Natalie
I'm officially in hell. Noah denied me sex on the plane, and like a good girl, I sucked it up. We got to the luxurious resort, met with Frank and Carmen, and now I'm dying again.
Noah is sitting on the tiles around the pool with Emma. She is wearing her pink sunhat and a cute bathing suit with a unicorn. Our daughter is genuinely adorable, and Noah is having a tea party with her and—
Fuck my life.
I drink more water from my chair under the shade and try not to ogle my future husband's abs. I'm in horny jail, and it's not fair. Noah automatically became three-hundred times hotter playing with Emma.
He is wearing this hat made of paper, and even though he is wearing shades in the sun, I can see that he is smiling.
"No..." Emma glares at Noah. "Not drink now."
"Sorry, madam."
Noah smiles sheepishly and places the teacup on the tiled floor. Emma is the boss in their father and daughter relationship. I try not to laugh when Noah glances at me with a face that says he is in trouble.
"Here," Emma hands him a fake tomato on a plate. "Eat and enjoy."
I almost choke on my water when I hear Emma use my angry voice. Whenever she refuses to eat her food, I say, "Eat and enjoy," and now she uses the same tone against Noah.
Poor guy.
I watch the two people I love the most with a smile. Sadly, it falters the moment I hear Cynthia's upset tone.
"This is where Noah and that rat you call for daughter live?" Cynthia is talking from the other side of the wall. "Why do they get to stay at such a luxurious place? Noah paid for a room in the ghetto for us!"
My eyes travel to Noah. He is listening to his mother and gives me an amused smile that says, "She deserved it," and I try not to laugh. We want our parents to see us get married—it will be our revenge.
No matter the shit Cynthia pulled on us, we found our way back to each other. It must genuinely wound her heart to see the two of us together, especially since I have a feeling Cynthia is in love with her son.
And I don't mean the slightly overprotective mother hen kind. No, I mean the love that makes her think she has the right to decide who Noah gets to date and be together with.
"Should I handle this?" Noah asks, nodding at the doors. "I could send them away and say the wedding is tomorrow. There is no need to let my mother's negativity impact your mood by letting her speak to you."
"I'm fine," I stand up from my seat and hand him a smile. "I can talk to your mother, but..."
Noah gets the hint and stands up. He knows that his mother slapped my cheek. And he understands the woman's violent tendencies slightly frightens me. It feels safer talking to her in Noah's presence.
"Daddy, where you going?" Emma asks.
Noah gives her a smile. "I will be right back, sweetheart. Don't start eating the cookies without me!"
I can't fight the smile curling my lips. Emma loves us both, but Noah is undoubtedly the best actor at pretending he loves her imaginary food. Therefore, he is invited to her tea parties more often.
Noah peers down at me from his towering height. "Do you have anything to say to them?"
I breathe a laugh before I speak. "More than fuck you? No, I don't think so... My head is rather quiet today."
Noah smiles briefly, and then he opens the door. Cynthia immediately flies inside like an angry bee. Her burning eyes are set on mine, and she lifts her hand.
"You fucking whore!"
I close my eyes by instinct, but the impact never comes. When I open my eyes, I find Noah holding his mother's arm in a death grip. His expression is cold and emotionless.
"Let's take this outside on the street."
Noah pulls Cynthia outside the gates, and I close them behind me. My eyes are caught on Noah and Cynthia. She seems shocked that her own son is preventing her from doing anything.
"Noah?" Cynthia quips. "Release me!"
Noah lifts an eyebrow. "Why? So you can hit Natalie? And you tried to pull that shit in front of my daughter too... Did you seriously think that was a good idea?"
Cynthia flinches at the emotionless tone of his voice. It shocks me too. Noah has never treated me like a stain on the wall, but there is only pure malice in his gaze right now.
"Well..." Cynthia swallows and tries to escape from the question by nervously laughing. "You can't expect me to take this situation seriously, Noah. Why would you marry Natalie? She doesn't—
"If you raise your hand against my future wife or talk shit about her again in front of me, I will make sure every employer in the country gets a warning not to hire you."
Cynthia freezes, but Noah isn't done yet. He continues talking while glaring daggers into his mother's face.
"And trust me, you will need to find a regular job after you no longer can withdraw money from my bank accounts. Because after all the shit you have done, I'm not planning on funding you anymore."
Cynthia stares up at her son, entirely baffled. "But... But you can't do that to me! Please! Noah, I'm your mother!"
Noah doesn't budge. "And yet you tried to keep me away from my own daughter and ruin things between Natalie and me," his lips curl into an evil smile. "But I guess things are okay now. We are getting married, and you better enjoy the food we are serving—it will be your last luxurious meal before I cut you off from my life."
Cut her off from his life?
Noah will do that for... Emma and I?
My eyes almost pop out of their sockets. Never in my entire life has a person put me first. My mother walked out of my life—my dad left me for Cynthia, and...
Noah is choosing Emma and me.
Shit, the tears are close; I'm barely keeping it together.
I'm trying not to cry, and these bubbles of joy only grow worse when Noah hugs me from behind. His thick arm pulls me to him, and he lowers his head with an ominous glare aimed at his mother.
"After the wedding, I never want to see your face again," Noah's tone is threatening, and even Cynthia has turned pale. "And if you EVER call me or try to contact Natalie or our daughter in the future, I will DESTROY you. Don't underestimate what my money can do."
Cynthia opens and closes her mouth. She is speechless and seems to have realized her son isn't joking around. Noah isn't about to tell her that he is joking, and right now, he looks frightening.
Eventually, my father grabs Cynthia's hand and pulls her towards the old rental car they came with. My father doesn't meet my eyes, but there is no escaping from Noah.
"And you," Noah is speaking to my father. "There is something that you need to hear as well."
My father reluctantly turns around to meet Noah's eyes, and I feel my future husband's muscles grow tense. He hugs me harder to calm down, needing me close not to explode.
"You're a piece of shit," Noah doesn't flinch. His tone is filled with resentment and held back anger. "But at least you did one thing right—you raised one hell of a daughter."
My father freezes, and I blankly stare at him.
By now, I'm not even shocked by Noah's honesty. I never thought gentle Noah could be ruthless, but I guess I was wrong. He is letting everyone get a piece of his mind today.
"Perhaps you're right..."
My father swallows thickly. He doesn't say anything else but meets my eyes before climbing into the car. And when the engine bursts to life, it feels like a huge rock has been lifted from my chest.
Fuck the haters.
I'm happy, and tomorrow, I'm getting married—I can't wait to see the look on Linnea's face tomorrow. Because in the end, she was right: Noah and I were always meant to end up together.