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It has been so nice being with the girls tonight, but I wish Mom and Cindy could have h I don’t let it ruin ht

My parent’s and sister will be arriving first thing in the ain, and I know Cindy is dying to spend time with Willow after all these years My dad alk ation watching proudly as I marry the man I love

We’re getting married in a church My mother insisted I knew Stryker didn’t want that, but he’s doing it for me I love him even more for it, but I was so worried it wouldn’t be the day he wanted it to be I felt like I was forcing hi my way

I brought this up with his from Stryker, we’re better than secrets He smiled, kissedof my dreams, but he’d like us to have our reception at the clubhouse Of course, I didn’ta ive and take It’s his day too, after all

The front door suddenly swings open, each one of us is silent as ency in his voice that it scares the hell out of me

I ju into the living roo, and he seems panicked also

He looks around the rooirls, I just need to speak with Coral for a ht back”

He doesn’t wait for anyone to answer, he grabs my hand and pulls me out of the room and up the stairs to his old bedrooround! He slao of ht, and I take a seat on the edge of his bed

His roo special, but it’s his A double bed, chest of drawers, wardrobe, lamp, trash can, etcetera He has a framed picture of the two of us next to his bed It ht that picture here so he could look at it during the nights he spends here, which will be few and far between once we're married

“There’s so the floor, biting the pad of his thuhtfully “I can’t marry you until you know this stuff about me”

“What the hell are you talking about, Mark?!” I yell as I jump out of my seat He can’twith fear, and I feel like I’rab him and shake the hell out of him!

“Shh” He grabsarms “Baby, please just listen to me I have to tell you aboutit from you”

The look of despair on his face, in his eyes, cuts ently stroke ”

He nods his head and pulls away froh his hair

I sink back down on the bed as he lets out a huge breath

“I don’t really reins, and I’ his hurt “I suppose not s like how my mother would yell at me, hit me”

He rubs both hands over his face in defeat

“She hated ht of h how she wished I’d never been born, couldn’t wait until the day I either left home or dropped dead She used to beat me so badly sometimes that I prayed I would just die

“She walked out on the old ain Ken, iven me to someone else God knoho because we didn’t have any other family It was just him and me Don’t even know if my mother had any family If she did, I never met any of them Ken should have cared about me, but he didn’t, he hated me as much as my mother did Actually, he orse”

I can feel the tears cloudingmy heart