The Thrill Of It All II
The Love That Never Was
Three days later...
"I'd like to thank y'all for the beautiful service you had for my mother," a well-dressed bearded man said to Jacques and Tiana.
"Your mother was a beautiful person," Tiana said to the guest, feeling her husband's hand wrap around hers.
"She was like a mother to me, Marcus," Jacques added, suppressing his tears and remained strong.
"She was and I regret never making amends with her. But you had to understand that my life is...," he looked back at another well-dressed man who gave him a supportive smile. "...it was hard enough coming down here."
"Florence moved on passed that Marcus. It was you who wanted to keep the distance," Jacques reminded in defensive of the woman who was like a mother to him.
"Well she's gone now," Tiana stopped the two before a fight erupted. "Florence loved you both and that's all that mattered."
"And we'll leave it at that," Jacques finished for his wife.
"Yes, we will. Denis and I should be heading back if we're gonna make the train back on time," said Marcus.
"It was really nice meeting you two," Denis said.
"Thank you Denis," Tiana smiled while Jacques remained silent. "Hope you two stop by again someday."
"We'd like that!" Denis said, taking Marcus' hand as they left the home.
Jacques locked the door. "He could've at least kept his queen at home."
Tiana rolled her eyes. "He was only there for support."
"It's not natural! A man with another man!"
"Sometimes you can't help who you fall in love with," Tiana said.
Jacques looked at her. "Like how you fell in love with that royal?"
Tiana sighed. "I'm going to bed."
"Tiana you know how hard it is for me to accept you being with another man," Jacques followed her.
"Can we drop this topic?" she walked into the bedroom.
Jacques closed the door. "You've also known that I've always loved you! Did you even try to return it?"
"Yes, Jacques I've tried," Tiana unbuttoned her dress. "I've tried so many times to convince myself of how lucky I am to have you for a husband. Even Florence tried her best to make you seem like the best husband in the world. Flawas and all!"
"Florence was always good to me," Jacques admitted, sadly. "I'm going to miss the old bat."
"She wasn't that old," Tiana said and was startled by the sound of sniffling. Turning she found her husband with his hand covering his face.
Sitting beside him she placed a hand on his back and rubbed it with comfort. "She will be missed."
"Now I know what's it like..." Jacques began.
"What do you mean?" Tiana asked, puzzled.
He wiped the wetness from his eyes. "To never have a proper goodbye. It was the bad karma from the time I kept you from seeing your great-grandmother."
"Rosa Marie...," she remembered that day. It was two months after their wedding and Rosa Marie suddenly fell ill. "I know she is aware of my love. She told me herself in my dreams of her." she caressed his cheek.
Jacques closed his eyes. "That feels really good darling."
Tiana felt his hand take her other hand and kissed it.
"I wish that there was a way for me to show you how much I love you."
Tiana pull both hands away. "Maybe you should get some rest."
"Or I can hold you," Jacques smirked. "I might be dying but I'm not dead yet!"
"Really Jacques you haven't had any rest in almost three days."
"Have a drink with me?" he asked. "I can have Dorothy bring us something to relax."
"You know that I don't really drink," she got up to put on her robe.
"I've seen you with your night gowns on and off before Tiana," Jacques reminded her.
"It's a little chilly in here," was her explanation.
"Oh you know that's a load of horseshit! It's seventy degrees outside!" he walked over to the window, shutting it. "You're avoiding wanting to have any form of intimacy with me because of my condition. And you're being faithful to that third world royal!"
"Not now Jacques," Tiana said, growing annoyed.
"Who knows what he's really doing now that you aren't with him!" He said.
Tiana remembered Naveen telling her how much he didn't hold off being with other women after she left and now wondered if he was with any of his concubines...Claudine in particular who was in an intimate position with Naveen while walking in on them in his office.
"You know I'm right!" Jacques smiled in satisfaction. "The look in your eyes says it all."
She sat on the bed. "He isn't like that," she said out loud, as if convincing herself.
Dorothy knocked on the door. "Mr. and Mrs. Montreuil?"
"Dorothy bring up two bottles of wine! Tonight is going to be a long one for us," Jacques saw the insecurity in his wife and couldn't be more thrilled. "And to think that you'll be moving on with him after my death."
Tiana rolled her eyes in silence.
And it stayed that way until several minutes later when Dorothy pushed a cart into the room with two bottles and glass flukes.
"I wasn't sure which you wanted so I gave you the two you always seem to favour," Dorothy said. "Would you like for me to open a bottle, sir?"
"Thank you Dorothy," Jacques smiled, taking the bottle and opening it himself. "But I got it from here."
The maid then left the room, closing the door.
"Aren't you not supposed to drink alcohol?" Tiana asked.
"I can drink and eat whatever I want. I'm not going to be able to do this when I'm dead!" Jacques poured the flukes full of dark wine and handed her a glass. "Drink up! It'll calm your blues away."
"I don't want to drink that will only make me depressed after breifly feeling good."
