"So grandma, do you feel different now that you're married to the man you, as you told me yesterday morning, have ever really loved," Mia asked with a smile as they all moved over to the seating area.

"I certainly do," Clarisse smiled as she stepped between the sofa and coffee table before turning to look at her husband moving to stand beside her. "I have married my best friend after all."

"Me too," Joseph smiled, his gaze remaining on Clarisse as she placed her flower bouquet down on the coffee table and took a seat in the middle of the sofa behind her. The glass of champagne still in her hand. "Especially after I thought I had lost her for good just a few days ago."

"What do you mean?" Mia asked and watched as her grandmother settled back against the cushions and tucked a foot behind her ankle while resting the bottom of her glass down on her thigh.

"Well, we have sort of been in a very low-key relationship for the last few years, and he has asked me once or twice in the last year to marry him. But each time it has been no, I mean I couldn't possibly marry, I had a duty to my country. And to you." Clarisse said somewhat sadly as Joseph placed his drink down on the coffee table and finally sat down on the sofa beside her.

"You mean to tell me that you were already in a relationship?" Mia asked, shocked.

"Yes, we were," Joseph said and nodded as he slipped his arm along the back of the sofa behind Clarisse's shoulders. "It was very hush hush."

"And here I was thinking that the maids knew everything, well they didn't know this," Mia said and moved closer to the sofa as everyone laughed. "Yes, we were all suspicious that there might be something there between you, because of the way you were around each other. How close you were. But none of us knew this."

"Actually, I did." Charlotte smiled as everyone looked at her. "I knew."

"What! You knew, and you didn't tell me?" Mia gasped in surprise as she moved to sit on the arm of the sofa, her feet in the space beside her grandmother. "When did you find out?"

"Mia, you can't ask that," Clarisse exclaimed as her granddaughter looked at her.

"What?" Mia shrugged with a laugh and looked back at Charlotte. "I'm just curious, that's all."

Smiling, Charlotte thought back to the day she caught them together. Not once, but twice. She had walked in on them dancing together after Mia had left when her Princess lesson had finished back in San Francisco almost five years ago. She had gone unnoticed after backing out as quietly as she could, to give them their privacy as they danced. But later that evening, thinking that the Queen had retired to her suite for the evening, she had walked into her office to put some papers on her desk ready for the following morning and had discovered them sharing their very first kiss. But there was no backing out quietly that time. The gasp had given her away.

"I was sworn to secrecy, Your Highness," Charlotte said with a smile. "So even if I could tell you, I wouldn't as it's not my place to say."

"Did you have to sign one of them non-disclosure agreement things?" Mia asked.

"No, I didn't have to do that," Charlotte said with a shake of her head and smiled. "Your grandmother and Joseph trusted me enough."

"Oh yes, Charlotte has been our trusted ally during all of this," Clarisse smiled as she looked to her assistant a moment then back to her granddaughter. "Now, will you please get off the arm of my sofa," she exclaimed and playfully swatted her granddaughter's leg as everyone laughed. "What is it with you and my sofa? First you climbed over the back of it to get to the door, instead of standing up and walking around it, like anyone else would do, and now you're sitting on the arm."

"Sorry grandma," Mia laughed while slipping down into the seat next to her grandmother and crossed her legs.

"Hmm," Clarisse replied teasingly and put her hand up, cupping her granddaughter's cheek a brief moment before putting her hand down on her knee.

"I just can't get my head around all of this," Mia said and shook her head in disbelief as her grandmother turned her head to look back at her husband and smiled.

"Neither can we," Joseph said, smiling at Clarisse. "I feel like it's all just one big dream and that we are going to wake up at any minute."

"Me too," Clarisse said as she studied his face.

"But it's not, it's all very much real," Mia smiled at them. "You are officially married now. No more keeping it a secret and hiding your true feelings for one another."

"Thank god," Joseph said and leant closer to Clarisse, kissing her on the lips as everyone watched, before sitting back how he was and smiling.

"Are you going to be changing your last name to grandpa's now grandma?" Mia asked.

"I will be changing it, of course," Clarisse said. "Renaldi is part of my past, and I want to move on from that now you're taking over."

"Touché," Mia nodded and averted her gaze to her uncle as he looked across the room to the balcony doors.

As hard as it was for him to hear his mother say that, he knew and very much understood his parent's relationship was that of duty. He knew that they never really loved one another and never had that of a loving relationship married couples have. He remembered several times in his teenage years he caught his father heading to his mother's suite. He knew what went on behind that closed door. And he hated that he would use her for his own selfish needs like that.

Although he was glad they had eventually become friends and were close in the last ten years of his father's life, he had often wished that his mother, who had given her whole life to his father, to stand beside him as his wife, his Queen, had happiness. Had someone to love her the way she deserved.

"What even is your last name, Joe?" Lilly asked suddenly as everyone, including Pierre, looked at her. "I've known you for the last, what, four years? And I still don't know what your last name is."

Laughing, Joseph glanced at Clarisse and Mia sitting on the sofa next to him before looking back at Lilly. "It's Elizondo."

"Oh, Spanish," Lilly smiled and looked to Clarisse. "So your married name will be Clarisse Elizondo?"

"Oh I love that, it goes so perfectly," Mia smiled.

"We think so too," Joseph smiled and looked back to Clarisse while taking her hand in his and bringing it up to his mouth. "Mrs Clarisse Elizondo," he teased, knowing how it made her feel, before kissing the back of her hand and suppressing a laugh when he felt her shiver and bite her bottom lip in response. Just like she had done earlier on when he said her name when they were out at the pavilion.

"Are you from Spain originally?" Lilly asked as Joseph looked back at her.

"No, I was born in America, but my parents, and their parents, come from Puerto Rico," Joseph smiled. "My two sisters live there now with their families actually."

"Oh, nice," Lilly nodded when a familiar song began to play.

"The twist," both Mia and Lilly exclaimed as they got to their feet, to go and dance.

"Oh, the twist. I love this song," Clarisse exclaimed as she got to her feet too and turned to her husband sitting on the sofa beside her. "You coming?"

"No, you go," Joseph smiled and watched her follow her granddaughter.

"You sure grandma?" Mia asked as she turned to her. "It's a lively song, you might...hurt yourself."

"Yes, you cheeky thing. Now come on," Clarisse said, gesturing to the space in her suite that they were using as a dance floor. "I can twist with the best of them."

"Oh, I don't doubt that," Mia laughed.

Smiling, Joseph, Pierre, Nick and Charlotte all looked over at them, watching as they danced, and laughed, together to the twist. "She's certainly a lot happier now thats for sure," Pierre said after a moment, his eyes still on his mother, niece and her friend, reflecting on his earlier memory.

Averting his gaze to Pierre, Joseph nodded. "Yes she is," he said and finally looked back to them all dancing together.

Thoughts? Please do let me know :) many thanks.