A/N: Hey everyone, I just wanna say a quick thank you to everyone for reading the latest chapter on this story and an even bigger thank you to my amazing regular reviewers bee-327 and Chelsietx for taking the time to leave such lovely reviews for me on every chapter that I post. I really appreciate them and the continued support, as always! Thank you!
Here's the next chapter for you….
Entering the drawing room a few moments later, Joseph placed his hand lovingly on the bottom of Clarisse's back and watched her turn her head to look at him with a smile as they made their way over to the settee. "Oh, it sure feels good to be home." Clarisse said as she sat down on one end of the settee.
"I bet," Mia smiled as she watched Joseph set her grandmothers handbag down next to the end of the settee before moving to sit down next to her. "Especially after the hellish ten days you've had."
"You can say that again," Clarisse nodded as she rested her arm on the armrest next to her and looked up at Pierre as he walked over to them with two cups of tea. One for her, the other for Joseph. "Oh, lovely. Thank you, darling."
"You're welcome," he smiled as she reached out for her cup and saucer from him.
"Don't get me wrong, the place we stayed was lovely and very comfortable, and we hope to stay there again one day," Clarisse said and turned her head to look at her husband sitting beside her as he nodded and took his cup of tea from Pierre, and thanking him. "But nothing beats the comforts of home."
"I think that's what you were missing, wasn't it?" Joseph said as he turned his head to Clarisse and watched as she sipped her tea before nodding. "Especially when you ended up falling ill, you just wanted to be home. In the place you know."
"I did, yes. It was the sun too, it was nice but it got too hot for me," Clarisse nodded as she leant forward and set her cup and saucer down on the coffee table. "As Joseph says, I'm not used to it."
"Well it looks like you got a nice tan from it," Mia smiled as her grandmother leant back against the cushions behind her and lifted one arm to look at her now fading tan. "Come to think of it, in the few years I have known you, I don't think I have ever seen you with a tan."
"That's because I haven't had one until now, well apart from going a little red on my shoulders, but that's about it," Clarisse said as she looked over at her granddaughter sitting in one of the armchairs.
"What, ever?" Mia asked in surprise, and her grandmother shook her head.
"Never," Clarisse replied. "I never really had a chance to sit out in the sun for too long before. But lesson learned."
"At least we know for next time," Joseph said and leant forward, setting his cup and saucer down on the coffee table.
"Yes we do," Clarisse nodded as Joseph sat back and put his arm along the back of the settee behind her shoulders while leaning closer to her and whispering something in her ear.
Smiling, Mia watched as her grandmother smiled at him while placing her hand down on top of his thigh. "So, what did you do while you were away? Did you meet with grandpa's family?"
"We did, yes," Clarisse smiled as she looked back over at her granddaughter. "We went over to one of his sisters' homes for dinner one of the nights, met everyone there, and then we, well, at least the adults, went to Diego's bar."
"Oh yay, you got to go to a bar," Mia smiled, and both Clarisse and Joseph nodded. "What did you think? Did you like it?"
"Oh I did. Yes, it was a lot of fun. But I will tell you more about that later," Clarisse smiled and looked towards Pierre, who was now sitting in the other armchair next to Mia with his cup of tea in his hands. "We also went out on Diego's yacht on one of the other days, and I finally got to go snorkelling."
"Oh yes, finally," Pierre said, and everyone chuckled. "Isn't it the best experience?"
"Oh it was beautiful, yes," Clarisse nodded with a smile. "Diego even managed to get a brilliant photo of us swimming alongside a sea turtle that he blew up and framed for us. It's somewhere in our luggage. I'll find it out and show you later."
"Oh grandma, I'm so jealous," Mia said as everyone looked at her. "I have always wanted to go snorkelling."
"If we can work it out and we can get you there like we talked about before, even if it's for a few days, I will make the arrangements with Diego so that he can take you out on his yacht. He knows the best places to go," Joseph smiled as everyone looked at him.
"Aww really?" Mia asked.
