Happily Ever After

A true love story with amazing twists and turns along the way

“Okay Pumpkin, it’s time for bed” said Nathan tucking his daughter in. “Daddy please tell me a story” said Haley peaking from under the covers. “I can’t kido, it’s time for bed” said Nathan insisting her daughter goes to bed. Soon Haley took the hint and fell asleep. Nathan turned on her night light, switched off the lights then slowly closed the door behind him.

“I’m starting to think she loves you more than me” said Bonnie as Nathan tossed himself onto the bed and lay next to her. “Yeah well, I love you more than she does. Is that helpful?” he said kissing Bonnie on the cheek. Their bedroom door slowly creaked open and the children attacked. “Daddy you still owe me a story” said Haley, cuddling in between Bonnie and Nathan. “Yeah dad” said three voices. Chloe, Mike and Niall said at the same time. “Fine, maybe it’s time we told you the story of how Mommy and Daddy met” suggested Bonnie. The kids went mad bananas. “Okay, but you have to be absolutely quiet” said Nathan. The kids went under the covers, snuggled up next to their parents and each other then waited patiently for their story:

The story is about two college graduates who hated each other more than anything. Their names were Nathan Hathaway and Bonnie Kingsley. They didn’t get along since kindergarten when Nathan threw sand on Bonnie. She then swore to never forgive him. As they went on in life, they soon realised that they both went to the same schools. High School and College, they still didn’t speak or even look at each other for almost 12 years, all because of a little sand.

Now, what they didn’t know was that their parents were good friends. Bonnie’s parents suggested an arranged marriage. An arranged marriage is when parents decide for their kids who they think is suitable for them to marry. Nathan’s parents accepted of course because they thought they’d found a perfect young lady for their young man. So one day, they all met at Nathan’s house for tea and to tell Bonnie and Nathan the news. Now keep in mind that neither of them knew where the other one lived, who their parents were or that they were going to get married, or even speak about marriage. So what they were expecting was neither their idea nor their doing.

The first 30 minutes were okay until Nathan’s mother told him to join them. When they saw each other, you wouldn’t believe what their face’s looked like. It was like they’d both seen a ghost or a monster. Nathan’s mom told them the “good” news and let me tell you kids Bonnie and Nathan were not too pleased. Both parents tried to look at the bright side of things but Nathan and Bonnie refused. They both gave their parents a piece of their mind, letting them know how upset they are, being ambushed like that. How their parents expect them to get married after everything. All this hatred because of sand, Bonnie was being dramatic kids let me tell you that. Nathan didn’t really care; he was just upset that no one told him about all of this.

“Daddy why did you stop?” asked Haley, the suspense was killing her and her siblings. “I just wanted to remind you of the lesson I learnt when I was young. It was to never hold grudges because in the end you’ll be the one getting hurt when karma decides to act up” said Nathan. Bonnie laughed because the kids were making snoring sounds. She indicated he must carry on so he did:

Okay where was I? Oh, so after a month their parents decided to take drastic decisions. Bonnie’s parents told her that if she didn’t get married to Nathan then they’ll cut her off and cancel all the credit cards they paid for. She had no choice but to surrender. As I mentioned before, Nathan wasn’t really as angry so his parents didn’t have to talk to him. They met up for Brunch to discuss when the wedding was going to take place. The decision made was that they’d have a court wedding. Not a big fancy wedding, a court wedding is when the bride and groom stand in front of the judge along with both parents from both sides and a whiteness. There weren’t any romantic vows, any after party, no cake and most of all, no presents from friends and family.

Let me spare you the details, after a year and six months Bonnie and Nathan moved in together (By force). Every day was World War II, they’d fight over stupid things like who finished the eggs, who’d go grocery shopping and who’d cook. The worst thing they fought over was money.

Bonnie didn’t have a job because her parents were supporting her financially and Nathan’s job paid less already before all the expenses like rent, bills and insurance on his car. So it’s safe to say that they weren’t happily married.

One afternoon they went out for a movie separately but bumped into each other when they were in the same line. Bonnie thought it was creepy but Nathan just simply said “It’s a small world with one cinema. Get over yourself”. They spent a few awkward moments and weird glances until Nathan broke the silence, he started talking about how they have the same taste in entertainment but Bonnie wasn’t having that. When seated, she found out that they were sitting next to each other. Maybe it was fate; maybe it was the universe telling them to bury the hatchet. Throughout the whole movie they were talking. Like normal human beings, it was as if they (well she) had finally made peace with everything and decided to be civil.

