I’m a married woman. I can’t believe it. Even writing it down doesn’t make it seem real. These last two months have been the most surreal of my life. One minute I was living in a tiny apartment with a dead-end job that I actually loved, and the next I’m a housewife living in my husbands penthouse apartment. Husband, does that sound as strange to you as it does to me? HUSBAND.
Saying goodbye to my parents and starting a new life in a new country was nothing to the terror I felt when the time came to tell William about his impending fatherhood. On his return from his business trip, he’d taken me out for a romantic meal and dancing. I was determined to enjoy myself. If he dumped me for getting myself pregnant, then at least I would have the fantastic memories of this night. I looked into his eyes, took a deep breath and announced that I was going to have his baby.
To say he was shocked is an understatement. Flabbergasted, astounded, flummoxed would be a more accurate description. I mentally prepared myself for his disappointment and excuses that were surely to follow. What I was completely unprepared for however, was an engagement ring.
“I love you Florica. I love your spirit, your fire and your beauty. I want you by my side forever. This child may have come sooner than I expected, but this ring is yours regardless.”
Of course I said yes. I should never have doubted the love he felt for me.
Of course, the path to true love never runs smoothly. The obstacle in my path was Williams parents. Actually, I say parents when I should have said ‘Mother’. No sooner than the ring was on my finger, William whisked me to the Bridgeport Hills to meet his parents. His father William Stratford III was a publishing tycoon and the owner of Stratford Publishing Inc., a company built from the ground up by the first William Stratford. One day, my William would take over and follow in his father’s footsteps, and then one day, my little boy would too. My future father-in-law is a ruthless and ambitious man. Despite his cold exterior, he greeted me with kindness and gallantry, and I couldn’t fault him. If he was disappointed that his son had chosen such a commoner for a wife, he didn’t show it. And for that, I was grateful.
My mother-in-law, Veronica, was a completely different story. She greeted me with contempt, showered me with icy glares throughout dinner and made no secret of the fact that she considered me beneath her and that she thought I’d trapped her son into marriage. She was careful not to be too mean in front of William, but the next two months as she planned my wedding were the worst of my life. William wouldn’t hear anything bad about his mother, and my bar friends had drifted away in the months that I’d been with William. For the first time, I really missed my own mother. I wanted nothing more than for her to put her arms around me and tell me that it was going to be okay. Speaking to her on the phone is just not the same.
As it turned out, my parents didn’t even make it to the wedding. My Papa had a heart attack a few weeks before the wedding and my mother wouldn’t leave him. I can’t tell you how bad it was not being able to go home and see him. Knowing that I may never again get a chance to see my father’s kind and smiling face. Not being able to kiss his lined forehead and being able to say goodbye.
We got married in the usual upper crust manner and said our vows in the Stratford’s country club. All I really wanted was to get married in the park with just William and a couple of witnesses, but of course, this wasn’t expected of the only son of the wealthiest man in the city. All the elite of society were there to watch William Stratford IV marry the pregnant daughter of an Italian farmer and his gypsy wife. What a scandal! No wonder Veronica hated me so much. She wasn’t the only one. Veronica’s rich society friends and their beautiful society daughters were there as well, watching hatefully as I stole the most eligible bachelor from under their snooty noses. Of course, when it came to say my vows, it was easy. I looked into William’s eyes and it was simple. I loved this man with all my soul and I was going to have his son. Everything else is immaterial. __________________________________________________________________________________________
After the wedding, William surprised me with a visit to Monte Vista to visit my parents. This of course, made me love him even more. My papa had just been released from hospital and he looked so frail. Knowing that he was no longer on his death bed made me feel so much better. They’d even hired a young farm hand to help them with the farm. Vincenzo was a kind man who loved horses and took Rosa out for her daily rides. Knowing that my faithful friend was contented left me calmer than I’d felt for months. It was much easier to leave my home this time.
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After a sun-soaked honeymoon in Sunlit Tides, my new life began in earnest. The hard part came when William started back at work. Being so high up in the company, he works long hours and takes many business trips. I’d been encouraged to leave my job at the bar as it was unseemly for me to work now that I was Mrs Stratford. Most days are spent painting and sculpting with only Nemo for company. In some ways, this is comforting as I’d spent most of my childhood with Rosa. Animals will never judge you for who you are and who you’ll never be.
The other company I get, unfortunately for me, is Veronica. Still bitterly disappointed with her sons choice for a wife, she’s taken it upon herself to mould me into the perfect housewife. She takes me to spa appointments, shopping and luncheons with the same snobby society wives who’d snubbed me at my own wedding. Despite this, she constantly chips away at my confidence, informing me that I’ll never be good enough for William and that if she were him, she’d have walked away from me. Child and all. She doesn’t need to tell me this. I know it’s true. I’m not good enough for him. A new wardrobe and hairstyle won’t ever change the fact that underneath I’m the same wild and restless little girl I’ve always been and that I’m terrified that my son will face the same insecurities as me.
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I’m so big these days. My son is only weeks away from being born. William laughs at me when I tell him about his son. He asks how I know that I’m carrying a boy. I can’t answer him, not without telling him about my mother and the gifts that she passed down to me. I’ve never admitted that I had them, but they’re there and through them I have a connection with the baby inside me. He will be special. I know he will and I can’t wait to meet him.
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I’m a mother. I can’t believe it. My beautiful son is here in my arms, just like he was always meant to be. For the first time in my life, I feel complete. My choices have led me here, to this moment, to this boy and I wouldn’t change anything. I find myself staring at those facial features that are already so familiar to me and I wonder what he will do with his life. I know he has his whole future planned for him already, but I find myself hoping that he will find his own path just as I chose mine. I know that life will throw other things at me, but this baby has given me the strength and will to face them. His name is truly apt. My heart, my soul, my Will.
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Author’s Note: Thus marks the end of the prologue. I’m not completely happy with it, but it’ll do! Next chapter, the challenge will officially start. I know this prologue is longer and more in depth than most, but I really needed to set the scene so that you know where William comes from. From now on, the story will be told from Will’s perspective. Also, apologies for the lack of honeymoon/Monte Vista pictures, but I just wanted to get this posted and it just seemed like too much like hard work to start two new save files just to gather a couple of screenshots! Hopefully the text conveys it all!!
-Jo
A Very Shakespearean DITFT 