And that's it. This is the last chapter of this story. I hope you enjoyed. Once again, Thank you so much to everyone who read this adventure of my favorite couple!

C/J

For a few seconds, which seemed like hours, no one could find the voice to say a single word. Ruth, livid with fury, let out a guttural scream and started toward Clarisse when Joseph grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me!" she screamed trying to free herself. "What are you doing here? You lost! He is mine! We are married…"

" Well , technically you're not married yet…" said the priest shyly.

Ruth turned to him. This couldn't be happening. The priest had to finish the ceremony NOW!

"Then end the ceremony now. This is a joke. Nothing that woman can say will stop this wedding. Get this over with! It's an order!"

Joseph was at a loss for what to say or what to do. His eyes didn't leave Clarisse. A feeling of panic immediately came over him. What if Ruth's accomplices are nearby? And what was Clarisse doing there without a single guard? How had she gotten out of the Palace without the guards? Someone was going to get fired! Ruth's movement, trying to free his arm, brought him back to reality.

"Let go of me Joseph. What are you doing here, bitch? Do you think you're going to stop me from marrying him? He is mine! Do you hear? You are pathetic!"

Clarisse took two steps forward but stopped when she felt Queen Sofia's hand touch her arm. Sofia had followed Clarisse but stayed behind one of the pillars.

"Ruth, I cannot allow your hatred for me to destroy someone's life. Joseph, I don't know exactly why you accepted this marriage but I suspect you are being threatened in some way..."

" Cla … Your Majesty , I…"

"Shut up! Assume once and for all that you have never forgotten me!"

"Ruth, this has gone too far. Let's try to speak civilly. Your Majesties , where are your guards? None of you can be unaccompanied…"

Ruth was losing control. Clarisse knew it hadn't been very smart for them to leave the Palace in a staff car, without anyone knowing. At any moment, people could start to enter the Church. And not only she, but also Sofia, could be taking a risk. But for the first time in her life, Clarisse let her heart take over.

"But what does that interest you? You are my husband. My husband!"

"Technically…" Ruth's gaze stopped the priest from continuing the sentence.

"Ruth, please explain to me why you want to marry a man who doesn't love you."

"And how do you know he doesn't love me, dear sister-in-law?"

Clarisse looked at Joseph and smiled.

"Because his heart belongs to someone else!"

Meanwhile, at the Palace…

Two minutes before the start of the wedding broadcast, Elsie innocently contacted the Palace, to find out if they would make any announcements about Joseph's marriage to Princess Ruth, which would be broadcast immediately. Two minutes later, everyone without exception was together wherever there was a television to watch, a wedding that no one believed would happen.

Charlotte and Shades stared at the screen without saying a word.

"I can't believe he's going to say 'I do'… Your Majesty must be devastated!" Charlotte said, unable to contain her tears. Shades was about to respond when the cameras snapped to Clarisse and they both jumped out of their chairs.

"What? Is the Queen there? Alone?"

Shades ran to the security center. Oh my… He was a dead man. Joseph will take care of slowly torturing him if anything happens to the Queen. And even if nothing happens. Just the simple fact that the Queen left the Palace without guards is going to be the hell to deal with.

" Parker , I want all guards available within two minutes. Mark, contact the police. I want the Church surrounded. No one can enter. Not even the police. And I want to know how Her Majesty left the Palace and no one stopped her! Who drove the car?"

"Sir, I was on the phone with the gate guards and the only person who left the Palace was Queen Sofia. She went out the south gate and took the car of one of the laundry maids. I don't know why…" Parker said .

Shades closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The queen must have been hiding in the backseat. Great . Now he had a potential international incident on his hands…

After receiving the call from the Palace, the chief of police ordered all available guards to surround the church with instructions not to let anyone in. And it was just in time. People who followed the wedding on television, when they saw that the Queen was also in the Church, tried to get closer so they could see her up close. In a matter of minutes, a crowd had gathered that the police were having difficulty controlling. Fortunately, a short time later the royal guard arrived. Shades knew perfectly well that if they entered the Church, they could jeopardize the safety of both Queens, but if they didn't, they wouldn't be able to defend them either... If only Joseph were there... Both side entrances gave immediate access to the Church's main nave . and that would cause his men to be immediately discovered. Only the southern entrance remained, which was behind the altar. From there, they could move and position themselves in order to have a perfect viewing angle of everyone present inside the church. Four men would go up to the church towers and down to the stained glass windows so that, if necessary, they could enter through the windows. So far so good.

