Page 169 of Dr. Aster

“Because of the woman your parents forced him to marry?”

“No,” I shook my head, “he doesn’t hate his wife. They have a beautiful baby daughter, and my sister-in-law, Melissa, is the most agreeable of all the socialites one might be forced to marry. She’s sweet and funny in her own way, and she doesn’t bug the shit out of me as much as Pollyanna did; however, while Seb is fortunate to have a beautiful family, that’s not what drives him. He measures his worth by how proud my father is of him.”

“Oh, that’s sad,” Mickie answered.

“It’s extremely sad. He hates his life because he hates himself. My dad will never give him the approval he’s after, and because of that, Seb has this asshole approach to everyone. He seems to love his wife and daughter, but after all my time observing them, not even his family is enough for him. His loyalty to my dad has royally fucked him over.”

“And what about your other brother?”

“I have no idea where he ran off to. He’s the type that will disappear to avoid my parents so he can keep his new life and never confront any issues.” I chuckled and kissed her chin, “The guy probably changed his name and social security number and moved to another country.”

“What about you?” she finally asked the question I knew was coming if we would move forward properly. Might as well deal with the potential thorn in our relationship, my controlling parents. “Where is your relationship with your parents? I don’t want to be the reason you’ll never speak to them again or never have?—”

“You won’t be the reason for anything other than making me the happiest man alive by taking me back. I know you have concerns about my parents. I’m confident they’ll come back into my life once the dust settles; however, they play no part in my happiness, and I won’t let them suck the joy from my life ever again.”

“That’s a bit harsh. I mean, I’ve met your mom, and she’s pretty brutal, but?—”

“No, it’s on me, not them. I allowed them to control that part of me. It took me sitting with Jim and owning up to my mistakes to realize that, too. He told me not to give excuses for leaving like I did and for me to own my shit. It was no one’s decision but mine to do what I did. Being back there made me realize I was doing what Seb is still doing.”

“And that is?”

“Believing I could make my parents proud of me and making decisions based on that myth. Nothing I could ever do would make them proud because their hunger for us kids to do whatever they want is insatiable. The fact of the matter is that my parents are responsible for their happiness.” I chuckled in disgust, “Though, they’re doing a very shitty job of that because they are so consumed with controlling us and our status as a powerful family that they don’t even know what true happiness or love is. It’s sad, but I’m not responsible for that.”

“Wow,” she said.

“Long fucking story short,” I smiled, moving over her and kissing her collarbone as my dick began to get hard again, “I learned a valuable lesson.”

“And that was?”

“You, Mickie Smith,” I kissed her lips, “are the other half of my soul, and I felt the emptiness when I was separated from you. That void is something I never wish to feel again. I’m not only a better and happier man with you in my life but a complete man. And after realizing that the way I was raised almost destroyed me from seeing life so beautifully through your eyes, I’m so glad I stood up to them and came back to where my real life and home are.”

“And now we’re getting married?” she laughed.

“You state that as if it were a question in your mind?”

“Well, it was a bit chaotic the way I asked you, then…I mean, here we are?”

“Here we are,” I slipped my cock into her. “Already one body, and now we just need to make it official and say the vows that we are and will always be one soul.”

She smiled in return. I knew that, for the remainder of my days, this smile would greet me every single day, and I would never take her for granted. From this day on, I would make it my mission to ensure Mickie felt cherished, loved, and happy. Most of all, I would ensure she always knew she was my everything.

Chapter Sixty-One

One Year Later

Mickie

We were officially in the middle of August, and a perfect cliffside wedding, scheduled just before sunset, was on the agenda for John and me.

John and I wanted something very intimate yet as enchanting as the way we found love without looking for it. I hated to admit this because I genuinely didn’t want to make a big deal of the wedding, but my mind went wild after I envisioned a charming ceremony with an ocean view.

If I was honest, I felt like one of the snobs from the Monaco wedding disaster, and I’d apologized at least a million times to John, Ashley, Avery, my mother, and my sister during this whole process that started about a year ago when John and I announced our engagement.

It started with a simple courthouse idea, which then mutated into this cliffside wedding, thanks to Avery showing me photos from her and Jim’s wedding in Hawaii. I found it perfect and serene to marry at the ocean, and after spending many sunsets alone on the coast while John and I were broken up, I wanted to replace those memories with a beautiful wedding at sunset.

After scouring the internet and many failed missions to pick the perfect place, I’d nearly given up until John took me on a trip to San Francisco to go to the opera and stay in the infamous hotel that sent me to the hospital. Sharing our box seat was a newlywed couple who’d just had their wedding in Half Moon Bay, a gorgeous place thirty miles south of San Francisco, and if they’d never mentioned it, I would’ve never found the perfect place.

Half Moon Bay was charming and peaceful, with a unique charm perfect for inviting John’s family. Yes, the rekindling of that relationship happened, and no, it wasn’t why I insisted on this venue. I had nothing to prove to them and couldn’t care less if they approved; however, having the Ritz Carlton within walking distance was something I expected would keep them reasonably comfortable while they watched their son marry the woman he loved.

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