~Family~
December 24
I stare right ahead, my mind running at 200 miles per hour. It's been running non stop for the whole night actually.
After my accidental "I love you", everything turned awkward between me and Charles. He never said anything back, just acted like he didn't hear me...
Thankfully it was late so we headed to bed not long after, but it might've been even more horrible to go to bed with an awkward tension.
It's Christmas morning, and I'm anticipating the moment Julius wakes up so I can get my mind on something else.
"Carolina?" Charles asks behind me, in his annoyingly hot morning voice. I act like I'm asleep, remaining silent.
"You know I won that bet yesterday, so I get to chose when we wake up" Charles continues, and I can hear the smile on his lips through his voice.
Gently he rolls me over so we're face to face, chest to chest. The sweet smile I love is wiped over his lips, as he sees I'm awake.
Gently kissing my forehead, lips, cheek... basically my whole face, Charles keeps acting like nothing has happened.
"Carolina about last night.." Charles begins and I immediately realize it's actually less painful to just stay clueless.
"It was a mistake Charles, just forget it" I quickly say, trying to shut him up, before he has to break my heart even further.
Charles studies my face for a moment, probably seeing the sadness I'm struggling to hide. "No wait.. please listen to what I have to say" Charles tells me, the lump in my throat returning as I look at him.
I can already hear his words, hear how he rejects me, tells me he can't love me back... The worst part about it is I can do nothing about it.
If he isn't in love with me then that's how it is. I can't change that.
Charles clenches his jaw, clearly taking in courage before he continues to speak. "I'm sorry for the way I acted last night. I think I just got scared... We see love very differently Carolina. It excites you, and it's something you want, even anticipate" Charles says.
I swallow hard, trying to wash down all the emotions overwhelming me. I'm just waiting for the rejection at this point.
"It's the opposite for me. It scares me, it's my biggest fucking fear. And I know love can do horrible things, I've learnt that the hard way..." Charles explains.
First an apology and explanation, and then the rejection...
"But after I've met you..." Charles pauses for a second. "I've learnt that love doesn't have to be something bad" He gets out in a breath.
"And when I look at you, run my hand through those beautiful curls, kiss your soft lips or touch you... I realize that," Charles says, his voice slightly breaking as he comes to the last part.
He takes a deep breath, a cold shiver running down my spine as I wait for him to speak. I swear my heart is beating at an unbelievably fast pace.
"I realize that I'm in love with you Carolina" Charles manages to get out, his hands stroking against my cheek.
My eyes widen. What? I have to hold in a sob as I look at him. That was not what I was expecting at all.
"I love you Carolina Rodriguez" Charles says, pressing his forehead against mine, tears welling up in both our eyes.
"Every curl in your hair" Charles stops to give me a kiss. "Every feature on your face" Another kiss. "Every beautiful curve on your body" Another kiss, this time lasting longer, more passionate.
"I love you too Charles.." I stop myself with a smile. "Do you have a middle name?" I whisper, interfering with my own little speech.
"Marc and Herve" Charles answers, softly laughs. I laugh, as I take in deep breath to continue my little speech.
"I love you Charles Marc Hervé Le-" I say but Charles interrupts me before I get to finish. "There's actually also Perceval" He whispers, sweetly laughing into my shoulder.
I look at him in disbelief. How many middle names can a single man have? I shake my head in laughter, before finally continuing.
"I love you Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc" I say, struggling to pronounce all the middle names. The second I get the words out, Charles softly crashes his lips onto mine.
--❄--
"Julius?" I whisper, moving the brunette hair out of his face, as he peacefully sleeps in his bed. "You need to wake up it's-" I tell him, softly stroking his cheek. Before I can to finish my sentence, Julius wakes up in a sudden.
"It's Christmas!" He exclaims, immediately sitting up in his bed, bright awake. He cutely grin from ear to ear, as he jumps into my arms in excitement.
"It is! So hurry up and get out of bed" I tell him with a smile, my hands wrapped around him as he stands up in the bed.
