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Five Year Later

Jacob

She did it.

She created a good man out of me. As I flipped through the manuscript, I realized she had found me even before I did. While I poured my wild passion into my paintings, she did the same with her words. Right at that moment, I felt the intensity of our love. The love she had for me was of patient type, the peaceful one. That's how she loved me, instinctively.

Yes, she had finally revealed her secret. And even though I was getting cold feet thinking what crazy things she was hiding, when she finally handed it to me in a cardboard box, wrapped in red satin ribbon, I took almost two days to open it.

And there I was, sitting in my art gallery twelve hours away from getting married to the most beautiful woman and all I could think of was the beautiful words she had weaved out of me. She made me a hero in her story while I was barely a character in mine. She turned each of our moments, whether good or bad, into a beautiful memory. And nothing else would ever provide me the same profound feeling as her words. She marked our story as "Chaos" because that's what we're together or separated.

She didn't miss any second of our lives together, nor the one's away. While I thought I was the only one feeling empty away from her, she felt the same. What a selfish man I had turned in love. Isn't that exactly what love does to you? It drives you insane to the point that you want to quit every other thing in your life and sink back into its comfort. She never let that happen to me. Each time I attempted to leave everything and come right back to her, she stayed strong for me and put me right on track. I was so angry at her all those times. What a foolish person I was to make things worse for her because clearly, she suffered as much as I did.

A few chapters towards the end were with the polaroids of us pinned to them. They were the ones we clicked under the Eiffel Tower a month back. She doodled a ring with silver glitter, the same infinity band I gave her. It was when she came to Paris for the opening of our new art gallery in Le Marais. I thumbed the smile on her face in the polaroids. She was so oblivious that entire day about what I had in mind. We spent the day roaming around the Latin Quarters dressed in Bohemian style. The French Art and Culture were rich around us. She looked mesmerizingly artsy in that floral blue dress. All I could think of was to take her back to my apartment and get consumed by her smell.

"You look breathtaking, Mi Amore," I whispered in her ear, lacing our fingers together.

She stepped on her tiptoes, tugged the collar of my olive button-up, and kissed my fresh stubbles, which she had grown to love. "You look charming yourself, Jeune Peintre."

We roamed around the local market, the narrow alleyways, and rows of building with storefronts. After we filled our bellies in one of those cafe terraces at Boulevard Saint-Germain, we took strolls along the tree-lined avenues and kissed under the Eiffel Tower. The way she looked at me after we kissed what felt like an eternity, I knew she had sensed the excitement in me. Although that wasn't the place, neither were the other places we visited later that day. By the time we were back in my apartment, I could feel her disappointment. Her annoyance only made my surprise even more special.

A few hours later, we were finally at Ma Lumière, our art gallery. It was one of those nights when people put in their fancy set of clothes and drove down the sophisticated lanes of Paris in search of art, music, and culture. While everyone's eyes were searching me among the crowd, my eyes were on the girl on the other end of the Auditorium, running her delicate fingers on one of my paintings. Beside her, I could see Molly whispering something, which turned my girl's cheeks pink. I hoped to preserve that smile on her face and that rosy shade on her cheeks.

"Please excuse me for a second, gentlemen." I excused myself from the circle of men and women. Their laughter and clinking of glasses faded as soon she looked in my direction.

Her hazel green eyes turned a shade deeper the moment she captured my attention. I took in her silver dress and couldn't stop my hands as they settled around her waist. "I can't wait to take this dress off you later tonight."

She brushed my black curls, and her eyes swept over my black tuxedo, the one she chose for me. "You better keep your tux on. I can't get enough of your charms."

"If that's what you want," I pulled her flush against me, kissing the apples of her cheeks and peaked her pouty lips. She had grown into a beautiful woman over the years, and that only made her more attractive.

"I forgive you both for ignoring my presence," Molly clicked her tongue from the side. "Go home already, you guys."

"Molly," I acknowledged her with a nod. I had to take a step away from the pleasurable warmth of my girl, if only for a second. "There's something I need to do before that."

My heart hammered as I took hold of her hand. For some reason, the air around us suddenly turned heated. I could see the nervousness dancing in her eyes, and I bet she had seen that same emotion in mine too. I walked her down the packed room till we reached the center. By then, she was shaking, and her palm in my hand had turned cold.

"Amy, your love is my redemption." I paused, looking deep into her eyes to reach her soul. The chatter around us dissolved as the crowd watched us with curiosity. "Love had only been a far-fetched, non-recognizable feeling for me until I met you. I didn't even know what it truly feels like to belong to someone." I laughed, looking down for a second to recollect the words I had repeated a thousand times in my mind. "Loving you was never a choice. Hell, I was in constant war with my heart to stop it from beating for you, but I failed so miserably. You inked yourself in my soul, and it's damn permanent." I tightened my hold on her hand as two fat tears dropped from her eyes. "At first, I thought there wasn't any part of my soul worth saving or deserved to be loved. I thought it was the desire that drove us together, and the flames would extinguish over time. But that never happened. You kindled a light in my heart that never faded. It only grew. You redeemed my brazen soul and owned it as your soul mate."

