A/N: Thanks to the reviewers Clarisse Renaldi, bluegirl-783, MaddieGaines, JulieFan35, adda edwards, VictoriaGr, Zsulie, and CJmynixMG for taking the time to read and review the story! It gives me motivation to continue writing :)

Chapter 2

Clarisse sat at the table trying to come up with a way that could possibly get Joseph to open up about how he was feeling. Her past attempts of asking him straight out what was the matter didn't prove very effective, so she decided to try a different approach.

"Thanksgiving is coming up soon" She said. He took a sip of his coffee and nodded.

"Is Mia's mother and stepfather flying up for the weekend?" He asked with little interest.

"No, not this year. Mia doesn't want her mother traveling with the baby, and has convinced her to stay in America. Mia told me that she would like to take some time off to go visit them for thanksgiving. And of course she'd like to introduce Nicolas to her family as her new squeeze for the first time." She stopped to see if he would say anything.

He smiled a genuine smile. She felt butterflies in her stomach when she saw the long lost twinkle in his eyes. But a moment later, it had disappeared. He went back to the distant stranger that had taken over throughout the past few weeks.

"It's a start." She thought to herself. She tried again. "You should invite your family over for Thanksgiving. It would be nice to meet them."

Joseph didn't say anything for a moment. Finally he said, "You mean my brother? I don't know.. We haven't been keeping in touch over the years."

"Well, then this will be a good chance to make amendments then." She reached for his hand, and to her greatest relief, he accepted hers.

"As you wish, my dear." He said. And before getting up to put his coffee mug in the sink, he lifted her hand to his lips, and kissed it.

She smiled, and got up to put her mug in the sink as well. Joseph turned to her.
"I think I'm going to head off to bed." he said. Clarisse reached for his arm, but he turned away before she had the chance. He walked towards the door. "Goodnight." was all he said.

Clarisse stood frozen in place for minutes afterwards. She tried hard to stop her tears from falling, without any luck "What's happening to us?" She thought to herself, wiping the tears from her eyes. After she had composed herself, she walked slowly up to her room. She quietly slipped into bed, careful not to wake him. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and at the same time took in the sweet smell of Joseph's cologne. All she wanted to do, more than anything else, was to snuggle into his warm embrace. How she longed for her husband's touch, but the only thing stopping her was the fact that this wasn't her husband, and she swore she could feel her heart break at the very thought of it. All she could do at the moment was pray that he would soon find his way back to her.

The following day, Clarisse was in despair once again. She woke up alone, ate breakfast with Joseph in almost complete silence, and then secluded herself to her office for most of the day. She'd spoken to Joseph briefly at dinner about thanksgiving, finding out that he had called his brother in Spain that afternoon. His flight would arrive later the next day. "Maybe seeing his brother again will help him ease up." Clarisse thought, trying to be optimistic. She was indeed looking forward to meeting Joseph's brother, but she was nervous at the same time. Maybe he wouldn't like her? Or maybe Joseph had mentioned the tension between himself and Clarisse, and his brother would take Joseph's side? She told herself not to worry about such things until the time came tomorrow when he arrived. Once again, Clarisse and Joseph kept to their sides of the bed, both falling into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning Clarisse picked out an outfit that would be suitable for meeting Joseph's brother. She chose an elegant, but plain pink suit. Why she was choosing an outfit so carefully today, she didn't know. First impressions were important, she supposed, even though he was just like a member of her family now. She took one last look in the mirror, and left the suite.

Mia and Nicolas were leaving that day as well, so Clarisse drove with them to the airport. Joseph was with her of course, but once again, he seemed slightly distracted. Clarisse desperately hoped Mia hadn't noticed anything, because she didn't know how she could explain it to her grand-daughter, since she herself barely understood what was going on. Thankfully Mia hadn't noticed anything, or if she had, she didn't say anything. Their departure went very well, and Clarisse stayed, watching the plane fly away until it was out of sight. Then Clarisse and Joseph returned to the car, and were driven home by one of the guards.

An hour and a half later, Shades came in to Clarisse's office to notify her of the arrival of Joseph's brother. She made her way to the Grand Entrance of the palace, meeting Joseph in the hallway on the way. She smiled at him.

"I.. I'm looking forward to meeting your brother." She tried to make small talk.

He looked at her, his smile not quite making it to his eyes. Clarisse focused on the doors straight ahead. They finished the short walk into the Grand Entrance just as the guards were opening the doors for their new guest.

The man walked into the foyer. Clarisse took in his appearance. His hair was about the same colour as Joseph's, only slightly grayer and thicker. He had the same twinkling dark brown eyes as Joseph's. One thing she noticed was that this man wasn't as fit as her husband was. But she had to admit, he was quite attractive.

She gave him a warm smile and reached out her hand to greet him. Joseph was standing one step behind her, acting more like her bodyguard than her husband. She pushed it to the back of her mind.

"Hello, it's very nice to meet you at last." She said.

He accepted her hand, and kissed the top of it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty."

She laughed. "Please, call me Clarisse. After all we are family now."

"Very well." He said, smiling. "I'm Charles."