"So the royal is giving you problems?" he asked with a humoured smirk.
"That's not what I meant!" Tiana groaned, setting the glass on the cart. "I'm going to bed you can drink all you want."
"No wait darling! I was playing with you!" Jacques took her hand. "Come sit down and have a drink with me."
"I'll sit but I won't drink. And you shouldn't be drinking yourself! What if you miraculously recover from this...illness."
"Not happening but I appreciate your optimism!" he handed her the glass.
Tiana raised a skeptical brow. "You're not the same husband I married."
"I'm not the same man I use to be!" Jacques drank his wine. "I'm not even sure if I'm the same man I was a week ago. After the doctor called with those results...I can't even remember where I was. Just waking up in my bed with a cold towel folded over my head."
Tiana listened on.
"You and Daniel were the only two people I could think about. It was the first time I was concern for someone who wasn't myself. I was worried for your financial well-beings."
"We would've manged," Tiana said.
"But I want you two to always want for nothing!" Jacques said, serious. "You two mean the world to me."
Tiana sipped on the wine.
"And I know that you'll never love me...that royal alone—
"His name is Naveen"
"Naveen?" he snorted. "Sounds a little too...uptight."
"The last thing he is is uptight," Tiana said. "He's a lot like you, except he's never—
"Struck you? You can say it," he didn't mind her honesty.
Tiana finished the rest of her wine. "I won't lie. He's treated me like a woman and an equal."
"Do you really enjoy with him in bed?"
She raised a brow. "Why do you want to know?"
"I guess I don't want to know," Jacques poured more wine in her glass. "Be honest. Who's better?"
"Better?" she asked confused.
"In bed. I know that I've been selfish for the most of it but there were a few occasions where I would have you screaming in your pillows."
Tiana rolled her eyes, drinking more wine. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Why not? Is it because you don't want to hurt my feelings? Baby, I've had three of my buildings burnt by the ku klux klan, harassed simply for being a man of colour with many businesses and a wife who doesn't return my feelings. A little honesty isn't going to hurt this Montreuil."
This was the first she's learned of the ku klux klan attacks. "The klan burnt your buildings?"
"Just three and I've gotten two of the three taken care of. Now back to the topic."
Tiana finished her second glass and stared at her husband who was waiting for her answer. She didn't know whether to really tell him or leave him hanging. Yes, she shared plenty of pleasurable experiences with him when he wasn't a forceful pig who would take her whether she was up for it or not. But Naveen always made sure she was enjoying herself. With Naveen she felt sexy, beautiful, alive, free—like a woman!
As she sipped on her third glass she stopped and answered, "You're both equally good."
He snorted, not believing her. "Oh come on with it woman! I will be honest and tell you that you're the best I've ever had."
"Both," she answered, feeling very warm.
Jacques noticed her empty glass and poured the remaining of the wine into it. "I don't believe you but what I do believe is that I was a horrendous husband that led you into the arms of another man." his hand rested on hers. "But if I could...I would love to show you what I'm capable of when it comes to making love."
Tiana was actually surprised by the proposal and flattered at the same time. The alcohol must've been an influence since she leaned forward and pressed her lips onto his.
()()()()
Maldonia -
Naveen was walking down the corridor of his palace with a lot on his mind including his relationship with Tiana. He wondered why he couldn't get her off his mind enough to move on and start a stress-free relationship with another woman. He thought about requesting a nice girl from one of the smaller ally kingdoms to marry but he knew that it would also require many visits with Claudine whom he doesn't have any emotional feelings for whatsoever. Even if she did look a lot like Tiana.
But she wasn't Tiana.
He had a lot to ponder about and the one other place for that was the gym. It worked as he was now sweating bullets after an intense workout.
"Oh there you are!" Kabir waved off his guard as he walked into the room with a chuckle. "The last time I was in here I looked like you!" he joked. "How I wish to be young again."
"What do you want father?" Naveen wiped his face with a towel.
"To have a talk with my boy!" Kabir said.
"Okay? What is it that you would like to discuss?"
"Cut the formality boy! I am your father!" Kabir exclaimed.
"I really have things t do..." Naveen said, annoyed.
"Such as...sleeping with that one concubine?" he said with a raised brow.
"Yes, and I happen to like it," Naveen answered with sarcasm.
"Are you planning on making her a wife?" Kabir asked.
"Of course not!" Naveen looked disgusted.
"A mistress once you take a bride from one of the ally kingdoms perhaps?"
"She's whatever I need her to be," he said honestly.
"When you need that comfort from a bruised heart?" Kabir added.
Naveen sighed. "Father where are you getting at?"
"Your mother is concerned for you. I didn't find your behavior as odd since I do the exact same thing," he chuckled. "Then she mentioned Tiana leaving and I had no idea that she left. She couldn't handle you being with Claudine?"
"It wasn't about Claudine. She was the furthest from my...Tiana and I have a complicated relationship."
Kabir nodded as if understanding the situation. "And the boy is yours?"
