chapter 29

EpilogueUnder the white sheets, I lay naked on top of Daniel and made love to him for as long as I could. The sunlight rays seeped through the curtains of the room, casting a warm glow across the entire room. Even the summer season in Sydney was not that bad. I kissed every part of his face, sucked on his ear, and rolled my tongue on his lips. All this time, I made out with him, he lay still with his eyes closed and a huge smile plastered on his face. ‘What?’ I asked.He wrapped his sturdy arms across my back and held me tightly, my chest pressed hard against his naked chest. ‘I love the way you smell right now,’ he whispered as he pressed his mouth against mine and kissed me deeper. I laughed between the kiss. ‘I always smell good.’‘I know, right?’ He deepened the kiss, slowly slipping his tongue between my lips, making me gasp. I stopped the kiss, gasping for air. ‘I need to go and open the restaurant. It’s late.’He tucked my hair behind my ears and planted a kiss on my lips again. ‘I can’t let you go. Not yet.’‘Daniel… I need to go…’ I whispered against his lips, and I kissed him once more. ‘I was thinking maybe we should go for a round two?’ he asked as he kissed my neck and sucked on my collarbone, making me aroused again. It was impossible to stop myself when I made love with him. I could never stop myself from making out with him. We’ve had sex twice the previous night, followed by the morning sex when we woke up, and now he was asking for it again. I gave in to his demand and had a second round with him. Every time he touched me, made love to me, went deep inside me, I gave myself to him, losing control over myself and forgetting everything.  It had been six months since our wedding. He proposed to me the moment we walked back into the restaurant on that rainy day when we reunited after five years. I rejected him initially, telling him I could never move to Australia and would never ask him to move to Pakistan for me. But, he was adamant like he always had been. He had not changed. He convinced me, and I was sold.  After the rainy day, we met again. He showed up at my restaurant the next day and asked me out. ‘You do not have to relocate for me, Mitchelle,’ Daniel said to me as he sat opposite me in the same café where we had our first coffee date. He did not want to sit inside my restaurant. Instead, he asked to go back to the same café. I sighed. ‘How would this work if I don’t relocate?’‘You can split your time here and there,’ he suggested.‘How?’‘I can help you open up an outlet of your restaurant in Sydney.’I was taken by surprise. ‘Are you crazy?’‘Do I sound crazy?’‘Of course, you do! You do not even know what you’re saying.’‘Of course, I know what I am saying. You can open up the same restaurant in Sydney and run it just like you do here.’I leaned back in my seat and stared at him in surprise. ‘After work, I can help you out with the restaurant. It’s not a bad business, after all.’I shook my head in disbelief. ‘What?’ he asked. I looked away. ‘Listen…’ He leaned towards me, holding my hands and looking into my eyes. ‘I want to make this work, all right? I want us to work. No matter what it takes.’I looked back at him, wondering about the unexpectedness of the situation. ‘I don’t care whether you live here or there; I just want you to be mine.’‘Daniel…’ I began, but he interrupted me. ‘I don’t wanna hear anythin’, Mitchelle. I cannot think of parting ways with you again. Just tell me you’re in.’ I passed him a puzzled look, my brows furrowed lightly. ‘Please say yes,’ he said. I nodded. ‘Okay. Yes.’A huge smile appeared on the corner of his lips. ‘Are ya sure?’‘Yes.’‘No backin’ out now, all right?’I chuckled. ‘Okay.’He drew my hand closer to his lips and kissed it softly, catching my breath. I leaned in closer to him and whispered. ‘So, maybe… You and me…’He leaned in closer, shortening the distance between us. ‘We are meant to be.’We had an intimate marriage ceremony at my new residence in Lahore, Pakistan, among our family members and close friends. After Nikkah, Daniel flew back to Australia with Nigar aunty and processed my spouse's visa documents. Within six months, my visa was granted, and I was permitted to fly to Australia. I moved into Daniel’s house, where Nigar aunty welcomed me with love, warmth, and compassion. He showed me around and took me to places that even he had not visited before. He told me he always wanted to see those places with his partner. Once our honeymoon period was over, we started looking for places to set up my restaurant. We found a quiet, decent place within a month and finalized everything. Over a period of six months, I finally opened the doors of my new restaurant in Sydney. On the other hand, I handed over the Lahore outlet to Ayaan and asked him to run the restaurant when I was not there. Everything went smoothly, and there was nothing to worry about. Daniel and I reconnected only to unite and to be honest, I never saw this coming. We were always meant to be, yet I could never see that happening. If it weren’t for him, perhaps we would still have been living in different parts of the world, leading different lives with different people. Every time I looked at him, I reminded myself that he was mine and I was his. We were together, forever. And, yet, all of this still felt like a dream to be. A beautiful dream. Every time, it only took him to kiss me to realize that it wasn’t a dream—it was real. We were together for real. After the kiss, he looked at me with a smile, a dimple appearing on his cheek. I leaned in to kiss his dimple, taking in his fragrance, his warmth, his presence, and being grateful for our togetherness. I was finally with the neighbor boy I fell in love with.  Â