The Passionate Silence

Denise let out a deep sigh. Things were only going to get worse she thought, for her and Moray only seemed to fight more everyday. It was not her fault that she was an ambitious woman, she loved Moray deeply but she loved him because he respected her, treated her as he would another male but since she had gotten the job as the head of ladies wear, there seemed to be a rivalry between them, a competition of some sort.

It was the end of the day and Denise was in her room, the candles were softly lit, illuminating the room; the only movement was that of Denise, as she moved to sit on the chair. She looked in the mirror in front of her as she took her hair down, her elaborate blond up-do unravelled into a beautiful, yet simple mass of gentle waves flowing down her back.

Her sombre mood matched that of Moray, who was still sitting in his office, his head resting between his hands, as if he expected his brain to give him an answer. What was he to do? Oh nothing was going right! He left The Paradise so he could be with Denise but now that he was back to claim what was once his, would he lose Denise again in the process? Why does he need to choose between the two?

Tom Weston vexed him greatly, Tom had not started up the store, nor had he spent hours begging people for financial investment, nor did he have people laugh in his face when he told them that The Paradise would be nothing like what they had seen before.

He decided to do something, if he let things slip by he would lose her again, and what would he do if that happened? The paradise would still exist but he would not, his paradise would turn into hell; he didn't want to turn into Edmund who had waited around for Audrey most of his life, indecision wasted time.

Thus, John stood up from his chair and for a split second his eyes met those of Hélène he smiled at her portrait, she would be happy for him he thought. Soon he would have to take the painting down but Hélène would always remain in his heart, more of a friend than a lover, but nonetheless he respected her deeply.

Where would she be, he wondered? It was Friday night, and everyone else would probably be down in the pub, drinking away their sorrows, but not his Denise. He walked down to the rooms where the workers lived, and as Denise had been upgraded to the head of ladies wear she got to choose if she wanted to move into the in-shop apartment or live somewhere outside the shop. As she and Moray were to marry soon, it would be best to still stay at The Paradise, so they could pick out a place to live together when they were married.

Meanwhile, Denise finished brushing her hair and then she moved on to take off her clothes and change into her white soft nightgown. Evenings were her favourite time, if she were not talking to Moray at the moment, they two would still be in the shop, sitting at a quiet bench, holding hand like two lovers meeting in secret.

Sometimes he would take her out to the theatre or just a nice restaurant, anywhere with him was bliss. Denise smiled as she folded her clothes, whilst remembering the time Moray kissed her on the cheek in a restaurant, which caused the old ladies who were sitting nearby to gasp. It's funny how a simply gesture can cause so much scandal.

Just as she had put her uniform away, she heard a knock on her door. Who could it be? The girls were out and Moray…she quickly walked up to the door, it was probably Arthur, coming to deliver a letter. As she opened the door, her face lit up even before she had formed a coherent thought in her mind.

Propriety sunk in as she noticed how close they were and she was only wearing her nightgown, so she turned towards her bed to grab her robe but he grabbed her wrist before she could move.

"May I come in, please?" He asked pleadingly as he looked in her eyes, as their eyes met, no one could deny the intense connection that formed between them; it was as if nothing existed but themselves alone, it was heaven on earth, the purest form of love.

"Ye-yes" Stuttered Denise, she followed him into the room, where he went to sit on the same chair she had vacated a few a minutes ago. He was so handsome, the way his dimples showed when he was thinking deeply, or the habit he had of pushing his hair back when he was slightly nervous.

She stood in front of him, her arms crossed against her chest. She didn't want to fight any longer, she could see now that he was worried too, and she always knew that he would want to cause her harm. He probably had more worries than her, she was happy being the head of ladies wear, where as he was demoted to manager, and everyday he could see The Paradise move on without him.

Their eyes met again, and Denise moved closer towards him and he took her in his arms. It was sweet reunion; words were not needed to convey their emotions, she was happy to remain in his arms forever.

He pulled her down into his lap and kissed her softly. John had missed her immensely, and by having her in his arms, he realised how foolish he had been to grow distant from her in the first place. After a short while Denise looked up at John, her fingers swept through his short, mahogany hair as she tried to think of what she could say to him.

However, the silence was calming, she wouldn't mind keeping quiet for a while longer as there were much better things to do instead…

Hello everyone! Just to give a heads up: I will be posting a collection of one-shots, and La Renaissance De Le Coeur (quite a mouthful) is going to be the official title of the collection and it basically means the revival of the heart in French, so I interpret it as giving second chances or having an awakening of some sorts.

I don't really have a specific timetable, I'll upload when I get the time to write and please do favourite/follow if you genuinely like the story, so no obligations! Thanks for reading!