"Absolutely," Joseph nodded. "He wouldn't mind, and I know that they would all love to meet you. Especially the young ones."
"I'd love to meet them too," Mia smiled and nodded. "When I spoke to Valentina about the arrangements for your honeymoon, she was so lovely and kind. Told me I was welcome anytime."
"Of course, you're family now," Joseph smiled.
"Maybe we can all go because I wouldn't mind going snorkelling again," Clarisse smiled as she looked at her husband. Watched as he turned his head to look at her.
"Oh yes, that will be amazing if we all went together, grandma," Mia smiled as Clarisse looked over at her. "A family vacay."
"You can count me in," Pierre nodded with a smile.
"I'm definitely in, and Lilly will be too," Mia smiled over at Joseph. "Thanks grandpa, you're the best."
"No need to thank me," Joseph smiled and looked over at her. "Talking of Lilly though, where is she? I'm surprised she isn't in here with us, too."
"She had to return to university," Mia said, pulling a sad face. "She left a few days ago."
"Oh, that's a shame," Clarisse said as she leant forward for her cup of tea from the coffee table.
"Yeah, but she will be visiting again as soon as she can," Mia said, nodding slightly as she lifted her legs up and crossed them in front of her on the seat.
"And what about Nicholas?" Joseph asked as Clarisse took a sip or two of her tea. "Where is he?"
"He's gone to visit an old friend of his for brunch," Mia smiled. "Anyway, tell us what else you got up to?"
"Oh well, we did lots, we took walks along the beach, that was lovely. Especially the sunset walks," Clarisse smiled, remembering all that they had done while they were away on honeymoon. Before she fell ill and had to spend the last ten days on bed rest. "We spent a day doing something for your grandpa, so spent it at the golf range and a day doing something for me, so we went shopping."
"Nice," Mia nodded with a smile. "I knew you were going to do a bit of shopping at some point while you were away."
"Of course," Clarisse smiled, lifting her cup up to her mouth as everyone laughed.
"What else did you do?" Pierre asked as his mother drank a little more of her tea.
"We went for a scenic horseback ride," Joseph smiled as everyone looked at him.
"Oh yes, that was nice," Clarisse nodded as she looked across the drawing room. Contemplating a moment before looking back at her granddaughter. "We spent a lot of time relaxing by the pool too."
"We also went out for dinner a couple nights," Joseph smiled over at Mia before turning his head to look back at Clarisse sitting beside him. "That was nice being able to actually sit in the restaurant together like normal people."
"Yes it was, I really enjoyed those nights out together," Clarisse nodded and briefly closed her eyes as Joseph leant closer to her, to kiss her cheek before they looked back at each other.
"Me too," he smiled and nodded ever so slightly.
"Well it sounds like you both had a well-deserved honeymoon," Mia smiled as she watched her grandparents look over at her. "I hope that you have taken lots of pictures to show us."
"Of course we have," Clarisse smiled and turned to look back at her husband sitting beside her. "Well your grandpa has at least. He was in charge of the camera most of the time."
"Good, I can't wait to see them," Mia smiled.
"I need to go through them all first and sort them out as there are some you can't see," Joseph said with a mischievous smirk and looked at Clarisse beside him as she slowly shook her head with a smile on her face.
"Oh grandpa, no. Please tell me that you haven't been taking naughty pictures of grandma, have you?" Mia laughed as she raised her hands up and framed her face in them. Pretending to be shocked.
"Who said that it was me?" Joseph exclaimed with a laugh, and Clarisse gasped in surprise as she turned to him on the settee. "Honestly there isn't any bad pictures, I just need to check them. Especially the ones from when we were at the bar and out on the yacht."
"Ooh, I get it. You don't want us to see the 'drunk' pictures." Mia said with a laugh.
"Yes, exactly that," Joseph smiled mischievously over at her then at Clarisse, who was sat yawning beside him. "I think you're ready for bed, aren't you?"
"I think I am, yes," Clarisse nodded as she looked towards her granddaughter and son. "I'm really sorry but I am going to have to leave it there, my bed is calling."
