Chapter 38: Chapter 38

Cassandra’s POV

We had some ice cream as I was craving it for a long time. Suddenly the lights were dimmed and a beautiful piece of music floated in the air, soothing me. What was going on? I turned to ask Julian but he was already up, asking for my hand. I placed my hand in his and he led me to the dance floor where a few couples were already dancing to the slow romantic music.

I closed my eyes and lay my head on his shoulder as we swayed together. It was bliss, and I knew that I had found my home. I could stay like this forever. After our confession, all my doubts got erased and I just relived the moment with him.

"Can you feel my heart beating for you?" he whispered against my forehead. I nodded.

"Yes, Julian. Thank you for this wonderful time. I waited the whole day for it," I admitted.

"Did you wait for me or for the food?" he chuckled making me blush since I had waited for both, to be honest.

"Both," I confessed and he chuckled softly. These days I had food cravings that I couldn't seem to control. They were very different from the ones I had when I was pregnant with Max. Julian felt that I would give birth to a beautiful daughter for him in order to explain the ice-cream craze that I was experiencing. It could be and I was excited to know about it at my first Ultrasound.

"Tomorrow we have your first Ultrasound test. Hope you remember that?" He reminded me gently. I smiled at his concern. On a date too we were discussing our babies as if we have been married for ages!

Afterwards, we went home, feeling happy and very much in love. After confessing my feelings to him, I felt lightheaded and so relaxed in his company and so did he. It seemed as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders and we giggled like pre-teens.

The next day, Julian left all his work and accompanied me to the ultrasound test. We heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time. It was quite faint so when it was more distinct, we decided to bring Max along too. He was too young and we hadn't told him that he was about to have a sibling. Julian recorded the heartbeats of our baby and made Max listen to it later when we returned home. He was stunned and kept asking me millions of questions. Julian chuckled and left for work, while I tried my best to quench Max's curiosity.

A whole month passed by and Max was unstoppable. His curiosity knew no bounds as he was curious to see a baby so when Avery gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Axel, Julian took me and Max to meet her and aunt Caroline.

"So, when are you two planning to get married?" asked Avery, wiggling her eyebrows at Julian. He grinned at her while I glared at them both. I too was waiting for Julian to ask me but he hadn't so it was a stupid question to which Julian strangely never replied. I couldn't just jump to the altar with him!

"Soon," said Julian again grinning at my pissed-off look and I looked at him with surprise. How did he manage to answer her? Avery chuckled knowingly. Although we didn't meet much, we talked on the phone nearly every alternate day. She knew everything about me and I too did the same. I was happy that her husband was permanently moving to New York and would stay with her forever. Aunt Caroline was upset that she would have to leave her and go back to her house but Avery's husband, Jake, wanted Aunt Caroline to stay with them. I too was relieved to hear that.

When we returned home, Max was super excited to have seen a newborn baby. Now he just couldn't wait to hold his baby sibling in his arms. In his excitement, he refused to sleep in the nursery and jumped into bed with us.

The first few days, I was fine with it but then I spoke to Julian and he had a talk with Max. He explained how I would get hurt if so many people sleep together. He promised to place the baby's cot in his nursery. Max was excited about it and they decided to renovate the nursery to accommodate another baby. So we all planned the nursery and Max actively helped his dad do big brother things while I watched them indulgently.

After a week, the nursery was progressing fine and Max was out of his habit and loved his room more. He arranged for a family dinner at home and everyone gathered together for a fun-filled get-together. The whole day I had been busy with Nora making arrangements for the event and I never got an opportunity to ask him what exactly we were celebrating. It was evening and everyone came over. It was the most enjoyable evening as Max explained to everyone about his baby sibling. He proudly showed his nursery to everyone. They all appreciated dinner and I sighed with relief. I glanced at Julian and saw him smile at me appreciatively.

Dinner was over and while everyone was sipping wine when Julian went down on his knees before me, "Cassie, I met you, I fell in love with your soul, I pursued you, I made you mine. In this journey of love, I have realized one thing. I can't live without you for a single second, for a single minute, for a single hour, for a single day. I want you by my side forever. I want to spend my life with you. I want to give our children all the love and support they need. For that, we need to be together, forever. So, will you marry me, darling?" He asked making my eyes start shimmering with tears of happiness. It was all so sudden that he took my breath away. After waiting for months for him to propose, it hadn't occurred to me at all that today would be my lucky day. Tears of happiness crept into my eyes and I gazed into his beautiful ones that held so much love and promise for me.

"Yes, baby," I whispered, my voice choked with emotions. He took out a small velvet box from his pocket and opening it, he took out a stunning rose gold ring showcasing rhodolite garnets surrounded by halos of a round brilliant diamond. It was unique as he was, precious as he was, beautiful as he was. I was spellbound when he slipped it onto my waiting finger. My breath hitched as tears of joy fell from my eyes. "It's so beautiful, Julian. I love it," I gasped, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him closer.

He placed a gentle kiss on my lips and everyone broke into loud applause, congratulating us excitedly. We were so lost in one another that I had forgotten that I was amidst everyone. We danced and enjoyed the rest of the evening as I tried to get used to the idea that I was engaged now. Engaged to my one and only love, Julian!