Chapter 27: If the ring fits

Disclaimer - I own nothing

No one knows the remarkable diversity of New Orleans' neighborhoods, or appreciates the incredible beauty of their architecture more than Caroline Forbes herself.

She takes in a huge whiff of the freshly baked goods as she passes the bakery, the strong freshly brewed coffee and even the balmy salt in the air as she jogs further down The French Quarter

Buildings of various styles, structures and colors squeezed next to each other along the busy streets where its inhabitants were already in full swing to kick start their mornings.

New Orleans was her home, had been her home for quite some time now. And now it was that too for Charlotte and Henry. Just thinking about her kids made her face split with a huge megawatt smile that if looking at her as she passed, you'd probably thought she was a loony.

But she enjoyed her morning jogs. Not only was she working on getting her post baby hot bod back, but it was a nice time for her to just relax and reflect on all the things that had been happening lately. Most of which of course, were Klaus-related, if we're going into details.

"Caroline!"

Caroline, about to take the corner when her head whipped around to see Bonnie also dressed in her sweats as she jogged closer to her. A little confused as to why Bonnie was jogging on this side of the Quarter when she in fact lived much further away from it.

"Bonnie." Caroline frowned meeting her halfway "Don't tell me you jogged all the way here from your apartment.."

"Oh god no, I was over at Kol's." She snickered turning off her iPod and rolling up the earphones to put back into her pocket

Hmm that explains the glow which she figured was caused by morning sex rather than the actual jog. Thrilled that Kol and Bonnie's relationship were still going strong and somewhat envious of it too she couldn't help but wreck her brain trying to remember the last time she actually had sex.

Yes sex, another thing deprived from her life.

"Wow you look great Care," Bonnie noted breaking her from her inner turmoil as took in Caroline's appearance.

Caroline was of course not shy of her body in the least and besides the small scar on her lower tummy, she was rather pleased at how fast she had managed to shed the baby weight, maybe avoiding Klaus and his attempts to feed/woo her had somehow worked in her favor after all

She blamed it on the humid air of New Orleans. There was no way you could jog in this heat in a hoody and track pants, even if it was 7 in the morning. From the minute she stepped out the front door, she decided that a shorts and sports bra would do just fine.

"Thanks." Caroline giggled as they now took a comfortable pace alongside each other

"So hows Kol doing?"

"You know Kol, brooding, joking..coming up with new ways to convince Elena and Stefan to name their future child Kollete." Bonnie rolled her eyes and Caroline laughed

"Yep. That sounds about right." Caroline shook her head "When's the big move in?"

"Hopefully by the end of the month. Kol is still up in arms about the spare room." Bonnie sighed incredulously "You wanna grab breakfast while we're here?"

"Yes, oh my god I'm starving!" Caroline stated a little too quickly and Bonnie shrugged it off as they neared a little Bistro

In total honesty, Caroline was rather eager to have a breakfast here rather than at home with Klaus. Breakfast time with him was always so intense and she literally could not deal. At least this way she'd have a truthful and perfect excuse for denying breakfast with him.

"So what's Kol's deal?"

"He wants to convert the space into a play room." Bonnie muttered

"Sounds reasonable?" Caroline shrugged as she scanned the breakfast menu

"Not a Xbox and Wii kinda play room Caroline. A fifty shades, Christian Grey kinda playroom."

There must be quite a few things a hot bubble bath won't cure, but Caroline didn't know many of them.

Thinking back to past times of her life, whenever she was sad or felt like she literally carried the world on her shoulder or even so nervous she couldn't sleep, she would slump down just so far and then say 'I'll go take a hot bath'

Now as she lay in the porcelain tub trying to soak up as much Me-time as she possibly could, Caroline sighed in content relishing in the feeling of warm water all around her body. The bath had been a good idea after the morning jog.

Was it really weird that the only excuses she could come up with to have a hot bath were to clean off baby vomit? or maybe she did it to drown out the thoughts of her ex that she happened to still have feelings for and- oh yes, let's not forget that he was the father of her children.

Yep. Weird doesn't even begin to cover it.

