A week passed with Charlotte as a guest, and then she suddenly had to go. Lizzie was devastated that they wouldn't be able to spend their birthday together this year. They somehow always managed to celebrate their birthdays together, even if it was just lunch or something quick.
Charlotte had to go the day before their birthday, due to some business meeting. "I'm not even exaggerating when I say it's super important, Lizzie! This meeting could result in a substantial change in Collins & Lu's management, so I have to be there. I'll try to catch a flight back immediately after the meeting, 'kay?", Charlotte said as she tried to reassure Lizzie that they wouldn't be separated for their birthday.
"But we're turning 30! That's a major number! You're VP, can't you like, postpone it or something?", Lizzie argued.
Darcy sighed. They were already in the car, but this time Bing, instead of Lydia, was accompanying Darcy to the airport. Lizzie and Charlotte were talking to each other through the window in the backseat.
"Time is ticking, my love. She'll miss her flight if we don't leave soon. She'll be back before you know it.", Darcy said, trying to get Lizzie to let them leave.
"That's the point! She'll miss her flight and then she'll have no other choice but to stay.", Lizzie said sadly. She knew her efforts were futile and slowly backed up from the car. She waved at her bestie and watched the car drive away.
Lizzie walked back into the house gloomily. Jane saw Lizzie's teary eyes and intercepted her sad thoughts. "Hey, Lizzie! Are you excited for your birthday shopping spree tomorrow morning?", Jane asked excitedly.
Her joyful energy couldn't help but make Lizzie smile. "Yes, I am excited to finally enter a store without a maternity section. But I honestly don't understand why we have to go so early! I mean seriously. What kind of foul creatures would want to wake someone up before 10am on their birthday?", Lizzie replied.
Jane chuckled and said, "Think of the bright side: The earlier you wake up, the longer your birthday lasts! And it's Friday tomorrow, so shopping early is only common sense, Lizzie! We all want you to look stunning for the birthday lunch mom is working so hard on."
Lizzie shrugged and said, "I guess you're right. But I'm just kind of bummed out because Char won't be here."
Jane hugged Lizzie quickly and tried to comfort her, "Don't be so pessimistic, sis. Maybe she'll make it!... Now, let's go check on our boys. We can't let Lydia and dad watch them forever."
"Thanks, Jane. You always know just what to say.", Lizzie said smiling.
Darcy, Bing, and Charlotte got to the airport but Charlotte didn't exactly go back to Collins & Lu. They were at the airport picking up Charlotte's parents and younger sister, Maria. After picking them up, Bing and Darcy dropped the Lu family off at a swanky hotel close to the Darcy home. Confirming that everything was settled, Darcy was ready to go back home and act as if Charlotte had really gone.
Before he left, however, he confessed to Charlotte, "I think our plan might actually work! If I don't give Lizzie any reason to suspect, her surprise party will truly be a surprise."
Charlotte smirked and said, "I told you this would work. I have known Lizzie for almost 30 years! Come on now, Darce, it's insulting how little faith you had in me."
Darcy laughed and said his goodbyes to the Lus. On the way back, Bing and Darcy discussed what gift Darcy should give to Charlotte as thanks for doing this for Lizzie. They decided on something that Charlotte would appreciate immensely.
Keeping the truth from Lizzie hadn't been as hard as Darcy thought it would be. Lizzie was convinced that Charlotte was gone, so she avoided talking about her and complained to Darcy about having to wake up early on her birthday and the woes of turning 30.
"I mean seriously. We have to be out of the house by 9am so we can get to the mall early. That means I have to get up at like 7am so I can feed Ben and then pump milk for you to have while I'm gone. It's ridiculous.", she ranted as she got into bed.
Darcy chuckled at her obliviousness to their plans. "Lizzie, you aren't the only one getting up early. Jane and Lydia are too. And they just want to do some sisterly bonding before they all leave in a couple of days. Don't be too bitter about it.", he said playing with Lizzie's hair.
Lizzie sighed and admitted, "Yeah I know. I'm cursed with wonderful sisters… but ughhh I'm turning 30, babe! I'll be an old hag before you know it!"
