~𝒜𝒹𝒶~
Revelation. A noun. Meaning, a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known in a dramatic way.
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"Ada." I'm pulled out of my trance by Alexander.
We are at our favorite Parisian café, Le Petit Chéri Café, having brunch. I've been in Paris for about two days and it hasn't been easy. All I can think about is Gilbert and Winifred. How she is getting everything I have ever wanted. I have to keep myself busy just to keep my mind off of it. So I bring my eyes up to look at Alexander. His dark eyes search me as he tries to read my mind.
"You zoned out again." He states.
I force a yawn and turn back to my croissant. I always get a plain buttered one, I don't like the taste of sweet bread like my brother, who got a chocolate one. "I'm still adjusting to the time change."
"Sure," he drawls, skeptical. "So, how was the Ringgold Manor?"
"Calling it a 'manor' is generous," I scoff. "The exterior is breathtaking, but the interior? It's a disaster waiting to happen."
"And what about The Tavern of Montmartre?"
"Too... tavern-like," I cringe.
"How many places have you visited since arriving?" Alexander's fork clinks against his plate as he abruptly sets it down.
"I've lost count," I admit with a sigh. "But none of them feel right."
"None of them? This is getting ridiculous," he huffs, crossing his arms.
"They lack that certain charm, that warmth," I bite my finger nervously. "They just don't feel like-"
"Avonlea?" He finishes my sentence, his disapproval evident. I gulp as he fixes me with a stern look. "Why did you come here, Ada? What are you running from this time?"
"I'm not running," I retort, meeting his gaze firmly.
He shakes his head, trying to decipher my thoughts. "Then what are you doing?"
"I... I don't know," the words catch in my throat. "I thought maybe I could find clarity here, away from Avonlea and all the confusion. I thought I could start over, but instead, I just feel lost."
Alexander's expression softens, and he reaches across the table to squeeze my hand. "Ada, whatever it is, you don't have to face it alone."
Tears threaten to spill as his words sink in. "I know," I whisper, feeling the weight of his concern. "But some things... Some things I need to figure out on my own."
He nods understandingly, offering me a reassuring smile. "Just promise me you won't shut us out again. We're here for you, Ada, no matter what."
I manage a weak smile in return, grateful for his unwavering support. "I promise."
As we finish our lunch in silence, I reach for my purse and start digging for my wallet. I pause when I feel an unfamiliar envelope tucked inside. Curious, I pull it out to find a letter from—Gilbert.
"Ada?" Alexander's voice breaks the silence. "Are you ready?"
I nod and begin to read Gilbert's letter as we make our way back to my apartment.
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𝑀𝓎 𝒹𝑒𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝒜𝒹𝒶 𝐹𝒶𝓎𝑒,
𝒮𝒾𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓌 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝒶 𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓁𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝒾𝓃, 𝐼 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓁𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓂𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝓁𝓅 𝓂𝑒. 𝐼 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝑒𝓉𝓁𝓎 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝑒. 𝒮𝒾𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝓌𝑒 𝓂𝑒𝓉, 𝒶 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓃𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝓊𝓃𝒻𝑜𝓁𝒹𝑒𝒹 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓌𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝓊𝓈, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓉 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝒶𝒸𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌𝓁𝑒𝒹𝑔𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝓅𝓉𝒽 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈.
𝐵𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈, 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒲𝒾𝓃𝒾𝒻𝓇𝑒𝒹'𝓈 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓅, 𝑒𝓃𝑔𝒶𝑔𝑒𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉, 𝒶𝓉𝓉𝒶𝒸𝒽𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉, 𝑒𝓉𝒸 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝓃𝑜 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝑒. 𝒲𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓈 𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝓂𝒶𝓏𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝓅𝓅𝑜𝓇𝓉𝓊𝓃𝒾𝓉𝓎, 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝓅𝒽𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝒹𝑒𝒸𝒾𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝐼 𝒽𝓊𝓇𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝐼'𝓂 𝒶𝓌𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓈𝒾𝓂𝓅𝓁𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓁𝓁𝑜𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑜𝒸𝒾𝑒𝓉𝒶𝓁 𝑒𝓍𝓅𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓈𝑒.
𝒲𝒾𝓃𝒻𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓈 𝒶 𝓌𝑜𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝒻𝓊𝓁 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓂𝓎 𝒶𝒻𝒻𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈, 𝓂𝓎 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝒾𝓇𝑒𝓈, 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝓉𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊.
𝑀𝓎 𝓈𝓉𝓊𝒷𝒷𝑜𝓇𝓃 𝑔𝒾𝓇𝓁.
𝒴𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈, 𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈,
𝒢𝒾𝓁𝒷𝑒𝓇𝓉 𝐵𝓁𝓎𝓉𝒽𝑒.
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My heart skips a beat as I read his words, the truth of his feelings laid bare on the page.
"Ada," Alex murmurs as I pause in the street, barely able to comprehend what I'm reading. "Are you alright?"
"I think... I think I may have just found the answer I've been searching for." I say breathlessly. "I need to get back home right away!" I take off running, ignoring Alexander's calls.