For the past few months it had been quite a whirlwind having the twins home.

She always knew that being a parent was not going to be a walk in the park and maybe in the beginning the thought of being responsible for another human being frightened her a little.

Caroline would not however trade that fear and the pain she endured for having them here. It had been great, truly.

Maybe she had read and watched too many stories where first time mothers would give up after about going a week at motherhood. And with two babies she guessed that it would be double the work and stress.

She wasn't the only one who guessed that she was not going to be able to cope. People at the Supermarket she didn't even know, always cooed over her children in the strollers before wishing her the best of luck with pity etched faces.

They were all wrong though. It in fact was not how the movies had portrayed at all.

Caroline figured her over compulsive need to be around her children 24/7 stems from the rigid upbringing she had when she was a child. Her parents were never present for anything in her life. Not a single spelling bee, ballet lesson or even a doctor's appointment. This had majorly influenced the kind of parenting Caroline wanted to infiltrate into her life with her kids. For one, she did not want to be anything like her parents. She did not want to miss a single thing.

Having these babies although under different circumstances was the best thing that ever happened to her.

She guesses she couldn't take all the credit though, Klaus was a great Dad. And in all honesty, the twins were such passive babies.

Well more Henry than Charlotte... Caroline thought chuckling

Henry was such a chilled little dude you could literally give him a pacifier, place him in his crib and he'd find a way to somehow entertain himself until he fell asleep. Caroline loved that about him.

When she alternated with the babies and housework, both Caroline and Klaus decided it was best that he take Charlotte and she took Henry.

Mainly due to the fact that she could put him in his stroller and he would watch with the utmost fascination how his Mum would do laundry or the dishes. The only times he ever did cry was when he wanted to be fed or changed.

Charlotte on the other hand, well she was a little bit of a handful enough on her own. Strangely enough the one thing that did seem to calm her down, much to Caroline's annoyance was Klaus's voice. Either that or his necklaces.

It had come to the newly parents attention that their daughter seemed to crave her parents attention much more than her brother did.

Enzo suggested that it might be because she was a bit smaller in size compared to Henry and so naturally she would in turn be more dependent of her parents than her brother. It made sense to the new parents seeing as Charlotte had breathing problems when she was born so they always knew she would require more than Henry.

Caroline always wanted to be around her kids don't get her wrong but when Klaus suggested he take the twins to Kat and Elijah's for dinner, she happily obliged.

It had been so long since she actually took the time out to have a hot relaxing bath. When you have five month old twins, the only thing your body knew was a quick 10 minute shower and air dried hair.

She could only imagine what it was going to be like when she eventually moved into her own place.

It felt weird not having to breastfeed, change diapers and burp her kiddies today. Caroline felt completely at a lost of what to do when she was done with her bath.

She could not stress clean because the house was spotless. Ever since the twins came home, Elijah had sent Greta over to help with the cleaning and cooking which Caroline immediately refused but after much persuasion from Katerina, she reluctantly accepted. It was not as if she did not need the help though, even between her and Klaus they didn't always manage to get around to doing simple things like laundry and grocery shopping.

So that basically left Caroline in a clean spotless house with nothing to scrub or disinfect

Jeez why did she ever agree to the twins going out with Klaus for the day? She missed them so much already.

Deciding to rummage through her closet or rather Klaus' closet, she ransacked through the clothes for something quick and comfortable to wear for a short trip to the Farmer's Market.

Good god Klaus had too much Henley's and the fact that he had them all swaddled together and shoved into his closet selves, annoyed her to the max.

If she started re-packing his things right now she would never get to the Market and make it back on time for her favorite show. And as usual her stupid annoying OCD mentality eventually took root, Caroline knew the inevitable. With the longest depressing sigh she could manage, she yanked all the clothing out letting them fall to the ground. Gracefully crossing her legs as she sat down and begin to fold.

How many black Henley's did one guy need? This was ridiculous.

After a few minutes of folding she tentatively brought one Henley up to her face and took in a large whiff.

Oh dear God his cologne smelled so good.

Stop it Caroline!

