“Shh… I don’t want them to hear.”
Aiden opens the door, casually looking in. Concern flows through me that he may have overheard. But I’m reassured when he walks in and sits on the bed next to Bree. “How’s my girl doing?” Aiden asks, not mentioning anything about overhearing us. I’d hate for Aiden to be hurt any more than he already is, and finding out what his father did will surely break him.
Bree grabs my hand with hers and tightens her grip. “She’s going to be fine.”
Aiden leans over and kisses me as Brielle stands.
“Thanks for the chat,” I emphasize as she heads out, closing the door behind her.
Aiden moves in closer to me. “I want to take you away from all the stress, so we can start to move on and hopefully relax. I know we can’t forget what happened, but we can move past this and on to the rest of our lives… we will have children in our future, and I very much look forward to that day, but for now, I think we should go away. You and me, for a week or so, to be together. Relax. Spend some time to heal. What do you think?”
The thought of seeing Niall again makes me feel physically sick, so I quickly agree. I think some time away is exactly what I need. “Sounds perfect.”
“Do you think you could come out to be with everyone? I know they want to see you.” It’s clear in his eyes that he needs me, and he shouldn’t have to deal with this on his own.
We walk out of the bedroom hand in hand. Everyone looks at me exactly how I knew they would, with sympathetic eyes and saddened faces, and that’s okay. Even though I don’t want their sympathies, I understand their need to give it to me. I accept hugs from everyone, but stay close to Aiden the entire time, never letting go of his hand. While everyone makes small talk, Sarah hugs me tightly, and I hug her back. She doesn’t say anything which is perfect. She knows me well—anything she says will just make me cry, and I want to be strong right now. Close friends always know what to do and when to say it. Or in this case, when not to say it.
We spend some quality time with everyone and eventually, they all start to leave.
I exhale when the elevator doors close for the final time, taking the last of our family and friends down to their cars. I turn to glance at Aiden, and at the gift baskets on the coffee table.
“Jeni, we’ve been through something horrible together. There is no right or wrong way to act right now.” He shifts back and smiles. “But we do need some time away. We are leaving in the morning, and we’ll come back next Thursday. Are you okay with that?”
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Leave that to me. Have you got your passport?”
“Yes, it’s in the bedroom.” I wasn’t expecting that. Where on earth is he taking me?
“Good. You’ll need it tomorrow. It’s a surprise.”
I smile as the excitement inside me builds.
This will be our first vacation together.
Maybe through all this darkness, I will be okay.
Aiden will be the light guiding me back home—as I knew he would.
When I poke my head inside the door, Aiden’s packing two suitcases. I smile at his enthusiasm. While he neatly folds the clothes and places them in the suitcase gently, he looks up and is startled to see me. “Hey, beautiful. How are you feeling?” he asks, wrapping his arm around my waist.
“A little tired and sore, but I’m doing okay.”
He nods and kisses my temple. “We better hurry. We have to leave in ten minutes for the airport.”
My eyes widen in shock because we don’t have much time. I put on a flowing summer maxi dress—I don’t want any pressure on my stomach or the multitude of cuts that litter my body.
Aiden takes both suitcases to the elevator, and we make our way to the car.
“Can you tell me where we’re going?” I ask as the excitement swells inside me.
He pulls me into a cuddle. “Vienna.”
My stomach flips as my eyes widen in excitement. “Vienna. Like, as in Austria. Like in The Sound of Music?”
“Yes. It’s a gorgeous romantic city. I thought it would be perfect for us.” He pulls my head close to his and kisses me as my stomach flutters in excitement.
After spending a nice flight in first class, we land at Vienna International Airport in the late afternoon and move as quickly as we can through customs and out to baggage claim. I’m so excited to be in another country with the love of my life, even if we are here to help us heal.