Her breath hitched as I bent down on one knee and gave her the first glance of my naked soul. She exhaled, looking down at me with her mouth agape, and I couldn't help but grin at her. Her gaze shifted from my face to the letters painted in seven distinct colors of the rainbow on the empty canvas behind me.

-M A R R Y M E-

I took the opportunity to take out the ring from my pocket, and the moment her gaze shifted towards the silver ring in my hand, she dropped to her knees. "Amelia Swan Henderson, will you marry this jerk of yours and take him as yours forever?"

Tears drenched her beautiful eyelashes as she nodded frantically and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Yes, Jacob. I will be your forever."

Her words were enough to loosen up the tight muscles of my neck and settle the unsteady rhythm of my heart.

"She said yes," my voice echoed around, and soon cheers filled up the room. I caught a glimpse of Molly sending flying kisses our way, and I couldn't stop my eyes as they took in the wedding band around her ring finger. Soon, my Amy would be wearing a wedding band too with my name etched on it. I pealed her tear-stained face away from my neck slowly and slid the ring in her finger. "We'll marry in one month."

"Is that enough for the preparations?" She blinked at me with a wicked smile. "Not that I am complaining, but we still need to convince our parents."

I scowled at her, pulling her face near mine. "Your parents love me, and my dad seems to like you more than me. And before you ask, I'll manage everything. You only need to move in with me."

"You're crazy. You know that, right." She pinched my nose. "And I'm in love with your craziness, you Noodlehead."

I pulled her into a scandalous kiss, not minding the men and women dressed in tuxedos and gowns as they whistled around us. Her delicate fingers dived into my hair as I breathed her air and filled myself with life. Rebirth, she felt like a rebirth.

"Now, I'm ready to head back home and get my fill of you," I focused on her hazel green eyes, not missing the mischievous glint in them.

"Take me home then," she said, awarding me with the most beautiful smile, the one I swore to protect forever.

I laughed through my tears with the memory her words invoked in me.

A week before the marriage, she convinced me to send our marriage invitation to my mom. From the moment I landed in France, I had a strange longingness to reunite with my mother. The mother who left me when I needed her the most, the mother who never looked back, or maybe she got tired after those initial six months when I refused to talk to her. I was still a teenager, and I was trying to get used to not having her around. When I was finally ready to accept what little her love she was willing to share, she let go.

Ten years, it took me ten years to let her go. Amy still wanted me to invite my mother. She didn't know about my mother's new life, her son, and their happy little family. I saw them for a week from far. And when it hurt like hell, I stopped going. After a long nightly conversation over the topic, I had to agree with her closure theory. My mother might show up at the wedding or not, but that would give me closure.

Once we moved to California after our marriage, there wouldn't be anything holding me back here. My home was where her happiness resided, and it was always the place where we began. I wasn't leaving my old man anyway. Nicolas Van Green was the man who never let go of me, just like Amy. He made me realize how each one of us loves differently, but we love nonetheless. My father had always loved me even when I didn't feel or see his love. And how could I forget my pup, Maze? Amy took care of him for me while I was away, and it was time to reunite with my buddy. It wasn't so bad to be a CEO and a painter. My art gallery would still be a sanctuary for the young artists who aren't as privileged as me.

Everything seemed bright and perfect because she was there with me, fighting my demons alongside me as my savior and soulmate.

For five years, I had to stay away from my home, my love, my Amy. I missed her every passing second of my life, and she did too. The words in her journal spoke for her. She had written a handful of books, working patiently to be the next big name among the writers. Nothing, not even her nine-to-five job, could stop her from pursuing her passion.

I know why she didn't want to publish our story for the world. She wished to keep our story to ourselves because it was something real. She wanted me to read it before the marriage and finally divulged her secret to me. We had become different people over the years, and maybe the thought of our beginning getting faded scared her as much as it scared me. But how could I ever forget the moments that led me to her, good ones or bad ones, each of them was etched in my memory forever. She was etched in my soul forever. There were no regrets to bear, no redemption to seek, and no apologies to make because she saved me from all of those painful feelings.

So, tomorrow as we begin a new chapter of our lives, I will kiss her the way I kissed her for the first time like- if I didn't do it, she might slip away from me. From here on, I will complete this story of ours with the togetherness I promised her. And whenever things would turn rocky, we will find our anchor in these pages. This story of us will be a reminder of the love we created together.

The End.

Thank you for choosing CAUGHT IN YOUR CHAOS! I hope you enjoyed this book of love and chaos. Please share your feedback, and let me know your take on this story.

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