A couple of mornings later, I sit in the bed, and I smile once I see the vase of roses on the bedside table. There's a sticky note on the vase, and I carefully take it off and read it.

You really deserve these. Just to take your mind off everything that happened, and just because I wanted to spoil you.

I sigh, and inhale the slightly aphrodisiac like aroma of the roses. The petals feel like silk as they glide across my cheek, and I grin as I stare at them. They're such a beautiful red color, and I can tell that the roses are fresh and won't wilt anytime soon. The flowers that Rian gets me always last for a long time, so I know that these will be the same.

Everything from a couple of days ago begins to play in my head, from us finding out the gender of our baby, to our day being completely ruined because my mother decided to be at the hospital.

I hate her.

I loathe my mother beyond comprehension.

I erase the thoughts of her face grimacing in pain from my mind, and I begin to smell the roses again. The scent causes me to smile to myself, and how Rian was worried about me so he decided to buy me these roses.

I hear Bruno whining in the hallway, so I put the roses down to see what's wrong with him. Bruno stands there, and his wrinkly face droops down more than normal, and it's adorable.

"What's wrong, buddy?" I ask in a high pitched voice.

Bruno just tilts his head, and he sits down in the middle of the hall. I see Rian turn from around the corner, and we smile at each other. I walk towards him, and I hug him tightly.

"Thank you for the roses. They're beautiful." I say, smiling into his chest.

"You're welcome." Rian says with a smirk, and he kisses my forehead.

"And thanks for the concern. I'm—," I pause, because I have to think about how I feel. "I don't know how I am."

Rian's smile turns into a concerned frown, and he grabs my hand before leading me into the bedroom. Bruno follows behind us, and he runs over to the bed and leaps on it before snuggling with Rian's pillow.

We sit next to each other on the edge of the bed, and Rian still holds onto my hand. His other hand holds onto my thigh, and I shiver when his cool fingertips make contact with my skin.

"Do you want to talk?" Rian asks, and I hesitate to answer.

"Yes and no. It's just that I don't want to upset you or anything." I mumble, and I avoid looking at him.

When we left that hospital, we barely said a word to each other or looked at each other. If we did, the words or glances were fleeting and distant. The blue in his eyes looked cold and uninviting, which is the complete opposite.

Rian saw a different side of me yesterday, and I know for sure that he isn't a fan of the malevolent and vindictive version of myself, either. I can tell that he's annoyed with how querulous I've been lately, but the pregnancy is taking a larger toll on me than I though.

The hormones, the cellulite, the varicose veins and hemorrhoids, and the plethora of other things that have come with the pregnancy.

Rian shouldn't be annoyed with me anyway. I'm sure if he had the short end of the stick, he wouldn't be too happy, either.

"Look, I'm not upset." Rian insists, and I roll my eyes.

"Don't deny it, Rian. I can tell by that look in your eyes that you were sick to your stomach." I nearly growl, and I let go of his hand.

And we're off.

"Alex, I'm not!"

"Then why couldn't you look at me or keep a decent conversation with me yesterday? If you're upset with how I reacted, then I'm not surprised. It's like déjà vu." I say, and he frowns.

"Déjà vu? What the hell are you talking about?" Rian asks, and I scoff.

"Don't act stupid Rian. You're a man that holds both a Doctorate and Masters degree. I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about." I snap, and I stand up and cross my arm.

"Well, it's hard to know what you're talking about when you're being so vague." Rian says in a snippy tone, and I raise my eyebrows at him.

"You were so embarrassed to be seen with me at the party when I beat Kassandra's ass, even though it was only you and Austin around who witnessed it."

"I wasn't embarrassed, Alex. I was a bit upset at how you acted, and we explained it to each other and made up." Rian says, semi-flirtatiously, my jaw drops.

Is he seriously trying to seduce me?

"I don't forget the make up sex in the shower, Rian. You're not getting any of this right now, if that's what you're trying to do." I say.

"I'm not seducing you—"

"Stop trying to distract me! Anyways, like I was saying, you're upset at how I reacted to seeing my mother." I shout.

