Chapter 9

Author's Note: Hi Everybody! First big hug to Rach for beta this chapter and all the others to me. Thanks Dear. And I want to dedicate this last chapter to a very special friend of mine. You know who you are... And now, let's see the last chapter... Enjoy it!

"Ah, Joseph… Oh my God! Please don't stop! Aaahhh…" Carla cried in the room and that was the last noise Clarisse heard from the outside world. Some kind of humming silence surrounded her. She just leant against the doorframe and convulsively grabbed her collarbone with her free hand. She should have felt regret, humiliation or fury, but she did not feel anything. She could not think at all – she just stood there and tried to breathe somehow. That was the only thing she could concentrate on at the moment - to breathe. Breathe in... Breathe out… She had to keep her balance or she would swoon. It was terribly hard. She needed nearly two minutes before she could hear again, and the situation had not changed. Her second reaction was different; she started run - run as fast as she could. Run away from this horror, run away from reality…

Thirty seconds later, she reached her office and she felt pain - pain in her heart and in her leg, because she accidentally ran into a cleaning trolley when she turned a corner in one of the corridors. But this pain was nothing compared the pain in her heart. She felt she had lost everything, love, hope and… her life. She felt emptiness and resignation; there was no reason to continue anymore. So at first, she just slowly sat down on the floor. Then a few seconds later, she lay down.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Meanwhile in Joseph's room…

"Ok, Carla you can stop now," Mia smiled as she stepped into Joseph's room. "Grandma is in her office. She ran quite fast, but after your performance that's not surprising."

"She ran away?" Joseph asked worriedly and grabbed Mia's hand. "I thought she would tear the door open and we could finally discuss everything seriously."

"Well, she looked ill, and then simply ran away. When I last saw her, she had just closed her office door."

"I have to see her immediately!" Joseph cried and started running, but he stopped for a moment and turned around. "Oh, and Carla - thank you for everything." He gabbled, then disappeared.

"Yes, you were gorgeous." Mia laughed and hugged the older woman. "Your performance was very realistic, if I may say so."

"Yes," smiled Charlotte. "And Joseph's face – that was absolutely worth the price of admission. I could barely keep from laughing."

"Your welcome," laughed Carla as she started packing her handbag. "I'm glad I could help. Clarisse is a very dear friend of mine, and if I had known she was in love with Joseph… oh my God," she sighed. "I'm a bit wild, I know, but I could never take her man, although he is first class."

"Yes," giggled Mia. "We can totally agree on that point."

"Well, girls, I think I will leave. Thanks for the fun. I really enjoyed it. And I hope Clarisse will return to reason soon."

"Yeah, me too," smiled Mia. "And I hope you will find another sexy guy."

"Oh, don't worry about that, Sweetie. I already picked out a handsome man. I think his name is Shades. He is extremely sexy in those sunglasses, am I right?"

"Well, actually, I think you should discuss that with Charlotte first." Mia laughed and left the room.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A few seconds later, Joseph reached Clarisse's office and softly knocked on the door. There was no answer, so he tried again.

"Clarisse." He waited for her answer. "Clarisse, it's me Joseph. Can I come in?" Still she did not answer. Another few seconds passed, then he gave up and stepped inside. The room was peaceful and empty. At least that's what Joseph thought, but as his eyes glanced across the floor, he suddenly felt panic. Clarisse was lying there, unmoving.

"Clarisse! Clarisse! Are you all right?" He cried worriedly and rushed to her. But as he tried to pick her up, she suddenly pushed him away.

"Leave me."

"But Clarisse," he said and gently grabbed her hand.

"I said leave me. Leave me alone," she said as she looked at him; her eyes glassy.

"Clarisse, please don't do this. There was nothing going on between Carla and me."

"I don't want to hear it," she said and closed her eyes.

"Nothing happened, I swear. You know I could never hurt you. It was just a scam. Please, Clarisse. I just wanted to make you jealous."

"I'm not interested."

That was the moment when Mia stepped in with Charlotte.

"Oh my God!" Mia cried and stopped at the door in shock. "What happened to Grandma? Is she alright?"

"Not really. I'm just trying to explain that there was nothing between Carla and me," Joseph tried desperately. "But she doesn't believe me."

"But, that's the truth Grandma. She just helped to make you jealous. And every other thing was just the part of a plan. The mouse in your bedroom, the movie night, your… your loosened heels. It was all my fault. I just wanted to get you together, you and Joe."

"I don't care."

"But, Grandma," Mia tried, when Joseph cut in.

"I think you should go," he said softly with a meaningful look.

"Well, I think you're right." Charlotte nodded and grabbed Mia's hand. "Princess…"

"Oh, alright," Mia sighed and unwillingly left the room with Charlotte.

Now they were alone….

"Clarisse," he tried softly, while he slowly sat down next to her. "You know I love you."

"I got tired of it," She said, her eyes still glassy.

"Please let me help you. You're scaring me. Just tell me what the problem is. Please. I want to help you. I so desperately want to help you. Please, Clarisse," he whispered and started gently stroking her cheek, barely touching her skin.

"Do you want to hear my problem?" she asked on the same lifeless voice with a scornful smile. "My problem is YOU. Yes, YOU, Joseph. My problem is, that I - I'm madly deeply in love with you, and it's killing me." She sighed and closed her eyes again.

"But I love you too, Clarisse." He leant closer and cupped her cheek. "Then what is the problem?"

"The problem is I can't afford this." She started crying and weakly covered his hand with hers. "I cannot afford to be in love with you."

"Yes, you can," he whispered and pulled her to a sitting position. "You can afford it, simply because you deserve happiness. You deserve nothing but happiness. And I would do anything to make you happy. Just let me know what I should do. Please, Clarisse."

"I cannot bear to see you everyday. I just cannot bear this suffering, it consumes me," she said, her tears falling. There was silence for a few moments.

"Then I'll leave the palace."

"Do you want to kill me?" She cried and finally looked in his eyes. "I cannot go on without you - I just cannot." She started crying even harder, but soon she was in Joseph's arms, where she could find a little relief.

"Hush, Darling, hush. Everything will be all right. Ok?" He smiled and hugged her tightly, while he made small circles on her back to comfort her. It worked. It worked perfectly. A few moments later, she finally calmed down and looked up at him.

"You know the life I had before you," She said collectedly. "I knew how to do that. I could do that forever. But now, look at me. What am I going to do with all this?"

"Don't worry." He smiled and looked lovingly to her eyes. "We will manage it. I promise. Just let me help you, alright?"

"Alright," she nodded with a smile, then Joseph's lips gently covered hers.

…and nothing seemed so hopeless anymore…

The End