Page 38 of Forever King

The front door opens,and I snap my head around to see Duck walk into the foyer. She sets her suitcase down and waves at me.

“Hey, I heard you were missing a wife and mother. I’m here to report for duty.”

I open my arms, and Duck runs to me. We hug tightly and hold on to each other as she sobs on my shoulder.

“Please forgive me, Marius. I should have never left last night.”

Stroking her long, silky hair, I whisper, “No more talk about that. I just want to hear you’re going to be better now.”

She leans back away from me and nods. “I think I am. I’ll tell you all about it, but I want to see Lily. Where is she?”

“Well, after sleeping through the night last night, she’s taken two naps already today and it’s barely one in the afternoon. I think she’s making up for lost sleep all these months.”

I watch as Duck’s face grows dark for a moment, but then she returns to being happy. “She finally slept through the night?”

“Yeah. I think both of you’ve turned the corner. That’s good, right?”

Duck nods. “It is. Let’s go stare at her while she sleeps like we used to when she was first home.”

We hold hands and walk together to Lily’s nursery to watch her sleep like newbie parents. She’s the most beautiful miracle, and even now, I can’t believe Duck and I created a whole person.

“Do you know I’ve been jealous of you for months?” Duck whispers.

Confused, I turn to look at her and see she’s actually serious. “About what?”

She points at our daughter. “At how great you’ve been at being a father. I felt like I was failing at being her mother, and seeing you do so well bothered me so much. I know now that was because of what I was dealing with. I just want you to know that I love that you’re such a good dad, Marius.”

When she puts her head on my shoulder and we return to watching Lily sleep, all is right with my world. I’m so happy, I say, “Hey, if your parents want to add people to the guest list, I’m fine with that.”

And just like her old self, Duck says, “Absolutely not. I don’t want my wedding to be a circus. We’re capping it at one hundred and fifty. If she doesn’t like that, she can complain to my father. It’s his job to listen to her anyway.”

Is anyone amazed why I love my wife so much?

We watch Lily for a few minutes more before I lean over and whisper to Duck, “Hey, what do you think about us celebrating tonight?”

She turns to face me and shrugs. “I’m not really in the mood for going out. I’d rather just stay home since I missed you so much.”

I smile and shake my head before taking her by the hand. Pulling her toward the hallway, I say, “I was thinking more of celebrating right here in our own bedroom.”

Behind me, she says, “Oh, well, if that’s the case, I’m in!”

Duck runs past me into the bedroom and throws herself onto the bed. She seems so different tonight. Like the woman I fell in love with and not the person who seemed so miserable for far too long.

Lying on her back, she smiles up at me as I hover over her. “I like feeling like myself again.”

I dip my head to kiss her on the lips, loving the feel of her mouth against mine. “I like you feeling happy again. I hated seeing you unhappy and not knowing what to do to fix it.”

She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me down onto her. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t know what was wrong. I never thought it could be postpartum depression.”

“Well, if you ever get to feeling bad again, promise me we’ll talk about things. I don’t want you to be unhappy ever, Eden.”

Her eyes get big, even as she grins. “Uh oh, it must be serious. You called me by my given name.”

“It is serious. I don’t want my wife to go through life feeling bad. You know, it reflects badly on me. People probably thoughtit was because you had a terrible husband. I can’t have that, now can I?”

She slides her hand inside my pants and gently palms my cock. “No, we can’t have that. Imagine what people would say.”

I don’t actually give a single fuck what people think of me. Well, except Duck and my family, but especially her. The rest of the world doesn’t matter as long as my wife is happy. Now that I know what’s been going on, we can get back to me making sure she stays that way for the rest of her life.