Through Rivalry Comes Love

Chapter 46

Stefan was extremely happy to have Elena living with him. Sure, he had spent the last three days lugging heavy boxes from her apartment to his, but it was completely worth it. Because every single morning, he was going to wake up like he was waking up right then. With Elena's legs tangled up in his and her hair taking up the entire pillow they were sharing.

Their alarm went off, but Stefan shut it off quicklu. They could be a little late to work. He kissed her temple and she snuggled closer to him. "Nice try" she whispered. "We have to get up."

Stefan's lips brushed against her ear. "You know what's awesome about being CFOs for my brother's company?" he asked. Elena shook her head, but smiled. "He can't fire us. We're family and we keep the company afloat financially" he whispered.

"No wonder why your brother gives you such a hard time" Elena said. "You do everything you can to get out of working."

He rolled over on top of her, kissing her neck. Her weakness. "And why would I want to work when I have someone so beautiful in bed with me?" he asked.

Elena felt him smile against her skin and it only made her smile too. "You own half of a multi-million dollar company" Elena reminded him. He should have been more concerned about working.

"We own half of a multi-million dollar company" he corrected, whispering this close to her ear. Elena tensed for a moment before sitting up and pushing Stefan away. He sighed. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"The company isn't mine" she said, looking up at him. "It belongs to you and Damon."

Stefan tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as he looked into her eyes. "Yeah, but we're getting married, which means what's mine is yours too" he reminded her.

Elena slowly smiled. "You really are sweet, you know that?" she asked him.

"I'm incredibly sweet" he smiled as he leaned in to kiss her.

Elena let him, but she kept the kiss to a light peck. "But when it comes to the family business, it should stay yours and yours only" she said quietly. The company belonged to Damon and Stefan. Her place was to the side, offering her experience and expertise regarding finances.

Stefan understood what she was saying, but that didn't mean he liked it. "Are we talking separate bank accounts too?" he asked, only half joking. He was afraid she might want that too when they got married.

Elena shook her head and smiled. "Seeing as how my bank account has no money, I think we should share that" she told him. For the first time in her life, she really didn't have any money to her name. It was embarrassing and a little terrifying too.

"I told you I'd take care of that fine" he reminded her. All $50,000 of it. They had almost gotten into a fight over that discussion, actually.

Elena sighed. "I screwed up, Stefan. It was my responsibility to take care of it" she told him. She had been the naïve one, putting her trust in Gregory.

Stefan kissed her softly. "And it is my responsibility to take care of you now" he whispered. He grabbed her left hand and slowly brought it to his lips to kiss. He still got giddy inside when he would see Elena walk by, wearing the ring.

Elena slowly wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Do you want to do my community service for me?" she asked. Because the next six months' worth of weekends were going to suck.

Stefan laughed lightly. "I'll be right by your side every weekend" he promised, hugging her close. "Things are going to get so much better for us" he said, kissing her cheek.

"Things already are pretty great" she told him, pulling away from him. "And I'm not going to let my past mistakes get in the way of my future with you" she assured him. She had to tell herself that every day, because she refused to punish Stefan for things Gregory had done. Stefan deserved the best of her.