Darcy feigned an affronted expression. "I'll have you know I'm turning 33 later this year and I don't look like an old man. At least, I don't think I do.", he replied jokingly.
Lizzie groaned. "It's not the same. You're jaw-droppingly handsome. You will be good-looking when you're 80! And you're a man. Men and women look at aging differently…", she defended her point, while tracing his jawline from side to side with her index finger.
Darcy turned around to fully face Lizzie and pulled her face close so he could kiss her. He kissed her passionately and Lizzie, although confused, kissed him back eagerly. He stopped abruptly and said, "Lizzie, you are an idiot if you think that tomorrow and every year after that you will not be considered the most beautiful woman on the face of this planet. I don't want to hear any of this nonsense ever again." He proceeded to turn back around, his back to her, and get ready to sleep.
Lizzie was still confused about the amazing kiss and asked, "Okay, fine! Thank you, my wonderful husband. But answer me this: what was the kiss for?"
Darcy chuckled and said, "One reason was to get you to stop talking. The other reason was because I had the sudden urge to kiss you and I remembered I'm your husband, so I'm allowed."
Lizzie laughed and kissed the back of his shoulder and said, "I love you, William. Goodnight."
Lizzie, Jane, and Lydia were out of the house by 9 am, as planned, and the surprise party plan was put into action. The family wasn't really planning a birthday lunch cooked by Mrs. Bennet. They were planning a big shebang in the huge backyard lawn, complete with caterers and rented tables and linens and the whole nine. Like Lizzie said earlier, 30 is major.
They needed to get Lizzie out of the house early enough so that by the time she and her sisters arrived from shopping, everything would be set up and ready to surprise her.
Charlotte arrived with her family about half an hour before Lizzie was supposed to get back with the girls, which was approximately 3 pm. She had her hair done up, and was wearing a light yellow short-sleeved dress, belted at the waist. When Charlotte stepped into the backyard, she went straight to Darcy and said, "Wow, Darcy! I know you said you would handle the decorations but this is beautiful! Lizzie is going to love it!".
He chuckled and replied, "Now, now, Charlotte. It is your birthday today as well. We had to surprise you, too."
The backyard was unrecognizable. There was a huge tent with a big banner that read 'Happy Birthday Lizzie and Charlotte' in the middle of the lawn, with a dozen round tables draped with pastel-colored cloths surrounding 3 of the edges of the tent. Each table had a centerpiece made up of beautiful flowers from their estate's garden and had the Darcy family's beautiful silverware set for use. With all the tables lined up against the edges of the tent, there was plenty of space for dancing in the middle.
On a long, rectangular table on the other side of the tent, was a big '3' cake and a big '0' cake, in pastel colors, and decorated with fake edible flowers. There were cupcakes on either side of the '30' that spelled out 'Charlotte' and 'Elizabeth', with each letter on a cupcake. Mrs. Bennet wasn't allowed to lift a finger, but she begged to at least make the girls' cupcakes.
The Bennet daughters arrived right on time. The girls had all gotten ready before getting to the house. Lydia wore a fitted, strapless red cocktail dress that made her straight fiery hair stand out. Jane wore a soft orange halter-top dress that looked to be straight out of the fifties. Her hair was pin-curled and made Jane look like a vintage princess. Lizzie was hearing a soft blue strapless empire-waist dress that flowed down to the floor. She had been very self-conscious about dressing up, since she has just given birth and her body was still not back to normal. She selected this dress because it was flowy and not tight around her mid-section. Her hair was lightly curled and pulled back on one side.
"Alright, Lizzie, we're almost getting to the house so I'm gonna need for you to put this blind-fold on.", Jane said. Lizzie was anxious to get home and see her son so she did as she was told. When they got there, Jane and Lydia led Lizzie to the backyard and then said, "You can take your blind-fold off now, Lizzie!" in unison.
When Lizzie took off her blind-fold, she teared up at the site before her. Her closest family and friends all waiting for her beneath the birthday banner. She ran to Darcy and said "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" in between kisses. She then took little Benjamin from his arms and cooed at her son.
She went around hugging her parents, her sisters, Gigi and her boyfriend, Fitz and Brandon and baby Lorena, and then she saw the Lus. "Mr. and Mrs. Lu? Maria? What are you guys doing here?", she asked confused.
