Amidst love and heartbreak

KHLOE the kickass princess

Khloe’s POV

So far, this day has been as shitty as it can be. Eric pissed me off at home, and as if that wasn’t enough he has been bothering me at work as well. The perks of working at the same publishing house as your husband. How we thought that it was going to be a good idea is beyond me. I guess we were young and stupid at the time. To top it all, Emma has been throwing tantrums about almost everything lately and I can’t figure out what is causing it.

I had to get out of the office for at least an hour just to keep my sanity. Luckily Sarah is the best friend one could get and suggested to meet up and have a coffee or something together. I had to meet my mum first to talk about her new book so we decided to meet there since she could meet her dad as well. We have found that these last years we both tend to be concerned about our parents since they lost the love of their life. I don’t know about her dad but my mum seems fine. She is enjoying writing these last couple of years and I am enjoying being her editor.

I pull up my car next to my mum’s house and the first thing I see is Nolan closing the garage. He is a nice boy that helps mum with all her heavy stuff at home. I am so glad that she has someone to help her when we are not with her.

“Hey, Nolan. Done already?” I asked when I stepped out of the car.

“Hi, Khloe Yep, all done. Her room looks perfect now,” He responded probably feeling pleased with the work done.

“Where is my mum?”

“Don’t you hear the music upstairs? Where do you think she is?” he said with a gentle smile on his face.

“Yeah. I thought so. I will go check on her,” I said but as soon as I turned around there she was.

“Hello, my baby. How are you today?” she asked in her signature warm voice.

“Hi, mum. Feeling better now that I am here. How is my favourite writer doing? Getting any great chapters done?” I asked in a playful tone.

“And here I thought that my baby girl was here to see how her old mother is doing,” she said just as much playfully. “The book is turning out better than I thought, actually. It is at the part that I love the most when you can smell love everywhere and everyone is in tiptoes because they don’t want to screw anything,” she said feeling so proud of herself.

“Mum…” I was shocked by her language. She never talked like this when dad was still alive. I actually loved that she was feeling free enough to express herself as she wished. As an editor I want her to be free because that will bring an unlimited fantasy. As her daughter, as much as it shocks me, I like the fact that I see her happy. 

She laughed at my remark and came to hug me.

“Come on. I have some cookies and we can put on the kettle for some tea,” she said and to us it was medicine. “Thanks for your help, Nolan. I really appreciate it. Here are some cookies for you. I know you love them,”

Miss Maggie, this way I will gain some weight. Who will have me when I become fat?” she said laughing.

“A smart person will know to see beyond image and appearance and if that person will not, then it’s not the one for you, my darling,” mum said in her advice-giving voice. “And make sure you act on your feelings before you regret it,”

I feel like there is a story behind their jokes but it doesn’t concern me.

As we see Nolan leave I notice Sarah coming out from her dad’s house with him in tow. He seems such a nice person and I know that he lost his wife just a couple of years ago. I know from Sarah that they had a nice relationship but they were never the loved Dovey kind of couple. I guess that was the type of relationship they had at the time because as far as I remember my parents were the same. I turned around to pull mum in but I saw her very thoughtful. I wonder what got into her. 

“Shall we go?” she finally asked and I nodded. I know Sarah will come in when she finishes with her dad.

“Yes, let’s go see what amazing things my favourite writer has done so far,” I say and we both go inside the house. As soon as we go in the kitchen mum puts on her kettle for our tea and then takes out her amazing double chocolate chips cookies. My favourite. It’s like she knew that I was going to come. I feel my baby kicking and I know that it is going to be exactly like the mama with a sweet tooth.

“It’s getting into it. I told you already that I love this part. I love it when the couple is just at the beginning of everything. All the little gestures, all the new emotions give me that joy that nothing else gives me,” she said and I knew what she was talking about. It is an emotion that I don't feel anymore and with a new kid on the way, I don’t think that it’s a good thing. 

My marriage has not been easy lately. I don’t really know when we stopped loving each other madly and started seeing only each other’s flaws. I know that Eric loves me and that I love him but it is far from the emotions that we once felt towards each other. Now it’s more like we put up with each other. The only good thing that we have together is Emma, the truest love of my life. 

Mum keeps talking about her book and how she plans to develop the story. She talked about the c****x but she is still doubtful about the ending.