"Come here, Alex." Rian says firmly, and I stubbornly shake my head.

"No, not until I hear an honest answer from you." I spit, and Rian groans.

"When have I even been insincere with you? I always admit when I've been wrong, Alex."

I open my mouth to reply, but then stop when I realize that he's telling the truth right now.

Shit, I've started this mess for no reason.

The negative thoughts begin to form in my brain, and they gnaw away at me.

Nice, you have yet another bitch-fit.

Man, you can't ever keep your mouth shut.

I huff at how stupid I am, and Rian stands up and walks over to me. His fingers move up my neck, and on my chin. Rian lifts my chin so that I look at him, and his eyes look apologetic for some reason.

I should be the one who's sorry, not you!

"Look, I know that you weren't expecting to see your mom at the hospital. Neither was I, and I'm actually really proud of you."

"Proud of me?" I repeat, and he nods before smirking.

He's proud of what?

"You gave your mother a taste of her own medicine, Alex."

I sheepishly smile as he begins to run his fingers through my hair, and he continues to smirk at me. His eyes look beautiful as his pupils dilate and the smirk begins to form into a wide smile.

"It did feel pretty good to get payback." I admit.

"I've been waiting for someone to put that woman in her place, and I couldn't be more proud of you for getting the courage to stand up for yourself." Rian says softly, and his voice is husky and warm.

"I'm proud of myself, too."

The images of her on the ground with tears streaming down her face and the bruises slowly beginning to form turns into a kaleidoscope in my mind. It might've been brutal and sadistic, but no where near as savage as she was to me.

Karma's a bitch.

A few minutes of torturing her definitely isn't enough compared to receiving over six years of abuse.

Rian leans down, and he kisses me, bringing me back from my thoughts. The taste of coffee lingers on his lips, and the moment is ruined when more awful thoughts form.

What if I endangered our daughter?

"Rian, no. You can't be proud of me." I say, pushing him away.

"Why not?" He asks, clearly puzzled.

"The baby! What if I hurt her while I was hurting my mom? I'll never forgive myself if something happens, Rian." I screech, and my eyes widen in horror.

"Baby, no. You didn't hurt our child at all, as long as you didn't bump into anything or hit your stomach directly onto something." Rian says, trying to calm me down.

My mother didn't hit me back at all, she was practically helpless as I continued to attack her. She didn't hurt me, so I do a huge sigh of relief once I know for sure that our baby is okay.

"Okay, you're right."

"Speaking of our daughter, we need to start thinking of names." Rian suggest, and I smile.

"Of course."

We sit back down, and I watch Rian as his eyebrows scrunch up as he's thinking hard to find a perfect name. There's so many names that I could think of, and only needing one first and middle name to choose is going to be difficult.

I stare admiringly at the roses, and I gasp. Rian jumps, and he places his hand over his chest to feel his heart beating.

"What? What is it?" Rian asks, sounding worried.

"I have a name." I exclaim, and he smiles at my excitement.

"I'd love to hear it."

"Rosie."

Rian smiles at me, and he nods after saying the name multiple times to test it out.

"Rosie Peterson. I love it." Rian says, and I smile.

"Looking at the gorgeous roses you gave me just made that name pop in my head." I say, smiling like an idiot, and I giggle.

"I love that."

Rian hugs me, and I smile before kissing his cheek.

