I suddenly woke up on the flight, my heart racing. I had just had a nightmare—someone was telling me that Jackie and I weren't going to last long.
I sat up, breathing heavily.
"Are you okay?" Jackie asked, concern in his eyes.
"I'm good," I said, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
Finally, our flight landed, and I called Mom to tell her we had arrived safely in Europe.
From there, we took a taxi to our new house. When we got there, we opened the door—and I was shocked. The house was not as good as I had expected.
"Jackie, is this really the best we could afford?" I asked, looking at the spider webs and dust covering the walls.
"Yes… apparently my uncle could only afford this much," he said. The house fell silent for a moment before he added awkwardly, "We can clean it up ourselves."
I grabbed a duster while he picked up his toolbox and started fixing the lights.
As I dusted the walls, some of the dust got into my nose, making me cough and sneeze.
"Kania, are you okay?" he asked, dropping his toolbox and running to me.
"I'm okay, see?" I said, trying to continue cleaning.
But luck wasn't on my side—the chair I was standing on suddenly broke.
"Ahh!" I screamed, thinking I was going to fall—
—but instead, I landed in his cozy, strong arms, just like always.
In that moment, I realized nothing had changed about my Jackie. I looked deeply into his eyes, and all I saw was love and care. I smiled softly.
"Is that what you call fine?" he said, slightly raising his voice, but only out of concern.
"You're here, aren't you?" I replied.
He looked at me for a moment, then kissed my forehead softly.
"I won't always be there."
He gently put me down, but I didn't let go.
"Why wouldn't you be there for me?" I asked softly, wrapping my arms around him from behind. My voice trembled.
"I love you so much… I can't imagine losing you. Please don't say things like that."
For a moment, he didn't respond.
Then he slowly turned around to face me.
"I love you too, Kania," he said quietly, his hand lifting to cup my cheek. His thumb brushed gently against my skin, wiping away a tear I hadn't even noticed fall.
"I promise… I won't leave your side."
Before I could say anything else, I stepped closer and pulled him into a tight hug, pressing my face against his chest. I could hear his heartbeat—steady, warm, reassuring.
He wrapped his arms around me just as tightly, one hand resting protectively on my back.
For a moment, the world went silent.
Slowly, we pulled away, but not completely—his hands still lingered on my waist, and mine rested against his chest.
"Let's look around the house," I whispered, slipping my fingers into his. We didn't need rings or vows to prove anything—we already belonged to each other.
We walked into the bedroom together.
"At least it has a bed," Jackie said, trying to lighten the mood as he jumped onto it, testing the mattress.
"Come join me," he added, grinning.
I shook my head, smiling. "No, you fool—you'll break it."
He reached out his hand toward me. "Then if it breaks… we break it together."
I hesitated for a second… then took his hand.
In one quick pull, I landed beside him, and soon we were both laughing, jumping like kids.
For a moment, everything felt easy again.
Then—
CRACK.
The bed collapsed beneath us.
We went still… then slowly turned to look at each other.
And burst out laughing.
I fell back against what was left of the mattress, breathless. "Wow… first day here and we've already destroyed furniture."
He leaned closer, his laughter fading into a soft smile as he looked at me.
"Still worth it," he said quietly.
I felt my heart skip.
"Yeah," I whispered, meeting his eyes.
"Because I'm with you."