▫️ Epilogue

Ginelle's pov

To think that Grey was going to pamper me less now that we were married.

How wrong I was to even think so.

It was now day three of our married life and I had been receiving gifts from him since the very first day.

First it was a large comfy brown t-shirt that enveloped half of my small body and I blushed when I realized he'd bought it in his size.

Secondly, I had helped him light up the candles for the evening yesterday where we listened to an audio book together as we cuddled.

He had been doing everything he could to ensure that I was comfortable as I adjusted to this new phase of our lives.

Not once had he left my side for even a second, we were always glued to each other.

He would tag me along in whatever he was doing and I especially loved when he'd just stare at me and smile.

I really had the most affectionate man as my husband.

I stirred awake and smiled at the feathery movement up and down my nose, knowing yet another surprise awaited me.

My eyes fluttered open and I blinked up a few times to see my husband resting beside me with one arm as he stared at me.

With his eyes still fixed on my puffy ones, he framed my messy hair out of my face as he moved closer on his elbow.

"Good morning, my beautiful wife." His voice was deeper and the glint in his eyes made me shy away, hiding my face in the covers.

"Good morning, my h-husband." I replied softly, my fingers holding onto the covers that Grey attempted to pull down.

"Let me see that lovely face," he whispered closer to my ear and my cheeks flushed even more when I dropped the covers.

"There you are, my tulip." He pecked my forehead first, then both of my cheeks and eventually my lips.

I did reciprocate the affection, something we'd been doing since our first day. It was honestly a great way to stay a day.

I sat up and leaned onto the headboard, Grey's eyes following me as he grinned widely.

With him being an early riser, he really did love watching me sleep during the mornings.

It was only once when I'd woken up before him and the sight of  him sleeping so soundly had me taking a picture.

It was honestly cute, with one of his hand holding onto my hair while the other rested on my waist as he hugged me to his chest.

Remembering that morning, I passed him a small smile which he returned in a pout and I instantly knew what he wanted.

I stretched out my arms to him when we just continued to stare at each other and he jumped onto me as soon I'd offered.

His head cozily rested on my chest where he settled himself like a baby and then looked up at me in the most loving way.

Not being able to resist because he was so cute, I kissed his whole face and gently stroked his hair.

He hugged me closer and because I knew he didn't want to rest more of his weight on me, he gently pulled me to his lap.

Together we watched the sun rise, him playing with the fabric of my t-shirt while I continued petting him.

We lay in bed till my stomach growled slightly in the silence and Grey went into autopilot mode since then.

He carried me to the kitchen where he rested me at the counter top and first of all washed a bowl of strawberries for me.

He fed me quite a number of them before starting to make some pancakes, mumbling to himself that his wife wasn't going to stay hungry.

I smiled at that.

I watched him rack through the cabinets for all ingredients needed, his movements so fast that you'd think someone was after him.

I didn't know when the shelves had been stacked with all kinds of foods, this just being day three of our honeymoon.

We had settled for a beach destination as our explore area during our vacation for the next couple of weeks.

Since I was a child, I had loved to listen to the sound of waves and to have Grey with me during this time was a great bonus.

I loved listening to both.

I watched his back muscles flex as he lay out the now ready breakfast.

"Everything's ready, sweetheart." He guided me towards the table and pulled out a chair for me to which I smiled in appreciation.

He filled a glass with my favorite juice and pushed it my way as he settled himself beside me.

I stacked more pancakes onto his plate when he continued to just watched me, earning another of his wide grin.

We sat side by side as we had the hearty meal, Grey draping a shawl over my legs when a draught blew by us.

We took our time to explore the area around us after breakfast and I was relieved to find out that there were not many us in the area.

I didn't want any unnecessary attention from outsiders and most importantly, I wanted my time with Grey throughout.

We decided to walk into the sand as we held hands and I giggled when I remembered my younger self wanting to experience this with the love of my life.

Grey inclined his head towards me at the sound and laughing, I moved our hands to and fro, smiling even more.

We played in the sand like kids, Grey and I building a sand castle and laughing when a part of it crumbled but we made it all over again.

We collected sea shells together and chased after one another into the shallow waters where we splashed water at each other.

We literally spend the entire day doing silly things but then again that was what love was about.

That evening, when the sun was just about to set, I asked Grey for a dance at the seashore and he was quick to give in as he took my hand.

I set our wedding song to play in the background as we made random moves, Grey's hand holding onto my waist as I placed my hand over his shoulder.

I loved the feeling of my feet sinking into the sand and the great connection between our bodies as we moved along with each other.

Our eyes never left each other during the entirety of the song, the feelings we had for each other so evident that we didn't need to verbally relay the words.

We had repeated the song for a number of times as we looked at our wedding photos and videos.

Everything was so splendid, the pictures seeming to capture every moment there was but this one clip stood out the most.

We were both standing at the front of the congregation and if I remembered correctly, it was some minutes just after we had exchanged our vows.

I was smiling while facing ahead and Grey was looking at me. He had that proud look on his face, a small smile curving at the corner of his lips before it turned to a full one.

Everyone was congratulating us for our accomplishment and throughout that time, Grey's eyes didn't leave me, even for a second.

Realizing that I had played the video on repeat, I looked at him only to find his eyes already on my face.

My cheeks warmed but I didn't look away from him, my heartbeat seeming to beat faster when he stroked my hair.

