Forever and Always

Breakdown

Charles woke up the next day to the bright morning light shining down onto his face. The usual comfort of his bed had been replaced with something less comfortable but still doable. It took a moment before he realised that he lay on the couch in his living room. And then he realised why.

He shuffled over to his bedroom door, making his footsteps extra light in case he woke her. Then, he lightly knocked on the door.
"Emi? Are you awake?", he whispered, opening the door ever so slightly.
"Yea", she replied a moment later.
"Can I come in?", Charles asked again, still whispering. There was a moments pause before she responded.
"Of course you can", she replied again, and Charles slowly pushed open the door to see her cuddled up into his pillows. The sight made his insides squeeze. Her long blonde hair pooled around her messily, while the bed covers were pulled up to her chin.

"Goodmorning", she said as he began to walk in, shutting the door behind him. Her voice was sleepy, as if she had just woke up, but he found it adorable.
"Goodmorning", he replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. Emilia moved over a bit, patting the bed beside her in a gesture to tell him to come closer. He did so until he sat right next to her.
"Did you like my bed?", he asked, looking down at her.
"I want it", she laughed, sinking into the fortress of pillows behind her. Charles laughed as she did so, taking in her goofy early-morning mood.
"Hmm. I don't know if I can do that. This bed is my favourite. But, I do think I can get you some food. I was thinking we go out for breakfast?", he suggested, earning a pouty face from Emilia that quickly turned to laughs again.
"I'd love that", she whispered, voice husky as she tossed the covers to one side and got out of bed. Charles watched as she went over to his walk-in-robe, retrieving with some of her clothes and went into the ensuite. He'd let her have some wardrobe space and had cleared some space for her the previous day.

"Give me 20 minutes, Charles!", she called out.
"I'll be waiting on the couch", he called back, exiting his bedroom and leaving Emilia to have a shower.

20 minutes later, Emi came out of the room fully ready. Charles felt butterflies swarm through him at the sight of her. She wore a casual outfit - a snug fitting purplish grey crop tee, white lounge shorts, and white Jordan 1s, with golden jewellery - but she looked beautiful. Her blonde hair was swept back into a ponytail that cascaded down her back, and she wore little make-up - mainly mascara and tinted moisturiser.

"You look nice", Charles complimented her, and her face slightly flushed at his words.
"Thank you. So do you", she replied, gathering her things in her small black handbag and slinging it over her shoulder.

Charles grabbed the keys from the kitchen counter, and soon they were headed out of the apartment and in the elevator to the parking garage. They got to Charles' Ferrari, him opening the door for Emi just like he always did, and then got in.
The low rumble of the car sounded from underneath them, and as Charles started to drive out of the parking garage, Emi asked a question.
"Where exactly are we going, Charles?", she asked with a hint of curiousness  in her voice.
"You'll have to see", Charles teased, laughing at her eyeroll she gave him.

They arrived soon at a small little cafe close to Monaco's harbour. It was a small tucked-in side building, but when they entered, the busy atmosphere from outside disappeared and was replaced with calm and happy surroundings.
"This is nice", Emi leaned over and whispered in his ear.
"That's why I chose it", he laughed. Emilia rolled her eyes at the obviousness of the answer and Charles laughed, as they both stepped towards the counter.

"Bonjour", the lady behind the counter said.
"Bonjour, mademoiselle. Puis-je avoir un café et un croissant s'il vous plaît ?", Hello, miss. Could I please have a coffee and a croissant, Charles asked with a charming smile. The lady nodded, tapping away at the counter in front of her, then looked toward Emi.
"What do you want Em?", Charles nudged her and asked.
"Bonjour. Pourrais-je avoir un chocolat chaud et un de vos muffins aux pépites de chocolat?", Goodmorning. Could I please have a hot chocolate and one of your chocolate-chip muffins?, Emi asked with a smile on her face. It surprised both of them to how fluent Emilia still was in French, but Charles had no don't in his mind that she was capable of anything, let alone remembering a language she used to speak.