Melody Anne - Scorched

“You saved my life,” she said, unsure what else to say.

“Actually, your sister saved you. She is one very tough woman,” he said with a chuckle. “I was the one who put you in jeopardy.”

“Please don’t think that, Adriane. You can’t be held accountable for the actions of your brother. He was a very sick man, and I know he was guilty of evil in his lifetime, but I’m sorry you lost him today.”

Adriane stared at her in shock as she squeezed his hand. But all Rachel knew was that no matter what Rafe or Lia ever did, she would love them, and to lose one of them, no matter the circumstances, would rip a piece of her soul away. Adriane had to be hurting for his loss.

“It’s strange, because there’s a part of me mourning him. I had hoped one day to reunite with him, one day to have the brother back whom I used to love so much.”

“It’s OK for you to mourn him, Adriane. He’s your family, no matter what he did,” she reassured him.

“I’m just glad you are safe now, so very glad.”

“Our babies are healthy, too,” she said, and his shoulders visibly slumped as if he’d been afraid to ask.

“I’m so grateful to hear that.” His free hand stretched down and rubbed along the top of her stomach.

She was silent as she worried about what to say. Did she tell him how much she loved him — how she was ready to take him on whatever conditions he imposed? Nearly losing her life had made her realize she didn’t want to be away from him, even if she didn’t have his heart.

Wasn’t it better for their family to be together?

“Please forgive me, Rachel, forgive me for everything I’ve put you through. Forgive me for trying to force you into a marriage for the sake of our children. That was so wrong of me,” he whispered, and her heart thundered.

Was he taking it all back right when she was ready to accept?

“I don’t want to keep your children from you, Adriane. I know how much you already love them,” she said, trying to build up the courage to proclaim her love for him.

“Yes, I love them, but I love you too, Rachel. Even before I knew you were missing, I realized what a fool I’d been in my treatment of you. I was afraid of something because I’d never experienced it before, but love isn’t a thing to be afraid of. I don’t know why I acted in such a ludicrous fashion, but I do know that if I have to live my life without you, I will only be a shell of a man.”

“Is this real?”

Suddenly she was afraid to even hope. What if she really were still back in that shed, frozen and dying, and all this was nothing more than a dream?

“I love you, Rachel, truly, wholeheartedly, with everything that I have. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, not for the sake of our children, but because I can’t live without you. I want to have these babies, and I want ten more, not because I need heirs for Corythia, but because I want to see you in each of their faces. I don’t ever want to come so close to losing you again. These have been the worst few days of my life.”

The warmth in his eyes filled her soul. He meant what he was saying. She had no doubt.

With her vulnerability at an all-time high, she wanted nothing more than to be in his arms where she felt safe, where she could be loved. She didn’t know how it was all going to work, but none of that mattered. They would figure it out along the way.

“I do love you, Adriane, so much that it hurts to imagine my life without you. I don’t want us to be apart for even one more day,” she said, choking up as he gently brushed her lips with his.

“Will you marry me, Rachel, do me the honor of becoming my bride?”

She looked at him with wide eyes. “Did I hear correctly? Was that a question, not a demand?” A small smile broke over her lips to take the sting from her words.

“Yes! I am pleading with you on bended knee to accept,” he said. “See?” Still clinging to her hand, he knelt down on the cold hospital floor.

“In that case, yes, it would be my honor to accept.”

He rose back up and crawled into the bed next to her, pulling her into his arms and taking her lips in a kiss of pure love. Rachel became lost in his embrace, forgetting time or reason. And she reveled in knowing nothing could hurt her now.

Adriane’s hand shifted and he rubbed her wrist, making her cry out. So much for her belief that nothing could hurt her! When he looked down and saw the angry welts from the ties Gianni’s men had used to bind her, his eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.

She wouldn’t want to be his enemy — that was for sure.

“You know you can tell me anything about the last few days, talk to me to get it all out. It will kill me to know what you went through, but I am here to listen,” he said, his thumb gently rolling across her bruised and abraded flesh.

Rachel thought back to the thin ropes that had bound her, to the night the man had threatened to rape her, to the taunts they’d thrown her way. Did she want to rehash all of that? No — not yet.

“I will someday, Adriane, but not now. I’m sure I will have to tell the police everything, and for now I just want to lie in your arms. I just want to feel safe.”

“But, did they… I mean, were you…?” He couldn’t finish.

“No. They didn’t sexually assault me. You saved me before that could happen. But the rest of it…I’m just not ready to put it into words right now,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t push her.

And he didn’t.

“Anything you want, Rachel,” he assured her.

She cuddled up close to him and let his loving embrace soothe her, let his soft touch erase her fears. She had a good family and a wonderful fiancé, and two babies she would meet in just a few short months.

The day had gone from hopeless to nearly perfect.

“You will make such a fine queen,” he whispered. Just like that, fear rushed back, and it felt like strangling hands around her neck.

“Oh, dear. I wasn’t thinking about that,” she whispered. She was so not ready to be queen. That was something not at all on her bucket list. She’d rather face the terrorists again than face the throne.

“Don’t worry, my beloved Rachel, you will be spectacular,” he promised.

