“I love you more than you can imagine, Harriet. Please, marry me again.” Damien said as he pulled out a shiny diamond ring from his pocket that had everyone in the room ogling.
“Damien.” Harriet struggled to control her emotions. Tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes as she stared at him.
She had no idea that he had been planning a proposal and got impatient. She couldn’t even believe that he said anything when she was threatening to leave him with her children.
“Don’t make him kneel for so long, darling.” Ha Young joked, causing all of them to laugh loudly.
“God, yes. Yes, I’ll marry you, Damien.” She cried, bringing out her hands for him to place the ring in.
As she said those words, Damien felt a weight leave his chest.
One of the reasons why he had taken so much time to propose was because he wasn’t sure if she’d still want to get married to him after their last marriage ended. He thought that she might have bad thoughts about marriage because of him.
But, as she said those words while nodding her head, his heart leaped for joy, and he felt tears well up in his eyes.
He quickly slipped the ring onto her finger and stood up to capture her lips in a kiss, one that held a promise; to never let her go a second time.
The crowd cheered for them while both families watched with happiness.
“I also have a surprise for you.” Harriet whispered in his ears as soon as everyone turned their attention away from them.
“What is it?” Damien asked, looking around. “Did you get me a gift?” He asked, smiling from ear to ear.
“No. You got us a gift.” She said as she took his hand and placed it on her tummy.
Damien looked at his hands and wondered why his hands were on her tummy. It was only after a few seconds that his eyes widened in realization.
“Is it? Are you? Tell me you aren’t joking?” The words flew out of his mouth before he could control them and his whole body shook with excitement.
Harriet nodded happily, tears welling up in her eyes once again.
“Yes. I’m already three weeks gone. I found out yesterday and wasn’t going to tell you until you made up your mind about getting married to me and- ” Harriet said and, without letting her finish, Damien hugged her, forgetting that there were more than a hundred people in the hall.
“Thank you. Thank you.” He cried.
To him, this was an opportunity given to him by God. He had been given a second chance and this time around, he wasn’t going to make any mistakes.
After the proposal, everyone went back to enjoy the party, which was now a celebration party for the twins and also for Harriet and Damien.
“Congratulations, Harriet.” A familiar voice said from behind her. Even though so much time had passed, she couldn’t forget the voice no matter what and when she turned, her thoughts were confirmed.
“Mrs Jane Smith?” Harriet felt her heart quiver as she stared at the face of the woman who had been like a nanny to her for the most part of her life.
She had been with her throughout the period when things became really rough for her and Damien. But, a few months after she moved to Paris, she lost contact with her and no matter how much she tried to get in contact with her, she couldn’t.
Harriet was even scared at a point that she might have died, but seeing her alive and well at her children’s birthday party made her happy.
“How have you been, my darling?” Mrs Smith asked as Harriet wrapped her hands around her body, which was still as firm even after four years.
She wasn’t exactly old, but she wasn’t young either. She was in her early fifties when Harriet divorced Damien, so she was already almost sixty.
“Very well, Mrs Smith. God, I have missed you so much. Where have you been?” Harriet asked, wondering where she had disappeared after all those years.
“I went back to my hometown, dear. My husband died, and I needed to be with my family. I lost your number after a car accident. Thankfully, I came out safely.” She explained and Harriet gasped in disbelief at all she had gone through.
“Accept my condolences, Mrs Smith. Thank you so much for coming today. I am really happy to see you. How did you know about the party?” Harriet asked.
“I read about Adrian’s case online and since my children were coming to New York, I decided to tag along and pay you a visit. When I went to the house, I only met your mother. She told me that you were living with Damien and the children now. That was when she invited me to the party.” Mrs Smith explained, and Harriet looked at her mother who was busy with the other guests.
“I can’t believe she kept this from me.” Harriet laughed.
“Please, enjoy yourself, Mrs Smith.” She said and went to meet her children.
*
*
ONE WEEK LATER.
“Do we really need to go? I don’t think I want to be there.” Stacy said with a frown.
It was the day of Adrian’s trial and Damien suggested they all go since it would be their last time seeing him.
Evelyn had already received her sentence three days ago. She was to spend the next thirty years in prison along with hard labor.
Compared to the crime she had committed, Harriet felt that the sentence was too light.
“Come on, Stacy. You need to see him one last time. He’s probably going to regret all his actions today, so, I think we should be there to see that.” Thomas said while Harriet and Damien continued to plead with her.
“Fine. We’ll only stay for the trail though. I do not want to get close to him. None of us should go close to him. We have a wedding in four weeks. We don’t want any bad energy around.” Stacy warned, and they all nodded in understanding.
At 2:30pm, they all left the house and headed for the court. Even though Stacy’s mind was already made up, she couldn’t help but feel nervous as she wondered what kind of sentence he would get.
When they arrived, the court session had not yet begun. A few minutes later, Adrian was pulled into the courtroom by two police officers, and he was already dressed like a prisoner.
As he sat down and scanned the room, he noticed his family sitting at a distance, watching him with hate and disappointment on their faces.
He felt his heart shake for the first time in a long time and at that moment, he wished he could turn the hands of time. Maybe if he hadn’t been greedy and ungrateful, he would’ve been living happily with them.
Instead, he had landed himself in prison.
After all the evidence was presented, it was finally time for the sentence.
“Mr. Adrian Daniels, you have been found guilty by this court after thorough examination of all the evidence presented. I hereby sentence you to…” Everyone remained quiet as they waited to hear what his sentence would be while Stacy shut her eyes.
“You have been sentenced to life imprisonment. This sentence is final. The court is dismissed”, she said and walked away.
Adrian lowered his head in his hands and shut his eyes in pain and regret. The officers returned to take him back to his cell and he turned to his family, hoping that they would walk up to him, but no one did. They all sat and stared at him with disappointment on their faces.
He knew that it was too late but, it would be better to do it than to live in regret forever.
“I’m sorry for everything.” He said to them before he was dragged out.
As soon as he left the room, Stacy let out the tears that she had been holding. She never imagined that any of her children would spend their lives in prison.
It broke her heart.
They all left the courtroom and went back home to continue with plans and preparations for the wedding.
Joy and peace had finally been restored to both families. It took a lot of time to get rid of their enemies but, in the end, they found their happy ending.
THE END