todd finished up a speech that he had only practiced in his head moments before.

He had refused to write one down on paper because he knew it would only make him more nervous. Having the pressure on himself to remember something word by word would only have ended in disaster and he had been determined to keep it short and sweet.

"So, I just want to bring someone up here who I admire even more now that I've been through this. She's a woman who makes this look easy and never fails to impress me with every idea she has and end result that she achieves. She is also a woman who I owe a huge thank you to because she has given me more chances than I deserve, while also being the only person to ever truly believe in me." Todd continued, not needing any kind of preparation when he was really speaking from his heart.

Glimpsing around the room, his eyes soon landed on that particular female who made his heart swell with so much love.

"Sophie Carter. I think you need to get up here."

All eyes turned in Sophie's direction and the room immediately began applauding her as she stood. When she looked straight at Todd, she was smiling; smiling out of pride, smiling out of appreciation and smiling out of pure happiness getting to watch him up there.

When Sophie walked onto that stage, Todd immediately pulled her into a hug, causing her to give him a tight squeeze in response, not only out of reassurance but also as a thank you.

"I'm so proud of you." Sophie whispered into Todd's ear and as they pulled apart, she watched as a smile spread across his lips.

It was the most beautiful smile she had ever seen because it was a smile caused by his own achievements. He had done all of this tonight on his own. He had proved everyone who had doubted him wrong and Sophie didn't regret her decision in the slightest.