2 WEEKS AFTER THE KAMAKURA EARTHQUAKE
***
“Have you talked to Yuki and the twins yet?” Taylor asked from the couch.
“Hm.” I flexed my hand, making a fist and letting it relax. Staring at it while I paced the living room.
“Hm, yes?” Taylor prompted. “Hm, no?”
My mind was fixated on the electrical kind of ache shooting up and down my arm. This was strange. Like the doctor warned.
“Baby, I swear to god.” Taylor was in front of me now. “All I want is your undivided attention.”
I blinked, staring back into the blue eyes I loved so much. Then I shook my head. “What was the question?”
Taylor studied my face for a while. “Should I be worried?”
With furrowed brows, I said, “Hm, yes. They know we’re safe.”
“Oh my god,” she whispered and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Can I please have my wife back?”
I chuckled, ignoring my arm. “Sorry, baby. I’m here.”
Taylor covered my fist with her hand. “What’s up with this?” Before she could reach to squeeze my shoulder, I stepped back. “I knew the pain was strange.” She moved closer, making me take another step back. “Karlie.”
“Hm.” I escaped her grip and headed for the door.
“Oh my god!” Taylor laughed and caught my other arm. “You’re not going anywhere until we talk about this.”
“We have work to do.” I faced her. “Ready for the rest of the world?”
"Never." She wrapped her arms around my neck. "Talk to me."
"Okay." I leaned closer to kiss her instead, but she moved away.
"Not this time, baby."
"Ugh." I let my head fall back. "I can't keep saying no to Rui, it's nothing."
Realizing what I had done, Taylor checked my shoulder. "It's strange that it hurts when it looks normal."
"Yeah, well. I don't really have time for doctor's appointments." I tried walking away again, but Taylor tightened her arms around me.
"You do. Today. With Derek." She looked into my eyes. "And stop getting rid of your wife. I thought you missed me?"
"I do." I grinned. "But I also miss building your new internet."
Taylor's eyes lingered, and I already understood I had lost the argument. Of course. I could never win. She ran her knuckles along my cheek. "Will you promise to go after lunch?"
"Promise," I said, trying for another kiss.
This time, Taylor let me go and headed towards the door. "You're gonna have to get that checked if you ever want a kiss from me today."
"Ugh!" I trailed behind her. "It's too early for all this."
My wife was back to setting her traps. That meant she was 90% recovered. But I quietly still wished she wouldn't push it too far.
That wish had no chance today, though. Not with the reality that just slapped us in the face. From the second we entered the office, everyone had their attention on the biggest screen. Tree Paine. Making her comeback with the worst news we had received in years. And a full-blown PR crisis management strategy ready to deploy. After getting away with a very low-profile lifestyle for five years, we were back in the spotlight. Front and center.
Not only us.
Rui.
Taylor stared at the screen, tensing as we watched her unconscious self on the news during the rescue operations. And our frightened Rui beside her, completely exposed to the cameras. He was holding Taylor's hand while his innocent, tearful blue eyes studied her face. But the thing that got us all was the captioned title at the bottom:
【無事救出】鎌倉大地震：テイラー・スウィフト＝クロスさんと長男の瑠月・スウィフト＝クロスさん、無事保護され帰路へ (【Safely Rescued】Kamakura Great Earthquake: Taylor Swift-Kloss and her eldest son, Rui Swift-Kloss, safely taken into protective custody and are now on their way home.)
Seeing Taylor hurt made my stomach turn. On top of that, every meticulously hidden angle of our private lives was now exposed. And it had been floating around the globe the whole time we were disconnected from the outside world.
"Fuck's sake," I muttered under my breath.
"How long has this been circulating online?" Taylor looked at Tree. "Please tell me his face isn't still being shared everywhere. Oh my god." She turned to me then. "Not our baby."
I reached over to interlock our fingers before glancing at Tree. "How are things over there, Tree?"