Joseph tried in vain to figure out a way to get Clarisse out of the Church safely. Ruth was increasingly agitated and out of control. The fact that Joseph wouldn't let go of her arm infuriated her more and more but he wasn't going to risk her trying to do something against Clarisse.

"I don't understand you, Ruth. You always wanted the throne. You always hated me. You never even had a good relationship with Rupert or your nephews. Why this now? This marriage won't give you what you've always wanted…" Clarisse said, moving a little closer to them, despite Sofia's desperate attempt to make Clarisse stay at the back of the Church, as far away from Ruth's madness as possible. .

Ruth stared at Clarisse with a mixture of anger and self-reflection.

"You took everything from me, Clarisse. ALL!" she screamed. "My father loved you more than me. To him, you were the perfect woman, the perfect wife, the perfect mother, the perfect Queen." Clarisse was stunned. She had always had an excellent relationship with her parents-in-law but this… Surely it was another daydream on Ruth's part.

"Please, Ruth. Don't overdo it. Your parents…"

"He told me! Clearly. Without mincing words. That afternoon, I was talking to Rupert . He wasn't in love with you. He was going to get married by imposition of our father. He didn't want to be King. He was going to abdicate in my favor. And because of you, our father didn't leave him. He told me that I didn't have the posture of a Queen. I DIDN'T HAVE THE STANCE OF A QUEEN! For him, the perfect Queen didn't have an ounce of blue blood! She was a commoner. And my mother agreed…" Ruth was in a world of her own. As if she were reliving her father's words. "And I had to live every day with your constant presence. With the screams of the crowds whenever you appeared, with the admiring smiles of all our friends, with the deep admiration that all the palace employees have for you… Until the day Philippe was born…" Clarisse closed her eyes. That conversation she remembered well. Clarisse was sitting up in the bed, with Philippe sleeping peacefully in her arms. Rupert was sitting beside her, rapt around her little finguer. Ruth entered the room unannounced and stared at the three of them. Afterwards, she let out a high-pitched laugh, startling the three of them.

"Please, Ruth. The baby was sleeping. I want to ask you not to enter again without permission, in the future." Said Rupert annoyed.

"Cease your pretense, little brother. There are no photographers around. No need to pretend you're the perfect family. And you have to start dieting, dear sister-in-law. You are too fat."

"Enough, Ruth. That's a lie. Clarisse is in perfect physical shape for someone who has just given birth."

" Rupert , let her…"

"No, Clarisse. That's enough. It's time for my sister to realize, once and for all, that she doesn't belong here. This is our home!"

"This is also MY home!"

"No, it's not. You're only living here because I never had the courage to ask you to follow your path. You have made my wife's life a living hell but I will not allow you to continue to do so. This is our official residence and you are no longer welcome here!"

"Are you choosing a commoner who shouldn't even be your wife, over your own sister? Someone who was born to be Queen?"

"For the last seven years, you've been doing the impossible to get Clarisse and me to divorce. Thinking that I would abdicate and you would have the throne... But that won't happen. We are not in love with each other but we love each other immensely. We are best friends. And Dad is right… Clarisse is the perfect Queen!"

Ruth was livid with fury.

"One day, you will regret those words. And as for you, dear sister-in-law, I swear that one day I will make you pay!"

Ruth was pale when she finished telling what had happened so many years ago.

"Since that day, I have lived outside my country. Because of you, Clarisse."

"Ruth, you are not well. Please, you need help. Forget the past. It was your father's decision." Clarisse felt a knot in her stomach. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Ruth. A lifetime trapped in the past, where the one thing Ruth wanted more than anything in life was the throne of Genovia .