"Oh that's okay, grandma, you don't need to apologise. We understand that you need to rest," Mia nodded as she checked the time on her watch before looking back up at them, watching as Joseph took the cup and saucer from her grandmother and set it on the coffee table. "Besides, I gotta get back to work anyway."
"We can sit down and talk some more about it later, or tomorrow," Clarisse said as she got to her feet and picked up her handbag from where Joseph had set it down earlier, by the side of the settee, and looped the strap over her arm and shoulder. "Whenever you have some free time."
"Definitely, I can't wait," Mia smiled as she got to her feet and moved around the coffee table to stand in front of her grandmother, giving her a tight hug as her grandmother wrapped one arm around her shoulders. "I made sure that the maids put nice, fresh sheets on the bed for you this morning. So your bed should be nice and cosy." She whispered.
"Oh lovely, thank you, sweetheart," Clarisse smiled and kissed her granddaughter's cheek before pulling back and looking over at her son. "I'll see you both later this evening, okay?"
"Of course," Pierre smiled as Clarisse gave him a little wave as she and Joseph made their way out of the drawing room together.
"What are you going to do, uncle Pierre?" Mia asked as she turned to her uncle and loosely folded her arms.
"I might go for a walk, or go and read in the library for a bit," Pierre smiled and got to his feet.
"I would join you, but you know, duty calls," Mia said with a laugh as she walked over to him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before making her way over to the door. "So, I'll see you later."
"Yes, you will," Pierre laughed and watched as his niece left the room before looking down at the floor a moment. Trying to decide what he wanted to do. Go for a walk or to the library to read?
Moments later, Clarisse and Joseph were walking through their suite door. "Oh good, they have already brought up our luggage." Clarisse said as she moved to stand behind the settee and set her handbag down on it before turning to her husband, closing the door behind them. "I'm not unpacking now, though. That can wait."
"Are you going to rest?" Joseph asked as he moved to stand in front of her while slipping his hands into his pants pockets.
"I am, yes, but first, since the bed has been freshly made this morning, and since I have been travelling all night, I am going to go and have a quick shower before going to bed." Clarisse said as she reached her hands out onto his sides.
"I think I'll give Lawrence a call while you are in the shower, see if there's any updates," Joseph said, tilting his head to one side and looking into her eyes. "Then I'll have a shower after you."
"Okay," Clarisse said as she stepped closer to him, so their bodies were now touching, and wrapped her arms around his waist, grasping hold of her wrist with one hand behind his back. "Did you want me to stay with you while you call him?"
"Oh goodness no," he said with a shake of his head and looked across their suite for the briefest of moments before looking back into her eyes and raising his hands up to cup her face in them. "You need to get to bed and rest."
"I don't mind staying up," Clarisse said as she studied his face.
"Well I do," he said softly and kissed her a couple of times before looking back into her eyes. "Now go and have that shower before you literally fall asleep standing up."
Knowing he wasn't going to back down, Clarisse nodded and reached up to give him one more quick kiss. "Okay, I won't be long." She said, and they stepped apart.
"Okay," he nodded, watched her make her way over to the bedroom door and disappearing through it before pulling his mobile from his pants pockets.
After having a shower and blow drying her hair, Clarisse got ready for bed and slipped on her robe, leaving it open as she made her way back into the suite to check on her husband. "What's wrong?" She asked upon finding him sitting at the table with his head in his hands and walked over to him.
"Lawrence heard back from Esmée's lawyer this morning," Joseph said as he sat up and turned his head to the side when he felt Clarisse's hands on his shoulders.
"Right," she said softly and slowly snaked her arms around his shoulders while resting her jaw against the side of his head. "And what did they say?"
"That Esmée has refused the paternity test I requested the other day," he said sadly and put his hands up onto her hands resting against his chest as she stood back upright behind him.
"Why?" She asked as he kept hold of one hand and gently pulled her around to stand next to him on the seat instead of behind him. "What reason have they given for the refusal?"
