11 Milestones

"How come you are not surprised by this?" Daisy asked Rupert and Tom as they sipped on their own coffee as Daisy downed the soup. Fred and Stella were seated amongst them and neither of them was speaking. They were holding hands with fingers intertwined and looking anywhere but at each other.

"Come on love, they have been living together for five years and as far as we know Fred, that is equivalent to a commitment for him. This is only a legal certificate. I won't be surprised if they have a child hidden somewhere in the house," Tom joked.

At this Stella blushed farther. "Tom, that's taking it too far. Stella is clearly uncomfortable with your insinuations. So I better put you straight once and for all. We are yet to consummate and I would be highly obliged if you could get the hell out of here, so that we might get to it," Fred announced.

As Fred said it with a straight face and utmost seriousness, Stella felt more mortified than ever as the guests gulped down their drinks and scrambled to their feet to grant her husband's request.

"That was quite embarrassing," Stella commented.

"I need to have a serious discussion with you and I couldn't have that with them hanging around," Fred admitted.

"Alright, go ahead," she gestured.

"We are still legally married. While you were in a coma I was informed by your uncle that you were under no pressure from him to get married. So you basically lied to me and I don't take lies well," he announced.

Stella hung her head in shame. She knew that about Fred quite well but she didn't have a choice. "Reagan threatened to have me thrown out of the house and take over BLIC. I know how much BLIC means to you and you also know how much you mean to me. I knew if we were legally married even if she seduced you into sleeping with her it wouldn't lead to much else."

"You know Stella, I sometimes wish that I could hate you for your selflessness but I can't. But right now that Reagan is out of the picture what do you want to do, because frankly, I am tired of hiding. You admitted to having fallen for me but I need to confess something far more serious. I never lied to you but I have been attracted to you since the day Tom and Daisy got married. Seeing you in the bride's maid dress did me in. I know you were pursuing Rupert at that point in time. So I kept my distance. After that, I made a point to meddle in your business because I couldn't stay away. I knew I couldn't really make a move on you because that would be akin to ask you to take a bullet for me. Nonetheless, I have interfered in your life knowingly and unknowingly." Fred confessed.

"You mean you actually liked me, like a boy like a girl way?" Stella exclaimed flabbergasted by his confession. Here she was grateful that he was doing right by his wedding vows being a Catholic and all and Fred confesses to having manipulated his way into her life for all these years.

Fred smirked at her reaction and shook his head. "No, I didn't like you, Stella. I got a hard-on every time I looked at you. I was physically obsessed with you. When you first insisted to sleep with me it was torture because all I wanted to do was ravage you. Then I got used to the pain. I am telling you this because when I make love to you tonight I will be rough. The frustration of the past five years will come through and I don't want you to be scared of me. I will not harm you in any way," he assured her.

"If you are so aroused, how can you sit still and talk to me so calmly," Stella quizzed.

"Five years of practice," he replied as he leaned forward and brought her hand to touch his crotch when Stella gasped. It was not the first time that she had touched his manhood but it was the first time that she had done so intentionally.

"What do you want me to do?" Stella asked unsure of where this conversation was heading.

"I want to do it the right way. I never did. I married you before even taking you out on a date," he regretted.

"We have had many dates where you cooked for me. Too many to count, really," she exclaimed.

"But I never made my intentions clear to you. You were always under the impression I was only physically attracted to you. However, I can assure you, Stella, that my feelings ran far deeper. I wanted you but I kept my distances for your safety and sanity. Heck, I am so much older than you," Fred swore.

Stella smiled at his frustration. "Will you stop thinking about the past and make love to me now. I want to really become your wife now. You have made me wait long enough," Stella said, cocking her head to one side.

Fred gave a heart-stopping grin and picked Stella up in his arms as he led her to their well-used bedroom. "We have come a long way from the night where you knocked on my bed, reluctant to drink a cup of hot chocolate," Fred reminisced.

"Then I wanted you to save Tom and Daisy's marriage. Now we need to build our own. How far we have come!" Stella agreed.

They had really covered a lot of milestones.