We've finally come up with a name for our beautiful baby girl, and now we have to start preparing for her arrival.

~~~

A few weeks later, it's now the new year, and we've begun to decorate. Rian is on a ladder in what's going to be Rosie's room. He's painting the walls a soft baby pink, and I sit on the floor while reading the instructions on how to assemble the crib.

The room really is coming together, we already have the crib and changing station ready. Rian is painting the walls, and we've bought a few toys for Rosie. Above where the crib is going to be, we've hung up pictures of the ultrasound since that wall is already painted.

I smile to myself and think about all of the moments and memories that will be created and shared together in this room with Rosie. We'll witness her metamorphosing into a toddler, and then a little girl, to a teenager, and then she'll be an adult.

Parenthood seemed really daunting to me, but now I cannot wait to start this journey with Rian and Rosie.

Rian steps down to take a break from painting, and he wipes his forehead with his shirt. He lifts it over his head, taking it off completely.

Damn.

I smirk at him when I see his back muscles moving when he returns to painting, and I have to remove my eyes from him and focus on the crib.

It doesn't take long before the crib is halfway completed, and Rian raises his eyebrows in shock.

"Wow, that was fast." He says in astonishment, and I scoff.

"What? You didn't think a girl had the skills to put this crib together?" I jokingly say, and he furrows his eyebrows.

"What? You're my girl, and I know you can do anything." Rian says, and I smile.

"I'm just kidding. My dad was the one who taught me how to build and assemble things. I was pretty shitty at it at first, but I got better." I explain, and he smiles.

"Yeah, that's everybody. I wasn't the best at being a doctor."

"Oh, please. Out of all of the doctors I've been to in my twenty years of existence, none of them were as professional and skilled as you are." I flirtatiously say, and his cheeks redden.

"You make me blush, babe." Rian says, chuckling.

"Good."

Rian leans down, kissing me again. I smile against his mouth, and his fingers graze my stomach. We break apart when his phone begins to ring.

"Hello?" Rian says.

I turn around, putting in the cute teddy bear and neatly spreading the cashmere blanket that Emmanuelle gave to us.

"Okay, we'll be there as soon as possible." Rian says, and he hangs up.

"Who was that?" I ask.

"My mother. She wants us to meet her at the mansion, and she said to dress nice." Rian says, and we both smirk at each other.

I already know what she has planned.

Rian and I make our way to the walk in closet, and he throws on something semi-formal. He rolls up his sleeves to his elbows, and buttons up his shirt halfway so that part of his chest is exposed. The Rolex watch on his wrist is gold, and makes everything about his outfit stand out.

I put on a white dress, and it's a bit form fitting, especially around my stomach. I can't keep my hands off of my belly as I look in the mirror, and I smile to myself.

This is crazy.

Good crazy, of course.

I wonder about what kind of mother I'm going to be to Rosie, and if I'll ever pass down some things to her that I learned from my father. As I look in the mirror, I finally notice that pregnancy glow that everybody was talking about.

My entire body is radiating with light, and Rian smirks at me in the mirror.

"You look gorgeous." He says, and he kisses my cheek.

My heart still does somersaults whenever he says that to me, and I smile brightly at him. Rian sometimes still feels like a silly school crush at times, especially when he makes me blush or I get those cliché butterflies.

The fact that I'm marrying this man just makes me even happier.

If I was still with Austin, and if he proposed, there's no doubt that the relationship would be abusive. He'd probably be constantly pressuring me to have sex, and if I said no, I know that I'd suffer even more abuse.

Rian doesn't even have to try being a gentleman because he was well raised by his parents, it's just apart of his nature. Rian doesn't even have to ask anymore like he did when we first got together.

Rian is someone who I can trust without hesitation, and I love that about him. We both are unashamed of our love, and we aren't afraid to be honest to each other.

"Thank you, so do you." Rian says into my ear, and his breath tickles my skin.

Rian stands behind me, placing his hand on my stomach. I take a quick mirror picture of us, and I smile once I see it.

I've never been a huge fan of my pictures, but this is one that I love. My smile doesn't look forced like when someone tells me to smile, it looks effortless. I've also never really taken the time to realize how much of a woman I'm turning into.

No longer a teenager, and I know I'm still young, but I have so many responsibilities heading my way. A baby, a husband, and a business.

Recently, I had finally agreed to accept Emmanuelle's offer and be a partner for the business, and so far things have been going pretty well. Everything's been going pretty smoothly, and I'm extremely grateful that I have a family that I'm being welcomed into.

Progress with our wedding is slow, but coming together. Rian already knows who he's going to have as his groomsmen. Brendan is going to be the best man, and Elijah, Jordan, Dr. Raymond, and his uncle Tony are going to be the groomsmen.

I've gotten a hold of my sister, Laura. She'll definitely make it down to the wedding, but I'm still have a hard time choosing who's going to be my maid of honor. Vanessa, Laura, Savannah, and Xiu are going to be there. Jessica, Rian's colleague is going to be a bridesmaid.

Other than that, we still have no altar or reception venue. It's been a lot more stressful than I thought, and Rian is trying to do all of the planning on his own so that my stress doesn't harm myself or Rosie.

I not only am making vows to Rian, but to our daughter as well.

Rosie, I promise that Rian and I will watch over you and never let anything or anyone harmful come your way.

I promise.