Tree nodded, addressing Taylor. "It's absurd as usual, but nothing we can't handle. Your marriage is out in the open now. Let them focus on that. Our main concern is Rui-chan."
Having her call him that still made my heart soften. Like Taylor, even in the middle of a crisis, Tree led with heart and humanity first for Rui. The sentiment from the rest was palpable. I only had to take a quick glance at Austin and Derek to know they were internally spiraling, while the team remained quietly tensed about the global gravity of our situation.
"Oh my god, I can't imagine every screenshot they've already taken," Taylor whispered. "Random strangers are analyzing his face as we speak. Why did this have to happen now? Karlie, he's four. He's not ready for this."
"Hey, I know, baby." I draped my arm over her shoulders. "Tree?"
In minutes, Tree presented every article, speculation, coverage, and official video release of all that had happened as soon as the earthquake hit. Footage of the Shuto Expressway where they spotted our Lexus. How and when Taylor and Rui first got out. Details I would not have known if not for unsolicited records like this. But the highlights of Taiyaki Tech's lifeline for the wrecked town—our headquarters opening its doors to the public for safety, and our team's diligence in working together with the local government—overshadowed the rest as much as it could.
Even then, so many stories resurfaced from our Tokyo era. Now including speculation about Taylor's proposal during Project 13's launch, our engagement, and our marriage. Taylor's fans had since confirmed theories from her recently published work to the life we had now. A troubling chunk of tracing how Rui came into the picture got mixed into the pile. Captures of him from the rescue vehicle, how stunning he looked, and how his eyes appeared so identical to Taylor's became trending topics. It was like a landslide of our deepest secrets escaping a highly secure vault. Basically, my wife's worst nightmare. Honestly, mine too.
"Now everyone wants a glimpse of him." Closing my eyes, I rubbed my temples. "He's our child, not a public token they can freely pick apart, for fuck's sake."
"I know, baby." Taylor gently pulled my hand away from my face. "Tree's managing that now."
Tree cleared her throat. "We've gone full nuclear on global outlets with ironclad cease-and-desists, privacy takedowns, and mirror scrubbing. We're controlling the narrative. They're silenced." She sat back in her chair. "We can't touch Japan's footage, but keeping your Rui away from future exposure is our top priority."
Shifting my attention to Austin, I said, "Picking him up's non-negotiable now. I'd do it if I could. Onegai, AK."
"Of course," Austin said before letting out a sigh. "How do we handle that, by the way? Will he be alright at school?"
"Ever thought of homeschooling?" Derek asked, looking so bothered behind his desk. "He's so precious to be stalked by the media every single day."
Taylor shook her head. "School is the most normal thing in his life right now. We can't take that away from him." She looked at me. "Tell me we're on the same page."
For a second, I considered Derek's idea. It was a sound option, if only to hide Rui from the limelight. "He has a point. What if we keep him with us for now? Only until the issue dies down?"
Taylor sighed, looking at Tree for advice. "Will it ever? Now that they know the truth?"
"I'd be lying if I said yes. The world moves on fast, but not with something this huge, Tay." Tree took time to think. "Dealing with his school should be seamless. The only thing I'd suggest is tightening security. Austin shouldn't be alone. All of you shouldn't, for that matter." She looked at me. "I'm with Taylor on this. That sense of normalcy is one thing Rui can't lose right now."
"A week ago you didn't want him out of your sight," I said, looking for clarity from Taylor. "Aren't we scared of this media threat?"
"Of course we are." Taylor met my gaze. "But the moment we keep him in a cage is the exact moment we ruin his childhood. The media wins, and Rui ends up being a coddled celebrity baby." She paused. "He isn't. He's a bright little human who deserves to explore the world like normal kids his age."
Sometimes it still surprised me I was married to someone like Taylor. Moments like this reminded me of the many things about her that made me fall in the first place. But the way she loved Rui took the crown time and time again.
After contemplating, I finally nodded. "How soon can we expect additional security detail, Tree?"