"I'm ready!" Julius exclaims, jumping down on the floor, already running out of the room. "Maybe you should change out of your pyjamas.." I try telling him, but within a mere second he's already running down the stairs.
In a hurry I follow after the five year old who runs straight into the living room. I swear that boy runs incredibly fast compared to his age...
Julius comes to halt the second he almost slides into the living room where everyone is already up, cups of coffee or tea in hand.
Everyone, me included, stares at Julius for a moment, waiting for his next move. "ITS CHRISTMAS!!" Julius shouts so loudly I have to cover my ears.
He jumps up and down, his energy higher than ever, running over to the couch, and quite literally jumping into Charles' arms.
"It's Christmas Papa! It's Christmas!" Julius repeats, shouting it like he doesn't believe it himself. Charles laughs at the sight of his overly excited son, who can't sit still for a split second.
"We know, we know Julius" Charles tells him, brining him to sit in his lap as an attempt at calming him down at bit.
I walk over to the couch as well, dropping down in between my mother and Carla with a smile. "Merry Christmas honey" My mother whispers to me, giving me quick kiss on the cheek.
I smile at her, brining her in for a much needed hug. "Merry Christmas Mãe" I reply, looking at Julius and Charles with a smile, my arms still wrapped around her.
"Everyone I have a surprise!" Pascale announces making all of us immediately shut up. She stands in front of the couch, a big box in her arms.
We all look up at her in anticipation, Charles shooting me a quick look, his dimples out in full force, from the other end of the couch.
"Christmas sweaters!!" Pascale exclaims, revealing a horrible bright red, Christmas sweater with a Christmas tree on the front.
We all break into laughter, as Pascale begins sending the sweaters around. Thankfully the first one isn't mine.
In the end Pascale passes two sweater over to me and my mother. I smile looking at it. It isn't nearly as bad as the others, a dark green color, but it's very much still ugly.
We all put the sweaters on over our pyjamas, me and Carla laughing uncontrollably at how we look. But it gets even worse when we spot Charles.
"Maman did I have to get the worse one?" Charles exclaims with laughter, me and Carla laughing so hard we can't breathe.
He's gotten a bright yellow sweater, that does nothing good for him. Julius on the other hand looks like the cutest little elf, in a black sweater with Santa on it.
"Carolina don't you dare laugh at me!" Charles exclaims, running over to me. I manage to let out a scared squeal in between my laughter, as Charles attacks me on the couch.
He tickles me, making me laugh so hard I literally can't breathe anymore. After countless screams of laughter, Charles finally stops, smiling from ear to ear, as he kisses me right there, in front of everyone...
--❄--
"Please wear red every day Carolina" Charles whispers to me, his hand grazing down my side, as his eyes boldly studying my body.
I smile at him, trying to hide my flushed cheeks as we walk down the stairs. I'm in a silky red dress, the most mad only fancy dress I own.
Charles himself doesn't look half bad... Actually he looks incredibly good. Dressed in a dark blue suit, the first buttons of his white button up unbuttoned.
He plants a couple of kisses on my neck and collarbone, before we enter the dining room where Christmas music is blasting out the speakers.
Carla immediately approaches us in a beautiful blue dress, a wide smile spread across her face. "You look gorgeous Carolina!" She exclaims, completely ignoring Charles as she pulls me with her.
"Have you seen yourself Carla? That dress on you? Perfect." I respond, following her with a smile. We walk through the kitchen, where Pascale and my mother stand, making the Christmas feast.
We both quickly hug them, both of them giving us compliments on our dresses, before Carla pulls me with her again.
We enter the living room, where Julius, Arthur Lorenzo and Charlotte are inside and All I want for Christmas is you blasts out of the speakers at full volume.
Joining Julius and Arthur who are cutely dancing to the music, we dance together, both of us laughing at our rather questionable moves.
We twirl each other around, jump around, and dance with Julius, until we're both literally gasping for air. As we're dancing around, a pair of familiar hands suddenly wrap around my waist.
I turn around to face Charles, a grin glued to my lips. Before he can protest, I force him to dance with me. I twirl him around, make him do stupid dance moves, and force him and Arthur to dance together.
