Chapter 53: Chapter 53

Annabelle's POV

After the hottest lovemaking, we were too exhausted to talk. I lay with him trying to control my erratic heartbeats while he closed his eyes and smiled.

"What are you smiling at?" I asked him.

"I was going bat-shit crazy the last few days and now suddenly we're making love. Life's so strange! I really was losing hope of ever finding you, Roxy," said Stefan, his eyes blazing with deep emotions.

"I know. I too was thinking of how to move on without you. Life had come to a standstill without you Stefan. I've got so used to being with you that I can't envisage my life without you," I told him truthfully. It was the absolute truth and there was no escape from it. I just surrendered to my feelings. He was home to me and I knew that I couldn't run anywhere away from him. I wouldn't even survive a day! It was useless thinking I'll be happy. But I needed answers before telling him that!

"Then don't envisage a life without me, Rosy. I've come to take you home with me. I can't live without you," he said, his eyes pleading with me to give in.

"You didn't answer me, Stefan," I reminded him

"What was the question? Sorry, I forgot due to your hot seduction," he grinned.

"I didn't seduce you, okay?" I jumped to defend myself while he chuckled knowingly. "I need to know why you were hugging Claudia when you didn't feel anything for her?" I asked him.

"I didn't embrace her at all. She just appeared out of nowhere, early in the morning. I expected her to create trouble so I panicked and summoned Tristan over. She barged into my study stating that she needed to talk to me. So we were just talking. She wanted custody of Arielle. When I didn't agree she started threatening me. I had nothing to lose so I counterattacked her. She might have realized that threatening me would take her nowhere. So she changed her tactics and suddenly embraced me to prove how much she missed me. You saw us then. If you would have stayed longer you would have seen how I threw her out. She was trying to manipulate me and I didn't give in," Stefan said, a tortured look on his face. It made me feel guilty for jumping to my own conclusions so quickly without a thought. I pulled him close to me. He sighed, breathing into my hair. His explanation had calmed me enough. I felt guilty for misunderstanding him, for not trusting him enough. But my actions couldn't be undone. It was past. I could improve our relationship by trusting in him more.

I felt ashamed of my actions. He loved me so much I should have seen the end instead of jumping to conclusions. "I'm sorry, Stefan. I realize now that I should have talked to you before. I should have trusted you more. I shouldn't have acted on an impulse. It will never happen again," I gave him my word.

"I had thought of telling you everything but early in the morning, I saw Claudia at my doorstep. She had been harassing me with regular blank calls. On your birthday, I found out that it was actually Claudia behind all those blank calls. I was scared. I didn't want her to create any problems in my life when I finally found my happiness with you," explained Stefan. Everything fell into place. His strained face, his tensed expression, so Claudia was the cause of it all. I should have known and understood him better. We loved one another after all.

"Yes, I noticed. I wanted to ask you about it in the morning, " I said and Stefan nodded. I sighed deeply. Suddenly Stefan's stomach grumbled, startling me. He grinned at me.

"Let's order some lunch. I'm very hungry. I ate yesterday evening last when Tristan forced me to have dinner," Stefan said and I felt guilty.

"Okay, you order what you want and I'll freshen up. We have lots to talk about. I want to know everything about Claudia," I said to him as I left to freshen up.

I took a shower and came out wearing my pajamas when I saw that Stefan didn't bring any luggage apart from his oversized laptop trolley bag.

"Didn't you bring any change of clothes?" I asked with concern.

"Yeah, just a shirt, trousers, sweatpants, fresh underwear, and a toothbrush. I came directly from New Jersey," He said as he went for a shower.

Did he go to New Jersey because of me? No wonder he looked so tired. I was touched by his statement. I realized to what extent he had hunted for me for the last two days. The food came in shortly. Stefan came out, shirtless, wearing only a pair of sweatpants, his ripped body making me burn with desire. How could I be so insatiable when we had just made love? I was glad that he had pursued me. I was glad that we had cleared the misunderstanding between us.

He grinned mischievously and we sat down to eat. My cheeks flushed at being caught ogling at him.

"I'm all yours, babe. You have no idea what I want to do with you right now. I've become completely insatiable when you're around me," He said, winking as I blushed more. I was amazed at how he could read me so easily. It was as if we were soul mates! Yes, we were soul mates. The realization made me smile with happiness. I've finally found my soulmate! My belief in destiny and love, growing stronger.

We enjoyed the food. I fed Stefan and he too did the same. He asked me for details about what I did at Mr. Campbell's office. I told him the details about my newfound family. He supported my decision to help them out.

"I'm so proud of you, Rosy. You went out of your way to help them out," he said, making my heart swell at his appreciation. It meant a lot to me.

"Now that you're going to marry me and live with me forever, why don't you shift your dance institute to New York?" he asked and I gaped at him. Was that a marriage proposal?

"Are you asking me to marry you?" I asked him in confusion, my heart thumping loudly in my chest.

He laughed out loudly. "Believe me, I will. I will do it the conventional way," he said and I blushed with embarrassment. How desperate I might have sounded to him! I wanted to hide somewhere.

"Don't be shy, baby. I enjoyed the question," he said with a smirk.

"If I shift, what will my stepmom do? I promised her a job at my studio," she said with concern.

"I can take care of that. I can get her a well-paying job there in New Jersey. If she wanted to sell the mansion and shifted nearby here in New York, she could join our company as well," he said. I contemplated the idea. In fact, it sounded better than my initial idea as I couldn't afford the high salary that Stefan could. The mansion needed a lot of maintenance which the meager salary couldn't provide. So Stefan's solution would benefit them better. I could also keep in touch with them better if they stayed in New York, near me.

"Kayla's going to have a baby soon. She wants to discontinue at the institute. So maybe I'll shift my studio here after all," I agreed, making him smile with relief.

I would take things slowly now. I would research and decide wisely. There was no hurry. First I needed to talk to Margaret about what she actually wanted.

I wanted her to shift nearby so that I could bond with my siblings better but it was completely up to her to decide what she wanted to do.

Stefan's POV

I was relieved with the way things were shaping up. After confessing my feelings for her, I realized that I should have done it long back. Loving her wasn't a whim or fancy for me. It wasn't a coincidence that would suddenly disappear. I loved her truly from my heart and I was certain that I'd love her for life. That was what true love was all about. It grows every day. I was never this sure of my feelings. I never knew that I was capable of loving someone so deeply.

Reuniting with her made me the happiest man on earth and I was determined this time that I wouldn't mess up this third chance that I got with her. I needed to trust more. I needed to open up more. I needed Rosy more than anyone else in this world.

With this determination, I opened up to Rosy more. I told her facts about Claudia that no one knew apart from me. She seemed to understand me so much. I had never expected her to understand and seeing her reaction made me rethink my trust issues.

I swore that I wouldn't keep anything from Rosy and bare my heart out to her. The way our souls were connecting made me firmly believe that she was the soul mate that my heart was waiting for. I was destined to be with her. We were destined forever!