"My life was hell because of you, Clarisse. You took the throne from me, I take away the only man you ever loved." Ruth's voice was calm, smooth. As if this situation were the most normal thing in the world. "And, who knows, if I don't get the man and the crown?" Then she turned to Joseph and smiled. "Oh Joseph, I will still make you very happy!" Ruth walked over to him, laid her head on his chest and hugged him around the waist, and before he could process what was going on, Ruth took out the pistol he always had tucked into his pants belt, walked away from him. She unlocked the gun and pointed it at Clarisse. The sound of the shot echoed in everyone's ears before anyone could process what was happening. Panicked, Joseph ran to Clarisse. Two seconds was all he needed to bridge the distance that separated him from the only reason he existed. As soon as she felt his arms around her, Clarisse began to sob uncontrollably.

"Clarisse, please talk to me. Are you hurt?" He tried in vain to push her away. He needed to see if she'd been hit. Clarisse just shook her head. The noise around him made him look away from Clarisse. The Church was filled with Palace guards. Sofia was leaning against one of the pillars, trying desperately to calm her nerves. Finally, Joseph turned to the altar. Ruth lay on the floor. As soon as Ruth turned the gun on Clarisse, Shades who was hiding inside the Church, fired, fatally hitting her in the heart.

After hearing the shot, Juan Carlos, who was outside the Church and was trying in vain to convince the guards to let him in, took advantage of a momentary distraction and entered. He immediately saw Sofia and, without hesitation, pulled her to him and kissed her. But this time Sofia returned the kiss.

" God damn you , woman. I thought I might have lost you. Never do this to me again!" Sofia smiled and hugged him.

Shades walked over to Joseph and Clarisse.

" Your Majesty , Sir... I think it's best to return to the Palace at once. The crowd that has gathered in front of the church is starting to be difficult to control. Everyone wants to know if Her Majesty is fine…"

"But how do they know the Queen is here?" Joseph asked incredulously.

"Well Sir… The entire ceremony has been broadcast on National television."

Clarisse and Joseph looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Clarisse had left the Palace before they started broadcasting and she didn't know that the whole country had learned not only about Ruth's madness, but also about the love she had for Joseph. And, for the first time in her life, she feared her subjects' reaction. Joseph felt uncomfortable. He feared Clarisse would be embarrassed that the entire country would know how she felt about a… commoner. Sofia perfectly understood the feelings that tormented Joseph and Clarisse and approached them.

"Clarisse and Joseph, your hell is over. Your people know and love you, Clarisse. Now, you're going to lift your heads and walk out that door. Perhaps it is not the time to share with the world the wonderful love that unites you, but there is little time left for Amélia to assume the throne. After that, you will be able to openly live one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever witnessed."

Clarisse hugged her silently. Her voice failed her. Then she looked at Joseph and smiled, silently sharing the love that the presence of guards, police and television cameras prevented her from expressing verbally.

Shades was absolutely terrified. Thousands of people were already on the street, completely filling the central square and the streets leading to it. The guards, heavily armed, formed a cordon that prevented photographers and other Genovians from going up the stairs leading to the church. When he received a signal that the cars were already positioned at the bottom of the stairs, he signaled to Joseph. He walked over to Clarisse, put a hand on the small of her back, and smiled.

"Are you ready, Your Majesty ?"

Clarisse smiled, despite her fear of her people's reaction.

"As ready as I can be. God help me."

Shades opened the door, letting Clarisse and Joseph out. For the first second there was total silence. Clarisse almost felt faint. Then the crowd erupted into absolute delirium. Everyone called out to her. The happiness on the crowd's faces nearly brought Clarisse to tears. Yes, they loved her. They knew her. And they didn't judge her! Clarisse looked at Joseph and when she looked back at the people she loved so much, they all bowed. To the entire population of Genovia she was the perfect Queen. And now, more than ever!

Joseph got into the car, sat next to Clarisse and immediately hugged her.

"How did you know I didn't…"

Clarisse cut him off by putting a finger to his lips.

"Joseph, I love you! And I know that you love me! And I know that you were, are and will always be… MINE!"

Sooooooo ?

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xoxo

Maria