Reaching his hands out onto her hips, he gently pulled her down to sit in his lap before wrapping his arms around her waist, to hold her close as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder, her hand going to the nape of his neck. "It doesn't matter." He said with a small shake of his head.
"Yes it does," Clarisse said and smoothed her other hand up and down the top of his arm as he buried his face under her chin. "Joseph, tell me. What reason did they give?"
"You need to get to bed," Joseph said and lifted his head to look up into her eyes. "This can wait."
"It most certainly will not wait," Clarisse said and shook her head before studying his face. "Now tell me, what reason did they give?"
"You smell nice," Joseph said as he buried his face in her neck a brief moment.
"Joseph," Clarisse said sternly and watched him lift his head to look back up at her with a deep sigh. "What did they say?"
"They told me that Esmée has refused for the test to go ahead, until after she has met with you," he said quietly and looked down as he moved one hand from around her waist, to take hold of her hand in it.
"Right," she said calmly and glanced across the suite before looking back at him. "And what did you tell Lawrence to reply back?"
"That she can forget about that request because you won't ever agree to meet with her, not after everything that's happened, and that she should have known that wasn't going to happen," Joseph said, his head still down. "I just wanted answers to know for sure if her daughter is mine or not. I can't believe she's being this difficult."
Watching her husband, Clarisse's heart broke. Ever since they had found out that her sister had had a child and that Joseph was possibly the father, he hadn't been himself. Sure, Clarisse falling sick and being rushed to hospital on the same day hadn't helped, but he just wanted to know for sure if she was actually his. They both did. Nodding slightly to herself, Clarisse lifted her hand from his grasp and raised it up under his chin to lift his face to look up at her. "Is Lawrence calling back later?" She asked.
"Yes later this afternoon, or tomorrow morning. Depending on when he hears back from Esmée's lawyer," Joseph replied as Clarisse now cupped his face with her hand and smoothed her thumb back and forth over his cheek.
"Okay, well when he does call back I want you to tell him to let them know that I will meet with her, if that's what she wants," Clarisse said and Joseph shook his head.
"No," he said, still shaking his head. "No, Clarisse. I won't let you do that."
"Joseph, listen to me okay," she said as she removed her arm from around his shoulder, to cup his face now in both of her hands. "If I meeting with her will get the paternity test, then so be it."
"But,"
"No buts," Clarisse said, interrupting him and shaking her head. "We need to know for sure if what she is saying is true or not, and the quicker we get this done, the better."
"I can't ask you to do that for me, though, Clarisse. It's not right or fair," he said as they looked into each others eyes a moment.
"You're not asking me though, are you?" Clarisse replied and studied his face. "You know that I would do anything for you, just like I know that you would do the same for me if it was the other way around."
"Thank you," he whispered and watched as she leant in, pressing her lips to his in a soft kiss.
Breaking the kiss a moment later, Clarisse lowered her arms down. Her hands now taking hold of his right hand resting in her lap and studied his face a moment. He had never, in the whole time she had known him, looked so worn. She could see that he was broken and just not himself. And it pained her to see him this way. "You're tired," she said softly, getting to her feet and turning to him still sitting on the seat while still holding onto his hand, "you should go jump in the shower and come and get some rest with me."
Looking down at their hands, he watched as she gently pulled on his arm to get him to stand up before looking back up at her. "I am tired, yes," he admitted and got to his feet. "It's been a long month, what with the wedding and our honeymoon, they were the best weeks of my life, but then you fell ill and was rushed to hospital, and all this with Esmée on top. It hasn't helped at all. It's been a constant worry."
"I know it has," she nodded as she stepped closer to him, her hands still holding onto his hand between them. "But you don't have to worry about me anymore. I'll be fine soon, and we will get that paternity test before you know it. You just need to promise me that you will now start taking it easy. And not stress so much."
"You know I can't promise that," Joseph said as she reached one hand up to cup his face. "I'm always going to worry when it comes to you, and all this with Esmée now too, but I will certainly try my best."
"Good," she said and reached up to kiss him before turning to lead him across the suite and into their bedroom while still holding his right hand in hers.