"Within the week." Tree smiled. "Scott and Andrea already got that covered. With local drivers as requested, FYI."
Taylor chuckled and looked at Austin. "I told you, I'm fine. I can drive."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Austin crossed his arms over his chest.
"Good thinking, Austin Kingsley," Derek said before rolling his eyes. "Now you're useless again after KK just asked you a favor."
We all laughed, and I shook my head. "I guess this is best for everyone's recovery."
"Speaking of recovery," Tree went on. "Are we good? Everyone?"
"Hai!" we all said.
Then Taylor touched my shoulder. "Knock on wood, my wife's injury doesn't get worse or her hand can't build our new Google."
The rest laughed, even Tree. "Oh my god, Taylor," she said. "Of course you're calling it that. Should we be worried, CEO Tech Genius?"
I grinned. "I'm fine, Tree. Thanks for asking."
"Here's a proper test!" Cara tossed one of my markers across the room, making all of us jump in surprise.
Without thinking, I caught it. Or so I thought. My mind wanted to grip the thing, but we watched it bounce off my palm. The moment it hit the ground, I inhaled slowly before facing Cara, who was just as surprised as us.
"Whoa," Jack whispered.
Brandon shook his head. "Doesn't look good to me."
"Fuck's sake, Cara," I said.
To which she replied with a nod. "To the doctor's then, yeah?"
"She's been wanting to do that for a while now," Este chimed in.
Taylor stared at the marker. Then she gave Cara an appreciative smile. "After lunch. With D."
"Actually, we're going now." Derek got to his feet. "Obviously, you failed the proper test."
"Ugh—"
"I have no time for your bratty behavior, KK!" Derek snapped. "Rui is the only child I adore. You are not him."
Taylor let out a soft laugh. "Trust me, sometimes I don't even know which is which." While they chuckled at my defeat, my system went into overdrive, anticipating how bad it could really be. And Taylor held onto my good arm as she walked us to the door. "I love you, baby. You'll be okay."
"Yeah, we'll be okay," I whispered and looked at her. "I love you too."
Taylor took another moment to observe me before leaning closer to kiss my lips. I saw that hint of worry in her eyes, and I understood it was the only reason she broke her no-kiss rule from earlier. The glitch was that obvious on my face. And as we walked away, I was begging the universe this was just another thing a white triangular cloth could fix.
"Tay, there's more," I heard Tree's voice right before the doors closed.
Fuck's sake, Karlie. Why'd you have to crumble now?
The drive to the hospital was deafening with my racing mind and Derek's silence. Silence was the only cue that he wasn't being himself either. Of course, he knew what was going on behind my stubborn claims of being okay. Taylor also talked to him a lot, obviously. But I had never seen him this concerned about me. Well, this was the first time I got hurt this badly. Actually, this was the first time something directly threatened my ability to function as the Tech Genius Tree just claimed me to be. And to me, to us, to Taylor, to our empire... this was terrible news.
It wasn't until we sat inside the waiting area that Derek finally broke the ice. "Stop lying and tell me how much it hurts. One to thirteen."
I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. "Twenty."
"KK!" he gasped, making the few other people waiting glare at him. He nodded to apologize, then shot me another disgusted look. "And you waited this long? Why?"
"You're asking questions you know the answers to." My leg bounced up and down, wondering when we could leave this sterile box that only made me feel sick to my stomach.
He raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, I can't see how letting it be helps your marriage, our company, or Rui. Make it make sense."
"Fine." I shook my head and stared at my hand. "I'm terrified to know what's up."
"You can't even grip a marker, KK." He shrugged. "It's so gross that I'm actually scared you're hurting that much."
I tried to laugh. "Shut up, Derek. I know you care."
"You shut up." Derek sighed and pulled out his phone. "While I update her majesty."
