MY Yellow

Chap - 20

Olivia's Pov

He and I were sitting on the grass, staring at the sunset together. My two-week pregnant belly was barely showing. He lay with his head on my lap while I played with his soft, thread-like hair. This used to be our spot. We always came here whenever there was something to celebrate. And today, we had the biggest reason of all—we were going to be parents. It wasn't planned, not with college still going on, but we decided to keep it, to start something we wished we had.
Of course, we were scared, but together, I knew we would get through it.

We made small talk as we watched the sun sink lower.
"Livi, let's decide the name," he said as he sat up. "How about Rose if it's a girl, or Ryan for a boy?" He asked it so excitedly. I swear, he started searching baby names the minute we walked out of the hospital.

"I don't feel it," I said, rubbing my barely-existent bump.

"How about Luca for a boy and Lucia for a girl?" He grinned—until he saw my expression.

"Okay, how about this—we put our first letters into their names. If it's a girl, something starting with O. If it's a boy, something starting with R?"
It was a silly idea, but somehow, at that time, it felt perfect.

"Okay then..." He looked down, eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration.

"How about Ocean if it's a girl, and River if it's a boy?" He asked with the excitement of a kid meeting Santa.

"Meaning, if it's Ocean, it represents the depth of our relationship and our love for our baby girl. And if it's River, it represents us taking the long road together and never giving up on him—because we're ready to go through everything for him."
He said it so happily, and after thinking about it, it finally made sense.

"I like that..." I said, smiling.

After talking about our future—how we would walk this long road together, how I'd still need to graduate even while pregnant, how there was a possibility I could get kicked out, how we needed part-time jobs to support our soon-to-be family—we decided to go home. It was getting cold.

We started walking toward the car when he suddenly dropped to his knees. Thinking he just wanted to tie his shoes, I kept walking.

"Ummmm... Livi..."
I turned around to see him kneeling on one leg, holding a small box.

"Umm... what are you do—ohhh," I said, stopping in front of him.

"Okay... um... wait a minute... what do I say? Ugh, I should've rehearsed this. God. Okay, you got this. Look at her face and just tell her. Okay, phew... don't forget anything. Umm... SO..."
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and started.

"Olivia. You were one of the most beautiful things that ever happened to me. You never saw me as an orphan. You never gave me time to pity myself when the other kids bullied me. You always had my back. I remember you punching Billy in grade two because he bullied me. And you stood beside me when those guys tried to bully me in high school. I still remember what you said when I asked why you helped me. You told me that if I didn't react, they'd eventually get bored and leave... and then you immediately punched me in the face—breaking my already broken nose—and said that if I wanted to conquer life, I had to stand up for myself and be my own knight in shining armor. And as stupid as it sounds... Liv, you're my knight. I'm thankful for that. You were the reason I wanted to move forward every day. And now you've given me another reason. Another happiness. And now I'm holding this ring in front of you to show my gratitude and to ask if you will continue this path—"

I didn't let him finish. I knelt down and kissed him. He kissed me back. Short, sweet, perfect.

"Wait, I have to finish it," he said, regaining his posture.

"So... Olivia, will you take this opportunity to marry me?"

He looked at me like a puppy. I smiled.

"How can I say no?" I said as I hugged him.
There was no one to take a picture, no one else to witness this moment, and we loved it that way. This memory would live in our hearts—our story to tell someday.
Man, for a second, I sounded like Hazel.

Suddenly, the whole scenario changed.

We were at a college party. This happened the night after our engagement. I sat on a stool, observing people while drinking my glass of water. He had gone to look for Taylor. We needed to tell him—it's always been the three of us. Even though Taylor had been acting strange around me, and even though I didn't like it, he was still family. That's what my future husband always said.

While I waited, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
I turned around to see Taylor.

"Hey, your soul brother was looking for you. Where were you? Didn't you see him?" I asked, looking around, but he wasn't there. He and Taylor were soul brothers; they did everything together.

"Yeah, he told me to bring you upstairs to him... said he had a surprise."

What were they planning now? I still couldn't believe yesterday's surprise.

I followed Taylor up the stairs into a room, but as soon as I stepped inside, I didn't see him—only the sound of the door locking behind me.

I turned around to see Taylor looking me up and down.

"Taylor, what are you—open the door right now," I said, moving toward it, only for him to slam me against it.

"What did you see?! What did you see in him that I didn't have?! ANSWER ME! I was always there. I protected you. You think those guys were scared of you, a girl, when you threatened them for bullying him? No. It was me. I told them to stay away from you. I protected you. I loved you first, not him! Why did you run behind him and ruin everything?!"
He shouted as he traced his hands down my body.

"Taylor, wh-what are you doing?!" I cried, trying to push him away, but he was much stronger.

I jolted awake, sitting straight up.

It was just a dream.
I'm okay.
Ocean and River are okay.
We are safe.
Deep breaths.

I checked my phone—7:00 a.m.

I got out of bed and changed into my workout clothes, then headed out for a jog around the field.

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hiii guyss how are u??