Grayson Manor, Hamptons
Two days later
Tired and exhausted, Daniel, Charlotte and Emily with Julian in her arms entered Grayson Manor and put their bags down. After they had taken care of everything in Cleveland, they had flown back home, where they first had picked up Julian from Jack and Ava and then had driven on to the Manor. It was ghostly quiet in the house, reminding them that one of the home owners was dead and the other one vanished. Daniel put his arm around Charlotte's shoulder and squeezed it as he saw her lower lip began to tremble. Only now, that they were back home, they realized that their father would never return to this place. And there was still no trace of Victoria. Emily rather would have spent the night at the beach house, but she didn't want to leave the two mourners alone. So she had spontaneously decided to stay at the Manor as well. For Julian it made no difference, since he had a nursery here, as well as over there. But Charlotte wanted to be in her familiar surroundings, which Emily could understand, after everything she had been through. She looked up as someone came down the stairs, and for a moment she thought it was Victoria. But it was only the house maid.
"Welcome home, Mr. Grayson, ... Charlotte," she greeted, frowning questioningly as she noticed Emily.
"My wife will stay overnight," Daniel explained quickly, following the gaze of his employees. "Please prepare one of the guest rooms."
Emily looked at him in surprise. After they already had slept together in the beach house, she had expected to sleep with him in his bed. But he probably didn't want the staff to spread gossip. What they probably had done anyway after being separated from him for almost two months. She turned to Daniel. "I'll bring Julian to his room, so that he can go to sleep again."
He nodded. "I'll be right there. Charlotte, would you like to go to your room, too?"
She turned to the stairs. "Yes, I'm tired. I'm going to bed now." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and went slowly upstairs.
"On behalf of all the staff members, I would like to offer my sincerest condolences to you," the maid said sympathetically.
"Thank you, Rosa." Daniel cleared his throat. "Is there any news about my mother's whereabouts?"
She shook her head regretfully. "Unfortunately, no. But the police will take care of it now that you're back. Am I right Mr. Grayson?"
Daniel nodded wearily and wiped his eyes. "Yes, it's more than 48 hours since she disappeared. I will report her as missing."
"There were a lot of letters and mail incoming during your absence," she said. "Some for your father as well." She cleared her throat. "I put everything into your father's study. I hope it's okay?"
"Yes, of course, Rosa. I'll take care of the mail tomorrow. Now I'm going to sleep. It's quite late." He forced a smile. "Good night! If you have prepared the guest room upstairs, you can also go home then."
"Thank you, Mr. Grayson." She curtsied slightly. "Good night to you, too!" She hurriedly ran up the stairs.
Daniel wondered whether he should take a look at the mail first, but decided against it. He was just too exhausted to concentrate on business matters regarding Grayson Global. What would happen with the company now that his father was dead? He had enough work as a publisher, as he could also attend to business of Grayson Global. But most certainly his father expected from him to continue the business. He had been glad when he could give up his CEO position years ago. Groaning, he ran a hand through his hair. He didn't know how to cope with all the things which crashed in on him now and forced him to make a decision. Tomorrow he would start, he decided. Now he had to sleep first. Slowly he went upstairs and opened the door to Julian's nursery and looked inside.
"Pssst!" Emily held her finger to her lips as she saw him standing in the door. "He just fell asleep," she whispered.
Daniel nodded and approached her reluctantly. He leaned over the crib and gently stroked the baby's cheek before he straightened himself. "Are you coming?" He whispered to Emily and grabbed her hand.
She nodded and followed him into the bedroom. "I thought you wanted us to sleep separately," she said, sitting down on the bed.
"I just wanted to protect you from the staff's gossiping." He sat down next to her. "I don't want to be alone this night," he confessed in a low voice. "Please, stay with me!"
"Shall I just stay that night?" She looked him deep in the eye.
"No, every night from now on... forever." He gently lifted her chin and kissed her tenderly.
Before she realized what she was doing, she had wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss with passion. She had hoped that the kiss would lead to more, much more, but suddenly he withdrew. "What's wrong?" She asked, slightly out of breath.