It didn't take long before the doctor called me in. And then I was in and out of different rooms for MRI, CT scans, and nerve conduction studies. The whole time, Taylor and Rui ran through my mind. This was the worst season for a dumb injury. Of all the things I wanted to be, I never wished to be a burden to my wife. Not when we had our child's privacy at stake, the weight of another impossible project, and Taylor's recovery still underway.
But each time the doctor mentioned swelling around my nerve root, the more my mind glitched. Each time she explained why the swelling caused a blockage that led to me not gripping the marker, my brain registered that it was working fine, but my nerves weren't cooperating. And I was overloading faster than usual while Derek gave the 'I told you so' look as the doctor laid down the terms. As if once was not enough to let me know I was not okay.
"The nerve is not torn. Yokatta ne? We're happy about that," the doctor said. "But it's severely bruised and blocked by inflammation. If you promise to rest from today, expect a full recovery in six to eight weeks." She paused when my eyes grew wide. "But if you gaman and work like you do on a normal day, you risk peripheral nerve damage."
"No gaman." Derek glared at me, ironically warning me to drop the Japanese culture of stoically pushing through the pain. "She's building the new Google. This Tech Genius can't risk that."
"Wakarimashita. Understood." The doctor chuckled. "Jaa, for the next two months... No keyboards, no heavy lifting. Dakko muri desu ne," she reiterated that carrying Rui was not allowed.
I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. "Wakarimashita, understood," I mumbled. But my heart was already stubbornly rejecting her orders.
You don't understand. My hands literally build everything. My world. Our life. At home. At work. Taylor needs me. Rui needs me.
"KK," Derek brought me back. "Answer the question."
"Hm?" I looked at the doctor. "Sumimasen. What was that?"
"Any other sensations?" she asked. "Is your neck okay?"
I nodded. "Just my shoulder down to my fingertips. It's like a painful electric surge."
"Sou desu ne." She acknowledged and scribbled her prescriptions. "That's how a pinched nerve feels."
Good thing Derek was with me. Because by the time she was giving more orders to refrain from doing what I was literally born to do, my system overloaded completely. Sure, I could learn to do things with my good hand. Maybe I could even develop that muscle to cope. But the reality of how slowly I would get things done already short-circuited my brain in the worst way. The fact that my mind would continue to spit out data in milliseconds and my one hand could only implement about three times slower than I normally would already drove me nuts. All this infested my mind as we wrapped up our visit with all my medications in hand, and the nurse wrapped up my arm in another triangular white sling before letting us go.
If the drive to the hospital was quiet, the drive home was filled with Derek's echoes of the doctor's orders he had memorized for Taylor. But I could only handle so much.
"Fuck's sake, Derek. Shut up and drive to Makku," I said, bouncing my leg and resting my head against the window. "Get everyone whatever, I don't care. I need junk to satisfy my cravings."
Derek rolled his eyes. "Wait till we get back. Your wife knows you better than anyone. And drop this bratty whining in my car."
"Ugh." I shifted uncomfortably. "This day sucks. Stupid arm."
"Oh my gosh, KK!" Derek snapped. "It was an earthquake. Can't you just be grateful none of us died?"
The heaviness of the word made my heart stop. When I looked at him again, his expression had changed. "Sorry. I didn't mean it that way."
"I know it hurts, and it sucks, okay?" He sighed, gripping the wheel tighter. "And we're gonna have to deal with your annoying complaints." He shook his head. "But at least this is the worst of it."
"I know." Breathing in and out slowly, I tried my best to relax. "I know. You're right."
Derek nodded after a while. "And don't be stubborn around T. Let her take care of you."
"Yeah," I whispered, my mind drifting back to Taylor. "Promise."
It was about lunchtime when we returned. Thanks to Derek snapping me out of my whining, I got myself together as we walked back inside the headquarters. Everyone gathered in the office kitchen. The smell in the air put a smile on my face, earning another eye roll from my best friend.
"You're such a brat," he said when we reached the kitchen door.
