Among the Stars ✔️ [Completed] [book three]

Chapter 42

Standing on the balcony of the Cornish beach house we have rented for a mini honeymoon, I hold onto the railings and breathe in the fresh sea air. The wind swirls gently around me, tussling my hair around my face. The peace and quiet of this isolated location has given us the opportunity to relax for a few days before our busy lives resume again. No work, no filming, no distractions!

"Have they been back?" Daniel asks on his return before standing next to me. He hands me a cup of tea, and I watch as the steam spirals in the wind before dispersing around us.

"No, they swam off that way." I point to the left of our cliff top location towards the horizon, where the family of dolphins have just swam in formation.

"I hope they come back." He says while sipping his tea.

"Me too." With my free hand, I lift his arm and put it around my shoulders. I lean into him and his heat immediately warms my bones. As if our babies know their Daddy is close, they roll and kick energetically. Daniel places his cup of tea on the glass table next to him and rests his hand on my stomach, grinning at the feel of them. "How long do we have left here?"

"One more day." He sighs loudly. "With your due date fast approaching, I want to get as much filming as I can out of the way. I'm hoping that by the time you're thirty-five weeks, I'd have done what I need to before I can take an extended break."

"Hey, I know! Look, I'm going to be working flat out for the next month to get everything in order too!" I explain for what feels like the hundredth time so he doesn't feel guilty about having to leave me again. "Caroline's baby is due in the next couple of weeks too, don't forget!"

Daniel chuckles softly. "How could anyone forget. Jeremy said she's in full stress mode... apparently he can't say or do anything right!"

"Sounds like Caroline." I agree with a nod before sipping my tea. "For her it's like being asked to go to the airport to pick someone up, but you're not told the date or time that their flight is arriving... she hates things that are out of her control... and childbirth is about as far out of your control as you can get!"

"Do you feel like that? You've been so chilled, and it worries me that I'm missing something... or not picking up on how you're really feeling."  Daniel's eyebrows knit together, making deep furrows across his forehead.

"No, honestly I don't." I smile up at him reassuringly as the sea breeze continues to spiral around us. "I guess I just feel so grateful to be pregnant that I just want to enjoy every second!" A little laugh escapes my lips. "I might feel differently as my due date approaches though!"

Daniel's phone vibrates again on the table of the balcony. We both look over at it. I don't move, but watch with a pained expression as Daniel steps closer to see the name on the screen. We both know who it'll be... Madison! She's the only reason we have had cross words in the four days since we said 'I do'.

"Are you going to answer it?" I ask hesitantly.

"No... I'm not ready for her bullshit apologies. We agreed that while we are on our honeymoon we don't have to deal with the real world... and my mother is definitely part of the real world." He drinks the rest of his tea pretending like he doesn't have a care in the world, keeping his eyes on the waves breaking beneath us on the sandy beach. "You feel up for going for a walk?"

I nod, not wanting to argue again about that woman. Instead, I take his arm and lead him down the coastal path and onto the sandy beach. With only us standing on the deserted beach, I feel completely at ease. But, I can see from his tense expression that Daniel feels as though he's carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

We walk across the sand, leaving a trail of our footprints behind for the sea to wash away as if we had never been here. "Don't you feel that she has been punished enough with being excluded from our wedding?" The words slip out before I have chance to filter them.

"Don't start again!" He snaps, turning away from me to face the ocean.

"I'm not starting anything, Daniel!" I snap back at him, not wanting to go backwards. "It's just eating you up... and it makes me feel like we're starting our married life with your mother hanging over us like a cloud."

"Your the one who has started our married life fucking arguing! I've shut her out and closed the door... it's you who won't let it go!"

"That's the problem Daniel! You thinking you can shut things away... you have to deal with them!" I keep my tone even.

He stops walking and faces me. "Just like you did with Ed?" He then spins on his heels, marching across the sand away from me.

I'm left totally stunned by his words, but whether it's the hormones or the fact that I don't want him to bottle things up like I did, I storm after him. "What the fuck did you just say to me? Why would you bring him up now?"

"You heard me! You preach from your high horse about therapy and how I should be open about my feelings... but you forget that you did exactly that!"

I stop walking, while he takes a few steps more. Once he realises I'm not beside him anymore, he also stops and turns towards me.

"Maybe I don't want you to end up like I was, or how I felt. Maybe I just fucking love you so much that I want to try and protect you from that kind of pain!" My words start off strong and clear, but even I can hear how my voice wobbles as I speak.

Without waiting for his reaction, I stomp back along the sand to our rented beach house.

"Lizzie, wait." I hear him shouting from behind, quickly making ground on me without much effort on his part.

"Don't bother!" I scream at him, tears free flowing down my cheeks. Keeping up the pace, I quickly make it up the hill to the beach house. But once I open the door, my head spins a little, making me wonder what my blood pressure must be like right now. Refusing to let him see how lightheaded I feel, I swiftly sit down on the sofa until my breathing evens out.

Daniel paces in front of me. "I'm sorry." He says with an enormous sigh before roughly rubbing his eyes.

I fold my arms before me, but stubbornly refuse to acknowledge his apology.

"Babe, come on... I'm sorry! Look, this is like one big fucking circle with my Mother... she uses me... I feel hurt... she apologises repeatedly with promises of change... I forgive her... she lets me down."

"I know all of that, but my point has been that your using all of this negative energy actively trying to ignore her. You made your point the last time you saw her, and then your conversation with Curtis where you explained you didn't want them at our wedding. I understand that you didn't want them there, and selfishly I'm kind of glad she wasn't there either... but I see how it eats you up... and I don't want that for you, or for our family! It was un-fucking-fair of you to bring up how I dealt with Ed! I know beyond a doubt that if I had my time again I would not let him get away with not only what he did to me physically, but how he made me feel in here..." I tap my temple repeatedly.

"I know-"

"No, you really don't." I shake my head with a grimace. "But your right about how I dealt with it! I just don't want you to bottle things up again... to shut me out! I don't want us to ever have anymore secrets from each other!"

"I won't ever shut you out, baby! I promise." He bends to cup my face in his hands, demanding that I look up into his blue orbs. "It's me and you against the world. OK?"

Reluctantly, I nod, feeling the fight drain from me. "We have one more day before we're apart again-"

He kisses me passionately, cutting off my words as I melt into him. All thoughts of Madison fade away in a heartbeat to be dealt with another day.

-  hey guys!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you think!

So, married life has started off a little bumpy for Lizzie and Daniel - who do you think is right?

At least they've managed a little honeymoon before they return to work!

I hope you're all safe and well wherever you are!

Please tick the little star too. Love T x -