"Before I completely lose my mind because I can't think straight in your presence," he began reluctantly. "... I would like to give this to you..." He opened the nightstand drawer and took out the two rings, the engagement and wedding band, and reached for her left hand. "Emily Grayson, I wanna spend the rest of my life with you," he said solemnly. "And I hope you want the same." When she didn't respond and just stared at the rings, he quickly slipped the two rings on her finger and then looked at her expectantly.
It was crazy how often history had repeated itself again, she thought, staring at the rings, which now glinted on her hand again. She was so happy at that moment that he hadn't done what she had asked him to do in her farewell letter; to throw them into the ocean. She raised her head to him and looked him deeply in the eye. "I realized in Paris that I can't imagine my world without you," she confessed in a shaky voice, as she noticed tears coming into her eyes. "And I promise you that I will never slip these rings off from now on!"
"Not even when you do the dishes?" He said, smiling, pulling her closer again.
"What do we have a dishwasher for?" She kissed him first this time before he could reply. And then Emily's desire for more physical closeness was satisfied as he gently pushed her on the bed and began to undress her slowly ...
"Why haven't I noticed it before?" He wondered, stroking her naked belly and breasts. "You've really put on a bit weight in some places. And you have that glow in your eyes that only pregnant women have."
"You're only saying that because you know," she said, smiling, snuggling against him. The sex with him had not only relaxed her, but also had made her tired. She just wanted to sleep now.
"You know what? My dad is responsible that we got together again." He said suddenly into the silence.
"How so?" She frowned questioningly.
"That you saved his life back then impressed him deeply. He knew your father had been responsible for the kidnapping."
"He knew it?" She sat up abruptly, the fatigue suddenly gone.
Daniel nodded. "And that is why he believed your words in the letter that you became a new person. He has always believed in the good in you when I was still in doubt."
"Really?" She noticed how her eyes filled with tears. She hadn't even cried once since she knew that her father-in-law was dead. But Daniel's words affected her. Conrad Grayson had been her ally, she just didn't know about it.
"Do you know what his words had been?"
She shook her head, because tears were running down her cheeks and she couldn't speak.
Daniel reached for her hand and looked thoughtfully at the rings. "I was ready to throw them into the ocean, but my father held me back." He gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. "He said... 'You know it's all up to you, what will happen between the two of you in the future.' He really believed we would get back together, and he was ready to help me. I wasn't so sure about that at the time, but when I looked out into the ocean, the memories came back to me when I asked you to marry me on the beach. I couldn't do it. I took the rings and put them back into the drawer." He smiled. "And I'm glad I decided that way. Otherwise I should have bought you a set of new rings."
"Conrad really wanted us to reunite again?" She asked in a low voice. "I thought he hated me just like your mother."
"I think deep in his heart he always believed in true love," he said thoughtfully. "Afterwards, we often sat together in his study in the evening and just talked." He sighed deeply. "For the first time in my life, I felt that he was really interested in me and the things that mattered to me. All the years before, my childhood and youth... He was never there. His job was his life. One reason I've always said I never wanted to be like my father. But in the last few weeks I was able to get to know him again. We had something like a real father-son relationship. And to get back to the beginning..." He took a deep breath. "He was the one who has always encouraged me to search for you. He wanted me to face my fear and not run away anymore. And if he could see now that you're here again, by my side with my rings on your finger, he would be happy."
"Oh Daniel..." Sobbing, she pressed her face to his naked chest. "I am so sorry!"
"Hey," he hugged her gently. "I didn't intend to make you cry with my story. I just wanted you to know that my father didn't hate you. And without him I might not have had the courage to confess my true feelings to you."
"I'm glad you told me." She kissed him gently. "No more lies from now on. I promise."
He took one of her hair strands and tried to wrap it around his finger. "Promise me something else?" he asked.
"What?" She looked at him, frowning.
"You can never cut off your beautiful hair again."
She nodded, smiling. "I promise." She let her hand running over his naked chest and grinned provokingly. "Ready for the second round?"
"I thought you were tired," he said, raising his eyebrows, amused.
"I'm never too tired to do this..." She put her hand around his neck and lowered her head until their lips met in an ardent kiss...