I grinned at the spread of my favorite McDonald's comfort food on the communal table. The team was waiting. Bickering as usual. With Taylor scrolling on her phone, waiting for me at the head as usual.
"Tadaima," Derek and I said. "We're back."
There was a pause when they saw me back in a sling before they all replied. "Okaeri! Welcome back."
Taylor immediately made her way to me. Giving me a peck on the lips, grabbing my other hand, and leading me to my spot. When I sat down and Derek took his place across, the room echoed with, "Itadakimasu!"
"Talk to me, baby," Taylor said, peeling off the barbecue sauce lid for my chicken nuggets. "D filled me in, somehow."
"He can do all the talking," I mumbled, reaching for the fork Taylor was holding. "Baby, onegai." When I noticed she was giving me that look, I cleared my throat. "It's a pinched nerve. This arm's useless for about two months. Your new internet has to wait longer."
Taylor's eyes softened, and the room's chattering fizzled out slowly. Instead of handing me the fork, my wife fed me a piece of chicken nugget. "We'll figure it out. It's why I got you this."
"Thanks, baby." As I ate, my mind drifted again. This time to whatever was waiting outside the kitchen. Project 13 v2.0. Updates we had from our global networks the whole time we were busy saving our town. One thing that concerned me most was the threat. What have they done while we were distracted? Was my wife's data still safe? When I looked up, all of them were staring at me. "What?"
"I swear to god, Karlie," Taylor whispered, squeezing my thigh under the table. "Can we please have a normal meal together? I'm here."
"Sorry," I said, holding her hand. "Yeah, I need you. My hands are full." When I grinned at her, she finally smiled again.
"Thank you." She leaned closer to kiss my cheek. "Now answer the question."
"Hm?" I sat back. "What was the question?"
Derek narrowed his eyes. "She was like that at the doctor's too."
"It's been a recurrence at home," Taylor replied as she ate.
"Thirteen times too many," Austin said, shaking his head at me. "Tay's talked about it that much."
Brandon chuckled at my clueless face. "Very unlike you, if I may add."
I let out a loud sigh. "Fuck's sake. I know, okay?" Immediately, I turned to Este. "Someone help me out here then."
"The team just wants to know how we can help." Este smiled, turning to Cara. "Somehow."
When Taylor squeezed my hand, I said, "Sorry. This is driving me mad. For the most part, Cara should be fine under my close supervision."
"Ooh," Jack whispered before grinning at her. "The proper protégé moment."
Cara chuckled, biting into her burger. "Fuck my life."
The tension faded when they teased her with workload overlaps and predicted shadowing clashes from someone as stubborn as me. Lunch turned out lighter after Derek finally did all the talking about the doctor's appointment. All the while, Taylor looked after me. And I wasn't sure how to feel about that. She was not supposed to be exhausting herself like this. Rui was our priority. Now suddenly, because of this useless arm, I was in the way of that.
Fuck's sake, Karlie. Get it together.
Since I went to the hospital early, we worked through the entire afternoon. Taylor was busy with Austin, dealing with PR matters from Tree I had yet to uncover. Meanwhile, I took the chance to sit with Cara and map out the next two months when the best thing I could do was lead instead of implement. Something I already had trouble doing in the first hour of testing the workflow. Of course.
"See how much time we're wasting?" I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. "How do we sync your Poison Pill tasks with my ZK-SNARKs so you don't overload in a day?"
Cara took time to think. "We've got a clean split route. Mornings I shadow your ZK-math and I'm off on my Poison Pill after lunch."
"Or I just do my job like I should." I sighed. "Any scoop on the latest dictation software?"
Este raised an eyebrow at me. "You have an actual human doing top-tier protégé work, and you want the latest dictation software?"
"I want this top-tier protégé where it matters most." I shifted my weight. "And I can't work her to the ground before we even get to the gist of Layer 1."
Cara shrugged. "I'm good, yeah? We've got this."