~~~

Rian opens the door of the mansion without even knocking or ringing the doorbell, and the both of us are calling out for her.

"Mom?" Rian calls out, and his head turns in all directions.

"Brendan? Vanessa?" I shout, but there's nothing.

We walk to the living room, and all of a sudden, we see confetti and streamers flying towards us as everyone cheers. Emmanuelle walks towards us, and she hugs us both before smiling.

"Congratulations!"

Pink balloons are hanging, and I see a table with a pink table cloth and gift bags covering it. I see little finger sandwiches and some caviar, and I gasp before speed walking to the table. I spread the crème fraîche on the cracker and pile the caviar on top before popping it into my mouth.

Suddenly, I feel someone hugging me from behind. I turn around, and Savannah's the one who's arms are wrapped tightly around me.

"Vannah! I didn't know that you'd be here!" I squeal, giving her a quick hug.

"C'mon, of course I'd be here. You're my best friend, and I wouldn't miss your baby shower." Savannah excitedly says, and I smile.

"Thank you for coming! It really means a lot."

"Someone else really important is here, too." Savannah says with a cheeky smile on her face.

I look straight ahead, and my jaw drops to the floor almost instantly when I see her.

"Xiu!"

No way.

She came all the way back to California just for my baby shower?

We both walk towards each other, nearly squeezing the life out of our bodies once we hug. I don't let go for a while, because it feels so good to finally see her.

"God, you look so gorgeous! You're glowing!" Xiu exclaims, and I blush.

"Me? You look gorgeous, it's like New York just added even more to your beauty." I say, and she smiles.

"Speaking of New York, how's that boy toy of yours?" Savannah asks in a singsong voice.

"He's not my boy toy, Vannah." Xiu groans, rolling her eyes.

"Anyways, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm on break. It's only a couple of days before classes resume. A lot happened, and I didn't really get the chance to leave until yesterday." Xiu responds, sounding slightly melancholic.

What happened? She seemed so happy just a second ago.

Did Levi do something to her?

"What's wrong, Xiu?" I ask, extremely concerned.

"Nothing. I don't want to depress you, especially at your baby shower." Xiu says, and I frown.

"We'll just talk about it later." Savannah intrudes, and Xiu quickly nods.

"Let's just discuss this precious baby!" Xiu squeaks, rubbing my belly with her hands.

Rosie kicks, and Xiu's eyes widen so much that they almost pop out of her head. I chuckle at how excited she looks, and she giggles.

"She's kicking?" Xiu asks, and I nod.

Savannah puts her hand to my stomach as well, and the both of them are just waiting for Rosie to kick again. Once she does, they both scream in excitement, which scares some of Rian's family members who stand nearby.

Vanessa walks over, giving me a quick side hug before staring at Savannah and Xiu like they're crazy.

"Are they listening to her?" Vanessa asks curiously.

"She's kicking, and they want to feel it." I explain, and she nods.

"It's nice to see you, Alex. You look really good." She says, and I smile.

"I'm sorry to interrupt the reunion," Rian says from behind me, and we all laugh.

He kisses my cheek, and everyone around us swoons as they look at Rian and I.

"Damn, that's crazy." Savannah blurts out, and I furrow my eyebrows.

"Huh?" Rian and I say simultaneously.

"You fell for your doctor, and now you're engaged and expecting a child with him."

We laugh, and I think about how much of a fantasy that it seemed. I never thought that a grown man who's so successful would fall for the eighteen year old version of myself, and that it was going to be nothing more than a scenario that would never happen.

Maybe fantasies are real, and they only happen if you do something about it.

This is definitely like a fairytale, and I can't wait to retell this story.