Alex’s Perspective 3
The Later Years
Three years of marriage had only deepened my love for Autumn. Watching her grow as a writer, seeing her confidence bloom as her career soared–it was everything I’d hoped for her and more.
Our child–a perfect blend of us both–was the greatest gift I could have imagined. Sometimes I would catch Autumn watching us together, a look of
wonder on her face, as if she couldn’t quite believe this was her life.
It was on a perfectly ordinary evening when Autumn discovered my secret. Her phone had died while she was checking her publishing platform, so she’d picked up mine to continue. I was in the nursery, putting our child down for the night, when I heard her gasp.
“Alex?”
I found her in the living room, my phone in her hand, her eyes wide with shock.
“You’re TrueLeonid22?” she asked, showing me the screen displaying the
úsername of her mysterious benefactor from years ago. “It was you all along?” I nodded, watching emotions play across her face—surprise, confusion, and finally, understanding.
“But how did you know what I wrote? Why would you—”
“You shared a link on Twitter once,” I explained, sitting beside her. “You deleted it quickly, but I saw it and started following your work.”
“As for why,” I continued, taking her hands in mine, “I read your novels and thought they were excellent, especially that new one you’d just started. I thought you just needed a chance to be discovered.”
She was quiet for a long moment, processing this revelation. Then, without warning, she threw herself into my arms.
“Careful!” I laughed, catching her. “The baby-”
I set our sleeping child safely aside before wrapping my arms around her properly, inhaling the familiar scent of her hair.
“You believed in me before anyone else did,” she whispered against my neck.
“Even
1/4
before I believed in myself.”
“I always will,” I promised, lifting her face to mine for a kiss that quickly deepened. I carried her to our bedroom, laying her gently on the bed. Undressing her slowly, I kissed each inch of skin as it was revealed, worshipping her with my mouth and
hands until she was trembling beneath me.
“I need you,” she whispered, pulling me up to her.