"We're here to celebrate your birthday! Duh, Lizzie!", replied Maria excitedly.
"Thank you!... but it's Char's birthday, too. Shouldn't you guys be with her today?", Lizzie asked, still confused.
"We are!", said Maria, and then Charlotte appeared, smiling smugly.
"Charlotte? Charlotte! You lied to me!", Lizzie said as she made her way to her best friend.
Darcy got to Lizzie before she got to Charlotte and said, "Here. Let me hold Benjamin for a while."
"And you! You were in on it weren't you?! Airport, my ass!", Lizzie said accusingly while handing over Ben.
Darcy smirked and said, "Happy Birthday, Elizabeth."
"Thank you, my conniving husband.", Lizzie said before pecking Darcy on the lips and proceeding to Charlotte's location.
The besties hugged and cried and complained how old they were to each other. These moments, along with a few others, were photographed by the stealthy photographer that Darcy had hired to take candid photos.
"Let's not mess up our make-up, Lizzie. Guests are gonna start arriving soon.", Charlotte warned.
"Guests? Oh man, Darcy invited everyone on my contacts list, didn't he?", Lizzie asked.
"Technically, I did. Oops." Charlotte responded as she walked away.
After all the guests had gone, the photographer left Darcy with the camera so he could select the pictures he wanted. Everyone looked at them together on the TV in the living room and picked their favorites.
One of Darcy's favorite pictures was one of Lizzie, Ben, and himself. Lizzie is holding Ben in her arms and is tilting her head up as Darcy is about to kiss her. A tall, dark-haired man with a short, red-headed wife and a chubby, blond baby boy; they all look so different, but they look perfect as a family. "This is going on the desk in my office.", Darcy declared aloud before switching to the next picture.
One of Lydia's favorite pictures was one of her parents. They were dancing and Mr. Bennet gave Mrs. Bennet a kiss on the forehead. "Sure, Mom is annoying sometimes, and silly most of the time, but Dad still loves her after all these years…", she thought to herself as Mrs. Bennet complained that the angle made her face look fat.
"Can I have this one, Darce?", Bing asked, pointing to his favorite picture. It was one where he and Jane had just finished dancing with little Charlie. Bing had sat down on a chair and pulled Jane down to sit on his lap. He rested his head on her chest, listening to her heartbeat as he tickled Charles. Jane rested her cheek on Bing's head with her eyes closed, smiling contently.
Charlotte's favorite was one that was taken after she and Lizzie had cut their cakes. They had each smashed a cupcake onto the other's cheek and were cracking up. A true depiction of what their friendship had always been and hopefully would always be.
Jane's favorite picture was one of the Bennet family all together. The girls were standing from eldest to youngest in between their parents. They all looked healthy and happy and you could feel the pride emanating from Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. They weren't posing, so they're expressions were truly what they were feeling inside, and that is what Jane loved the most.
Mrs. Bennet's favorite picture featured her with her grandbabies, of course. She was holding Benji, and Mr. B stood next to her holding Charles. It's not in the picture, but they were watching their two eldest daughters dance with their husbands. Her wish that her daughters end up happily married came true. And she wasn't completely silly: she knew Lydia had a boyfriend, so it was only a matter of time with her.
Lizzie's favorite picture was one of Darcy, Gigi, and Ben. The photo showed her husband wiggling his tongue at their son (who was in Gigi's arms), while Gigi laughed at him. Lizzie was a Darcy now. She was the new matriarch of this family and she took pride in seeing them happy.
Mr. Bennet's favorite picture was one of his girls. It was his three daughters sitting at a table being lectured on something by their mother. She stood above them wagging her finger in the air, with her hand on her hip, while their daughters all laughed whatever it was she was saying. This brought back so many memories for him; memories when they were all still at home and didn't have husbands and babies. "The four most important women in my life...", he thought as he stared at the picture.
After they saw all of the pictures, everyone went their separate ways. Charlotte was on her way out of the living room, when Darcy stopped her. "Wait a moment, Charlotte.", he said.
"Since it is your birthday, I have a gift for you. I hope it is to your satisfaction, Ms. Lu.", he said while handing a wax-sealed envelope.