She quickly threw the shirt back into the unfolded stack and reached for another when a small box fell out from between the pile.

Caroline leaned forward to take a closer look and only when she picked up the velvet box bringing it closer to her face had Caroline realized exactly what it was she held in her hands.

Holy shit.

"So how's fatherhood treating you, you look great Nik" Kol snickered as he took Henry from the stroller. Charlotte was too preoccupied by her Aunt. This was always the case whenever Klaus or Caroline brought the twins over to see the family though. Everyone fought and bickered over who got to hold who first. Luckily there were two of them.

"You know your compliments are just hidden insults Kol.. Why don't you just lay it on me." Klaus said rolling his eyes.

"Well in that case you look like crap and you smell like sour breast milk." Kol smiled "Is it Caroline's?" He added wiggling his eyebrows

"You're lucky that you have my son in your arms..." Klaus groaned.

"Oh stop being such a whuss. Your'e father can't even take a joke Henry."

Henry just stared wide eyed at his uncle like he said the most fascinating things.

If only he could understand half the rubbish that comes out his uncles mouth..

"But on a serious note, how are things with you and Caroline?" Kol had been so busy getting the furniture shopping done that he never got a chance to actually catch up with his older brother. More importantly; he idly wondered if Klaus knew of Caroline's intentions to still move out.

Katerina seemed like the easiest alternative where having this conversation was concerned but then again she was Caroline's best friend and he didn't know if he would breaking some sort of female bro-code.

Klaus also knew that he could just as easily avoid the topic until Kol just forgot about it, but then he remembered how persistent his little brother actually was.

"Our sole focus is the twins right now Kol."

"As it should be. But Nik, what about your relationship with her?" Kol asked as he tucked Henry into the crook of his arm. His little nephew now half asleep

"What can I say Kol, I've tried."

"Care to elaborate?"

"She is in my life and she always will be. I mean, she's the mother of my children." Klaus looked at his son who was nearly asleep. The sight bringing him comfort, which was short lived when he dove back into the pressing issue at hand "But all that she wants to offer as of late is a friendship.. a mutual understanding between two people who are raising children together." He said sullenly "I understand that she needs time to get over everything and I want to give that to her but the twins are going to be six months next week, how long is this really going to play out? Will we be friends until they're at pre-school and developed enough to understand that their parents are not together but just- friends?"

"And you don't want that?"

"I want a companion." Klaus sighed "I want my children to have what Caroline and I never had; a happy and stable family home."

"Isn't that what you have right now?"

"Technically yes. But what I meant to say is I don't want them to have to grow up questioning why their Mum and Dad don't live in the same house or sleep in the same bed. I get that Caroline needs space right now but I wish she could at least give me some sort of clue if there is even a future for us in her mind... And if not, then I need to know."

"I understand." Kol said and Klaus raised a brow "No I do. I get it, it's a nice feeling to have someone."

"I honestly don't know what I would do without Bonnie." Kol added

"We sound like a bunch of pussies." Klaus commented after a few long minutes of silence

"Yeah no. This conversation never happened."

"Agreed."

"Too late we already caught you." Rebekah came in juggling Emily on her hip and Charlotte in her arm.

"Don't fall for it Nik she only says that to trick us into telling her." Kol smirked

"Rebekah what on earth is my daughter and niece wearing.."

"It's a tutu Nik! Aren't they just adorable!?" Rebekah gushed over her two nieces matching pink tutu's. She had to admit playing dress up was now officially her favorite down-time.

"And as for you Kol, I wouldn't have to be a freaking genius to know that you two were talking about Caroline and your relationship or lack thereof." Rebekah joked as she put Emily in the carrycot on the floor and gave Charlotte back to her Klaus.

Klaus internally winced at his sisters sharp but truthful words. He decided to focus on the little ballerina in his lap that was sucking on her chubby fingers instead. She looked so much like Caroline and that made him smile

"So what about that then, how is the whole wooing Caroline thing going?"

"I've just had this conversation with Kol. I'm not about to rehash or repeat anything." He groaned

"Well the difference is that you had this conversation with Kol who I'm pretty sure has given either the worst or no advice to you at all." Rebekah replied inspecting her freshly manicured nails. Candy floss pink was the color she went with today, to match her nieces tutu's of course. God she could not wait until they were old enough to paint their nails.

