Chapter Fourteen #2
She turned to stare at Zeus, utterly forlorn and completely furious, all at once, but the look on his face stopped her from letting the curse of invectives go.
His face was...she couldn’t describe it. If she had to choose a word, she’d say he was just as forlorn as she was. Just as concerned.
‘You say she’s messed up.’ His voice was raw and his eyes were half-closed, as if he couldn’t bring himself to even look at her.
‘Yes. She’s ruined. By you.’
A muscle jerked in his jaw and then, his shoulders dropped, as he glanced downwards at the floor.
‘I didn’t want that.’ He dragged a hand through his hair. ‘Or maybe I did. I was so angry with her. So hurt. I was—,’ he swore then. ‘Oh, God, Charlotte. I was an absolute fool.’
‘Yes,’ Charlotte agreed. ‘I suspect you were.’ But because she knew a thing or two about love, and mistakes, she stepped forward and did something she thought she’d never, ever do. She put a hand on her half-brother’s shoulder and squeezed it. ‘But you can fix it, if you want to.’
He shook his head. ‘You don’t know what I said. How I behaved.’
‘I know enough,’ she contradicted, but gently. ‘And I know that the reason Jane is so devastated is because she loves you, too.’
His eyes widened.
‘Go and fix it,’ she said, and when the elevator doors pinged open, she gestured for him to precede her. He didn’t need to be told twice.
‘You think she loves me? Even after what I said?’
‘I know Jane is the most forgiving and loyal person that’s ever lived.’ Charlotte took a step forwards as the doors pinged shut. ‘But the same cannot be said for me, Zeus. If you ever hurt her again, if you ever so much as make her eyes think about watering up, you will pay for it. Understood?’
His eyes widened and then he laughed, shaking his head.
‘What?’ She asked. ‘You think I’m kidding?’
The doors pinged open and her eyes landed on Dante, who’d been waiting downstairs, a silent, comforting presence if she needed it. Her heart exploded.
‘No. I think I’m glad she has you. I’m looking forward to getting to know you, Charlotte.’
‘Fix everything with Jane and we can go from there.’
And she meant it. It was a time for fresh beginnings and Charlotte realised that that applied to her and Zeus, as well.
* * *
In the end, it was Jane’s idea. If we have a joint wedding, then neither of you technically got married first, she pointed out.
And so it was that six months later, at Allegra’s villa, that Charlotte stood shoulder to shoulder with her very best friend in the entire world, a woman who was more like a sister to her than a friend, as they each said their vows to the men they loved, and were loved by, more than words could express.
The ceremony was witnessed by friends and family, though they tried to keep it intimate and small, to focus on the people they wanted to spend time with, most in the world.
Aristotle Papandreo was there, as the father of both a bride and a groom, and so was Charlotte’s mother.
It was something Charlotte had spent a long time worrying about.
But in the end, it was Dante who’d reassured her, reminding her that they were their own people, and had to handle their own feelings and behaviours.
She couldn’t control them. She just had to trust that for the first time in her life, they would both put her first and allow the wedding to be about her, not them.
And thanks to a carefully delivered warning from both Dante and Zeus, that was exactly what happened.
Which wasn’t to say Mariah and Aristotle didn’t interact.
In fact, towards the end of the reception, Dante happened to walk past as they were locked in conversation and couldn’t help hearing Aristotle say, ‘I loved my wife and I could never have left her. But if you think, for one second, that I didn’t love you, too. That I haven’t thought about you...’
Dante shook his head, wondering at the possibilities that might open up, wondering at the future, and what it might hold. Love, apparently, had a way of finding its way through even the most closed-off of hearts. And wasn’t he delighted about that?
* * *
Almost a year after their wedding, on a balmy summer’s night, Dante returned home and Charlotte, who’d been watching the clock, waiting for his arrival, pounced immediately.
‘Thank goodness you’re here.’ But the news she’d been waiting to deliver died on her lips, at the bemused expression on his face and the way he was holding his phone.
‘What is it?’ She asked, instead.
He passed the phone to her. ‘Take a look for yourself.’
She read the text message—from Jamie—without even a hint of jealousy. There was no reason to envy the other woman. Her relationship with Dante was in the past and he left Charlotte without any hint of doubt as to how he felt for her.
Dante, I wanted you to be the first to know. I’m engaged. Broderick proposed last night, and Nathan and I are both thrilled. Lots of love, always xx
Charlotte’s smile was like the sun, shining out of her. Jamie had adopted a little boy—Nathan—who was now four years old and in nursery school.