Naveen ran his his fingers through his hair. "That part is also complicated."
"He looks like us," Kabir said.
"I think he does," Naveen agreed.
"Especially his smile. You had the same exact sly grin as a child," the older man waved a finger at him.
Naveen laughed a little. "He also looks a lot like the husband of Tiana."
"So what is this character's name?" Kabir asked.
"Jacques Montreuil," Naveen answered.
The older man raised a skeptical brow. "Did you say Montreuil?"
Naveen knew that look and carefully answered, "Yes, why?"
"Your mother is related to some Montreuils. That is all," said the older man.
"What?" Naveen was shocked but then it could've just been a coincidence. "You're horseshitting with me!"
"You have family with that name! Wouldn't it be crazy if Tiana's husband is actually a relative of ours? Perhaps a cousin?"
"You're joking!" Naveen rose from the bench in disbelief. "I'm going to take a shower."
"Naveen!" Kabir said sternly.
The young king knew to not take another step after hearing his father's 'kingly' tone toward him. "Yes father?"
"I understand that you are not happy because of your romantic relationship. If I had as much courage as you then I would've chosen the one woman who did steal my heart. She unfortunately passed five years ago and the regret for not standing up for her and our relationship which still haunts my heart to this day," he explained.
"But that isn't the problem—
"I'll talk to your mother about the Montreuils," Kabir said as he started out of the gym. "Happy showering!" leaving the room soon after.
Naveen walked out himself and was stopped by his second valet.
Irritated, he said, "Not now Richard!"
"But your highness! It is an urgent audience."
"From who?"
"Claudine."
Naveen sighed. "Take her to my office and tell her that I'll see her in fifteen minutes."
He rushed to his bathingroom to shower which took a half an hour with an additional ten minutes to dress before meeting the woman in his office. He was surprised to find her crying. "You needed an audience with me?"
"Yes your majesty," she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief.
"Thank you Richard," Naveen hinted to the valet who quickly left the room. "Alright so why are you here?"
"To tell you that I'm pregnant," she announced.
Naveen felt his world crashing down upon him.
()()()()
New Orleans -
Tiana laid in her husband's arms feeling amazed at what she just experienced with him. She was surprised to feel Jacques' gently press his lips against her forehead. As he confessed:
"That was the best sex we ever had together."
"It was amazing," Tiana agreed.
Jacques was shocked to hear his wife's response. "Really?"
"Yes, I enjoyed every moment," she smiled.
"Oh how I love you darling!" Jacques pulled her in for a bear hug.
Tiana remained silent.
"Darling? Tiana?"
"Hmm? Yes?" she asked.
"Do you love me?" he asked, almost anxiously.
"I love you for fathering our son," she answered honestly.
He closed his eyes and sighed. "What I meant is love between a man and a woman?"
She was hesitant to answer at first. Then sat up, covering herself. "I-I don't love you that way. I'm sorry."
Jacques was hurt but he had to accept that answer whenever he would inquire. "I love you and our son. And nothing will change that."
Tiana got out of the bed to re-dress into her night gown then got on her side of the bed. "Goodnight Jacques."
"The love that never was," Jacques said as she turned off the light. "But even if I do love you and our son the love I have for you is on a different level. It isn't reckless or childish as my past affairs have been. Its real and after all the pain and humiliation. I love you, Tiana."
She closed her eyes and decided to not respond. The way he said those three words made her heart ache for him. Because no matter how beautiful he made their experience together in bed tonight she still wasn't in love with him. Perhaps this was the way she felt in the vision where he did treat her with kindness. As good as they were together it still wasn't enough for her to love him the way a wife should love her husband.
Jacques caressed her cheek while staring into her eyes. "My regret is my mistreatment of you and our son. For sabotaging your dreams and ruining your trust in me." He was tempted to kiss her again but he held back. "This illness really calmed me to a point where I understand my errors. And what my grandmother would tell me. Money can buy you everything but love."
Tiana sighed. "Let's move pass the regrets and enjoy our...friendship."
"Friendship?" he smiled. "I'd like that," and thought of an idea. "Why don't we all go on a trip? To France! I have an uncle in Paris who is a Duke believe it or not."
"A Duke?" she asked, surprised.
"Yes, but by title and nothing more. Nicholas is his name," Jacques explained. "Funny thing about that side of the family is that the Montreuils have never really gotten to know the Montreuils over there. That is until they heard about how much of a success I am here."
"It seems as though I learn more about you and your family everyday," Tiana said.
"Our family Tiana," he said gently. "You're a Montreuil as well."
"And then there's your illness," she reminded him. "What if you get really sick?"
"Six months and less," he reminded her, looking serious. "As long as you and Daniel are with me during my last breath I don't care where we are."
Tiana was touched by his statement. "Then we should start packing!"
()()()()
A/N: These last several chapters have been so hard to write! But 'The End' is near and we'll see what will happen with everything that's going on in this story. Claudine is pregnant while Tiana and Jacques have developed a sort of friendship...