Two years later
"No young lady, that skirt is a tad bit too short, go change." Louisa admonished disapprovingly as her now fifteen year-old daughter sashayed down the stairs towards her.
"But mum, this is the new fashion tr-"
"I don't want to hear it Isa, go get changed. Now." The stern mum cut in, lips pressed in an end-of-discussion manner.
"Ugh, I hate my life, you're so annoying." The teen groaned out loudly, turning back on her heel to stomp up the stairs, obviously going to do her mother's bidding.
William walked in from the front door at that moment and so happened to catch the last bit of the conversation. "What was that about?" He asked curiously as he pressed a soft kiss on his wife's lips.
"Oh, that's just Isa being a normal Gen Z brat, I swear I can't understand them sometimes." Louisa complained tiredly, melting into her husband's arms. She had missed him dearly, and was grateful to have him back after two weeks of being away on a business trip.
"Welcome back, I really missed you." She whispered seductively into his ear.
I swear you'll kill me one of these days." William groaned in frustration, reaching for handfuls of his wife's ass and squeezing to his satisfaction. Louisa gasped and leaned up to press her lips against her husband's, moaning when he bit her bottom lip and took advantage of that to slide his tongue into her mouth.
"Ewww, get a room guys... that's just disgusting." Isa screamed as she trudged down the stairs, thankfully in a more appropriate outfit.
Husband and wife pulled away, an embarrased blush on Louisa's face, a smug one on Will's.
"Daddyyy!" Isa jumped into her dad's arms, much to her mother's humour.
"Welcome back, so what did you get me?" The young lady asked in earnest.
"Well I-" William started, but his daughter cut him off after a quick glance to her phone. "Oh shoot. Mel and Katie B are already outside waiting for me, gotta go. Byee."
The front door banged shut as Isabel ran out, leaving the two parents all alone once again.
Louisa and her daughter had moved into William's new house after the wedding, leaving Mrs. Mensah all alone at their old house, but they paid her visits sometimes, plus she had her own squad so it was all good.
Life after marriage had been nothing short of pleasant, the two were really living their best lives and Louisa couldn't help but be thankful she had decided to give their relationship a chance.
"So..." William dragged out, pulling his lovely wife back into his arms, a suggestive smile on his face.
"So..." She pressed, trying hard but failing to keep her own smile off her face.
"What do you suggest we do now that we have the house all to ourselves?" He leaned down to pepper kisses down her neck.
"Will." She giggled, enjoying the pleasant sensations. "Will, wait... wait."
He pulled back, an inquiring look in his eyes. "Why?"
"Well we have dinner with Mike and Naa Larley tonight, that's why." Louisa explained, dragging her husband by the hand and leading him up the stairs.
"Let's go get ready."
*****
"God, it's wonderful to be out without my little munchkin for once." Naa Larley muttered as she tore into her chicken. The little group consisting of her husband, and their two friends burst into laughter at her comment.
Smiling sheepishly, she clarified. "I mean, don't get me wrong... I love Nolan to bits but I miss the freedom and the calm sometimes."
Mike smiled and gently reached for her hand. " It's a completely normal feeling, trust me... we understand you perfectly well."
"But to be honest, you have it good." Louisa declared digging into her own meal. "Cause at least a toddler will listen to every word you say... but teenagers are a whole new different subject. Believe me, at this point, I'm literally ready to trade her for your sweet sweet little kid."
"Oh please, we all know you'll never agree to that." Naa Larley grinned laughing along with everyone else.
And so the conversation continued, amidst food and laughter and good music.
Louisa and her husband got home pretty late, but it was no bother since their only child was at a sleepover and they had the rest of the night all to themselves.
The couple had thought things through and decided that it really wasn't necessary to have another child.
They already had one, and pretty much felt their age was not that okay to do so.
As a matter of fact, Louisa had been quite keen to the idea, but her husband had been firm in his disapproval, eventually managing to convince her against it in the process.
To William, it really wasn't necessary to put his wife at such a risk especially with the possibility of it being more dangerous for her age.
"So... where were we before we had to leave for dinner?" Louisa asked playfully as she kicked of her heels and collapsed on the bed with a thud.
She didn't hear a reply and suddenly realised that her husband hadn't been paying attention to her, his gaze fixated on his phone and the text he seemed to be sending.
"Will?" She tried again and succeeded this time. "Sorry babe, just finishing up some work issues," He looked up absentmindedly and shot her an apologetic look.
"I just need to make a quick call, and then I'm yours after that." He promised and dashed out of the room, leaving Louisa to wonder what the hell was going on.
He had left the table two times at the restaurant to take a call, and through the drive home, he had been on the phone,
Texting someone.
What was going on?
She wasn't really worried... scratch that, she didn't know if she should be worried. She trusted Will so of course the dilemma was much stronger, but maybe she was just jumping into conclusions and seeing things where they weren't.
With that assurance, she tiredly took off her clothes and trudged to the bathroom, reaching for the shower knob and turning it on to full blast.
