Finding out the truth about my father and why he left me was nothing like I had expected it to be. I thought at the very most that I would finally meet my father and he'd be a bigger asshole than I imagined. Instead, I found out that he passed away with as much dignity that he could and that he wanted the best for me, my mother and my siblings. All the years I spent with pent up anger and animosity was for absolutely nothing. The negative energy in my body all went towards a dead man who didn't even deserve it. The truth hurt and made me wish that I had known it sooner.

If I had known the type of man my father truly was then I think that would've prevent me from making so many reckless decisions in my past. The fights I got in at school, my abusive behavior and careless personality would've been nonexistent and I would be a better person. But I guess I had to learn from the mistakes that I made. Learning about my father had to act as a life lesson for me if anything. I couldn't allow myself to be sad or depressed now that I knew the answer about my father's whereabouts and why he left.

Instead of moping and sobbing, this was my time to be a strong individual, face the storm and get my sh-t together. Don't get me wrong. Finding out my father had passed away from cancer was heartbreaking. Honestly for a few weeks, I believe all I did was stay in the house and cry. I felt horrible and the only person who could console me was Mira. She was there for me throughout the whole thing. She held me when I cried, told me it was okay when I vented to her and she made me feel loved. She didn't even show up to the music video she was supposed to be in with the Weeknd for me. Instead of making such a big step in her career, she stayed with me.

That really opened my eyes. Mira would give up anything for me. She was so loving, considerate and loyal that it was almost unbelievable. I've never met someone with such a genuine and kind heart like hers. She was an angel on earth and she was mine. I had to be thankful for that. I'd be crazy not to. She was wife material. I could see her and me raising kids together, sending them off to college and then getting old with each other. When I thought about my future, before my rap career or anything else, she was the first thing that I saw.

The best thing about finding out my father's story was that after a few weeks of mourning, I was better than ever. I woke up feeling refreshed one morning. That morning I had a smile on my face and a plan to be the best Arden that I could be. I was going treat Mira like a f-cking queen, and unlike my father I was going to have bravery, face my problems and lack the abundance of pride. There was a new Arden in town and I think that I liked her. It was still the same old foul mouth me, but this time I actually knew right from wrong. I knew when to put on my filter and how to handle my problems.

"Man, it's been a while since we've hanged," Justin said as he took a sip from the beer bottle. Justin, Anthony and I were all lounged around in the living room. I was lying on the couch with my hands behind my head, staring up at the ceiling and listening to the tunes that came from the speaker. Justin and Anthony were casually drinking but I didn't feel the need to. I was perfectly find chilling sober. "Mira's got your ass whipped." Anthony made a sound of a whip with his mouth and Justin chuckled.

"I bet you do everything for her. Since she's moved in with you, you probably cook her breakfast, lunch and dinner," Anthony added.

"And she makes her snacks," Justin added.

"She probably folds her clothes for her."

"She cleans the whole house."

"Both of you shut up," I told them as I finally sat up. I had a slight smile on my face but all of their accusations were false. Mira had just moved in with me two weeks ago, and so far everything's been beyond good. Mira was always the one catering to me, even when I didn't ask her too. She was just way too loving. "You're both jealous because you can't keep a girl down. Justin, you change girls like every other month. The only girl you can hold onto for more than a month is Selena then you guys are back off again. Anthony, well, you're just a f-cking manwhore. Excuse me for actually finding a girl that I love. She really cares for me and she'd do anything for me. Do you know how good it feels to have someone who is just as in love with you as you are with them? It's fantastic. Every day I wake up thinking that I have to put a ring on her finger."

"But you haven't yet," Justin pointed out as he took another swig for his beer. "And don't come for Anthony and I just because we're enjoying our early twenties. There's so many girls out there who's to say that this one is the one. I'm not sh-t talking Mira. I actually thinks she's the one for you because no one else can put up with you, but Anthony and I it's just different."

"Justin's right. Him and I are just enjoying ourselves, but I think you have a keeper. Do you think she'd say yes if you asked her the big question," Anthony asked me seriously. The talk of marriage was a big thing, especially for me. Once I married someone, I never wanted to go through a divorce. So whenever I say 'I do' to a person, I really f-cking mean it. I want a lifetime commitment. I never want to have to worry about hitting the dating scene again. I want to be happy with my partner through the ups and downs.