Happiness beams through me, as I look at Charles, Julius, Arthur and now also Lorenzo dancing together.
It's been a while since I've been this happy. Since I've felt so welcomed. I grin from ear to ear, my heart pumping from all the dancing.
This is where I belong. This is my family.
--❄--
We all drop down on the couch, gathering around the Christmas tree. My stomach might actually explode from eating that much Christmas food.
Charles sits down next to me, gently kissing my cheek, as he wraps his arm around my shoulder.
Julius is the first person to get a present, Pascale passing him a big present, wrapped in the cutest paper with little snowmen.
Julius rips open the present, smiling from ear to ear. The second he sees what is inside, he lets out an excited squeal, running to hug Pascale.
Cutest kid ever...
Everyone else slowly begins opening their presents, my mother gifting me the perfume is wished for and Charles receiving what feels like a million presents.
"I have something for you" Charles softly whispers to me, shining his sweet smile at me. I look up at him in surprise, as he passes me a small, square present.
"Oh you didn't have to.." I mumble, completely taken by surprise. Charles moves a strand of my hair out of my face, gesturing for me to open it up.
My heart already melting without even having seen the actual gift, I carefully open the present. Beneath the wrapping paper is a small black box.
I look up at Charles. This looks expensive. Charles smiles, nodding at me to continue opening it. With shaky hands I open the box, oh my god.
Inside is a gold necklace formed in a heart. A lump rises in my throat, as I can feel my emotions build up.
A beautiful diamond sits in the middle. I look up at Charles. I can't form any words, completely overwhelmed with love and joy.
"Open it up" Charles quietly tells me, a nervous smile covering his lips. I look back down at the necklace and realize it's a locket.
Carefully picking the beautiful necklace into my hand, I gently open it up, tears immediately pushing in my eyes.
Inside the heart is a picture from my childhood. I'm probably around 3 years old in the picture, sitting on my fathers lap in the grandstands of the Brazil GP.
"How...?" I manage to get out, my voice becoming thick with emotion. "I had a bit of help" Charles answers, nodding his head over at my mother.
I smile at him, tears building up in my eyes. "Let me help" Charles softly says, and I notice that all eyes are on us, the living room having grown quiet.
Charles gently moves my hair away from my neck, taking the necklace in his hand. His hands graze along my bare neck, as he carefully puts on the necklace for me.
My vision blurry from tears threatening to spill down my cheeks, I look down at the necklace, holding it close to my heart.
My gaze switches back to Charles, my heart beating faster as I lock eyes with him. Despite my mother sitting right next to me and the fact that everyone is staring at us, I bring my lips to Charles'.
He kisses me back softly and gently, the kiss making my stomach flutter with love. "I love you, thank you so much" I whisper to him once we pull away again.
I lean my whole body into his, Charles wrapping his arms around me, as the others begin to focus on other things again.
"I love you too" He whispers back, placing a kiss in my hair. It feels so crazy to hear those words some out of his mouth, but yet it feels so right.
"I'm sorry I didn't get you anything" I say, looking up into his green eyes once again. Charles smiles stroking his thumb along my forehead.
"There's other ways you can reward me you know" Charles says in a quiet, the smug smile returning to his lips as he shoots an eyebrow at me.
I slap his arm, a grin quickly spreading across my mouth, as my cheeks flush pink.
"No but genuinely I don't need anything. You've already given more than enough" Charles tells me, the sweet smile I love plastered across his lips.
--❄--
Once everyone has opened their presents and Christmas Eve begins to come to an end, Charles grabs my hand and leads me out of the living room.
Following after him, he takes me outside where the night sky has fallen over Monte Carlo. The city lights shine in the streets, as stars decorate the sky.
"Wow, it's beautiful" I mutter, as we stand outside the house, looking over the city. Even though it's the December, a warm breeze still remains in Monaco, my hair slightly blowing in the wind.
"Carolina?" Charles softly asks, his hands warming mine. I turn to face him, looking at the, for once, combed through brunette hair and the green eyes that light up in the dark.