William joined her a few minutes later. "Sorry about that honey, I'm all yours now."
****
"No Naa, I'm very sure he's hiding something. He has become distant, and all his attention is on his goddamned phone, I swear to God, I desperately want to rip it apart with my bare hands." Louisa confided over the phone in frustration. It was lunch break and she was at work, but she had been too preoccupied to get much work done hence, the reason why she had dialed her best friend for a little chat.
"Woah, calm down Wreck-It-Ralph, are you sure you're not jumping into conclusions or anything? Because it seems to me that you're feeling how busy he is a little more now especially with Isabel away on that vacation." Naa Larley observed.
Louisa sighed. "Maybe you're right. I'm overreacting, but it's been three days now, and I barely even see him anymore, and he told me himself that it was just minor work issues, so I don't understand." She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.
"You know what, I think you could use a little girl's night out to get your mind off things. Perhaps, you'd realise in the process that you and your husband are not tied to the hip and that you could use some me-time too. Lucky for you, Isa is away, and Mike is hanging out with Nolan tonight so I'm free."
Louisa thought about the situation carefully.
Was her best friend right?
Was she tying her happiness on her husband and being too dependent on him?
Well she didn't really know, but it sure looked like it.
"Alright, count me in. I guess I could use a girl's night out." She declared decidedly.
"Yasss!" Naa Larley cheered. "We'd have so much fun tonight. Oh, one little thing though..."
"What?"
"Make sure you dress to the nines, I'm taking you someplace fancy."
Louisa shook her head at her friend's craziness before remembering they were on a voice call and that Naa couldn't see her. "Alright, I hear you. See you in the evening."
"Oh, and p.s, I'm picking you up, so no need to worry about the location. Okay, I love you, byeee." The phone went dead in Louisa's hands. With another long sigh, she went back to her work.
*****
"Naa, I think your little fancy place has closed for the day." Louisa called out shakily as she stepped out of the car and smoothed her maroon-coloured body con dress.
The simple but plush looking bar and grill had signs all over that said they were closed... in fact, all the lights were turned off, which Louisa found very weird seeing as it wasn't even eleven p.m yet.
"Don't worry about it Lou, I may have contacted a secret friend who had assured me that we were going to have access to this super exclusive event." Naa Larley assured as she locked up her car and found her way to her friend, looping her hand through hers in the process.
Louisa took another glance at the place and shuddered uncontrollably. "You know what, maybe we should head home. This place is really giving me the creeps."
"Oh come on, live a little. The place is safe, all the darkness is just a decoy, trust me, there are eyes everywhere." Naa Larley pressed, leading her friend towards a secret walkway.
Louisa really didn't know if she should be scared or relieved that there were secret eyes watching them but she decided to let go of her fears and trust her friend. The two women got to a small doorway... what was probably the backdoor to the bar and grill. Before them stood the burliest man Louisa had ever laid eyes on, and he had the most intimidating look on his face.
"Pass sentence?" He asked causing Louisa's eyes to widen in confusion. Naa Larley answered. "The leprechaun is in motion."
The guard smiled. "Go right in." He moved out of the way for the two ladies to pass as Louisa followed her friend, still in a daze.
What was this place?
The narrow walkway cleared into a bigger one, and then the lights turned on causing Louisa to let out a shocked gasp at the sight that met her eyes.
"SURPRISE!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!"
Louisa couldn't believe it.
Her arms wrapped around her best friend in a flurry of emotions. She couldn't believe she had forgotten that today was her birthday. Pulling away from the hug, she grinned at her besr friend. "Well played this time Naa, you got me real good."
Naa Larley laughed, bowing in the process like some movie director reacting to an applause. "Well, I aim to please. Enjoy the night." With another quick hug, the two friends parted ways as other people came over to wish Louisa a happy birthday.
There were a whole bunch of faces, some she knew very well, some she was acquainted with, and some she didn't know. She gratefully accepted wishes and looked on as the crowd parted to reveal her husband, dressed in a tux and wielding a bouquet of flowers in his hands.
Louisa literally flew into his arms.
"Happy birthday babe." He greeted with a chuckle as he wrapped his arms around her.
"So this was what had been keeping you so busy and secretive." She whispered with a laugh, understanding things clearly then.
"The plan was to make you so worried that you forgot what day it was, and it was amazing, but suffice to say, it worked." William explained with glee as he handed his wife the flowers.
Louisa bent her head to sniff the lovely red roses and then leaned up to press a kiss on her husband's lips.
"Thank you so much for the surprise, you're... amazing."
"I know." He declared smugly earning him a slap on the butt. Louisa smirked at the way his eyes darkened, and he pulled her close. "Let's get this party over and done with... I have the whole night to give you some birthday lovin'." He whispered, sniffing her hair and leaning down to plant a kiss on her cheek.
Louisa was overwhelmed with love... so overwhelmed that a single stray tear slipped down her cheek, but oh no... They were only tears of joy.
"I love you, William." She declared with a shaky laugh.
"And I love you."