The moment Marcus and Cara entered the house, Liam jumped with joy. “Has he?” he started to ask and then his glance fell upon the ring on her finger. “Oh, he has!” Cara grinned at his enthusiasm and so did Marcus. Vera and Adam came rushing out hearing him.
“Are you engaged to Cara, Marcus?” asked Vera, clasping her hands together with eagerness.
“Yes,” acknowledged Marcus, making her squeal with delight.
“What’s going on?” asked aunt Maggie, coming out from inside. Before Cara could announce their engagement, Liam blurted it all out.
“Aunt Maggie, Cara, and Marcus are engaged at last,” he broadcasted, making aunt Maggie smile and hold out her arms to Cara.
“I’m so happy, sweetie,” she said with a motherly smile while her eyes filled up with tears of joy. Cara hugged her aunt as she had been nothing short of a mother for them in the last two years, during the most difficult times of their lives.
“Wow, there’s a yacht anchored at the pier outside,” said Adam who had been admiring the Royal Carmen with avid interest.
“Yeah, Marcus bought it for us. We went on a whale-watching trip today. It was so amazing that next time, we’ve decided to take all of you along,” said Cara. The children cheered and urged Marcus to show them the yacht. While he led them outside, Cara went to freshen up and spend some time with her baby.
The next few days were very hectic as she had to gear up for the Canada trip. They had announced their engagement to Marcus’s family and the date of their wedding was fixed to three weeks later. It gave Cara very little time to prepare when she returned from her tour. So she ordered her wedding dress immediately and then planned a little with his mom. Marcus’s mom was arriving a week later when she returned from her trip. The news of her wedding went viral and although the date wasn’t disclosed, her fans went crazy. Every day she was flooded with congratulatory messages and Gwen had a tough time sorting through her mail inbox.
“Take care of yourself and give your best performance,” said Marcus as she rested her head on his chest after a round of passionate lovemaking. It felt as if he wanted to please her to the maximum tonight, to make up for the next five days.
“I will. It will be aired on all the Music channels. Will you watch?” she asked hopefully.
“Of course, I will since all the songs your write are meant for me. Aren’t they?” he said, stroking her hair tenderly. Cara nodded shyly. Of course, they were! She loved only him and sang only with him on her mind. “You’re really very talented, love. I’m so lucky to have you as my life partner. You truly are my better half,” he said with a kiss on her nose.
“So are you, Marcus. I don’t know how I’ll survive for five days without you,” she sighed, wrapping her arms around his torso.
“You’ll be so busy that they’ll be over in the blink of an eye. Then when you return, we’ll be busy with our wedding preparations,” said Marcus.
“Yeah, I want a low-key wedding here at home. We can call only our family and close friends,” said Cara.
“I don’t have any friends. I broke all relationships with my only friend, Bryan. He had an affair with Cassie while she was engaged to me and I can’t forgive him. So for me, it’s only my family but Sienna’s friends will come, especially Alyssa. Do you remember her?” said Marcus. Cara groaned, remembering how Alyssa had always insulted her at Sienna’s wedding.
“Of course, I remember her. She was very rude to me. Why is she keen on attending our wedding?” asked Cara looking puzzled. As far as she was concerned, Alyssa had never liked her at all.
“She’s a big fan of yours now. She wants to apologize for her behavior and collect your autograph,” said Marcus, leaving out the melodrama that had been happening between her and Nicholas out. He himself wasn’t much aware of it and needed to ask Lucas later. Cara’s jaws dropped at the news.
“Really? That’s news indeed,” she said out loud but deep in her heart, she felt good that Alyssa would apologize to her. She felt good that she had been able to prove herself through her hard work and sheer determination.
“Go to sleep, love. You have a morning flight,” said Marcus. Cara had spent the whole day with her family since she would be leaving the next morning. Her siblings were dejected, especially Vera since she wanted to accompany her. If Marcus had been going, then she would have taken Vera along as well but Marcus couldn’t go even if he wanted to. Marianne was too young for traveling long distances.
Cara left home in the wee hours of the morning. All arrangements had been made by West End Studios with whom she had an exclusive contract going on. Peter and his team were always very attentive and with Gwen present this time instead of Frederick, things looked much better and bearable. This was her first tour without Frederick and she could already see the difference. She felt happier, more relaxed and things went more smoothly without him interfering in everything. In fact, everyone noticed it and commented on it as well. Cara was convinced that it wasn’t just her but that no one else liked Frederick much.
She was well prepared and although they covered a few cities consecutively without any break, Cara wasn’t as stressed as she used to be on her previous tours. Marcus called her every evening and he video chatted with her. The children also joined in. It was obvious how much they were missing her. On the last night of her tour, she was surprised to find Marcus’s mom also on the video chat along with the others.
“Mom? When did you come?” she gasped seeing her on the other side. Marcus’s mom froze for a moment and then wiped her tears away realizing what she had just called her.
“In the morning. I can’t wait to start the preparations. When are you returning?” she asked Cara eagerly.
“I’ll reach home tomorrow night. We can start the preparations right away. I’ll be taking a break till the wedding,” said Cara.
“That’s great. You need to go to the salon to get rid of those dark circles from under your eyes before the wedding. You’ve been overworking too much,” scolded his mom.
“Yes, mom. I will,” she promised.
“I can marry her with those, mom. It’s not a big deal,” said Marcus.
“I know but she might want to look her best. It’s not every day that one gets married,” said his mom, and the argument continued. Adam disconnected the call after telling her that they’d been on a short cruise onboard the Royal Carmen. Even Marianne loved it. Cara smiled as a sense of euphoria filled her. She would return home tomorrow.
The next day it was already past bedtime when she reached home yet the children waited up to meet her. The next day being a Saturday, they weren’t in any hurry to wake up early. “Cara,” squealed Vera as she flung herself at her the moment she entered her home. Cara hugged her close and the other two as well. Aunt Maggie and Marcus’s mom too welcomed her home but her eyes kept searching for Marcus all the time. Where was he? Didn’t he know that she had reached home? He hadn’t even gone to receive her at the airport. She was received by her team of bodyguards and uncle Joe. There was utter chaos as her fans had gathered outside the airport in large numbers and the security struggled to keep them at bay. Had he not missed her?
“Has Marianne gone to sleep?” asked Cara eagerly.
“Yes, just. She had been restless till an hour ago. Maybe she understood when we told her that her mommy is coming home,” said Aunt Maggie.
“Oh, I’ll just take a peek at her,” said Cara. Adam and Liam carried her luggage to her bedroom and Cara walked towards Marianne’s room to check up on her. Mrs. Davis greeted her warmly the moment she entered the nursery. She kissed her sleeping baby and decided to freshen up. But where was Marcus? No one had said a word about him since the minute she came home. She entered her bedroom and closed the door. Her eyes popped out seeing a note stuck to the door.
Welcome home, my love. Freshen up and join me for dinner at our special place. Your Marcus.
A smile broke out on Cara’s face. She knew that the gazebo was the special place he might be hinting at. She quickly freshened up and changed into a beautiful midnight blue halter neck dress and combed her hair. Adding a whiff of her intoxicating and seductive perfume, she was ready to go and meet her man. She had missed him so much!