I am so sorry I haven't updated this story in so long, I just couldn't get over the huge writer's block I had with it. I hope you guys like this chapter x
As Mal looked at Ben she noticed he looked really ill. He had dark bags under his eyes and looked a lot thinner then when she had last seen him. Sure that had been four years ago but she had assumed that Ben would move on and settle down with someone else. Yet here he was on her doorstep four years later looking as though he hadn't had a decent meal or a decent nights sleep in those four years.
"Come in." The purplette said as she took a step back and allowed Ben to pass. She couldn't believe how ill he looked. Closing the door the purplette followed him through to the living room. They sat on the sofa and instinctively Ben shifted closer to Mal. "How did you find me?" Mal asked.
"I decided to meet Evie and Bree at the fair but I saw them leaving and decided to follow them." The King explained to her. Neither were sure what was going on. They had never actually broken up since Mal had left without a word but that didn't mean thtey were still together either. Ben wanted to ask her lots of things, mainly why she left and would she return home with him.
Mal looked at his face intensely before asking him "Ben, when was the last time you ate a proper meal or slept decently?"
What she hadn't counted on was his response. "Before you left." He stated and Mal couldn't contain her gasp if she tried. That had been years ago.
"Ben!" She exclaimed. "What were you thinking! That was four years ago! You have been running a country! How have you not ended up in the hospital yet? You need to take better care of yourself!" She ranted and ben couldn't help but crack a small smile at the obvious care and love she had in her voice. But how could she think he would simply carry on as normal after she left.
Releasing a sigh Ben responded. "When you left Mal it was like you took a part of me with you. I have been worried sick. We sent out search parties, I reported you as missing, I did everything I could to find you. Without you there I wasn't myself. It was like I was drowning without you. You were and still are my entire world Mal, I'm just so happy I've finally found you." He said and Mal couldn't help but smile. She had never stopped loving Ben and if what he had just said was true, he had never stopped loving her either.
Ben had missed Mal tremendously these past four years and had a lot more questions for her but there was one he couldn't hold back. "Mal? Why did you leave?" He asked, before he could stop himself. The pair locked eyes and Mal couldn't help but noticed they were the same warm, comforting, safe eyes they always had been.
But before she could answer Belle decided to make herself known. "Mommy!?" The toddler shouted as she ran over to her mother. Ben's eyes widened at the single word the toddler had said, something Mal noticed. She also knew know she had no choice but to explain things to Ben. But how much could she tell him? Could she tell him the full story? Would he blame her for what happened? Would he be mad at her?
Sighing Mal removed her daughter from her lap, where she had settled herseld, and stood her on the floor. "Mommy needs to talk to Ben privately sweetie. Go back outside with Evie and Bree, okay?" She suggested and her daughter nodded, knowing from her mothers face she shouldn't have interrupted. As Belle skippedm back outside Mal turned her attention back to Ben. "That's the reason I left." She stated.
Then came the question from Ben that she was both expecting and dreading. "Is she mine?" He asked but he immediately regretted the question as Mal's eyes filled with tears.
However before he could tell her she didn't have to answer tears began to fall from her eyes. "I don't know Ben." She told him. She thoguht about telling him everything but as she did she remembered what he had told her that night, what he had said would happen if she told Ben or anyone else. "I'm sorry, I can't do this." Mal said allowing the tears to fall as she ran up to her bedroom, flashbacks of that night invading her mind.
Author's Note: So this isn't as long as some of the other chapters but I hope you like it anyway. Please review and let me know what you think x