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Xoxo

Maria

C/J

True to his word, less than an hour later, Joseph knocked on Clarisse's office door and entered. Clarisse was sitting at her desk signing documents, but when she saw him enter, she put down her pen and took off her glasses. Still without saying a word, Joseph approached the desk, put down the letter and turned to leave.

"Joseph, you can't resign. You can't do this to me." Joseph stopped, his back facing her. "Tell me why, please."

Without changing his position, Joseph responded in such a cold tone that, if Clarisse had had her eyes closed, she would have doubted that he had spoken the words...

"There is nothing to explain, Your Majesty !"

Clarisse got up and approached him but stopped two feet away.

"Of course there are things to explain. Many things even. We have been together for over thirty years, Joseph!"

"Forgive me if I correct you, Your Majesty . I have been your employee for over thirty years!" Clarisse closed her eyes. His words felt like a dagger stuck in her chest. Afraid that she wouldn't be able to contain her tears, Clarisse returned to the desk and sat down. Joseph didn't move.

"Please forgive me for my mistake. I thought we were FRIENDS more than thirty years but it seems I was wrong." Joseph clenched his fists. He wasn't going to give in. He couldn't give in. Mabrey living in the same house as Clarisse? No way ! No way at all ! "However, even if I was a bad boss, I want to believe that I deserve an explanation!"

Joseph turned, walked to the desk and punched the table, making Clarisse wince.

"I do not accept this charade! I already told you that I don't accept Mabrey living under the same roof as you."

"I can take no other position, Joseph. Why don't you understand? How can I risk Pamela carrying out the threat she made to me?"

"And why don't you accept that people can change?"

"You don't know them, Joseph. You don't know any of them. Pamela doesn't change. She adapts to get where she wants. She has a thirst for power perhaps even greater than Mabrey. I know her."

"Do you know her? She's been asking you for an opportunity to get closer to you for months. An opportunity! And you never gave it to her!"

"And I'm glad I didn't give her that opportunity. Can't you see that they are manipulating you?"

"No one is manipulating me!"

"You are really naive, Joseph."

"I am not. But it's not them we're talking about, it's Mabrey. I don't stay under the same roof as him! If you want me to stay, he won't come in here! The choice is yours!"

"Stop it, Joseph. Don't put me in this position. What do you want me to do?" Clarisse stood up and stood in front of him. "They thought about everything, carefully. Pamela and Frederica's trip to San Francisco was more than planned. It wasn't to meet Amelia . It was to simulate these attacks and for the newspapers to publicize that there are people against a half-American heiress. Why can't you see that? I need time to think of a solution to this problem. I need time for the people of Genovia to get to know what an extraordinary young woman Amelia is. How can I do this in two days? Do you think, for even a second, that I want Mabrey living in the Palace?" Joseph looked at her in silence. "If you tell me a solution, I will send Pamela out of the Palace today. But without a solution, I can't do it. And you know perfectly well that Mabrey and his cronies have been trying to remove me from the throne ever since Rupert fell ill. Tell me what you want me to do?"

"Don't let Mabrey come to the Palace!"

Clarisse was beginning to get exasperated with Joseph's stubbornness.

"I can't, Joseph! Understand this, please!"

"So, I have nothing more to say. Your Majesty …" Joseph bowed and left, leaving Clarisse unable to hold back her tears. For the first time in her life, Clarisse thought of a name for the word hate… Pamela! Clarisse took Joseph's resignation letter and placed it in a drawer without opening it. Maybe the next day Joseph would have calmed down and maybe it would be possible for them to have a conversation. Calmly, they would find a solution for Mabrey. But Clarisse decided to throw caution to the wind and, at the end of the night, go to Joseph's suite. She wouldn't wait for tomorrow. She had to make him understand. Furthermore, Clarisse couldn't imagine life without Joseph. He owned the other half of her soul. Clarisse looked at the clock… almost five in the afternoon. Four more hours of work and she was going to have a talk with Joseph. How was it possible that he couldn't see that he was being manipulated?