"See?" Este observed me. "You've got to trust her when she says she's ready."
For a moment, I stared at Cara's screen. "It's not that. Of course I trust you." Letting out a slow exhale, I said, "I'm not sure if I trust myself enough hands off."
Both of them fell quiet, making Brandon and Jack stop typing too. Derek heard the hesitation in my voice, but his face told me I was being unnecessarily reluctant. Nobody spoke a word until Taylor finally looked up from Austin's computer. No one but my wife could calm my racing mind. She knew I was spiraling the moment we arrived. But she gave me enough space to navigate the uncomfortable truth with our team. Of course. Taylor always knew how to handle my glitching system. She simply knew how with her sweet smile.
I held her gaze and nodded. "Okay. Yeah. Let's go over it again, Cara."
"Hai!" Cara sat up. "Taylor Swift always knows what's up."
Taylor blew me a kiss from across the room, which made me chuckle. "Of course she does." I winked at her and went back to work. Can you believe she's actually your wife?
Despite my unfortunate trip to the hospital and more project hiccups slowly being revealed through our workflow test phase, I held myself together until end-of-day. Austin picked Rui up and quickly confirmed the media's intrusion around the school. Apparently, Taylor handled the media talk with Rui because he would not stop asking Austin questions. And just thinking about it made me feel uneasy. Why couldn't they leave a four-year-old alone?
By the time I got home, my entire system was beyond drained. I could not even drag myself into the kitchen or our bedroom. The moment I slid the main door closed, I walked to the couch and finally crashed. My eyes grew heavy, and the only sound I heard was Taylor and Rui's conversation over preparing dinner. A smile formed on my lips when she explained my arm needed more time to recover. But we still had other things we could do together. Something new. Something different. Something that elicited a very familiar shriek from our little one. And before I completely drifted off to sleep, he ran into the living room to find me lying on the couch.
"Mama!" Rui crawled on top of me and snuggled my neck. "Okaeri!"
I chuckled, holding him closer with my good arm. "Someone missed me?"
"Un!" His tiny hand touched my sling. "Mama, daijoubu?" he asked if I was okay.
"I'm okay, honey." I smiled and kissed the top of his head. "Aren't you helping your mom in the kitchen?"
Rui nodded, then he covered my eyes with his hands. "Himitsu! We have a secret!"
"I swear to god," Taylor said from somewhere. "Sweetheart, we need to keep our voice down, please."
"Gomen," Rui whispered his apology. "Mama, himitsu da yo."
I laughed and kept my eyes closed. "What is it then? What's this about?"
When he pulled his hands away, I opened my eyes and turned my head to the side. Taylor sat on the floor, holding a bento they had prepared for me. Gudetama was a cute, lazy egg character I had been obsessing over with Rui. And Taylor thought it was so adorable, now she filled my dinner box with creative versions of it. There were rice rolls topped with soft eggs, tiny dried seaweed cutouts for its droopy face, and a strip of bacon acting as a cozy blanket over the rice. Both of them obviously had the best time designing it.
"Oh my god." I laughed and looked at Rui before planting a kiss on the tip of his nose. "Kawaii! It's so cute!"
Rui's excitement earned us another shriek that made us flinch. "Odaijini, Mama," he added, wishing for me to feel better soon. Then he kissed my cheek.
Taylor laughed softly and tousled his hair. "Such a sweetheart. Let your mom sit up now."
"Arigatou ne," I thanked them while I leaned against the backrest, allowing Rui to sit on my lap instead.
"Okaeri." Taylor sat beside me and kissed my temple. "Sorry, we ate early. He was hungry."
"Hm." I nodded, waiting for her to feed me the first bite. "Rui-chan, did you hide from the cameras today? Kakureta?"
"Un, kakureta!" Rui said, looking up at me and confirming that he did. "Mama said they want to see me now!"
After eating what Taylor fed me, I looked at her. "Sou desu ne. I think they like you. Kakkoii jan! Aren't you so cool, Rui-chan?"