Charles takes in a deep breath, his dimples flashing down at me. "Only a couple of months ago I saw love as this dangerous thing that solely existed to harm people.." Charles starts a nervous energy over him.
"But now standing here in front of you, my heart beating out of my chest from simply looking at you, I know that love is so much more than that"
"And this Christmas, these couple of months... Have been so amazing, and you're the sole reason for that. You make me happy in a way no one else manages to" Charles admits, stroking a hand through my hair.
"And I wish, no actually, I want to spend every day together with you. I want to wake up with you every morning, admire you as you make Julius happier than I can make him, and then go to sleep with you in my bed" Charles softly says, taking in a deep breath before he continues.
"So... Would you like to be my girlfriend?" Charles asks, holding in his breath as he waits for me to answer. I blink, my heart beating faster than what I thought was humanly possible.
It takes a moment to realize what he just asked, but the second it registers in my brain, I immediately jump into his arm, wrapping my arms around his neck.
Charles lifts me up, wrapping my legs around his waist as our lips collide. I can't stop smiling as we kiss, pure joy spreading through my body.
"So it's a yes?" Charles asks with a smile, pulling away again. Tears roll down my cheeks as I look at him.
"Yes!! Of course it's a yes!" I exclaim, a grin lingering on my lips. I'm quite sure I've officially become the happiest woman in the world.
"Papa?" Julius sweetly asks from the front door, hesitant to walk over to us. I immediately jump off Charles, my cheeks warming up as Charles walks up to Julius.
"Yes Mon ange?" He asks, still holding onto my hand. A smile consumes Julius' lips as he begins to speak.
"You remember my wishlist? I got everything I wanted this year!!" Julius exclaims in excitement, jumping up and down on the door step.
Charles looks back at me. We both remember all to well what the number one wish was on that list. "Really? You're a lucky boy" Charles softly tells Julius, deciding to not bring up the subject of the number one wish.
Instead Julius brings it up himself, looking over at me with a shy smile. "I actually told Santa that my biggest wish was my Maman.." Julius says, and I have to act surprised, so he doesn't know I read the letter.
"And back then I meant my real Maman, but now... I don't want her to come back" Julius softly says, carefully choosing his words.
I can feel Charles' grip tighten around my fingers as we both wait for the next thing Julius is going to say. "This Christmas with you Caro.. it has been the best ever" Julius admits, smiling up at me.
My heart melts into a million pieces. "Well I have good news then.. You're gonna be spending a lot more time with her" Charles whispers to him.
A grin spreads across Julius' lips. I think I might die of cuteness. I stroke a hand through Julius' hair, bending down to wrap my arms around the little brunette.
"Are you Papa's wife now?" Julius asks me, and I let out a surprised snicker. Charles widens his eyes, laughing over Julius' question.
"Not quite, she's my girlfriend" Charles answers, bending down as well so we're all on the same level. Julius furrows his brows at us, crossing his arms across his chest.
"That's basically the same thing" Julius says, looking at us like we're stupid. Charles and I break into laughter, deciding to not press him any further about it.
"Sure Mon ange" Charles says with a smile, gently kissing Julius' cheek. Julius grins, running away from us at an incredible speed.
We both shake our head in laughter, as we slowly follow after him, our hands interlocked. "Guys Caro is Papa's wife!!" We suddenly hear Julius announce to the others.
Charles looks at me with panic, quickly running in the living room to shut down whatever Julius is starting.
I laugh looking at them. Looking at my little family.
Saying yes to spending Christmas with the Leclerc's was the best decision I've ever made.
--❄--
--❄--
I'm sad to tell you that this was the last chapter of the story..🥲
I hope you enjoyed it, I've definitely enjoyed writing it!
Thank you to everyone who has voted for the story, and especially everyone who has commented!
A lot of your comments have made me laugh out loud so thank you for that!🫶🏼
The support for this sorry has been amazing and I'm so grateful for it🤍
If you want more like this story check out my other stories🤭
Merry Christmas everyone!!❤️
Love you💕
- Ahshwjan