"Happy baby!", Jaime yelled, and instantly, JoJo smiled, a broad, toothy grin.
"Angry baby!", Jaime said, deepening his voice, mocking an angry tone.
JoJo glared, her bottom lip jutting out.
"Happy baby!", Jaime exclaimed once more, and JoJo lit up once again, giggling at her father.
Jaime smiled back. He'd been holding baby Joanna out, standing her up on his legs, but now he pulled her close to his chest.
He'd loved the baby girl the second he'd laid his eyes on her. Loved her so fiercely that it hurt sometimes. He never had expected his life would be this way, Lord of Casterly Rock, married to Lady Corinna formerly of House Tyrin. And he never knew he could be so truly, utterly, completely happy about it.
No, at first Jaime resented the idea fiercely. He had fought it. He had nearly resented his wife, whom he now loved so entirely. He even tried to fight loving her, when the feelings started to consume him. But he couldn't deny the happiness and peace he finally felt. No, he was almost thankful that his service in the King's Guard was not carried over to the new King, Robert Baratheon, whom was married to his sister. His first love.
He never thought he would be able to move on from Cersei. He still loved her dearly. She was his sister. His twin. In many ways, they did belong together. But they were forced apart, and no matter how desperately he tried to be miserable, he couldn't be.
He was going to join the King's Guard once more. He was going to ensure that he stayed in King's Landing, at Cersei's side, forever. But his father had ruined that, and it was a blessing in disguise.
In truth, he had not loved Cori for a long while at the start. At first, he was rather hateful towards her. And he regretted that deeply now. Still, even then, when he wanted to truly hate her, he could not. He just simply couldn't love her.
Yet.
--
PROLOGUE
"Let me get this straight. We have nothing in between us, except for the deal we made that day" he spoke in a monotonous tone.
"I am the one carrying your name behind me; we are married. how can you say we have nothing in between us? Huh" She yelled at him, tears blurred her vision, and she spoke her heart to him.
"For god's sake, this marriage was to save you! Can't you get that? I did not do it willingly, I do not love you!!" He yelled back at her, shattering her heart into pieces.
"Why can't you just love me?" She spoke, as she cried the tears of hurt, and pain. Her heart thumped loudly due to the shivering sensation She felt all over her body.
"I never made a commitment to you, or gave you any false hope, neither did i say that i love you. Did i?" He asked her, in a very cold tone. She looked at him through her teary eyes. It's getting difficult for her to even breathe.
"It was your eyes, the damn eyes. Who gave me the false hope. They say, "Eyes speak the truth," but what about mine?
Couldn't you feel the sincerity within them, expressing my deep affection for you?
Why didn't you see the love shining in them?
Was it too complex to understand? Couldn't you notice the warmth as they gazed at you?
They search for you in every corner,
If only you realized how they silently echoed the emotions I couldn't articulate.
They say, "Eyes never deceive."
But what about yours?
They played a trick on me when they met mine, painting a facade of a world that wasn't real.
They made me feel loved,
Leading me into a belief that crumbled, louder than your spoken promises.
Why did they betray me?
Was it your eyes or you that masked the truth?" He stayed still, not moving or saying anything at her statement.
--