"I think so. I hope so. I'm really thinking about asking soon. We've been doing really good and the wedding will be far off, you know? I have a tour coming up soon so it's at least six months from now but I'm pushing for a wedding in a year and a half or something. Nothing too soon or too far away. I just want to make it official so she knows I'm serious."

"You better go ring shopping because if you don't put a ring on it I will." Justin gave me a wink and in return I gave him the middle finger.

A month of thinking had passed. I went low profile from jewelry shop to jewelry shop looking for the perfect ring. I kept everything under the wraps. The only people that knew I was shopping for a ring was Anthony and Justin. I had to go under disguise so the paparazzi wouldn't snap pictures of me looking for a ring. It was like a top secret mission which made it really cool, but also super f-cking stressful. One day, I was shopping and one of my fans pointed me out. She screamed my name and I ran over to her and covered her loud mouth. I made her promise that she wouldn't tell anyone that she saw me. She agreed and in return I made sure she got front row tickets when I did a show in her city.

Even though Mira was the most unmaterialistic person, I wanted to outdo every married celebrity couple with the ring. I wanted my queen to have the most expensive rock on her finger that she could handle. So after searching and searching for rings, I got in contact with a high end jeweler and asked them if they could make me a custom ring under wraps. When everything was finalized the total for the ring was 6.2 million and then to think that later, she and I would have to go shopping for a wedding band. It was well worth it though and I couldn't wait to the see the reaction on her face.

"If she says 'no', I'm going to commit suicide for you, dude," Justin told me over the phone the night I was planning to ask the big question.

I had Anthony and Justin on the phone as I prepared for the night. On this particular night, Mira was going to come home from a long day at a photoshoot. I had already told her that I was going to cook for her. She laughed in my face and I don't think that she actually believed me, but I truly was. I had looked up a recipe and from the way the kitchen was smelling, I was doing a damn good job. I already had the table set up as if it was in a fancy restaurant. The lights were dim and there were candles lit. It was very romantic and I just hoped everything went well.

"I can't believe you're going to pass up all the p-ssy in the world for this girl. That's truly love," Anthony told me. "Are you sure you want to do this? You can always break up with her for a week, f-ck a ton of chicks, get back with her, wait a few months and then ask."

"I'm not a f-cking asshole."

"Yes, you are."

"Okay, true, but I'm not that much of an asshole. There's tons of other girls out there but they have nothing on Mira. I've enjoyed my single life and my times with a bunch of women but now I'm tired of that. I want a steady girl for the rest of my life and that girl is Mira. You'll understand one day, Ant."

"Damn if I will." I chuckled and shook my head at him even though he couldn't see me. The oven dinged and I bent down to get out the final ingredient: the rolls. For dinner, I had prepared filet mignon with mushroom-wine sauce and for the sides I made a nice salad and mashed potatoes. It was way simpler than I thought it would be and I couldn't wait to taste my experiment. I never cooked, but I seemed to be pretty damn good at it.

I decided to end the call with my friends. Mira would be home any minute and I wanted everything to be perfect and ready when she got home. After getting a bunch of 'good lucks' and your 'life is f-cked' type comments from my friends, I hung up and began preparing the plates. Once I was all done, I took the engagement ring and stuck it into Mira's folded napkin and then took a seat in my place. Now, it's time to watch how everything played out.

My heart was beating a mile a minute and I was finding it hard to breathe. There was a part of me doubting that Mira would say 'yes' to the question. This was a huge step and some people would think we were moving too fast. I never really got Mira's full opinion on marriage, what if it wasn't her thing? What if she didn't believe in it? Who am I kidding? Of course she does. I'm just being silly.

The familiar sound of jingling keys got my attention and I swallowed hard. I loosened up the collar of my button down shirt and stood up from the table to wait for Mira's entrance. I could hear her heels clicking against the marble floor as she got closer. My heart was thumping to the sounds of the clicks. I felt like I was going to past out. I had never been so nervous about anything in my life. My first concert at a sold out arena wasn't this nerve wrecking.

