The Ex

Chapter 18

"Mrs Porter, I know what I did was wrong. And please, don't hate me. I love your daughter, but I come to make stupid decisions which lead to her being hurt in the end. But I won't do that ever again. I promise." Diane just scoffed and looked at me numb. "You don't have to believe me, I understand that. But I decided I'm coming back to LA first plane tomorrow."

....

"As for Audrey... Mrs and Mrs Porter, I need to ask you..." I looked between both of them as I knew that my question is going to be a big one and I've been thinking about it ever since Audrey and I were back together. "May I have your daughter's hand in marriage?"

10 years later (Ruby's POV)

I was sitting on the porch of my beautiful house and drinking some coffee. I listened to the bird chirping while slowly sipping the hot liquid from my cup. My phone buzzed showing a new notification. I looked at the screen and it was a message:

Yvonne: You and Zoe wanna come for dinner tonight?

I sent her a like, accepting the invitation. That's when I hear a cheerful laugh from inside the house, getting closer. Zoe hugged me from behind still giggling.

"Hi baby, why are you up so early?"

"I can't sleep. I'm excited about tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah? Are you ready for tomorrow?" I asked suspiciously.

"Yes! I can't wait to meet all my new friends." Zoe jumped up and down and her big curls jumped along. I laughed at the moment and looked at my beautiful daughter. It's been three years since I adopted her, making her only four years old when she came to live with me. I loved her from the first moment I saw her. The adoption process was extremely hard so it was a big surprise when after a very long time, with me losing every hope to have a child, they brought her.

Zoe is African-American and it makes the big black curls and her dark chocolate eyes look even more wonderful with her skin color. When she looks at me with those piercing eyes, I can't help myself but smile. Being a parent to this amazing child made me realize how much it's important to never put myself first like I used to, not if it will make someone unhappy. Zoe's happiness was basically all I cared about now.

*Flashback*

After I asked the question, Diane just stared at me, not knowing what to say. It was Nicole's turn to speak as she put a hand on her wife's shoulder and stood slightly in front of her. Quite frankly, it was always Nicole who I was afraid of more. She was pretty quiet, so I didn't really know what she thought about me. Plus, it doesn't help my fear that she was in the freaking army.

"Look, Ruby..." She cleared her throat a bit and then continued, now putting a hand on my shoulder, "I know, deep down, you don't even realise how much you love Audrey. But I... I love her with all my heart, you can't even begin to understand it. I saw you hurt her not once, but twice. So... If what you ask us now is just another thing you'll soon reconsider and throw away... don't. I won't you hurt her for the third time, not even the slightest bit."

The whole way back to LA, Nicole's words kept ringing in my head. Was I really such a bad person? Do I even deserve to be with Audrey? I hope the answer is yes honestly, because I don't know what will I do if she says no to my proposal.

*End flashback*

Later in the evening, Zoe and I got ready for the dinner at my sister's house. I was tying her shoelaces while she was sitting on a small chair in the hallway.

"Are Ben and Josh going to be there?" Zoe asked about my sister's twins, her cousins. Yvonne was pregnant with them around the time when Zoe was born too, so they were the same age. Zoe always liked to play with them.