“I am between a happily ever after, as usual, and a tragic end where fate separates them and it is all sad and heartbreaking. What do you think? Would it be too disappointing if I did not give my readers their happy ending?” she asked and it kind of pulled me from my thoughts. Will it be too disappointing? Good question, mum.

“Well, to be fair, mum, life is never hearts and flowers. It would seem more realistic. It is true that your readers probably want to escape the routine and hide in this magical dreamland, but if done right it might bring a lot of new readers as well as faithful ones. Plus, I trust you will make the right decision seeing how the story will develop,” I say in my most professional way. To be sincere I don’t feel like reading about anyone's happy ending at the moment.

“Look, mum, everyone talks about how the prince and the princess got together and they lived happily ever after. What they don’t say, though, is that the prince is a spoiled brat that thinks that the princess is good for nothing and needs saving all the time. On the other hand, the princess can kick his ass every day and still manage to look beautiful. Who said that ‘the happily ever after’ is always happy,” I finished my rambling. I probably seem a bit bitter with my last statement. I will blame it on the pregnancy hormones.

“Khloe, are you ok my baby? You seem a bit agitated,” mum asked with her sweet voice. A bit of concern adorning her face now.

“I am fine, mum. I am probably tired and these hormones are not the best to manage. It has been long since last time I was pregnant,” I said trying to explain myself so mum would not get worried. “Plus, they are stressing me out at work. There is a promotion available that we still don’t know who will get it,” I said telling her a half-truth. There was no ‘they’ stressing me out. It was just one person and I did not know how to stop him without hurting myself.

Maggie’s POV

What Khloe was saying sort of made sense but I know my daughter. I know she did not tell the whole truth about whatever was going on in her life. All her talk about the prince and the princess and how their ‘happily ever after’ might be not that happy made me think that she has trouble at home. Now that I think about it Emma seems a bit off sometimes and is becoming more and more clingy towards me. It is like that is the only warmth she finds lately and it worries me. I only hope that whatever has been going on it is not unfixable. With a baby on the way, I wouldn’t want them to face many hardships.

Khloe decides to leave after the third cookie. I wanted to give her more so she could bring some to Eric, her husband but she refused to say that I can give it to him when he brings Emma from school. I better talk to him as well. I want to know more but I don’t think asking her will solve anything. I know she can be stubborn and very secretive. I better get back to the writing now.

Melanie was overwhelmed, speechless, self-conscious. Arnold kissed her. They did not see each other for three days and his first instinct was to kiss her. She felt her heartbeat rise and probably were crimson by now. It was her first kiss. Her. First. Kiss. And he stole it from her. She didn’t get a say. 

Suddenly anger rose from inside her. How dare he do that to her? Who did he think he was? It’s not that she did not like it, but why not have a say? She put her hands on his chest. Arnold thought that she was finally leaning into his chest but she pushed him from her. What came next was definitely something he did not expect from her either. She opened her arm and closed it again in a tight slap on his left cheek. 

Arnold was shocked. In normal cases, he would have been angry and said something to hurt her, but what he was feeling now was something totally different. He felt guilty, ashamed of himself, and most of all sorry for what he did.

“I am sorry,” he muttered with his eyes still closed from the slap that he got. He opened his eyes to meet her blue ones and what she did was something that surprised him once more. He took his courage and said it again in a louder and more convincing voice. “I am sorry, Melanie. I never intended for it to be a sign of disrespect. In my defence, though, I could not control myself. I missed you so much these three days. I thought I was never going to see you again,” he finished his speech waiting for another slap. It never came, though.

Melanie lowered her head and was silent for a couple of seconds and then raised her head again to meet his sight.

“I missed you, too,” she started and took another deep breath. “But you had no right to take my first kiss without permission. It was mine and I was saving it,” she finished and a lone tear rolled from her eye. 

“Then, I promise to be your last kiss as well,” he said, convinced. “That, if you want it to be,” his eyes now pleading with an emotion that was too intense for her to understand. She felt her heart beating frantically after what she heard and there was only one option for her at the moment. Whether it was the right one or not, she went for it. Melani raised on her tiptoes, put her hands on his neck and pulled him for her first wanted kiss and she made sure to pour all her emotions in it.