Rui giggled and bounced on my lap. "No! Kakureru! I can't show my kakkoii face!" he said he had to hide and couldn't show his cool face.
We laughed, and Taylor pinched his cheek. "That's right, sweetheart. It's better that way."
Rui shifted to lie down on both our laps, looking at us. "Ouchi daisuki. Shizuka dakara," he whispered, saying he loved being home because it was peaceful.
Taylor pressed a soft kiss on his forehead. "So do I. And because you're both safe here with me."
We let the quiet moment settle as I ate. But after a while, I said, "I love you so much, Tay."
Taylor's eyes roamed over my face. She held the chopsticks, smiling at me and at Rui's distraction, drifting off on our laps. "I know, baby," she whispered and moved closer for a kiss. "Come here."
When the sun set after dinner, Taylor and Rui freshened up before bed, and we finally tucked him in for the night. Once he fell asleep, we sat on the living room floor instead of hanging out like usual on the engawa. Autumn was in full swing, and it meant two things. One, the coldness of the night made my nerve pain worse. Two, something slipped right past us when the earthquake shook our universe. Taylor came back from the kitchen with two cups of hot hojicha. Roasted green tea over whisky was my wife's new mandate.
I watched her from where I sat before saying, "Bentos over pizza boxes at 19?"
"I'm not really sure what you mean by that." She placed the drinks on the small table beside me.
"Thanks for dinner, baby. I loved it." After sipping my tea, I chuckled. "Happy anniversary."
"Oh," Taylor whispered and savored her drink. Then she sat down across from me for a kiss. "You haven't forgotten."
"Of course not." I smiled and extended my other arm to hug her. "Your new internet is the thing for it."
"It's just as intricate as your bento." Taylor kissed my neck. "Happy anniversary to my Tech Genius and her complicated presents."
I laughed and pulled her closer to me. "You're still the most luxurious present, Taylor Swift. No complaints about that."
Taylor shifted and untied the white cloth around my neck, letting my arm rest freely. Then she gently massaged my arm down to my hand. "I'm sorry, baby. I know it's frustrating." Taylor met my eyes. "But we have excellent people backing us. It's clear they take after you."
While I stared at my hand, I focused on Taylor's touch. "Just knowing my wife doesn't think I'm useless would be enough."
That made her stop and look at me again. "Never in nineteen years have I ever thought that, Karlie."
"Yeah, well. This is a first in nineteen years." I shrugged. "Do athletes feel this way with injuries? I bet it drives them insane."
"The thing is, you'll recover in two months. Till then you're gonna have to trust your wife and let her look after you." Taylor kissed my knuckles. "You're still overexerting yourself as it is."
"And what about you?" I sighed in defeat. "You shouldn't even be doing any of this yet."
"Baby, I'm fine." Taylor smiled. "I'm not building the new Google. My mind doesn't race a thousand miles per minute."
Chuckling at her persistence with the term, I shook my head. "You're really something else, aren't you?"
"I know, Karlie." She went back to massaging my hand. "And yet here you are after nineteen years."
"Still so in love with you," I said. "Yeah, I see it. Crystal."
"Not like I didn't warn you." Taylor smiled sweetly. "I told you it's a forever thing with my traps."
"It's my favorite forever trap." Slowly, I reached over to run my thumb along her cheek. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be. I can't lie, baby."
Taylor leaned into my touch. "And I still fall for you every day because of it," she whispered before we shared another kiss.
Dinner on the couch with my family and celebrating another year of being together on our living room floor softened the blow of what life had thrown our way in the earthquake aftermath. Derek's words lingered. After all my complaining about the toll my injury meant at work, I remained grateful Taylor and Rui were here with me. Alive and still showering me with gentleness and love that I sometimes doubted I even deserved. But if Taylor continued to fall for me over the course of two decades, then I must have done one thing right in this lifetime.