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Helena looked at Simon's outstretched hand, as she replayed the words he had just spoken, "Just choose love, Helena. What do you say?"

"If only it were that simple," she thought. "To start over and fix the mistakes. To replace all the hurt and betrayal with love and new memories." But then a new thought emerged, "What if I let him down again, what if I can't mend the relationship with the twins? I will have failed twice with the same ending."

Simon could almost hear the internal dilemma she was having, but instead of withdrawing his hand, he said, "Helena, don't overthink it. Right here, right now, make a choice with your heart."

At his voice, Helena looked up into his eyes and she knew, she was through with it all. All of the affairs, all of the deception; she was through with everything that could potentially destroy her family. It wasn't the threat of divorce, it was the realization that she loved her family and the man standing before her. His eyes held no anger or resentment for past transgressions as they rightfully should have, instead they showed nothing but forgiveness and love.

"I am." She reached out, taking his hand. "I'm choosing our family; I'm choosing you."

Simon pulled her to her feet, wrapping his arms around her, "Thank God," he whispered before kissing her. It had been so long since they had shared more than an occasional peck on the cheek, it almost felt foreign. Their kiss began to deepen as they began to remember the feel of each other's lips.

Helena was finally the one to break away, tears brimming in her eyes. "Simon, are you sure we can make this work?" She glanced down, almost afraid to look him in the eye as she asked, "Are you sure I haven't damaged this beyond repair?"

Simon tilted her chin up with one hand, "Helena, look at me. I'm not saying this is going to be easy. In fact, this is probably going to be one of the hardest things we've ever done. There's going to be yelling and screaming, more tears, and that's just Cyrus." He smiled at her reassuringly, drawing a smile and small chuckle in return as she dabbed at her eyes.

"They're happy tears. I can't seem to make them stop." She sniffed.

"We're going to struggle, because there is a lot to repair. Between you and I, and between you and our children. But I have faith the woman I married is still in there, because every now and then I get glimpses of her." He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I know you set that fire at the whiskey factory."

The comment drew a deep laugh from his wife as he said, "the woman that did that? That's full of spunk and has a good heart? That's who I know you could be all the time if you let yourself because that's who you really are. You may want the people to see one version of you, but I see the real you Helena, even if you can't see her anymore."

Helena nodded her head, amazed that even after everything he could still see the good in her. "I'm going to try. I swear I'm going to try."

"When it seems the most difficult, that's when we fight harder. When you don't think you're making headway with Eleanor, you keep pushing. It's all going to be worth it, I fully believe that. And Helena, from here on out, I expect total honesty from you, and I'll give it in return. Okay? Because no matter what happens with the referendum, where we are in 6 months or a year, we're a family and we have to be able to trust each other."

Helena took a deep breath, truthfulness definitely wasn't her strong suite, "Okay. But in the sense of full disclosure, I need to know something."

Simon gave her a puzzled look.

"This morning, when you caught Cyrus and I together plotting, you were ready to divorce me. In fact, that look in your eyes, you really scared me. As long as I've known you, you've never showed that kind of anger before. So why the change in heart tonight?"

This time, Simon smiled, "We've been married for thirty years, Helena. That's over half of our lives now. They may not all have been the happiest times, but we've had some good years. When I think back over our lives, it's not the bad memories I see, but the good ones. I see the day Robert was born. I see the day you told me you were having twins and the shocked look in your eyes. I see you in Eleanor every time I look at her. Liam has your smile, and Robert had your wit and your ability to light up a room. I see birthdays and parties, and a young Queen playing hide-and-go-seek with her children in the gardens. You were even the one holding King David's bible when I became King."

"Almost every good memory I have, you're a part of in some way. I don't want to be looking at someone else ten or fifteen years from now and say, "Doesn't our grand-daughter look exactly like Eleanor did at this age?" Because they won't know, Helena, because they're not you. I'm just not ready to give up on thirty years just yet. Does that answer you're question?" Simon asked her.

Helena smiled as the same memories flashed before her eyes. "I will still be too young for a grand-daughter in ten or fifteen years, dear." She jokingly said.

Helena looked out over the city, "I had forgotten how gorgeous it is at night. Thank you for bringing me and explaining the full reasoning behind your push for the referendum. I'm still not completely sold on the idea of you handing over the monarchy, but for our family, I will support your decision to let the people vote and stand by you if and when it takes place.

"Thank you for that." Simon draped an arm over her shoulders, "Let's go home."