*  Time heals all wounds. *
…..
   “ Mira. ” He patted her back, noticing her silence.  “ Um? ” 
“ What's on your mind? ” He played with the locks of her hair, they look coiler and healthier than before, made him think of how much Mira had changed after marriage, though, there's still a long way, but yeah, with time it'll be okay. 
Time changes things after all.
And yeah, time heals all wounds. 
“ I am just wondering how much trauma victims of sexual abuse go through. ” Joseph paused subconsciously when he heard her.  His expression darkened for a split second, “ What led to that? ” 
“ You know I read a book recently and — ” she didn't have to complete her sentence as he understood. 
  “  Have you encountered patients with that recently? ” 
“ Not yet, but I've read articles about it, just in case. ”
“ Okay. They do go through a tough time. But I believe time heals all wounds. ”
“ Um, Do you think knowing Christ will speed up the process? ”
“ Well, yeah. The issue though is, victims of rape have issues connecting with God at a deeper level as their pain and sense of shame tends to keep them from his presence. ” 
“ Um, it's no wonder it takes them longer to heal than victims of depression as a result of failures. ” 
“ Yeah. ” 
“ There's so much pain and suffering in this world. ”
“ Hm. ”
“ You know, sometimes I wish it could all end. I wish I had some kind of superpowers to erase the pain in people's hearts, as it breaks my heart to see them in pain, especially women and children. ” 
Joseph wasn't so surprised to hear her speak that way, he'd always known that Mira had a very soft heart and that's one of the reasons he fell so hard for her. 
“ The truth is, Babe. There isn’t much you can do. If you try so hard to do it in your own power, you might end up being affected by their emotions. You might become broken too. ” 
“ You are right… ”  she sighed.  “ I just wish it wasn't so hard.. ”
“ It will be okay. God is in control. ” He lifted up her chin, their eyes met and sparks filled the air. 
    Joseph was amused at the emotion he saw in her eyes, it was foreign. 
   Before he could react, Mira encircled her arms around his neck and pulled him for a long kiss. 
She was about to break free when he held her and continued the kiss. 
   They went on for hours until their bodies were both heated up.  “ Not here, Babe. ” He stopped her from going further.  
  Seeing her pout, he chuckled, standing up with her in his arms and went towards the stairs to their bedroom. 
     The duo laid on their bed, spent and tired, despite that, Mira wasn't satisfied. but he stopped her.
   “ You've got work tomorrow, remember? ” He lovingly reminded her. It took a lot in him not to give in to her as the desire in her eyes was intense. 
   “ I can manage. ” Her voice came out hoarse. She really wasn't going to give up so easily, he figured.
   “ You need rest, Babe. ” He ruffled her hair. 
   “ Um… ” she pouted like a child.
Rather than give in to her, He held her in his arms lovingly and whispered.  “ How about I tell you a story? ” 
“ Hmm… ” 
“ Once upon a time, there was a princess who loved to dream. She once dreamt of getting married to a rich and handsome prince of a far country, the dream was so prominent that she thought of it everyday. ” He stopped to see her listening to him with so much attention. 
“ As time went on, her dream began to waver, especially when her parents had already fixed her engagement with a proud and arrogant Prince. But then, a day came and she came across a profile online, for some reason, she got attracted to it and checked it out. Lo and behold, it was her handsome prince from a far country. ” 
“ Definitely not a coincidence. ” 
“ Her Prince loved to sing, so she immediately became one of his biggest fans and soon he recognized her. They got talking and she told him all of her situation – how her parents wanted her to get married to someone she didn't like. She avoided talking to him about her dreams. ”
“ I wonder why though. ” 
“ Well, societal beliefs that women are meant to be pursued and not the other way around. ”
“ Yeah. ”
“ Her Prince understood her and they eventually became best friends. She never ceased to update him about her situation which she believed was hopeless. ” 
“ The day before her wedding. She sent her prince a long message, expressing exactly how she felt for him and how much she really wished she could stop the wedding. ” 
Then, she went on with the wedding ceremony with tears in her eyes. What could she do? 
She had a responsibility to save her kingdom from disaster, didn't she? 
But just before the marriage vows were said, there was an uproar in the community and the wedding had to be paused. 
While everyone pondered what was going on, Her Prince walked in and began towards her.
She recognized him instantly though she'd never seen him physically. She stood there dumbfounded, not believing her eyes. 
Her Prince was here? 
To do what? 
“ I'm here to take you home, my princess. ” He stood tall in front of her, staring at her with so much love and adoration. 
“ Really? ” Tears poured out of her eyes, suddenly the world disappeared and it was just her and her prince. 
“ Yes… ” He reached out his hands to her and she took it.  “ I love you Princess Diana. ” His lips met with her and they kissed, right in front of everyone. 
“ I love you too, Prince Davidson. ” She expressed her feelings in front of everyone.
“ They took off in the presence of everyone and to their happily ever after. ” Silence reigned between them minutes after they ended their story. 
“ Beautiful. You are an excellent storyteller, Jose! ”
“ I learnt that from you? ” 
“ Did you come up with that? ” 
“ Yeah, minutes ago. ”
“ Wow. You are amazing, Joseph! ” She embraced him only to pull back in pain. “ Ouch. ” 
“ Are you okay? ” he stared at her. 
“ I'm okay. My breasts have just been super sensitive. ” She laughed awkwardly. 
“ Oh… ” He didn't say anything.  “ You should head to sleep now. ” he coerced her.  “ Okay… ” Soon her heavy breathings were heard, Joseph smiled seeing how fast she fell asleep. 
He sat up and stared down at her flat belly, slowly he placed his hands on it with a smile.  “ I can't wait to feel your kicks, little one. ” though, her stomach was flat, he could sense a life growing there.
A life slowly being crafted by God. 
A part of him and his beloved. 
It felt too good to be true. 
“ Thank you father for this blessing. ” His heart was filled with awe, just thinking of it. 
Meanwhile, the mother who was completely unaware of what's going on inside her slept soundly. 
 Joseph cuddled her as he closed his eyes to sleep.
….
A/N :  Wow! What an amazing chapter! What do you think guys?