"Have you forgotten that I am currently in a long-term relationship? Bekah I know these things." Kol fired back

"Well Bonnie seems to think otherwise-"

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Will you two knock it off." Klaus groaned

"Why hello people who don't live here." Katherine announced entering the room, arms full of shopping bags as usual. "You know I gave you guys spare keys just for emergencies." She said and walked over to Emily who already had her little arms stretched out to be picked up by her mom

"Well it was. I ran out of Doritos and Bonnie's been with clients all day." Kol sighed

"Don't look at me. I live here." Rebekah fired back and decided to retreat back to her room to prove a point.

"Well I brought the babies so that acquits me." Klaus smirked

"More clothing? Really Katerina."

"Yeah well if your sister didn't keep raiding my closet we wouldn't be having this problem right now."

" So are we talking about Caroline or what?" Kat asked as she plopped down with Emily

"Really" Klaus managed the deepest most depressing sigh he could muster

"And on that note, I will go put the kiddies down for a nap." Kol says as he slowly places a sleeping Henry back into the stroller followed by Charlotte

Katherine waited until they were gone before she spoke "So you haven't asked her to marry you again?"

Well that was blunt

Klaus smiled ruefully "Not now. Not yet, I will wait until our… circumstances are better before proposing to her again." Klaus stated "I told her I would wait."

"You'd be willing to wait?"

"She is worth waiting for." He said simply

Katherine shook her head. "It passes me. But if you love her as much as you say you do I won't stand in your way. Have her with my blessing, as soon as she'll have you that is." she snickered

He had been lonely for far too long for Caroline to at least attempt to warm up to him a little bit, but it never seems to have happened.

Despite repeated attempts at telling himself that it's okay she probably just needed more time when deep down he somehow knew that this was not the case.

A combination of familiar feelings of isolation and negative thoughts would continue to fester unless he was surrounded by his children or his family. Even the dotting sister in law he had grown to admire was always trying to maintain his spirits and sense of good humor.

"Things will get better. I know that at the moment you can't believe it but it's true. The human heart has great resilience. Things will get better."

Holy shit

After a moment of hesitation, she extended her left hand and brought the ring to her finger.

Funny, but it almost felt like heat was emanating from the band. Must have been her nerves. When the ring touched her skin a buzz of electricity shot up her arm. Caroline couldn't believe it fit.

Of course it fit, this is Klaus we're talking about.

Klaus that knew her in and out like a bloody book. The fact that he chose this ring without any input from her whatsoever proved just that.

She stared at it

From the small delicate diamonds surrounding the center stone. Elegant and yet so simple.

It was... perfect

She didn't get a chance to actually take the time to look at the ring when he proposed to her at the docks. Well it was understandable given that she had just gone into labor at the time and was also experiencing excruciating pain.

Okay.. That was enough day dreaming for one day. As quickly as she slipped it onto her finger she wanted to take it off.

What kind of person would she be if she told him she just wanted to be friends and focus on the kids and here she was trying on his engagement ring?

Caroline pulled on the ring, but it wouldn't budge

She pulled on it again, but her fingertips simply slid over the elaborated decorated band. The ring wouldn't even twirl around her finger

She tugged and pulled until she eventually cried out in pain

Shit. shit. shit.

Okay, water should do the trick, and Caroline took off to the kitchen sink as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn't know what time Klaus would be back although it wouldn't be late given he had the twins with him.

How could she have allowed this to happen. She knew better

Staring at the ring on her red swollen finger, Caroline fought the urge to scream

What if the ring never came off? Would she be forced to wear it? Forced to endure the guilt and embarrassment by wearing a ring she was not suppose to..

Caroline flexed her hand. Time to give the soap a try.

"Caroline?"

Caroline swore there was someone up there who must have hated her. Truly hated her guts by putting her in this situation. But that was just it right? Life's way of saying 'fuck you' when you found yourself in a situation that you wanted to avoid.

