In This Life (Sequel to 'In Another Life')

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 I stared at the ring, amazed by it even as my nerves jumped around my body. It had a silver, maybe white gold band that was encrusted with tiny diamonds halfway around it. Rubies, with their beautiful garnet color, were set sparingly across the band, opening up where the main diamond sat. It was so clear and bright, the cut immaculate. I couldn't breathe. It was breathtaking and it absolutely took my breath. "T?" he said nervously, shifting his knee that was on the hardwood floor. "We don't have to get married right away. I know it's kind of fast, but really it's not. I plan on telling the fans that we're together asap, then announce our engagement a little further down the road. I know that's always been a problem for you, but the shock will blow over with them. If you don't want too-" "Colby, shut up," I breathed out, meeting his gaze. "Yes," I answered, certain in my decision. "What?" he said, looking confused. I laughed a little, took my hand from his to dry it on my clothes, then placed it back in his hand. "Yes, I'll marry you. I want to grow old and gray with you. Forever." It seemed like it took a minute for what I said to process in his mind. His confusion switched to shock so fast, then a giant smile spread over his face, while an indescribable joy filled his eyes. His hand shook while he held mine and took the ring out of it's small, black, velvet resting place. The ring slid easily onto my ring finger fitting perfectly. I held my hand up, looking at it, while Colby stood up. It was absolutely amazing, blending in with my other rings, but also being the main attraction. "I love it," I whispered, bringing my hand down and meeting his gaze. "And I love you," I replied, basically jumping on him, clinging to him like I would never let him go. "You've just made me the luckiest, happiest man in the world Terra. I love you so much. I have another surprise for you though," he said, setting me down. "What could be better than this? Nothing can top this Colby. This is all I've ever wanted. You just made one of my childhood dreams come true," I said, placing my ringed hand on his cheek, so that I could see the sunlight streaming in through the window glint off of it. God, it was gorgeous. It was mine. He was mine. He kind of laughed nervously, and reached into his pocket. What could he possibly have? "Close your eyes and hold out your hand," he said. I sighed, rolled my eyes with a smile and did what I was told. I felt something small being placed in my hands and it was killing me to keep my eyes closed. "Okay, open them." I looked down and saw a key. A simple silver key placed in my hands. "A key? For what? What's it too?" I asked, confused as I held it up. "Here," he said simply, holding his hands up. "Here?" I said, still confused. "What do you mean?" He laughed again, and turned around so that my back was to his front, then wrapped his arms around me. He held one hand out and motioned around us. "Here T. This place. It's ours. The deal went through this morning." "HUH?" I exclaimed, my mouth dropping open. That couldn't be right. I didn't hear him right. I turned to face him so that I could see his face. "Colby, I think I heard you wrong. Say that again." He placed his hand on my cheek, and stared into my eyes. "This house is yours T. I know you don't want to live here in Georgia, but when we come to visit, or you want to come for a vacation or something, this is where we stay. It's yours. Forever your safe place." Well, just fuck my heart right up, why don't you? "You're not serious." I replied, still in shock. "If this is a prank, Colby, I swear to God, I might kill you. Don't play with me. My heart can't take it." "It's yours T. You can decorate it however you want." The tears that were already hanging on by a thread started streaming out of my eyes. "Colbyyy," I wailed, burying my face into his chest. His arms came around me, squeezing tightly. "I'd do anything for you T. When you told me about this place, I went ahead and checked it out. I called Mrs. Gail, I called your parents. Then I called the owners. Now you're the owner." I raised my head to look at him. "We're the owners," I said, my voice shaky and thick with tears. He smiled at me softly. "We're the owners. So, what do you want to do? If you want to move in here, I'm all for it." "What about LA?" I asked, in shock again. "What about Sam, Corey, and Jake? What about the duo channel? You can't just up and move here. There's nothing here." He pressed his lips to mine for a few seconds. "You're here," he said quietly. I shook my head. "No, I'm not here Colby. I'm in LA. Your heart is where your home is. You're my heart." His eyes got shiny as he fell quiet for a moment. "So vacation home?" he asked, clearing his throat.  I smiled and nodded. "Definitely. Oh my God, I love you so much! It's mine? It's really mine??" "Yep, everything in here comes with it. We can trash whatever you want, or sell it, and get new things. Get the kitchen and everything updated. It'll be great," he replied. I held my hand up again, looked at the ring, then looked at the house. "There's got to be some kind of mistake. Someone upstairs switched up some records or something. My life shouldn't be this amazing," I said quietly, looking around the house, seeing it with new eyes. "You're amazing, so everything around you should be amazing. You deserve to be happy silly girl. Are you happy?" he asked. I nodded, tears falling again.