Born To Be

Epilogue 2

Epilogue 2: (Evelyn's POV)

Four years later...

"No, no, no! Not there!" I exclaimed, rushing over. "Put that right under-" Someone grabbed my wrist, pulling me back. I sighed, colliding right into Archer. "What happened?" I asked. 

"I'm reminding you to breathe. It's okay." 

"What do you mean it's okay? It's Bella's first birthday!" I shrieked. 

"I think I know my daughter's first birthday, but please just relax," he chuckled, holding either side of my face. 

"The party is starting in twenty minutes!" I screeched, whining. "How is the cake going to-" 

He grabbed my hand, pulling me away from the other guests. I groaned into his chest, using his coat to hide my face. "Baby," he sighed, tucking my hair behind my ear. I looked up at him. "It's her first birthday but that doesn't mean we need to panic." 

"It won't come again, Archer. And I really want it to be perfect," I mumbled, staring at the floor. 

"It will be," he nodded reassuringly. I looked at all the decorations, making sure nothing fell off. He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him and only him. "Baby," he said slowly. "What matters is the effort you're putting into this, okay? Now, come on. The cake is going to get here any time now and Caroline took Bella to change her dress. They'll be coming down any minute too. Let's go now, come," he nodded. 

"But-" 

He leaned down, smashing his lips on mine. He deepened the kiss and that brought me back to my senses. He pulled back, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth while scanning my face. "Hmm," he nodded. "Back to your senses now?" 

I shook my head. "Try again," I whispered. 

He smirked, leaning in and kissing me again. Once again, his kiss left me breathless. He pulled away, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek. "And now?" he whispered in my ear. 

"Mm-hmm," I nodded. 

"Now? Shall we?" 

I placed my hand in his, allowing him to take me to the main hall where everybody was while the cake was being brought in. I sighed, standing beside him while our families and the few guests spoke amongst themselves, gushing at the pictures of Bella that we had hung up around the palace. 

"Shall we go get her?" Archer whispered. I nodded and then both of us headed upstairs. I opened the door seeing Caroline dancing around the room with Bella in her new dress with a little hairband on her head. "Caroline," Archer cleared his throat, clearly amused. 

She gasped, getting startled. "Good God! I love her, Evelyn, but she takes a hell of a long time to stop crying when someone changes her dress and shoes. Here, I'm going," she sighed, handing her to me and rushing out. I laughed while holding Bella. 

Archer straightened out her hairband and put her mini ballet flats on for her. "Do you want to hold her or should I?" he asked while taking her pacifier out of her mouth. 

She pouted but started grinning, her baby teeth starting to peek through when I kissed her cheek. I handed her over to Archer and made sure we didn't leave anything behind in the room. Archer held her on his hip in one arm while fixing my hair for me, running his fingers through it and tucking it behind my ear again. He then straightened out the strap of my dress before leaning down and pecking my lips. 

"Let's go," I nodded, grinning. I opened the door and started walking out with Archer beside me, holding Bella. We made our way downstairs, making sure she wasn't cranky or frowning. That doesn't look good on a baby's first birthday now, does it? By the time we got downstairs, the cake was there and ready to be cut. Everyone cheered and clapped as we approached the cake.