"Klaus.." She whipped around albeit keeping in mind to shove her hand, now red and swollen from all the tugging behind her back

"I didn't hear you come in.. Where are the twins?" Oh shit. What the hell was she going to do now? say Oh hi Klaus, don't mind me I just tried on your engagement ring that I never wanted at first but now look, it's stuck on my stupid chubby fat little fingers.

"In their cribs. Are you okay?" He frowned "what are you doing?"

"I was just er... Cleaning up here." She grabbed a hold of a nearby dish cloth to cover her hand

"Well since you washed its only fair that I dry." Klaus said and made a way for the dish cloth

"No that's okay." She yanked it back

"Caroline its no trouble at all. You probably want to see the twins and-"

"No!"

Klaus was taken a back by her sudden outburst. Heck even she was. Although he managed to take the dish cloth from her tight grip

Only now, it looked really stupid that Caroline was standing awkwardly against the counter with her hand behind her back

"What'cha got there?" He joked pulling her arm toward him and stopped mid way when his eyes landed on her hand

The classical lines of his face now seemed hard, not handsome. The set of his chin now seemed arrogant, not confident. If only she could turn back the clock and not have gotten herself into this awkward mess

"I was packing the closet and..." She gestured down to the ring "it kinda fell out and I tried it on but it- it won't come off."

Klaus had yet to say something; anything for that matter.

"Its stuck.. I'm probably just retaining water, with you know PMS and all that stuff. Maybe if we try some lotion-"

Klaus grabbed hold of her hand and brought it up to his lips. Without a single hesitation he placed her finger in his mouth and sucked onto the ringed finger, massaging it gently as it began to ooze off.

Gently nipping, the he slid the ring off her finger with his mouth until it reached the end of her swollen finger.

Caroline stood motionless as she watched Klaus place the ring in his jean pocket and walked away

"Oh God it was so awful and awkward and horrible.. But strangely arousing"

"What, his mouth on your finger was enough to get you turned on? Geez Caroline has it really been that long, I feel sorry for you darling." Kol replied

Okay so she called Kol, so what. She honestly didn't know who else to talk to especially about this. How do you even begin to explain how the ring of your ex wounded up on your finger? Even though she had seen Bonnie almost every morning for a jog, it wasn't a situation she wanted to discuss with the girls.

'It's a sign Caroline. A sign that you belong together.'

Yep Bonnie would definitely open that can of worms.

Caroline groaned

"You know what would totally take your mind off it? My birthday." Kol stated and Caroline didn't have to be with him to know that he was grinning like a Cheshire cat

"Congratulations.. you waited a whole ten seconds to work in your birthday." Caroline rolled her eyes

"No darling it came up perfectly naturally. We were talking about engagement rings which are round in shape and birthday cakes are too."

"You're by far the weirdest human being I have ever met." Caroline chuckled

"Thank you Caroline."

"Caroline?"

"Oh shit Elena's here." Caroline winced. "Talk to you later Kol."

"Good luck darling!" Caroline heard him say before she ended the call

"In here 'Lena" She called out

Caroline chastised herself quietly as she waited for her friend "Okay.. Don't chicken out." She mumbled before releasing a huge breath trying to mentally prepare herself for what was about to happen.

Despite all the shit she had going on in her own life the whole Elena pregnancy scandal was still in the back of her mind and after much given thought on the matter, Caroline decided that the best thing to do was to just confront her. She opted for inviting her over and giving her free reign to bring it up and tell Caroline by herself... but if she didn't, Caroline would just have to outright ask her about it.

This whole situation gave her mixed emotions. She knew that by doing this she was crossing so many personal boundaries but Stefan was her friend too.

After everything that he's done for her and the twins she just could not live with herself if she knew this big secret that could possibly ruin his future marriage and didn't tell him.

"So I brought macaroons and jelly doughnuts from that little Bistro place." Elena finally made her presence known when she entered the lounge area

"Where are my little twinzies?"

"Asleep." Caroline smiled

"Oh.. well that sucks. I missed them." Elena pouted popping a macaroon in her mouth "Where's Klaus?"

