Beautiful Mistake [a Roman Reigns story]

22 Birthday

Lily POV

Carefully, I put the candles in my daughter's birthday cake. From next door I heard the joyful laughter of children and adults alike. Of course, the loudest was the laughter of the birthday girl herself. My little girl... now she was already 3 years old.

Just as I was about to light the candles, long familiar arms wrapped around me from behind. I leaned against the man in my life and sighed in relaxation.

"How's the cake coming?" he murmured softly in my ear before pressing his lips into the small indentation below.

"Almost done... How's Maya doing?" I asked.

"Excellent. She enjoys the attention and all the gifts. I can't believe how fast she's growing. I wish she would stay this small for a while." he replied with a sad sigh.

I knew how he felt, but then.... I had her all her life. Not just nine months like Roman. It was all happening too fast for him. Especially now that she was calling him Daddy and no longer Dada. And it was my fault alone that he had missed so many milestones.

"I know, Ro... And it-" I began.

"Don't you dare apologize again, baby. It's not your fault. All you did was try to protect all of us. And I love you for it. Will you ever stop feeling guilty?" he interrupted me as he turned me to face him.

"Hmmm, yeah... no, probably not," I replied with a grin.

"One day you'll realize there's no point in living in the past. I want you to be unconditionally happy, Lily." he said as he stroked my back and then leaned in to give me a loving kiss.

"I love you, Mr. Reigns. But now... let's not forget the birthday girl. There's always tonight." I said afterwards as I wiped my lipstick off his perfect, full lips.

"I like the sound of that." replied Roman and then gave me a kiss on the forehead.

Then I turned around again and finally lit the candles. Then I took the cake in my hands. Together with Roman, I made my way to the living room. Ro signaled to the family and our friends and then we all together started singing Happy Birthday to Miss Maya.

The birthday princess was so happy as she blew out her candles. She clapped her hands joyfully as I handed her a piece of cake that she shared with her daddy. It was so cute how she tried to feed him. However, more buttercream landed on Roman's nose than in his mouth. 

I enjoyed this wonderful day and took hundreds of photos. After all, it was Maya's first birthday that she celebrated with her whole family. The years before we had always flown to Hawaii to spend the day with my parents. But this... this was so much better. Especially now that she was a little older and really got what it was all about.

And I could tell that Roman felt the same way I did. He showered her with many gifts. If this continued, we would eventually have a wildly spoiled child on our hands. But to be honest there were worse things.

As I looked at our circle and saw the children interacting with each other, I couldn't help but wonder if I wanted another baby. Or if Roman wanted to. Was he thinking about it? Or was he content with our life as it was? Questions upon questions. But none of them more important than this day.

As if he knew that I was thinking about us, Ro came to me at some point and pulled me tightly into his arms. That alone gave me the feeling of security, of safety and of love. Such love. And at the end of the day, Maya and Roman were all I needed. Anything else would just be a bonus.