His revenge bride

A stranger's love

Dora’s POV

I woke up with butterfly feelings.

The kind I used to think only existed in romance movies and love songs.

Henry had already gone to work.

Yet his presence lingered everywhere.

A shy smile spread across my face before I could stop it. I buried my face into the pillow, laughing softly at myself.

Still smiling like a teenager in love, I reached for my phone on the bedside table.

The smile disappeared instantly.

Ten missed calls.

My eyes widened. “Oh no, Anita.”

Guilt filled me immediately.

We had left Tracy with her yesterday, promising we’d pick her up after dinner. But after everything that happened between Henry and me, we couldn't get her.

I quickly dialed Anita’s number, and she answered before the second ring.

“Did you suddenly become lover girl and forget you have a daughter?” she snapped dramatically.

I winked. “Anita, I’m so sorry.”

But even while apologizing, I couldn’t stop smiling.

There was a brief silence on the other end before she gasped suspiciously.

“Why are you sounding happy?”

I bit my lower lip.

“We couldn’t go for the outing anymore.”

“Really?” Her voice sharpened instantly. “Wait, did Henry change his mind? Dora, talk to me.” Anita asked.

“No, nothing like that.” I said.

“Then what happened? You’re scaring me.”

I lowered my voice instinctively, even though nobody else was in the room.

“Anita we had sex.”

“Oh my God!” Anita screamed.

I nearly pulled the phone away from my ear as her scream exploded through the speaker.

“Tell me you’re lying!”

I laughed helplessly, covering my burning face with one hand. “I’m not joking.”

“Omg!”

And then the line went dead.

I stared at my phone and burst into laughter.

I knew exactly what that meant.

Anita was definitely coming over.

Still grinning to myself, I dropped the phone on the bed and headed to the bathroom, my heart feeling lighter than it had in years.

*"

Just as expected, the doorbell rang less than an hour later.

I opened the door to find Anita standing there with Tracy beside her.

The moment Tracy saw me, her little face lit up.“Mummy!”

I bent down immediately and wrapped her in my arms, kissing her cheeks over and over again.

“Hi, baby.”

She giggled loudly, squirming in my embrace before staring up at me carefully.

“Mummy you look really happy. Are we celebrating something?”

Was it really that obvious?

Before I could answer, Anita swooped in dramatically and carried Tracy away from me.

“Well, young lady,” Anita announced, “your mummy and I need to discuss very important grown up matters.”

Tracy frowned suspiciously.

“Again?”

I laughed. “Yes, again.”

“Okay, Aunty Anita,” she said before running toward the sitting room.

The second Tracy disappeared from sight, Anita spun toward me so fast her handbag nearly fell.

“Start talking!”

I burst out laughing. “You actually live for gossip.”

“And you live for suffering,” she fired back. “Now speak.”

I shook my head, still blushing as I told her everything.

The dinner, the kiss, the way Henry touched me like I was something precious.

How he had looked at me afterward as though I was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Even the breakfast he made for me before leaving for work.

By the time I finished talking, Anita looked seconds away from fainting.

“So all this actually happened?” she asked, staring at me in disbelief.

I nodded shyly.

“My friend finally found happiness.” she screamed, jumping excitedly.

Her happiness should have made me feel completely secure.

Instead, fear quietly slipped in.

“I just pray it lasts,” I whispered.

The excitement on Anita’s face softened immediately.

“Dora…”

I looked away.

Memories had a cruel way of returning when life started feeling too beautiful.

“Don’t do this,” Anita said gently, holding my shoulders. “You’re living in the present, not the past.”

I forced a small nod.

“But what if.....”

“No.” She cut me off firmly. “Is Henry complaining?”

“Not at all.”

“Then stop torturing yourself.”

I sighed softly before smiling again despite myself.

“He’s been amazing these past few months. He treats Tracy like she’s his own daughter. He buys her gifts, visits often, honestly sometimes I catch myself watching them together.”

“And?”

“And it scares me how much I love seeing it.”

Anita rolled her eyes dramatically.

“And somehow your problem is that you’re too happy?”

I laughed as she nudged my shoulder.

That was Anita.

No matter how dark life became, she always found a way to pull light back into it.

Maybe that was why I had never let go of our friendship.

Eventually, she stood up and grabbed her purse.

“I should head home before it gets too late.”

I walked her to the door, and she pulled me into a warm side hug.

“You deserve this happiness, Dora,” she whispered. “Don’t let fear ruin it before it even begins.”

Her words stayed with me long after she left.

*

Later that evening, the doorbell rang again.

I frowned slightly.

Henry never mentioned he was coming over today.

I opened the door, and my smile slowly faded.

Henry stood there looking exhausted.

The brightness he usually carried around him was gone.

Without saying anything, I collected his briefcase.

“You don’t look okay.”

He forced a faint smile. “Just stress from work.”

I studied him carefully, something felt wrong.

“Alright,” I said softly. “I’ll prepare dinner so you can eat and rest.”

“There’s no need.”

The response came too quickly.

Before I could say another word, he walked upstairs.

Henry loved my cooking. No matter how tired he was, he never rejected food.

Something was definitely wrong.

But I didn’t push.

After tidying up downstairs, I finally went upstairs to meet him.

Just as I expected, he wasn’t asleep.

He lay against the headboard, scrolling through his phone absentmindedly, though his eyes clearly weren’t focused on anything.

I slowly lifted the duvet and lay beside him. “You want to tell me what’s bothering you?”

For a while, he said nothing.

Then finally, “My parents don’t approve of us.”

The words hit me so hard, I stared at him.

He told them about me?

And just like that, the voices I had spent years trying to escape came rushing back.

My stepfather’s cruel words echoed inside my head. Maybe he was right.

Maybe women like me were only good enough to be loved in secret never openly chosen.

Tears filled my eyes before I could stop them.

But then Henry suddenly turned toward me fully. “Look at me, Dora.”

I slowly did.

“I don’t need my parents’ approval to marry you.”

I blinked.

His fingers wrapped tightly around mine.

“I mean it,” he continued firmly. “I’ve already spoken to my lawyer and the priest. We don’t need anybody’s permission to be together.”

I could only stare at him in shock.

No one had ever fought for me before.

Not even my own mother.

But here was this man, willing to stand against his own family just to keep me beside him.

“I’ll fight every obstacle for us,” Henry whispered, gently squeezing my hand. “So this shouldn’t scare you.”

That was when the tears finally slipped down my face, someone was choosing me without hesitation.

“Oh, Dora…” Henry murmured softly, pulling me into his arms.

And there, wrapped safely against his chest, I allowed myself to believe something I had denied myself for years.

Maybe I deserved happiness too.

Maybe I deserved love just like every other woman in the world.