Finally, my girl cut around the corner looking as beautiful as ever. She was still dressed up, her hair and make-up was tidy as if she was about to do another photoshoot in our very own house. When she walked in, she looked around with astonishment. "Wow, you really weren't kidding! You really cooked," she said as she looked at the plates that were on the table. She looked around the room with a huge smile on her face. "And the candles. The lights. Everything's perfect. Baby, why?"

I walked over to her and put my hands on her hips. She gave me a kiss on the lips and put her hands on my shoulders. "Because you're my girl, that's why. You deserve a nice little surprise here and there, kitten."

Mira opened her mouth but then she closed it as if she was speechless. Her eyes began getting watery and I frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, Arden. Everything is just perfect. I just had a really sh-tty day at the photoshoot and you don't know how much it means to me to come home to this. To come home to you. It's just all too perfect. I love you so much." She pulled me into a tight hug and I bit my lower lip. She was already crying and I hadn't even popped the question yet. "You always make me feel so special," she whispered.

I swallowed hard and pulled away from the hug before laughing a little. "Damn, kitten. Don't make me cry." She giggled and took my hands with hers. "You're so adorable. Shall we eat?"

"We shall. I've been starving all day." I pulled out Mira's chair and she sat down. She thanked me kindly and then continued talking as I took a seat across from her. "During the lunch break, I couldn't even eat. I had to work with this unprofessional b-tch. She was so rude and she made me so angry that I couldn't eat anything." Mira shivered with anger. If she called someone a b-tch then they had to be the spawn of Satan. She always saw the good in everyone.

"I told you about that, kitten. You need to eat. You need three, good, healthy meals a day." She gave me a giant smile and all the anger that she once had went away.

"Anything else you want to add, mother," she asked me sarcastically.

"Shhh, and eat your food. I worked so hard on this."

"It smells delicious, baby." We both dug in and the food I cooked was phenomenal. It was like restaurant material but way better! The food was so good that I slightly moaned every time I put my fork in my mouth. "Are you secretly a chef," Mira asked me once she had scraped her plate clean. I eyed her untouched napkin. "What? Is something on my face," she asked self-consciously. She instantly reached for the napkin and my heart dropped. As planned, the ring fell down to the floor. "What was that?" This was my moment. The biggest moment of my life.

The ring landed perfectly angled by her chair. Here goes nothing. I stood up from my chair and bent down to pick up the shiny object. Once I got down and picked it up, I placed myself on one knee. Mira bit her lip as she stared at me with anticipation. A smile was on my face even though I was nervous as f-ck as I held the ring up to Mira. "You've always been here for me, Mira. You're not even my wife yet and you've made so many sacrifices for me. I want to surprise you with little things like this for the rest of your life, kitten. I just want to know, will you marry me?"

Mira's hand fell upon her heart as tears began streaming down her cheeks. She nodded her head so fast that I thought she was going to get whiplash. "Yes, Arden! I'll marry you!"

The moment was surreal. Me sliding the ring onto her finger. Her staring at it with wonder and amazement. Her basically attacking me once I stood up. It was all like one lovely, sweet dream, but the best part of it was that it wasn't a dream. This was real life. The girl that was kissing my lips at the moment with so much passion and love was going to be mine forever. It was my duty to keep her happy and to be there to support her through whatever she went through. I couldn't wait to spend my life with her.

I couldn't wait to better myself even more for her. She had already helped me change into someone so much more than who I was. Before her, I was just some wild, crazy rapper who acted out for the attention but now things were different. I could still get wild, but now I wasn't seeking for attention. She made me comfortable with who I really was. I liked to get crazy but there was also a part of me that was just calm and normal. There was a vulnerable part of me that I wasn't afraid to show in front of her. If it wasn't for her, then I'd still be trapped where I was. I wouldn't have sought help for my behavior and I wouldn't know the story of my father.

Mira Caspari was everything I needed and more and I was grateful to have her by my side, forever and always.

-

This is the final chapter for this story. I really hoped you guys enjoyed it.

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