His eyes flickered between my face to the wedding ring on my finger when I brushed away some hair out of my face.

I stared at his facial features when he moved to tie my hair into a bun so that it wouldn't get to my face.

"I love you baby," he kissed my forehead and then softly whispered the words while looking into my eyes.

"My love for you grows each passing day, can you believe that?" He tilted his head to the side, making a ridiculous face at his statement.

"Yes, because I keep loving you more too." I stroked the sides of his face gently while watching him.

"Did you ever think of getting married when you were younger?" Grey asked randomly as he took my hands.

"Yes, of course. Have you never?" This was something I remember talking about with my friends in middle school.

It was something every child dreamt of, right?

"No," Grey's reply surprised me. "I never thought anyone would love me that way, I was a shy boy while growing up."

My eyes widened as I listened, Grey was shy?

It was just so impossible to believe as he told me about his younger self till he got to know of Reece.

"I never thought of that kind of love. Reece used to love setting me up with some of our military school classmates but I always concentrated on training."

"You were still shy then?" I playfully stroked his arm to see his reaction at my comment.

"Of course not, I just wasn't interested." He tried to explain but I continued to give him that unconvinced look.

"You don't believe me baby?" His face fell for a moment and before I could take back my words, he leaned into my face.

His eyes stared into mine before they went to my lips and after staring for another second, he looked up at me and started to kiss me.

His arm went to my back and pulled me to himself when I started to lean back into the chair.

He kissed me passionately, his expressions teasy when he felt my reaction and saw the flushed color of my cheeks.

"Am I shy now?" I felt his fingers trail over my shoulder blades and I shivered at how husky his voice was.

I shook my head and seeming satisfied, he kissed me one more time and mumbled that he wasn't shy anymore.

We resumed going through our pictures and laughed at a few where Mayella and Dalton had cake all over their face.

"It was really a wonderful day!" I exclaimed after seeing the last of our photos and Grey seemed to agree with me.

"Our wonderful day," I heard him say as he leaned on back and lay his chin on my shoulder.

"How does it feel to be with me for the rest of your life?" I turned to look at him and saw his eyebrows rise.

"To love you till the end? Of course it's the best feeling I could ever I know." He replied instantly.

I smiled broadly and pecked his cheeks twice, telling him that I too would love him endlessly.

I thought of where our journey together had began as I just stared at his handsome face.

All it took was one unpleasant bus incident for me to meet this man.

"When did you want to become a family with me?" I asked the one question I had been meaning to ask since our engagement.

He leaned back after removing a patch of sand on my cheek and stared at me before replying.

"That time when you were meeting your parents at the airport,"

My eyes widened, the back of my hand covering my mouth as I released a loud gasp.

"That was long ago!" He smiled and took both of my hands, lightly pecking over my fingers.

"I know baby, you were already in my future plan." I moved to sit on his lap, my hands going round his neck as I hugged him tight.

He patted my back up and down as he kissed my hair repeatedly and I pulled back when he whispered that he loved me.

"Remember that one time when you asked me what I was thinking about and I said it was a secret?"

I nodded immediately when I remembered, so curious to know what it was that he kept from me.

"I was thinking of having kids with you," I gasped again, my eyes staring into his warm grey ones that shone with radiance.

"Umm, I-I was..." I fumbled over my words when he continued to stare at me and I blushed severely.

"I know you love babies," I whisper spoke while looking at his face once before shyly looking away when I saw him smile.

"Do do y-you want..." I stammered again and feeling his hands on my back, I flushed even further.

He adjusted me to his front so that I was straddling him and he rose his left eyebrow to let me finish the statement.

I bit my lip and stared at my hands on his chest before picking up the confidence I had left and asked, "How many babies do you want?"

Silence

My fingers subconsciously tapped his chest and it was after I felt his hands over my own when I looked up.

"Many. I want many babies with you." He replied heartily, a ghost of a smile on his smile as he cupped my face.

"Many?" I asked again and when he nodded immediately, I blushed again.

"As many as you want sweetheart," he grinned excitedly and kissed my lips, an excited sound rumbling in his chest.

"S-Should we...." I found it hard when Grey just continued to watch me as my face got redder.

"Should we do what?" He asked back in a tease and I blushed the more when he lifted my face to him when I looked away.

"You know what I mean, Grey." I mumbled loudly this time and he chuckled at that.

"I have to hear you say it, Ginelle." He smiled one more time, enjoying every reaction he was getting from me.

I gave him an half flustered half confident look and because I was too shy to say the words, I teased him back.

"Aren't you the shy one here, babe?" I moved to stand on my feet but he was quick to pull me down with him.

"Shy?" He made an unbelievable face before scooping me up in his arms as he rose up with me.

"Maybe I should prove this to you, sweetheart." I held onto his shoulders, my eyes widening at the glint in his eye.

"As we look into the matter at hand, shall I prove that I'm anything but shy?"

He looked at my face for a moment and when I just got redder and didn't say anything back, he chuckled.

"My shyest bride, you are really my tulip."

✪ ✪ ✪

I'm not sure if epilogues are written this way but here's a copy of mine.

This is the last part for Always, tulip.

There's however still one more thing that I'll announce so don't remove the story from your library yet.

(⁠๑⁠˙⁠❥⁠˙⁠๑⁠)