For the rest of the day, Charlotte tiptoed around Clarisse, doing her best not to disturb her and trying to get work done as quickly as possible so that Clarisse could rest and, perhaps, talk to Joseph. Charlotte didn't believe he could abandon the Queen but she knew his threat had left Clarisse torn apart. Almost at the end of the day, Charlotte took to Clarisse the last revision of a treaty, to be signed, when someone knocked on the office door. Clarisse's heart was beating so hard that she was afraid they could see it through the fabric of her blouse.

"Come in !" Clarisse said with a smile.

Scott entered and bowed.

"Do you want to speak to me, Your Majesty ?"

Clarisse and Charlotte looked at each other in surprise.

"I don't understand, Scott."

" I'm sorry Your Majesty , but Joseph called me and told me that Your Majesty needed to speak to me urgently…"

The pounding of her heart gave way to a tightness in Clarisse's chest and throat, which prevented her from speaking. He had abandoned her! He was gone! Charlotte sat in one of the chairs with tears in her eyes. Joseph made good on his threat, she thought. Clarisse took a deep breath.

"Please Scott, would you be so kind as to go to Joseph's suite and come back here?"

"Of course , Your Majesty. But what do you want me to tell him?"

"I don't want you to say anything, Scott. Go there, open the door and come back. I just ask that you don't say a word to anyone. But to no one at all."

Scott bowed and left. During the minutes that the young second in command took to return, none of the women said a word. Scott returned, knocked on the door and entered. He looked at Clarisse and lowered his eyes.

" Your Majesty ... I don't know what's going on and I'm sure that something very serious and extremely urgent has probably happened but... Well , I don't know how to explain it but... It seems that Sir Joseph has left the Palace..."

Clarisse tried with all her strength to control herself, but in vain. A treacherous tear ran down her face. Charlotte covered her face with her hands and Scott was visibly dismayed.

"Scott, please close the door and sit down. It seems that I have some matters to discuss with you and Charlotte after all."

For almost an hour, Clarisse told everything that had happened in the last six months, except, of course, the part about the involvement between her and Joseph. She even told them about Catherine and Nanny .

"Scott, I would like you to accept the position of my Head of Security . I know there are many things you still haven't mastered, but I trust you completely and I know that if Joseph named you his second in command is because you were ready. Tomorrow at eight o'clock the three of us will meet here to discuss all the details of the day and any other matters. After that, I want you to accompany me as I am going to communicate my conditions to Pamela and, if she does not accept them, I want them out of the Palace immediately. I ask you to inform your men of my decision and that they scrupulously comply with the conditions that I will impose on these ladies and the Viscount. I want them watched 24/7. These two months are going to be a nightmare for everyone. I also want you to close Joseph's suite as it is. Nobody goes inside. I don't want a word to anyone about what I told you. And now you'll forgive me but I need to rest. These last two days have been terrible and tomorrow is no better. Thank you very much for your constant support. Have a good night."

Clarisse got up and left. Seconds later, she heard footsteps behind her and turned around.

"There's no need for you to accompany me, Scott."

"Excuse me Your Majesty. Sir Joseph may not be here temporarily but when he returns and I know he will, he would rip my neck out if he knew I left Your Majesty , unaccompanied." Clarisse looked at him with a sad smile.

"Thanks so much Scott, but I don't believe in any of that."

C/J

Pamela was livid with fury as she listened to Clarisse's conditions. Oh, how she wished her stupid husband had sent the two brats to the orphanage! And if he weren't dead now, she would do it herself. If Clarisse didn't exist, Rupert would have married Frederica and none of this would be happening. Clarisse was humiliating her… Her, Arthur and Frederica. They would be confined to sleeping and eating in the Palace. No maids, no bodyguards, no cars, no visits from friends… Clarisse was even going to move them into the most modest rooms!

"These are my conditions. If you do not accept them, you will have to leave the Palace by the end of the day."

Before Pamela could respond, Frederica spoke first.

"of course we accept, sister. We just want to be close to you. Luxuries are of no importance."