"Really, Darcy? Wax-sealed?", she laughed before opening it.
When she read the documents, her jaw dropped and she couldn't speak.
"Darcy- what? I can't accept this. Do you know how much-", she was rambling before Darcy interrupted her.
"I felt it needed to be done. You're always so busy and have to abide by someone else's rules, so I felt that if you're going to be working so hard, you need to be in the proper position.", Darcy replied.
"So you're giving me your shares in Collins&Lu so I can have majority vote and become President of the company?! Do you know how much money you're basically giving me? Millions of dollars! You can't expect me to accept that.", Charlotte said, still stunned.
"I know how much everything is worth and I do expect you to accept. It's not only for your sake I'm doing this, you know. It's for mine, too. Lizzie will get to see you more often if you're president, and I won't have to hear her pine for you when it's been too long.", Darcy joked.
At this Charlotte laughed, and said, "Well, if you're sure… I'll accept! Thank you sooo much!", as she went in for a hug.
"It is my pleasure, Ms. Lu.", Darcy replied honestly. Charlotte had become one of his favorite people over the years, and not only because she made his wife happy. She was smart, savvy, and arguing against her logic was something he'd learned not to do; but he rather liked to watch when some poor unsuspecting person tried to go against her.
That night, when it was finally time for bed, Darcy decided to give Lizzie her birthday present. She'd gotten into bed and started gushing about how wonderful the day had been, and what a great time she'd had, and how dumb she felt having been fooled by him and Charlotte. While she was talking, Darcy turned to his bedside table and took a square box out of the drawer.
She stopped mid-sentence and asked, "What's that?"
"Your birthday present, my love. You didn't honestly believe that the party was it, did you?", he replied handing the box to her.
She opened it and gasped. It was a platinum bracelet with a bunch of little colorful charms on it. It was beautiful. And in the box, folded up, was a hand-written letter.
She looked up at Darcy, who was smiling from ear to ear, and then unfolded the letter. It read:
My dearest Elizabeth,
Today you are 30 years old and I'm glad that I was present to witness you leave your 20's behind.
You said you'd turn into an 'old hag', but to me, you look more beautiful than ever, and I wouldn't dream of trading 30 year-old Lizzie for the 25 year-old Lizzie I fell in love with at Netherfield.
In the time that I have known you, you have brought great joy into my life and I have decided to mark the greatest moments with this bracelet.
You have given me your heart and I have given you mine; so on your bracelet there is a heart charm to symbolize our love.
You have given me a child, a new life born out of the love we share; so on your bracelet there is a baby charm, and I will add more as our family expands.
My home, once a place filled with sadness, is now our home, which you have managed to breathe new life into; so on your bracelet you will find a house.
Lastly, my love, you make me happy. It's a simple truth and that is what that smiley face on your bracelet means. The day you no longer make me happy, that charm comes off. So I made sure they attached it to the bracelet permanently, because that day will never arrive.
Happy Birthday Mrs. Darcy.
From the depths of my heart and soul,
Your completely enamored husband.
Lizzie was shedding tears by the end and held the letter close to her chest.
She looked up at Darcy, who was waiting expectantly, and lunged toward him, kissing him passionately for a long time before breaking away.
She finally said, "William Fitzwillam Darcy, I love you, too! You make me feel as if I am the happiest woman in the world, and at this moment I doubt anyone else's joy can compare to mine… I'm serious, babe. You are the perfect husband and I can tell you are going to be a great father and-".
She started crying and Darcy knew they were tears of joy so he just held her until she stopped. When she did, she looked up at him and said, "Thank you, Will.", to which he replied, "You are most welcome, Lizzie."
They slept peacefully that night, since her mother volunteered to take Ben for the night, and both were so grateful that they had each other.
I know right? How sappy can I get?! But I had a great time writing this chapter and I enjoyed reading over it very much. Let me know if you guys liked it!
I actuallyn think that this chapter is my favorite out of all 10.
Last chapter next week! :') It'll be kind of like an epilogue, I'm thinking.
Thank you for reading and I hope you've enjoyed! *CYBER HUGS FOR EVERYONE!*