‘Broderick is his teacher,’ Dante explained.
‘Yes, I knew they’d been dating. It’s wonderful news.’
‘It is,’ Dante agreed, latching his hands behind Charlotte’s back and pulling her close, kissing her until stars filled her eyes.
‘And it’s perfect timing.’
‘It is?’
‘Oh, yes.’
‘Why, exactly?’
‘Because I have some news of my own and I know you’ll be able to enjoy it all the more, given how happy Jamie is.’
His brow furrowed.
‘Dante, guess what?’ she said, when he remained silent.
He waited, so she laughed, then took his hand and guided it to her still flat stomach.
His eyes widened. His jaw dropped. He stared at her like he didn’t know which way was up. ‘Are you saying...are you...?’
‘Yep. We’re having a baby.’ And she pushed up onto the tips of her toes and kissed him.
Kissed him like the moon was flooding her veins and the world was spinning just for them.
‘We’re having a baby,’ she repeated, and she felt his whole body shift with what could have been a laugh, or a sob, or a sigh.
‘We’re having a baby,’ he said, this time, and then he laughed. Tilting his head back and filling the room with the sound of sheer, unadulterated pleasure.
A feeling Charlotte echoed deep inside her heart.
* * *
Allegra was at the hospital for the birth.
So too were a heavily pregnant Jane and Zeus.
Aristotle and Mariah arrived within a couple of hours of the baby’s delivery.
Charlotte couldn’t help looking around the spacious, yet crowded, room and thinking how blessed she was.
How full of love and laughter, support and encouragement her life now was.
These were her people. Her team. They would always be there for her. For Dante. And now, for their daughter Carina, named after Dante’s mother.
They stayed for hours, doting on the little baby, until Charlotte could hardly keep her eyes open any longer and Jane suggested they give her a rest.
She was asleep within minutes, even before Dante had returned from walking them out.
The next morning, she woke and looked at their baby with such a swelling of love in her chest she thought it actually might form a bubble and carry her away.
But then, Dante was there, and she was grounded again, in the best possible way.
Anchored to her life, her love and to the dreams of happiness that had somehow become a reality.
‘I have something for you,’ he said, kissing her forehead gently.
‘You’ve already given me everything I ever wanted—and then some.’
‘Nonetheless, I bought this for you some time ago.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rectangular velvet box.
She took it frowning and cracked open the lid.
And stared at the necklace inside. It was a perfect match to her engagement ring, but it was also somehow so much more. The emeralds were each surrounded by diamonds, and there were more diamonds along the chain, making it bling in a way she suspected would be visible from the moon.
‘Dante...’ she looked from it to him, frowning.
‘Do you have any idea how many rings I looked at that day?’
She shook her head, bemused. ‘What do you mean?’
‘You told me it couldn’t be a diamond rock, but I knew I wanted it to be special. Unique. Chosen just for you. This, my darling, reminded me so much of your eyes and your strength. I knew you had to have it,’ he said, tapping her engagement ring.
She closed her eyes on a groundswell of emotion. ‘I thought you must have just grabbed the first thing you saw.’
He shook his head. ‘Even then, I knew it meant something. That it was important. Though this,’ he nodded towards the necklace, ‘I bought to irritate you.’
‘To irritate me?’ she repeated.
‘I thought you would hate it, and I quite liked the idea of that. And then, when I saw how much you loved your ring, I lost my taste for the joke.’ He cleared his throat.
‘And now, I wonder if you might love the necklace, as you loved the ring. I wonder if you would keep it and think of this day—the start of our daughter’s life, the start of our time as a family. ..’
‘Dante, I love it. I truly do. I love it because you bought it for me. I love it because you gave it to me. I love it because it’s stunning,’ she said on a small laugh. ‘Thank you for this. And everything.’
He leaned down, brushing his lips over hers. ‘All the thanks are mine,’ he retorted. ‘You have fundamentally changed me, Charlotte. I cannot imagine what my life would be like, had we not met.’
She shuddered a little. ‘Let’s not think about that.’
‘No, let’s never think about it. We did meet. We did marry.’
‘And we made all our dreams come true.’ She added, just as their baby woke and made a soft little sound that brought a tear to Charlotte’s eyes.
‘That is, indeed, the truth.’
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Rossetti Ring Requirement by Natalie Anderson.