She had her doubts. She’d voice them in detail when she woke up. Right now, the medicine the doctor had given her was kicking in and she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer. A good sleep would make it all a lot better.

“It turns out that tomorrow just had to wait until today,” Adriane whispered.

Adriane laughed at his private joke as Rachel fell asleep, safe within his arms.

Music drifted through the cathedral and past its ornate doors to where Rachel stood outside. The morning sunlight seemed to be shooting a ray of light directly on the golden door handles, as if directing her to enter.

She took a breath as she turned to her sister and to her best friend. Did she deserve so much happiness?

“You’re getting married today,” Ari said, smiling in encouragement.

“And becoming queen,” Lia added, making Rachel’s stomach knot.

“Oh, please don’t remind me of that. I have been telling myself that part is just make-believe,” Rachel said with a nervous laugh.

“You will make a wonderful queen. You care about people, Rachel. That’s all that really matters,” Ari said, squeezing her hand.

“Well, unless I say something foolish and land Corythia in a world war,” Rachel said, only half kidding. But though she was terrified of her new role, she wasn’t terrified of marrying Adriane. She loved him and couldn’t picture her life without him now. Enough time had been wasted and she was ready to be his bride.

Only a month had passed since the kidnapping. He’d rescheduled the original wedding date so they all had time to recover from their ordeal. After she’d said yes, she was ready to marry him instantly, but the wait had been good because it showed her that she hadn’t wavered, that she was as sure now as she’d been the moment she’d said yes.

“We’d better get you down that aisle before your stomach grows any bigger,” Lia said with a pointed look. Though Rachel was now five months along, her dress hid the growing bump.

“I can’t believe the twins will be born in only four more months. I figured I’d be as large as a whale by now,” Rachel said with a giggle.

“The last four months is where you’ll really start to expand,” Lia said with evil delight.

“You will get your turn,” Rachel said.

Lia froze as if she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Both Ari and Rachel turned to her in shock.

“Are you pregnant?” Ari asked, a smile breaking out on her face when Lia silently nodded, tears of joy shining in her eyes. “Me too,” she gasped.

All three women stood silent, and then flew into each other’s arms, thrilled to share this special moment together.

“How far along are you?” Lia asked.

“Six weeks. I think it happened on the honeymoon,” she said.

“Me too,” Lia gasped. “Maybe they will be born on the same day. Then it will be like having two sets of twins in the family.”

“I’m sorry, Rachel. I was going to wait to say anything so I wouldn’t take away from your special day,” Ari said.

“I would be so disappointed in both of you had you waited. This only makes this day so much more special,” Rachel hastened to tell them.

“We’d better get you in there,” Lia said. “They’ve restarted the wedding march three times now. I bet Adriane is going to come looking for you if we don’t get to walking.” She adjusted Rachel’s veil and directed the guards manning the doors to go ahead and open them.

With a final smile, Ari began walking down the aisle, followed by Lia.

Rachel took a deep breath and waited until the wedding coordinator motioned for her to step inside. As she stood at the back of the church, butterflies swarmed in her stomach, but no reservations about what she was doing made her hesitate.

In fact, she found herself wishing she could skip all of this tradition and simply kick off her shoes and run to her waiting groom. She’d never been known for her patience.

The music changed and she heard the rustling of clothes as the people who’d filled the church stood and turned, waiting for her to make her way down the aisle. She felt as if she were floating as she counted her steps, drifting closer and closer to Adriane, who looked so handsome in his military uniform, the crest of Corythia proudly standing out on the sash that he wore. She halted at the beautiful picture he made, standing at the altar, waiting for her arrival. He was so suave, so devastatingly handsome — and he was all hers.

His smile faltered at her pause, but as her smile grew, she sent him a silent message that he had nothing to fear. She would make no more attempts at escape.

Taking her father by the arm, she ascended the stairs to the altar and found herself facing Adriane. Though the room was filled with hundreds of people, all she saw was her future husband.

“I love you,” she whispered, overcome by joy.

“You are my life,” he replied.

It took everything in her not to lean forward and kiss his sweet lips. At least in public, she needed to act respectably, as she was soon to be a queen. Awaiting them was a long honeymoon, when they could kiss as much as they wanted.

And that’s exactly what they did.

“My son and daughter are beautiful,” Adriane said to anyone who would listen while he cuddled his baby girl safely against his chest.

“They sure are,” Rafe agreed.

“And little Alessandro came out a full three minutes before his sister,” Adriane made sure to tell everyone for the hundredth time.

“Oh, how wise you were to predict a son first,” Rachel teased him.

He’d been quite pleased when his son was born first, but he’d been mesmerized when Marietta emerged next. Only a month old and already she owned her father’s heart.

“I can’t help it if the Graziani line is all-powerful,” he said, teasing his wife while she cuddled Alessandro to her chest.

“I want to hold my nephew,” Rafe said as he walked into the room and purposefully approached Rachel. She smiled and nodded her head and Rafe picked up little Alessandro. “He adores me.”

“He loves anyone who smiles at him,” Rachel said, though she secretly believed that Alessandro did have a soft spot for his uncle. After all, Rafe had been the one to draw the first smile from her son, making Adriane quite unhappy. Adriane had been blessed with Marietta’s first smile, though, so he’d forgiven Rafe.