The dent in our vows

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A month later...

Dawn's POV

The cool gust of wind that breezed past me and chilled my skin coaxed me from my sleep and I moaned in distress, reaching to clutch my stomach.

"David?" I mumbled, stretching my hand out and sliding it over my bed to blindly search for the warmth of my husband but his side of the bed was cold.

With a grunt of dissatisfaction, I pried my heavy lids open, meeting a quiet and empty room as I did.

"David?" I called again, waiting a minute for him to respond but he didn't.

My eyebrows knitted together with worry. The house was quiet, too quiet. Something was definitely not right because usually, Alex was up and about with his toys and David never missed out on a chance to wake me up with a morning kiss.

Tensed, I maneuvered around the bed and pushed myself into a sitting position. The covers fell from my chest and pooled around my waist to reveal my stomach which had increased over the last month.

Not wanting to waste any more time, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and carefully got up.

When I made it out of the bedroom, a pleasing smell of pastries coming from the kitchen collided with my nose.

What in heaven's name was David up to?

Holding on to the railings, I paddled down the stairs to the kitchen. Much to my dismay, It was dark. I took a deep steadying breath and scraped my hand against the wall for the switch. The lights came on and the moment the room lit up, David and Alex leaped out from behind the counter, shouting, "Surprise!"

I yelped, placing both hands on my chest in shock.

Jesus Christ.

"You two!" I exclaimed, catching my breath. "You nearly scared me to death!"

"Happy Anniversary mummy!" Alex shrieked, blowing into his party popper that emitted a loud popping noise alongside confetti that flew toward the ceiling and littered the floor.

Now that it didn't feel like my heart was about to rip out of my chest, I took in the sight in front of me. The kitchen counter was decorated with a lot of different amazing pastries and the two men standing behind it were stained with flour.

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

"Happy Anniversary princess," David gleamed, circling the island to me and swiftly kissing my cheek. He was clad in only his boxers and a flour-coated apron and his hair was also tousled messily, falling over his face with particles of flour in them. "We spent two hours putting this together." He turned to stare triumphantly at the counter. "For what it's worth, it tastes nice. I'm surprised."

"And I put the cherry on the pie." Alex mused, coming over to hug my waist.

I shook my head with a small laugh. "You guys, you didn't have to."

"We did." David laced my fingers with his and brought them up to kiss my knuckles. "Because you're special. I love you."

I threaded a finger through his hair. "I love you too, David. How did you learn all this?"

"Your mother lent me her recipe book, that is after she smacked me with her rubber slippers for you know, leaving you."

I pursed my lips, trying not to laugh. "Did it hurt?"

He scratched the back of his neck. "Yes, very much so."

"Good." I chuckled, kissing him on the lips.

"Eeew, mummy no!" Alex wailed, running out of the kitchen and bolting down the hall.