I tell you kids, all it took was one lousy movie for them to actually have a decent conversation. After that everything was fine, no more bickering and arguing, no more fights and calling each other names. They were acting like friends and not a married couple…. UNTIL!

“Until what?” Mike asked excitedly. “Let me finish Mike, relax” said Nathan then he continued:

Until one day when Bonnie woke up and realized she had feelings for Nathan! She thought it would just fade away but it didn’t, she had a crush on the boy she hated for almost all her life. Honestly speaking; she didn’t even know why she hated him all along. Nathan also didn’t know why she hated him, he knew it happened in kindergarten but not how she put it. The whole sand incident happened by accident. Nathan tripped and fell; Bonnie didn’t want to hear it. She swore never to speak to him ever again. Nathan knew that if he told Bonnie his part of the story, she might lose it again and they’d be back to square one. He decided not to tell her for the sake of their friendship.

Nathan didn’t want to tell Bonnie that he had feelings for her too, he thought that it would jeopardise what they have now. A week later, for some strange reason Bonnie found herself in Nathan’s room and Nathan in hers. They both just “happened” to stumble upon each other’s diaries. They both just “happened” to be marked on the page where they both wrote about each other. The rest kids, some of you are too young to know, adult stuff happened next. Nathan and Bonnie found themselves calling each other husband and wife instead of Bug and Tardy (Haley laughs at the bug part)

Two months later they had a baby girl who’s name was Chloe, a year later they had a boy they thought was too edgy to be Michael so they called him Mike instead. 3 years later they had another boy with blond hair. He reminded them of their favorite Irish singer Niall Horan so they named him Niall. Their last baby was a gift from heaven, so perfect and so beautiful. They called her Haley, after Nathan’s mother. They live together in a big house in Beverly Hills know and their lives couldn’t be better. THE END!

After the story Bonnie realized that the kids were fast asleep, she looked at Nathan and whispered “That was amazing, too bad they didn’t hear the ending”. Nathan smiled, looked at his precious sleeping babies and said “They already know the ending honey, and I wouldn’t like it any other way”. They both kissed their kids goodnight. “I love you Bug” said Bonnie. Nathan kissed her on the cheek and said “I love you too Tardy”.

                              

Author's Note

Back to writing! So what do you think? Still got it :D
Happy reading and don't forget to share your honest opinions

Reviews

[Ana]

Hi Aphy! I've been gone a looong time but I remember you the most. Is it your font? Did I ever ask you where it came from? And the dotted lines, how did you do that? This is the CUTEST omg...the tears are coming, you know I get super emotional when I'm impressed with something? I think I have a problem. It was really cute, and I loved the ending.

[Aphy!]

Indeed you have been gone for far too long bud. I'd be lying if I said my font was on purpose. I write all my stories on my laptop then just copy and paste it here (lazy much) and it turns out like this. But don't worry, it's my original stuff. Thought of changing it but then I remembered people like u who are fans of my loopy writing. So I'll keep it just for u :) Thanx for the review hey, really missed u buddy. Stop by anytime. I've dabbled in some poetry. Still a bit rusty but its going somewhere. I've been away as well, school is just being a complete pain!!! But I'll be back soon hey. WOAH! Thanx again. xx

[Cass Morgan]

I loved this love story! So cute!

[Aphy!]

Thank you so much

[KittyKatgirl]

That is a really sweet romance story :)
I really enjoyed reading this and the ending is perfect. Thank you for sharing and I will read more of your writing soon :)

[Aphy!]

Aww, thank you very much for reviewing and I'm glad you liked it

[KittyKatgirl]

You're welcome :)

[Emma]

Awe this is really sweet. :) I like it.

I think maybe some paragraph breaks would add something. For example, every time someone new/different from the person before talks, it is usually standard that a new paragraph is started. This is how I would do the first part:
"Okay Pumpkin, it’s time for bed,” said Nathan tucking his daughter in.
“Daddy please tell me a story,” said Haley peeking from under the covers.
“I can’t kido, it’s time for bed,” said Nathan insisting his daughter go to bed. Soon Haley took the hint and fell asleep.

