Kidnapped By The Prince ✔️

|BONUS CHAPTER 1|

✖️not edited✖️

THREE YEARS LATER

"Happppyy birthdayyy tooo yooouuuu," Haiden finishes singing drunkenly.

"Are ya one? Are ya two? Are ya three?" the small group chants before I can blow out my candles. When they reach twenty-three— which is a long time because their heavily intoxicated minds keep mixing up the numbers—I tell them to stop.

"You're twenty-three!" Parker, one of the few sobers at the party, exclaims.

"And annoyed!" I mockingly cheer in the same tone.

"Why?" Haiden slurs. "I'm a hoot. I dont know why you hate me so much – I'm lovely!" he states as-a-matter-of-factly.

Some days, I admire my brother and think of him as my role model. Other days, he finds his keys in the freezer. But hey, we've all been there.

I blow out the candles of my cake in one breath, making sure to close my eyes before the smoke can get to them.

"Did you make a wish?" Luna giggles, slightly tipsy.

"Yeah," I lie, making sure Sam keeps a close eye on her before she does something stupid. He only laugh at my concern and hands Luna another beer.

"She'll be fine," he assures me, "I've seen her drink ten of these suckers in three minutes."

"Don't let her do something stupid," I warn him.

"Are you kidding?" he laughs. "I'm the one who's going to do something stupid."

I roll my eyes and watch in awe as Luna downs the drink within the thirty seconds it was given to her.

She's gonna have a major headache tomorrow.

Parker finds his way to place his chin atop my head, watching along side me as Luna reaches for another beer, which Sam happily gives to her.

"That's impressive." Parker points out, his chin jabbing into my skull.

I mutter an 'ow' before ducking under his head and spinning to face him. "I need to talk to you later," I inform him.

Parker's eyes crinkle in concern. "Is it something bad?" he asks worriedly.

"No, nothing like that," I assure him. "Just... talk to me later?" I inquire.

Parker nods and gives me a quick peck on the lips before sauntering off to talk to Haiden and Devin. I sigh in relief at his exit and take a seat next to Kayla, who is completely sober while she reads from a medical textbook.

"How long is that gonna take?" I ask, referring to her college timespan.

Her eyes flick up to meet mine from behind her glasses. "Two more years."

"Wow," I breathe.

"I think," she takes a deep breath in, "I think I might change majors."

"Change majors?" I whisper. "But you've already put five years of your life into becoming a doctor. What would you be?"

Kayla shrugs and tosses her book into the trash can beside us. "I'm thinking about becoming a physical therapist."

"That's brave," I breathe.

Kayla nods softly. "My dad'll be so disappointed," she murmurs to herself.

I smile sadly at her father, wishing and training  her to become what he wanted to be. He only means well, his heart is in the right place, but no one has ever asked Kayla if she even wanted to be a doctor. And clearly she doesn't.

"Sorry," she apologizes, chuckling slightly. "I'm a real party killer, aren't I?"

I laugh at her comment and pat her head thoughtfully. "It's what you do best."

.~.~.~.~.

"What'd you want to talk to me about?" Parker asks, pulling me aside. We're standing in a corner across the room, away from the rest of the group.

I fiddle nervously with my hands before stuffing them into my pockets so he can't see my anxiety.

"Hadley...?" Parker hesitated, his tone laced with concern.

"I'm ready," I blurt.

Parker stares at me in confusion. "What?"

"I'm ready," I reiterate. "I... I think I want a baby."

Parker's face lit up at my statement as I look to the ground. "You... you are?"

"Yeah," I respond sheepishly. "I think it'll be good for me—for us."

Parker swoops me into a hug, pulling my feet off the ground. "Yes!" he cheers excitedly peppering my face in little kisses. "We're gonna have a baby!"

I laugh at his enthusiasm. "Not quite yet, though."

Parker pouts. "Then when?"

I shrug. "Whenever I get pregnant."