"He uh- he went out." Caroline replied. She had no idea where he went actually. After the whole ring incident he left soon after and she figured he needed to clear his head which she completely understood. Kol said he would probably end up over at Elijah's and she made a mental note to call Kat later.

"So you're just having a me-day then." she smiled and Caroline couldn't help but notice the slight glow Elena had about herself

Elena was absolutely glowing and her hair looked shinier than ever.

Caroline idly wondered if she was already pregnant

"How about you though? Anything new to report?" She kept her tone neutral trying not to give too much away.

"Besides the wedding planning.. everything's been the same." Elena plopped a macaroon in her mouth

Seriously...

"Anyway. Now that you're here I figured before we hit the wedding stuff we could just wind down, eat our feelings and watch reruns of the notebook on Netflix."Caroline said

"Sounds perf."

"Great, I'll be right back." Caroline says as she heads for the kitchen.

She felt like such a shitty friend for doing this. Really. But since Elena had no intention of coming clean, she basically forced Caroline's hand.

"Okay.. Let's get this girl's day/wedding planning party started the right way." Caroline sing song'd carrying tow large glasses of red wine into the lounge

This wasn't any ordinary red wine, this particular vintage brand was Elena's favorite and everybody knew that.

The moment Elena saw Caroline coming in with wine, her face momentarily fell before she mustered a strained smile.

Her uneasiness did not go unnoticed and that was the desired outcome Caroline was looking for. Elena's refusal to drink would her favorite wine would have to mean she'd be forced to come clean. The sooner Caroline got the truth the better.

"Day-time drinking Care?"

As much as Elena tried to keep her tone as non-nonchalant as possible, the pitch of her voice said otherwise already giving her away

"It's just one glass Elena. Since when do you turn down a bottle of Merlot." Caroline frowned "You always have a glass when you come over."

"But aren't you breast-feeding? Elena questioned

Damn this girl really was digging deep for excuses not to drink

"I've expressed enough milk to last the twins a couple of days besides, we're actually trying to get them off the boobies and onto formula bottles now before I have to go back to work." Caroline sighed taking a large gulp of wine

"Oh... well that's okay. I just had a large cofa-mocha on the drive over here and honestly the caffeine is giving me such a headache. I should probably pace myself." Elena grabbed the remote to start the movie before Caroline could ask anymore questions, which Caroline obviously knew.

Nothing annoyed Caroline more than when someone expects you to be okay with something that they wouldn't be okay with if you did it.

"Good god Elena!"

"What happened.." Elena jumped back frightened by her blonde friend's sudden outburst

"Why don't you just come right out and say it."

"Say what?"

"Just admit it. Admit what you're doing and behind Stefan's back? Did you really think he wouldn't find out?" Caroline asked

Elena stiffened.

"He knows?" she paled and the previous glow she once festered was now non-existent

She actually looked like she was about to puke

"He doesn't know." Caroline frowned "But he has a right too."

"Oh my god Caroline!" Elena breathed in relief hiding her red face behind her hands "Did Kat tell you?"

"What I can't understand exactly is why you weren't the one to tell me.." Caroline replied sincerely hurt

"You're too close to Stefan. I didn't want to put you in that position Caroline.." Elena trailed off

"Why haven't you told him yet?"

"There isn't anything too tell." Elena replied

"So you're not?"

"No. I'm not pregnant yet." She murmured

"I don't get it." Caroline announced after a few long minutes of silence had stretched between them.

"What?" Elena was almost too afraid to ask. She knew Caroline would judge her above and beyond all things and that is why she decided not to tell her in the first place.

"Why not tell him? Stefan loves kids"

Elena started crying and Caroline immediately felt bad

"Elena.." she sighed "Talk to me.."

"I- I don't know Care.. First he said he wants to wait until the honeymoon, then he says it would be better if we got the house first so there'll be more room for kids." Elena sighed wiping her nose with the back "He keeps putting it off and making excuses. I don't know.. Deep down I just have this feeling that there'll always be another excuse, another year to wait, another degree to finish."