Oh and then at the end, there is the sentence: "They live together in a big house in Beverly Hills know and their lives couldn’t be better." It should be "now" instead of "know."

Altogether, great creativity. Keep up the good work!

[Aphy!]

Thank you Emma for your positive feedback. I'll try and edit it once my computer decides to stop acting up ;)
But yeah...thank you very much and I'm glad you enjoyed it

[Carbon Muse]

I loved it so much! Lighthearted and fun, I couldn't stop reading once I started.

Two things that I may have done different ...

- "Soon Haley took the hint and fell asleep."

I would have narrated as something like "Soon Haley took the hint and pulled the covers over her head." (Maybe even to hide a smile over the naughty little plan she was cooking up) ... To me, falling asleep is not a willing act, it occurs of it's own accord. Keep in mind of course, my choice in words are different to yours and don't sound as fun and whimsicle ;D

- "Nathan didn’t really care; he was just upset that no one told him about all of this."

I would have added a narration afterwards of "he paused to look at his children." (As though to measure their understanding of what had been said) ... it adds better flow to where the children ask why their father had stopped, otherwise the reader doesn't know it till they read the next line, which causes a momentary pause to comprehend and re-adjust ones mental image.

"then they’ll cut her off and cancel all the credit cards they paid for." I loved this line ;D

I also loved how he was so thoughtful in not telling her about the true events as love is not about being wrong or right, it is about consideration for the others feelings and sacrificing one's pride to make each other happy ... but isn't it just like a women to hold a grudge and not even give the other a chance to explain :3

"adult stuff happened next" I giggled at that :D

Arranged marriages were a cruel and unjust tradition, it had it's merits like for example not having a choice in working out disputes instead of just running to the courts for a divorce and it takes away the strain and stress over knowing you are worthy or good enough. But that is at the expense of love it self and a marriage without love, is more like a sentence than a gift from nature.

Thank you for sharing this beautiful piece!

[Aphy!]

Wow, now that you mention it...I'd prefer your changes over the original (A bit more spice never hurt anyone hey) but I really appreciate your critique and honest opinion. And yes, as a woman I KNOW that we tend to hold a grudge over EVERYTHING! So I tried to write something both male and female would relate to. I'll alter it a bit once my laptop stops being..."a typical 21st century device) :) AGAIN...Thank you so much for taking your time to help me fix my work. Really appreciate it

[Carbon Muse]

It is but a pleasure and a joy for my humble opinion to make a difference. Together we help each other grow in our craft and in so doing, ensure even more spectacular stories in the future. It is something I value more than the kindest of words in a review.

Ah yes, even to me, technology is starting to seem foreign and illogical, good luck with the stubborn device :)

[Aphy!]

Haha yeah hey! And we're all here for help and to also help others. It's really good to hear you say nice things like this hey. Thank you

[B. Boileau]

A beautiful bedtime story if I ever heard one. It's a shame parents don't do more of this. Thanks for sharing

[Aphy!]

I know right. I'd really like if my parent's told the story of how they met like this. Thanx for reviewing

[Angelique]

Great read love the twists you added into this

[Aphy!]

Thank u very much

[Bear]

I am telling everyone about a great writing tool I recently came across so if I have already mentioned it to you then please over look this https://www.grammarly.com/1?affiliateID=1959&affiliateNetwork=ho
I don't know if you've ever seen any of the after school specials on TV in South Africa or not but this is an ideal story for that show. It is family oriented, it has real life struggles over real life issues giving it a reality feel. Your character development is not bad and have identifiable tendencies, so good job my friend :~)
Small critique: there are two D's in kiddo, you also have some punctuation issues but they can be taken care of with your final edit you might also want to do a grammar check too.

[Aphy!]

Thanx for the suggestions hey I'll look over it again. And about that tool...I'll look for it online, haven't really seen any ad's about it though but I trust u. Thank you again!

[Not here]

I like this. Just as a suggestion, if you split longer pieces up into two parts they are easier to read/understand. But I really liked this. There were lots of twists as you said :) good job

[Aphy!]

Thanks for the suggestion and for reviewing! Really appreciate it!