"Please, Frederica. Spare me this false modesty."

"I so wanted you to believe in our intentions, Clarisse."

"In about an hour, two of the maids will come to your rooms to help you with the changes. But just that. Have a good day."

Clarisse was getting ready to leave when Frederica called her.

"Clarisse, where is Joseph?"

"He won't be at the Palace for a while."

"Why? Do you want to keep him away from your sister? I warn you now that you won't make it." Pamela said with a sarcastic smile.

"Stop being ridiculous, Pamela."

Clarisse left, leaving both of them deeply irritated. And Pamela was even angrier when Mabrey told her he wouldn't join her until the next day.

C/J

The next day, Clarisse spent most of it at the office, avoiding crossing paths with any of them at all costs. And while she was immersed in work, she couldn't think about Joseph. How she felt betrayed and unprotected. How had he had the courage to abandon her? Clarisse fully trusted her security team but none of them were Joseph. He made her feel protected, safe. He made sure she could just be Clarisse. And now she had to always be the Queen. She couldn't afford to let herself relax, even for a moment. Joseph was so uncomfortable with Mabrey's arrival... However, he didn't mind leaving her alone... living meters away from the worst man in the world! Oh Joseph… How could you do this to me? The sound of the phone stole Clarisse from her thoughts.

"Yes, Charlotte?"

" Your Majesty , at the North gate, is a man named Sir Wilkes . He says he is Nanny 's husband and asks if he can be received by Your Majesty and when."

"Sir Wilkes ?" Clarisse remained silent for a few seconds. "Very well, then. Send him in , Charlotte."

"Of course , Your Majesty!"

Ten minutes later, Sir Wilkes was sitting across from Clarisse, completely terrified but determined to tell Clarisse the truth.

"Thank you very much for having me, Your Majesty . Actually , I came without my wife's knowledge. We came to London for three weeks and I couldn't help but try to tell you the truth, Your Majesty ." Clarisse nodded but remained silent. "My wife may, in fact, be the mother of both of you. She was a maid and fell in love with her boss's son when she was very young. Too young, if I may say so. She was 14 years old when she became pregnant. George, the man she fell in love with, was much older than her and was married. He promised her that he would get a divorce and that he would marry her and they would live in Canada. Before the babies were born, he took her to Montreal and they lived there until the babies were six months old. George got her a job at a friend's house. One day when Nanny returned home, George and the babies were missing. Waiting for her was a woman, who would be her jailor for the next thirteen years. During that time, my wife was kept at home, chained by her ankles, as if she were an animal. Even today she has marks on her skin, caused by the constant attempt to free herself. This woman, her name was Barb , subjected her to constant physical and mental torture. I cannot imagine the suffering my beloved Nanny was subjected to, on a daily basis. Every day it was repeated to her that if she tried to run away and look for you, one of you would be killed." Clarisse didn't want to believe what she was hearing. Could such an atrocity be true? "After those thirteen years, my wife was so physically and psychologically weakened that they thought she was going to die and admitted her to a tuberculosis sanatorium. She was at death's door three times but the desire to one day be able to see her daughters, even if she couldn't tell them who she was, made her survive. She was hospitalized for four years. And she survived! A few years later, she managed to save money to look for her daughter's father. She just wanted a chance to see her daughters. She managed to find out that he was living in London at the time and went there… But he wasn't there at the time. When his wife found out who she was, not only did she not let her see you, she even told her that the other twin had died. I know that unfortunately Your Majesty can imagine the horror that was…" Clarisse closed her eyes. The horror she felt and feels is even greater. Clarisse will never see Philippe again… "When Nanny told me her tragic story, I knew immediately that Your Majesty was one of the twins. But I never had the courage to tell Nanny . I was just careful to keep her away from anything that had to do with Genovia because I knew that as soon as she saw a photo of Your Majesty …"

"But you were here recently… At His Majesty and at my son's funeral…"

"Yes. That's why Nanny says I lied to her. But I could no longer live with my conscience if I didn't come here and tell you the truth."

Soooooo?

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xoxo

Maria