Vivian ran out of breath as their kiss prolonged. She finally let go of him and gasped for air.
But Finnick pressed his lips back against hers and fondled her lips passionately.
“You feeling better?”
A playful smile curved on the corners of his mouth as he rubbed her puffy red lips.
Vivian dodged his hands and got off him.
“You owe me an explanation.”
She was hoping for a satisfactory answer from Finnick to all the questions troubling her.
“I didn’t come back earlier because I wanted to wait till I have what it takes to give you the life you want. This is exactly how we met when we got married, don’t you remember?”
The hint of impishness in his eyes from earlier on was nowhere to be seen.
Vivian met his resolute gaze and looked at him earnestly in the eyes before she finally went over and hugged him.
She had been waiting for this moment for two years, and her wait was not futile.
She tried drying the tears flowing down her cheeks, but this moment of fulfilled dream incited waves of emotions in her heart.
Having him by her side was all she needed.
Finnick wrapped his arms around her tightly. At that moment, he felt he could shed all the burdens he had carried for the past two years.
“I’m here. Don’t cry,” he comforted.
Looking at her clinging to him so desperately, Finnick felt everything he went through was all worth it.
He knew everything about her for the past two years—how she lived—and how she felt.
Finnick knew all about it since he had sent people to protect her without her knowing.
“You vanished out of thin air just like that and made me look for you for years. How could you do that?”
Vivian cocked her head and drilled her reproachful gaze into him.
She felt like punching him in his chest, but she could not bring herself to do it.
“I didn’t disappear completely. Do you still remember the bouquet of roses at your doorstep on your birthday?”
Finnick looked at her with eyes full of expectation, waiting eagerly for her answer.
“Those flowers were from you?” Vivian asked.
She could still remember the bunch of flowers she received during her birthday, but it never crossed her mind that they were from Finnick.
She thought they were from Hunter since Finnick only gave her Blue Enchantress all this while.
Little did she know, the roses were actually from him.
“So you’ve always been near me. It’s just that you didn’t show yourself?” Vivian already knew the answer, but she still needed to confirm.
Finnick nodded.
“Let’s go home,” he replied, “It’s already past working hours.”
By the time they went outside hand in hand, everyone had already left. It was already six o’clock.
When they reached home, Larry was already around. He was doing his homework in the living room when he saw the couple came in holding each other’s hands.
The pencil in his hand dropped in shock when he saw Finnick. He was not expecting to see him at all.
A smile played on Finnick’s lips when he saw the startled child staring at him, speechless. “What’s the matter? Have you forgotten Daddy?”
His voice knocked Larry back to reality and the kid leaped from his chair, running toward him. “Daddy!” he cried out, throwing himself into Finnick’s embrace.
Finnick ruffled his hair fondly. His heart sunk when he realized the kid had grown to the height of his waist over the time he was gone.
“Did you take good care of Mommy, Larry?” Finnick bent down and looked at the boy who was becoming more like him as he grew.
“Yeah, I did.” The boy nodded his head surely without taking his eyes off his father.
“That’s my boy. You even know how to protect Mommy now.”
Finnick knew Larry was not the playful and clingy kid he used to be anymore. He had grown to be more mature and understanding.
But what Finnick did not know was that Larry was actually still a child at heart. He was obedient and quiet not because he did not enjoy getting Vivian’s attention, but because he saw how tired she was every day.
Vivian looked so exhausted that Larry felt he would only add to her burden if he did not take care of himself.
That was why he told himself to be a good kid and protect his mother.
