Working With Temptation

Epilogue

Rose opened her house door and was welcomed by the smell of lasagne. She went to the kitchen and tried a few delicious mouths mouthful. Fighting the temptation of eat the whole dish, she made her way upstairs to the bedroom. Leaning against the door frame she took in the sight in front of her.

"You didn't have to wait up," she commented with a smile.

James looked up and returned her smile. He patted the side of the bed and Rose gladly sat down beside him. He planted a firm kiss on her lips.

"What kind of husband would I be if I didn't make sure my pregnant wife reached home safely?" He reached out and placed his hands on her stomach.

Leaning down he whispered, "I hope you've both been good for mummy." Rose covered his hands with her own.

Choosing to be with James turned out to be the best decision of her life. The months following her near death experience were the most difficult. Having to explain to Auntie Viv and her cousins that the man they all loved, the man who had raised them, was a murderer. Everyone suffered immensely but they remained united by their love for each other. The trial had been the hardest part. Seeing him again, this man who had everything and yet who nothing was enough. He was given a life sentence but no sentence was ever going to bring her parents back.

Sophia, her therapist, had been a God send. For the first 3 months following the incident, she had sent 3 hours a week in Sophia's sofa talking, shouting, crying and everything else in between. As she improved, she dialled down her appointment to once a week until she and Sophia agreed that she no longer required therapy.

Through it all, James had been amazing. Not only was he patient and understanding, he learnt to cook just so that she wouldn't have to. He had become pretty good at it. When she needed space, he gave her space and when she needed a shoulder to cry on, he gave her his shoulder. There had certainly been tough times. On two occasions, they had reached their breaking points and it was unclear whether they would stay together. But neither of them had been prepared to walk away and she truly believed they were stronger because of it.

After a year together, James popped the question. Rose said yes without a hint of doubt in her mind. Within 3 months they were married and had been happily married for 2 ½ years, the best years of her life.

News of her pregnancy had been a surprise. They had planned to wait for at least 3 years before having children so that they could focus on work, travelling and simply being newlyweds. But lo and behold, she was now 6 months pregnant with twins. Initially, they intended to keep the gender of the baby a secret but once they learnt their 'baby' was actually 'babies', they figured that was surprising enough. With twin boys on the way, they needed to be as ready as possible.

Taking over the company had been a challenge like no other. At first, she had focused on settling in and had put up with the side remarks believing she needed to prove herself to gain their respect. However, it only took 3 weeks to realise that proving herself wasn't going to be enough. She called a meeting that resulted in firing one senior manager and another quitting. This initially made matters worse since the managers were highly regarded but once the second guessing and constant questioning of her authority were gone, things started to improve. The company was doing well and she was surrounded by loyal employees and friends she could trust.

Her life had taken a turn for the better and she never imagined she could be so lucky.

"What with that look?" he pondered. Rose hadn't realised she'd been staring at James. She took his hand and placed a kiss in his palm.

"You just make me happy is all." James tucked Rose beside his body as they spoke about the beautiful future that lay before them.