Her own wings

Laila and Noah's week away had come to an end and they were on their way back home. Both of them had fully enjoyed themselves and rightfully so. They had done all that they could do in the small town where they had gone to stay and visited a few places nearby as well. Noah had come well prepared. He had looked up all that there was to do and had everything planned out. All Laila needed to do was to wake up and enjoy herself. Something she was very capable of and could get used to. With the way she had been pampered, there was nothing for her to want more out of a day than what Noah had already given her.

Where the day was usually spent doing fun activities to grow their romantic connection, allowing Laila to get a do-over of how it was to be dating Noah, every evening they made sure to do something that would bring them closer on a more emotional level. Get a peek inside what was going on in the other person's mind, find out how the other thought about certain matters, how they would handle certain events. For this Noah had looked up some questionnaires for getting to know your partner and for strengthening ones bond. Some were intended to rebuild trust after infidelity, others for seeing if a beginning relationship was meant to last and then there were the questionnaires to see if test a friendship or see if a friendship could be more than friendship. Noah had gathered all kinds of questions and each list showed them something else that they didn't know about each other. Every evening would start with one of those questionnaires and from there they would take the conversation wherever they felt there was most to discover.

As Laila was leaning back in her seat, while Noah was doing the driving, she said, "This was wonderful honey. I am really happy you suggested this. I almost feel as close to you now as I did when we were still teenagers. Back then we were inseparable but in the other timeline I messed up and managed to to lose your presence in my life. I missed out on a lot because of that and even after I have been given a second chance at life itself, I still wasn't able to get back those years from your life and our life together. Not even so much as a single memory. During this trip I feel like I got to experience what it must have been like to be dating you. Aside from that, I learned so much about you that I didn't know. Despite us knowing each other so well and having been together from the day we were born, there was still plenty for us to learn about one another."

Without taking his eyes off of the road Noah grabbed Laila's hand in his own and stroked the back of her hand with his thumb as he smiled. "I am glad you liked it. I am glad we went as well and I think we should make this a regular thing. We don't always have to go for a full week, we don't even have to leave town, but spending this type of quality time will help us to always stay this connected. By speaking so freely and honestly we will be able to tackle problems before they turn into real issues and it could even help us grow even closer. Keeping our marriage healthy should always be a top priority. Not only for ourselves but also for our son as it will help us be better parents for that little nugget." As he said that, Noah's hand moved from holding Laila's hand to stroking her round belly.

Laila covered Noah's hand with her own as she agreed with him and again realized what a wonderful man she had married. As they continued driving Laila was reminded of what she needed to do after returning home. She had been thinking about this ever since Olivia had said what she had said. She had already discussed her plan with Noah but now it was time for her to think about how she would put those plans into action.

Though Olivia's words were said out of spite and in order to hurt her feelings, she had been right. She needed to step up her game and get her act together. Though he didn't realize it himself, Noah was such an amazing person. She needed to become someone who could stand beside him proudly and someone who deserved to hold the title of his wife before he would wake up and realize that the person beside him was someone he had long outgrown and was unable to hold her own in this dog-eats-dog world.

She had been protected by his kindness and love ever since they were small kids. Now she needed to learn to spread her own wings and stand on her own two feet. It was time she made something of herself. Even when she had been married to Jake, in that harsh environment she had managed to build her own company and make it successful or maybe it was because of the harsh environment. In this life she must have had felt no need to build something of her own because Noah did enough for the both of them. But that had to stop. She couldn't just depend on Noah for the rest of their lives. She needed to become someone he could rely on. Someone who could actually help him when the going gets tough. Though taking care of Olivia was her first priority at the moment, she would make certain that getting her own wings to start flying again would be a close second!