"So your only solution is not to talk to him about it but to get pregnant behind his back?" Caroline questioned "Hasn't he wondered why you've been so high on the sex drive recently?"

"He thinks its wedding jitters. But he doesn't know that I've stopped taking my pill."

Caroline sighed. She honestly did not know what to tell her friend without sounding like a total bitch.

"And this isn't something you think you could just wait a little bit longer for? Something that you two should talk about as a couple?" She asked "You know a baby is a big step. I of all people should know the re-precautions of not having both partners on the same baby making page. Elena.. this could all blow up in your face."

"You said it yourself Caroline. Stefan loves kids.. If I tell him I'm pregnant he'll want to have it. I just know it."

"There's a reason why he wants to wait.. And i'm not judging you but I really don't agree with what you're doing." Caroline replied

"Yeah well, I didn't ask for your approval." Elena fired back as she grabbed her bag and was out the door

Caroline's words kept playing in Elena's head over and over until she reached her apartment

As much as it pained her to admit but Caroline was right. No matter how much she sugar coated it in her mind, there would be consequences to her actions. She could loose Stefan

The thought alone made her dizzy as she threw herself on the sofa

She glanced at the decorated bottle of champagne on the little coffee table beside her couch. It had been waiting for her when she got home with a little note that read 'only for 7: 30 tonight or I'll pop my cork trying to get there. Love you - Your future husband.'

Even yesterday he had sent a a text counting down the weeks until she was Mrs Stefan Salvatore. He was completely sure about himself and the future that they would share together.

How could she not be with him tonight?

On the other hand, how could she be with him like that when he didn't even know that she was trying to get pregnant.

Would he still think they had a future together once he learned that she had lied to him?

Didn't he deserve to know the truth?

All these questions kept bouncing around in her mind that she was almost tempted to open that bottle of champagne without Stefan

Elena feeling mostly emotionally drained got up deciding a hot shower would at least attempt to make her feel better about herself and not this dirty person who was lying to the man she loved.

Upon entering the bedroom she noticed Stefan's jacket, shoes and car keys... He was here already?

"Stefan?"

No answer.

"Stefan?" she called out as she moved into the bathroom, frowning at the odd sight before her

Stefan sat on the edge of the tub fully clothed with a deep and troubled look his face.

She was confused... between the champagne and love note to this, what exactly happened?

"Your home early, I thought you sa-"

"I wanted to surprise you" The gesture; sweet and loving as one would think but the tone of his voice suggested otherwise

"Is everything okay?" She etched closer to him

"What the hell is this?" He asked holding up his hand

"Wha-"

"In fact I'll tell you what this is.. It's your birth control that I found wrapped up in toilet paper in the trash."

Elena paled feeling the air sucked out of her lungs.

"Stefan let me explain."

"Explain what, how you were trying to get pregnant behind my back?" Instead of fuming with anger which Elena expected, Stefan looked utterly devastated which only made her feel all the more worse.

"I-"

"I can't believe you. I can't believe that you would do this."

"I had no choice! You promised me but then you changed your mind and kept changing it.. What was I suppose to think? I don't know what goes on in your head, I never know what you're feeling or thinking and whenever I try to talk to you about it you just shut down and change the subject. Was I suppose to wait around until you felt that you were ready? What about me huh? What about what I want?" Elena argued

"I just want to be established before I have a kid Elena! I want to be able to give my wife and child every thing they want and I'm just not there yet. Is that so wrong?!"

"That's what you keep saying but it just doesn't seem that way now." She muttered

"I cant even look at you right now.." Stefan replied lowly as he looked down to his hands. In it, he still held the unused birth control that just by looking at it again, seemed to bring back the anger and hurt.

"Stefan.. I'm sorry okay I ju-"

"I can't do this anymore."

"What."

"The person I fell in love with.. The person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, you're not that person right now." He replied dejected

"What are you saying?" Elena whispered, dread washing over her

"The wedding is off."

AN: Hey there all you beautiful people! Just a reminder that I've started a new fic.

It's based on the 2013 movie 'One Small Hitch' which should be up by tomorrow so please go and check it out. Lemme know what you guys think?