Still You: A Short Autumn Romance: Seasonal Short Stories, #10

By Rebecca Andrew

Growing up, Chris battled feelings of abandonment despite the love from his adoptive parents.

Art became his refuge, his safe haven, until he met Maggie. Their instant connection made him believe they were destined to be together.

 

Maggie, who had been friends with Chris in college, never expected him to be her soul mate.

Though she sensed his longing for more, she held back. Over time, their friendship deepened, and she fell deeply in love with him, now unable to imagine life without her husband and rock.

 

However, unspoken fears of infertility cast a shadow over their marriage.

When Chris goes away for his art project, they are forced to spend their Halloween anniversary apart.

With tricks, treats, and unspoken anxieties, they must find their way back to each other, and the question remains: will their love endure or crumble?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rebecca Andrew
• Release date: Nov 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223200864

Rebecca Andrew

My name is Rebecca Andrew.  I live in the UK with my daughter Hannah.  I have always loved reading so it was only natural at some point I would write my own stories.  I really hope you enjoy my stories.  Keep an eye out for more of my works. 

Book preview

Dedication

***

Never suffer in silence. If you’re hurting, reach out. Those who genuinely love you will never judge. They will hold you as you heal.

Copyright

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

Copyright © 2022 by Rebecca Andrew

This is a work of fiction.

Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Also by Rebecca

Primrose Valley Series

Serena’s Secret

Tina’s Terror

Hope’s History

Charlie’s Concern

Layla’s Loyalty

Rose’s Return

Primrose Valley Collection One (Books 1-3)

Primrose Valley Collection Two (Books 4-6)

Brotherhood Billionaire Series

Francesca

Stranded with the Billionaire

Fling with the Billionaire

Seasonal Short Stories

Want You

Saved You

Found You

Always You

Deny You

Only You

Miss You

Keep You

Caught You

Still You – (coming 2023)

Know You – (coming 2023)

Just You

Maggie

For the past twenty minutes, Maggie Mills stood staring at the supermarket shelf. She hated how much this one, insignificant shelf and the tests perched on it, dominated her every thought. At thirty-three, she was acutely aware her biological clock was ticking, and the possibility of her starting a family was slipping away. Most women didn’t go through menopause until later in life, but for the women in her family, by the age of forty, menopause was well underway, if not done.

For the last five years, once a month, she went through the ovulation process. She noted and catalogued when her period was due and if she was late. Then she agonised over any symptoms that might be signs of a pregnancy. Of course, every single time, it turned out to be pointless. It didn’t matter what she did, nothing seemed to work. Why did she think this time was going to be any different?

Every time she told Christopher, her husband, she wasn’t pregnant, it killed her. She felt like a complete failure as a woman and a wife. She became depressed and anxious. After a couple of years with no success, Maggie and Chris went to the doctors for help. They were sent for every single test imaginable. They were embarrassing and sometimes intrusive. But to find out why they weren’t getting pregnant, it needed to be done.

The most annoying part?

Medically, there was nothing wrong with either of them.

She just couldn’t get pregnant.

The doctors insisted the constant stress and pressure Maggie put on herself, wouldn’t help matters. They insisted she relax and quit trying. Their answer was to just allow nature to take its course. But how did she do that? How did she let go of one thing she always wanted, to be a mother? What kind of woman did it make her, if she couldn’t provide her husband with a child?

It was a conundrum.

What did this mean for them?

Were they just destined not to have children?

Did this mean a family was not on the cards for them?

Internally cursing herself, Maggie walked away from the shelf. She couldn’t put herself through it again. She wasn’t going to buy another test, to get the same result. She knew she wasn’t pregnant. Her mother said she would know if she was. She assured her.

Well, there was no such feeling.

Heartbroken, she trudged her way up the street towards her tattoo parlour. She kept her head down and earphones in. The cold autumn air whipped around her, and leaves crunched underfoot. She stopped only to grab a couple