I Swear, Let Me Love You Again

LYDIA’S POV: 2 WEEKS LATER: Today was finally the day and I was in the dressing room getting ready. I took a deep breath looking at myself in the mirror with admiration. I chose to wear a navy blue, knee-length dress for the book signing event. The fabric was a soft cotton blend that draped elegantly over my figure. The neckline was simple and clean, with no adornments or frills. It felt classic and professional, but also approachable and friendly. I paired the dress with a pair of comfortable black flats and my favorite gold earrings and bracelet, and I felt so confident and I couldn’t wait to see what the day held for me. A knock came through the door and I responded, “Come in.” I turned around and saw the marketing representative sent by the publisher, Miss Vivian, coming in along with the third florist of the day. “Yes, you have yet another flower but I think you would like to read the card.” I had already received about two bouquets of flowers from my dad and Nathaniel just wishing me good luck, so I wondered who this was from. “Okay, thank you.” I appreciated the florist as he dropped the vase of flowers in front of me and by the arrangement and mixture of colors, I knew they were from Andrew. I grabbed the card and it read, I don’t feel too confident to make an appearance today at your event and I apologize deeply.

I have something planned out for you though.

So have a successful event and smile brightly.

I am so proud of you, little girl. Love, your next major character. I chuckled, smiling at the last sentence. He had been doing his physical therapy this past few weeks. The nurses stated that he had been pushing himself hard and enduring all the pain. She admired it. He had only been seeing his girlfriend and nurses, no other person including me. I was hurt at first but I was learning to understand him and his reasons. Ari had informed me they would be looking at houses now and he was talking about marriage. She was pretty happy about that and quite excited for their future. A small bump formed on her stomach and best believe she had sent me a dozen pictures of her in front of the mirror. My eyes watered in excitement and happiness for her. I couldn’t believe I would have my only little niece, I can’t even lie. I also imagined my little daughter running around with Andrew and Arianna’s daughter. Ouuu…I’m getting excited right now. Which is quite ironic as I had no partner. All of a sudden, my last encounter with Nathaniel flashed through my mind and I grimaced, it was so embarrassing yet kind of cute. I had been avoiding him these past few weeks and giving him short, dry replies when we cross parts probably because I didn’t want him thinking he could control me. “Any problem ma’am?” Vivian asked and I shook my head placing the card in between the flowers. I had already eaten a light breakfast, and the event was beginning by noon, and it was about twenty minutes to the beginning of the event. “No, just a little bit nervous.” I confessed and she smiled smallly. She was a young woman who seemed about a few years older than me but seemed very lovely. “It’s going to go amazingly well. You’re Lydia Taylor Miller, your writing skills are top notch and your ability to write out everything you have been through is amazing and inspiring. Women all over the country admire you and young girls aspire to be like you. You carry yourself with so much confidence, it’s infectious, so today just like any day you’re going to go out there with positivity and confidence, and I assure you the minute you go out, you will realize this is one of the sweetest events a writer gets to be in. Trust me, I have seen authors shed a tear or two over how this event goes.” She didn’t seem like she was just talking to make me feel better but rather, she seemed like she meant every word. “Thank you. I needed that.” I thanked and she bowed her head slightly with a satisfied smile. “So are you ready?” Of course I was. Plus extremely excited but the jitters lingered around.

*********** AT THE BOOK SIGNING EVENT. “I was baffled by the looks on the faces of both my mother and sister-in-law. Tonight was meant to be my wedding night, it was meant to be as amazing as they talked about in books and movies but here I stood in the living room of this new extravagant mansion, in my simple white gown and my newlywed husband had literally dumped me here. From the look of things, the scornful look from the staff who weren’t even pretending to smile, I was uncertain of how this marriage will be. But I was hopeful nonetheless.” I completed the reading while sitting at the podium on a very comfy chair. Everyone, including me, let out a sigh after reading. I placed the microphone and my book on the table waiting for Vivian to speak. Fans included about hundreds of people and since this was my first event, I requested a limit of not too many people. People began to raise their hands for questions and the people from the media were taking a bunch of pictures. I could barely see anyone’s face from where I was, so I just pointed at a girl who kept waving her hand. “OMG, Good morning, Miss, I’m such a big fan of yours. Umm…I just wanted to know how you felt writing this book? Like what was the writing process like? Because I can imagine how hurtful it was as this is based on your personal experience.” She spoke and the lights were fixed on her, so I was able to clearly see her properly. “It was more of a journal at first. It helped with my healing process in order not to harbor any hate or that towards my ex and his family. The hard part was deciding if I would publish this or not, how would people react to this. Yeah but overall the writing process was just smooth, tears were shed at some point but I enjoyed writing it.” I explained and she nodded her head in understanding and took her seat.