"Father, you are the king known to make the best decisions. I know you and the rest of


    the family have epted me, but you must also know that not everyone will ept us. Moreover, the Akuffo family needs to continue growing, and that can''t happen because I love Desmond, and he is not a female. So, father, being the crown prince, should go to Noah. He deserves it."


    "What are you saying!" Noah said. "You know that I can''t be as perfect as you are, Randy, and I don''t think I can ever..."


    "No," I interrupted him before he could finish. "You are your person, and you shouldn''t let anyone tell you that you are different because, Noah, you are not. Besides, I want to travel the world with Desmond once we graduate from college. Since we returned from the dark hole and I had to watch him on the bed, I decided. I want to be with him forever, stay in a simple home, and build my life with him."


    My mother burst into tears, and I rushed to her side, thinking that she was taking what


    I had said badly. Instead, she said, "I am d that my son has grown. I am proud of you, Randy, and seeing you act like this makes me so emotional that I cant stop crying," she muttered.


    "It is okay, Mum," I rubbed her back. "You taught me well," I added.


    "Randy," my father called and I turned to face him. "Do you truly believe that you won''t regret your decision of not being the crown prince?" he asked.


    I chuckled and nodded. "I won''t regret it, Father."


    PRESENT DAY


    "Hey!" Desmond''s touch on the shoulder made me flutter my eyes as I had closed them before while thinking about the past, and I looked at him. "Are you alright?" he asked.


    I chuckled and nodded in response. "I am just d that I met you, Desmond, and now,


    it is a new beginning for the both of us. We are here together, announcing to the world that we are together. Three weeks ago, I had thought that you may never wake up again after we returned from the dark hole, and then I knew that Desmond, I never want to part with you again."


    "Huh," Desmond responded and turned me around to face him, then he ced both his hands on my face and rubbed it gently.


    "We are now epted, baby, and I must tell you that we are never going to part again," he leaned in closer and kissed me.


    "I missed kissing you," he said between the kiss and bit my lower lip.


    I moaned into his mouth and wrapped my arms around his neck. The kiss got intense


    as he carried me and ced me against the wall, wrapping my legs around my waist as he started to kiss me everywhere.


    The way he kisses me makes me miss our sessions in the bedroom, and it''s been a long since we have been together.


    I wanted him now!


    He should have me now.


    "I want to make love to you," he whispered into my ears as if he was reading my thoughts. "I wish I could do it right now, but we have an interview. But I am going to make everyone know that you are mine," he muttered into my ears and then sucked on my neck, cing his mark right there for everyone to see.


    As we both walked into the hall for the announcement, I was grinning from ear to ear, unting the hickey on my neck for all of them to see.


    "What is your advice for people like you who don''t dare to be what they want to be?" The reporter asked.


    "ept yourself first before anyone will ept you. If you don''t, you will keep wanting to hear others'' opinions about you, and that is where the problem will start. Always be you," I replied to the interviewer and touched Desmond''s hand. "I met my man, and even though the world didn''t want to ept us at first, we made sure that we epted ourselves first and didn''t think about what the world had against us, which has kept us going." I looked at Desmond and smiled. "I love him so much."


    "I love him," Desmond replied, drawing closer as he kissed me before everyone. This


    was our deration that there was no need to stay hidden any longer since we were epted, and it was just the beginning.


    The beginning that will change everything.


    Desmond''s POV


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    Two yearster, I frowned as I checked the watch in my hand for the time and hissed again. The ne should havended, but it hadn''t, which made me question why I had arrived two hours earlier. I hade when the sun was about to set, and now, it was dark, yet the ne showed no sign ofnding.


    I shook my legs, stood up, and rubbed my hand on my forehead. I couldnt concentrate and only think about seeing him again after two months. That was the longest we had been away. He had gone on a royal prince''s assignment, even though he was not the crown prince anymore. I should have gone with him, but I stayed back to finish some school projects, leading to our separation for two long months.


    I missed him so much, and even though we did video calls, chatted, and had phone calls, I still couldn''t stop thinking about him, knowing that I was going to bed alone without his warm hands around my waist.


    Today was his birthday, and I had nned a massive surprise for him, which he would never seeing.


    Everyone was in on it, even the King and Queen. They had supported me in nning the big surprise, and I couldn''t wait to show him. But the ne had notnded yet.


    I groaned in frustration, dropped the rose flower by my hand, and lowered my head. I ced my hand around my neck and yed with my ne. Our ne. Then I smiled as I thought about our first outing and how we had professed our love for each other under the moonlight, the beginning of our journey.


    "What are youughing at?"


    "Just..." I wanted to reply until I saw the pair of brown shoes. I slowly raised my head until our eyes met....