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My speech is thin, forced out through my tight throat, as I pour out all the feelings that have been choking me. The floodgates open. The grief of our split and the knowledge that we were forced apart on false pretenses all come gushing out in a flood of words. In the midst of my confusion, Julia listens, her mere presence serving as a solid anchor.
After what feels like an eternity, I finally manage to regain some composure. “Julia,” I say, wondering if she can hear the longing that is filling up every inch of me. “Can we meet? I need to see you.”
There’s a brief pause, and I can almost hear her contemplating the weight of my request. Then, she speaks, resolute.
“Yes, Seb,” she sighs, sounding both tired and relieved. “I’ll come to you. I need to see you, too.”
As I hang up the phone, my heart races with anticipation. I walk to the entrance of the cemetery, thinking about all the spirits that must be watching our reunion, my mind consumed with a mixture of fear and hope.
I don’t have long to wait before I see the shine of headlights in the distance. For a second I wonder who she must have convinced to bring her here in the dead of night, but as the car slides up alongside the cemetery gates, I see the familiar face of Alex in the driver’s seat. He gives me a quick salute before kissing his sister on the cheek and letting her exit the vehicle. The sight of her approaching the entrance fills me with a bittersweet joy. It took tearing the life I thought I knew to tatters to have her again, but damn, for Julia, I have no doubt that it was worth everything.
Our eyes lock, and the world disappears for a split second as time seems to stand still. The intensity of our mutual suffering and need reverberates between us, hanging heavy in the air. I go cautiously toward her, but I’m moving with purpose.
I can see the tear streaks on her cheeks as I get closer; they are a reflection of my own sorrow. Her face is carved with real emotions that I know are probably mirrored on my own, reflecting the love that has survived the storm. And suddenly, as our arms lock around one another, a tidal wave-like intensity of our feelings sweeps over us. The embrace, a long time coming, provides the first ounce of relief I’ve felt since my father’s revelation back in the library.
I bury my face in her hair, breathing in her familiar scent. This is what I’ve needed…what I’ve denied myself for far too long. At this moment, nothing else matters. The pain of the past, the uncertainty of the future, it all fades away, replaced by the simple truth that we are meant to be together.
I hold her tightly, feeling her heartbeat against my chest, and for the first time in weeks, I feel a glimmer of hope. We have been through so much, and yet, here we stand, united in our love and our determination to fight for our happiness.
We find comfort in one other’s arms, watched only by the silent departed. Maybe even my mother is looking down on us, somehow. I know she would love Julia, and that she would approve without hesitation.
“I’m so sorry, Julia,” I choke out the words. “I know leaving you makes me a coward, but I hope you’ll give me the chance to fix things.”
She pulls back to meet my eyes fully. “You really know, then. About the bastard.”
“I do.” I lick my lips, which are almost painfully dry. “Do you know the identity?”
Her eyes are guarded as she tells me, “Alex and I have our suspicions, but I’m almost positive my mother knows, even if she won’t tell us.”
Tired of playing these games that my father and Julia’s mother have forced us into, I tell her simply, “It’s Karl. The young man my father hired and has asked me to take under my wing multiple times. He’s my father’s bastard son and…my half-brother.”
Julia sucks in a breath of surprise. “I knew it! That’s who we thought, too. It just made too much sense. Seb, I’m so sorry that you had to find out like this.”
God, she’s so sweet and caring. I’ve broken her heart and still she worries for me. “Julia, do you still love me?”
She’s surprised, but there isn’t an ounce of doubt in what she says next. “Yes, Sebastian. Yes, I still love you. Otherwise why would I have come to acemeteryin the middle of the night?”
Despite everything, she makes me laugh, and her assurance that the love is still there settles my soul. “I love you too, Julia. But if we move forward, your mother will tell Karl the truth, and that doesn’t sit well with me.”
“Would that be the worst thing, though? I thought you liked Karl.” Julia says, her brow furrowing.
I shake my head. “I liked him when he was just an employee that my father had a strangely intense interest in me becoming friends with. Now, knowing what I know, it’s not the same, and him knowing that he’s a Van den Bosch bastard will give him an opening to take part of our family inheritance. It’s not right.”
She looks slightly torn, but Julia trusts me. “Okay. I’m with you then.”
“Against your own mother?” I drag the back of my hand down her soft cheek. “If it’s too much, Julia…”
“I said I’m with you,” she insists, laying her hand over mine, making my heart swell.
“Okay. The only way we can silence your mother is by attacking her reputation. It has the potential to get ugly, and I would spare you if I could, but…I’m not sure if I can.”
A heavy silence hangs in the air as the weight of my proposal settles upon us. I can see the conflict in Julia’s eyes, the struggle between her love for me and her loyalty to her family. But then, a spark of determination ignites within her, and she looks at me with unwavering resolve. My strong, fearless woman. I don’t deserve her. I refuse to give her up again.
“Do you have a plan?”
26
Julia
