Dear My Beloved

wish," she said with a smil

rd. It was not like this was

with stickers and began sifting through

ded I might as well

s of searching, I

hen..

n my sticker, but now there was more – so

e someone had invaded my little space, and quic

looked at i

ng – it was u

his even

seemed to have found

shed my crush would like me. And now, it

adn't heard a word of

family must have given all their brains to him because, somehow, she still hadn't

iving her a warm, a

ke you're going to

erold's only meeting with her family to discuss a project. Besides,

ly not he

roughly baffled, I bo

ible. Faithful, constant, always q

f people in the world, how did I keep cr

ng, and my hand clenched around that littl

he towering Roberts Corporation building. I looked up at the gleaming skyscrap

iting at ho

hing it carefully before tucking it behind my phone case. Then I stopped

ature" man like Jerold co

.

y, walking in just as I was f

ortant today?" His tone was casu

him silently in my head. Today is the day I fall

nd relax? I'll call

is coat and joined me in the kitchen, slipping his arms

want to relax. We've alre

ands made his intent

ning irritation. "Jerold, I've been prepari

k frustration, but let go, muttering

een doing this for years, like an old married couple. I couldn't h

m to open a bottle of red wine. Jerold raised an eyebrow, lookin

he poured a splash of

Jerold just watched me, no

Jerold's handsome face, the words spilling out before I could stop t

he mur

, but I pretended not to notice, standing up and walking over to him until we were face-to-face. "An

the unmistakable emoti

phone case, pulling out the note and p

, yo

silenced him

, I lov

e floor. Written on it, in my delicate handwriting, was a

iliar script: "Mia, I'll give you th

was too

er letting you

log

the County Clerk's Office, wielding an imaginary forty-foot sword. Only Jerold stepping in

, swallowed he

to drag me to an extravagant shopping spree afterward. And though it was technically Jer

tied the store, with the enti

ury handbag couldn't soften. If there was,

.

obsessed with finding out when, exactly,

ve been long before t

ouldn't give anything away –

ry trick in

s, "On our fiftieth anni

, taking vitamins, and exercising. I cupped his handsome face in my hands. "Fine. But Dear my be

"I'll be here, growing ol

dn't really matter, after all. What mattere

this path, hand in hand,