"Hey, Lizzie, what's this?," George asked her from the living room. They just had returned home from a gallery where some of George's photographs were in exhibition.

"What is what?," she replied, coming back from the bedroom.

"This fancy envelope on the table. It looks like an invitation."

Now Lizzie knew what he was talking about. Apparently, Pemberley Digital had an annual party to celebrate the End of the Year. She had received the invitation early that day but had hesitated to tell George.

"It is an invitation, for a Pemberley party."

"Oh, I remember…," George said. He had been to some of those parties when he was working there.

"Are you going?," he asked.

Lizzie shrugged, feigning indifference. She did want to go, and be accompanied by George, but just the thought of Darcy and George being in the same place at the same time was unsettling.

"I would love to go with you," he said.

"Really? You know that Darcy will be there too, and Fitz."

"I don't mind, I just want to be there with you. Besides, I trust we are all adults and will be civil."

Lizzie gave him a big smile, "Okay then. We are going."

William had called Samantha and had met her again. They enjoyed each other's company, but they had agreed to remain friends. Samantha had somehow detected that William's heart was in another place and had told him so. William had then told her a condensed version of his story with Lizzie, without giving her actual name away.

The filming of the miniseries had finished, and now the edition people were doing their job. That also meant that he had not seen Lizzie in a while. The last time he had seen her was during a meeting where she gave some updates on other projects and had talked about Elaine's return at the end of January.

The End of the Year party was coming soon, and William, as usual, was taking care of the most important details. His paternal grandmother had started that tradition with the aim to show the appreciation the owners of Pemberley felt for their employees.

Fitz had already told William he could not make it to the party because Brandon's sister was getting married at the same time. Kate also could not make it since she was visiting her family in Maryland.

They were always his 'safety net' when he felt uncomfortable during that social gathering. So, this time, he decided to invite Samantha.

The day of the party arrived. William had picked up his parents' memorial hall as the venue and it was already full of people by the time Lizzie and George made their appearance.

Lizzie had chosen to wear a dark pink strapless dress with a pleated skirt; and her hair was pulled up in a half ponytail. George looked handsome by her side, in a dark suit and a white dress shirt.

She was in awe at the look of the place. It looked so pretty and fancy with all the decorations. There were waiters walking around with drinks and food, and in the background, a band was playing.

Soon, Lizzie found the members of her department and introduced George to them. They were chatting and having fun, until Lizzie noticed Darcy and his beautiful blond companion in the room.

Darcy was wearing a black suit with a light blue shirt. The last touch was a black bowtie. Lizzie flushed involuntarily. That was the last reaction she hoped to have in relation with her boss, particularly because George was standing next to her.

She felt George's hand enclosing hers tightly. He had seen Darcy too.

William stopped dead when he saw George. How on earth he had dared to attend? He had thought that Elizabeth could invite him, but also that his ex-friend would have the decency to decline the offer. Obviously, George had not changed. In that moment, he regretted not having put on place an entrance restriction for George after his last visit to Pemberley.

"Is everything okay?," Samantha asked, noticing the abrupt change in William.

William took a moment to reply, "Yes, let's go there." And he pointed to the farthest point from where Lizzie and George stood.

Samantha nodded but glanced quickly in the direction William had stared and saw the couple amidst other people.

Not surprisingly, George had charmed of all Lizzie's coworkers and everyone told her how lucky she was to have found such a gentleman.

Lizzie saw Darcy a couple of times, but neither approached the other. The blond woman was continuously by his side and Lizzie wondered if she was his girlfriend. Not that she was jealous or anything. She just wondered. He seemed like such a great catch after all.

Lizzie and George ate, drank and even danced. She was having a great time and did not know how long they had been at the party. She was ready to go home when George excused himself. For a minute, Lizzie feared he was going to look for Darcy and confronting him. However, George walked towards the stage where the band was playing.

Lizzie's knees trembled.

Although he had kept his distance, William found really hard not to look for George and his girlfriend, knowing they were in the same place as him. Samantha was playing attention to his actions, but had not said a thing.

William tensed when he saw that George left Lizzie alone and went in the direction of the stage.

George mouthed something to one of the players of the band, and when the song ended, someone gave George a microphone.

"May I have your attention, please?," he said.

"What is he up to?," Lizzie thought, nervous.

"First, I want to thank William Darcy for this amazing party. Let's give him a round of applause."

The guests were a little taken aback by what was happening, but responded to George's request.

William's knuckles turned white, and would have done something if they were not in public.

"Now, I'd like to say a few words to my beautiful girlfriend, Elizabeth Bennet."

Everyone looked in her direction, and she blushed and wished George were not doing that. Someone nudged her and she found herself closer to the stage.

"Lizzie, since we met at that party, I knew I was meant to be with you. Luckily for me, I found you again and that time I decided not to let you go. And two years and two months later, here we are."

Lizzie could not tell if she was excited or embarrassed, or a mixture of both.

"I've never been happier in my life. You bring out the best of me. I love you."

"George…" she said quietly but no one heard her. She knew where he was going.

George got off the stage and placed himself in front of her.

"Elizabeth May Bennet, will you marry me?"

A loud gasp sounded in the room. Lizzie was frozen.

All the people she worked with daily were there and were expecting an answer. She could feel the tension.

Most importantly, George was looking at her, with his clear blue eyes and his charming smile.

"Yes…" she finally said.