As I rush through the streets of Paris, uncertainty gnaws at me. What am I going to do? How will I face him after my foolishness and stubbornness drove us apart? Regret fills me as I realize I had been blind to his feelings, too consumed by my own doubts and fears.
For once, Alex's words ring true. I've been running from my problems, refusing to confront the truth that has been staring me in the face all along. But now, armed with Gilbert's heartfelt confession, I know what I must do.
As I rush back to our shared apartment in our cozy neighborhood, anticipation thrums through me. Bursting through the door, I find Daphne in the kitchen and greet her with a wide smile.
"Afternoon, Daphne," I chirp, excitement bubbling within me.
"Afternoon, Adelaide," she returns my smile, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
I can't help but tease her, knowing she's been seeing someone special. "Wow, you look positively radiant. Did Sir Phillip pay you a visit?"
Her giggle is infectious. "Something like that," she replies coyly.
"Ah, so I finally get to meet him?" I jest, barely containing my eagerness to retreat to my room.
"Yes, but do freshen up first. You're sweating up a storm," she says with a playful grimace. I roll my eyes at her in mock annoyance before darting down the hall to my room.
Pushing open the door, I'm greeted by a sight that stops me in my tracks. There he is, standing in my room, and my heart skips a beat. Shock washes over me, quickly replaced by a rush of joy and confusion.
"Gilbert?" I utter his name, still trying to process the unexpected sight.
He grins, his eyes bright with a hint of mischief. "Surprise."
"I— How did you manage to-"
"Daphne is a fantastic accomplice," he says, his smile fading slightly.
"Gilbert?" I breathe out, feeling a mix of emotions swirling inside me. "What are you doing here?"
"After everything that happened, there was no way I could let you walk away again. I had to see you," he explains, rising from his seat. "And I didn't like how we left things."
"I do suppose that's my fault. I've been very stubborn lately," I admit, a pit of dread forming in my stomach as I hold up his letter. He nods in understanding. "I'm so sorry for how I treated you. I just saw you with Winifred, and she's gorgeous and rich." My hands clench into fists. "I was jealous."
"Rightfully so-"
"No," I cut him off. "No, you mustn't condone my horrible behavior. I showed no mercy with my words, and for that, I am so sorry."
"Ada, I should be apologizing," he says, his hands in his pockets, shame evident on his face. "I took advantage of people, of you. I wanted to excel, and I saw an opportunity with Winifred's father. But he wrongfully assumed that I wanted more than that." I hang my head, absorbing his words. "I didn't come to ask for an apology. I came to give you mine," he continues, exhaling deeply. "I hope that you can forgive me after the hell I've put you through. Is there anything I can say or do?" he asks earnestly.
I lift my gaze to meet his captivating eyes. This is my chance. I can't lose him. Not again.
"Say that you love me," I blurt out, making his breath hitch. "and I am yours." My voice quivers and shakes; I've never felt this nauseous before in my entire life.
"Ada..." His voice drops an entire octave.
"I will leave Paris, come home to Avonlea, and be the best person that I can be for you."
He pierces me with those green eyes. "I can't ask you to do that."
"And why not?" I ask.
"How could I ask you to give up on your dreams?" He hits his chest. "What kind of man would I be? I couldn't live with myself if you left all of this for— me." Walking to the corner of my room, he gazes out of my window.
A tear threatens to spill from my eye. "You are my dream, Gilbert Blythe."
I watch as he slowly turns to look at me. I've finally done it. Gilbert Blythe is left speechless.
I sniffle, keeping my gaze on the floor. "For as long as I can remember I wanted nothing more than to devote my entire life to you."
Gilbert's expression softens, a contemplative look in his eyes. "Ada," he says, his voice sincere, "you've just laid your heart at my feet, and I appreciate your honesty more than you know." He shakes his head, stunned. Something in his eyes change and he steps closer, a gentle warmth envelops us. "I didn't lie in that letter. The first time you left for Paris I'd feared that I'd lost you forever and I'd have to settle for less than the absolute best." He's being so genuine right now. "I even told Bash and Mary that if I saw you again I would have to call my friendship off with Winifred because..."
He looks down. I can tell that he has never had to share like this before. He grabs both of my hands, the heat from his hands and mine mix and feels like a forrest fire spreading through my body."I love you, Ada Faye. With everything in me."
My heart skips a beat at his words, hope blossoming within me. I meet his gaze, and in those green eyes, I find not only affirmation but determination. Gilbert's words echo in my heart, and the weight that has burdened me lifts.
"I couldn't bear the thought of being with anyone else when my heart belongs to you," Gilbert finishes, his voice barely above a whisper.
My heart pounds in my chest as his words sink in. "Gilbert," I whisper, feeling overwhelmed by the intensity of my emotions.
He reaches out, gently lifting my chin so that our eyes meet. "Ada, I've loved you for as long as I can remember. You've been the one constant in my life, the person I've always wanted by my side," he confesses, his voice raw with emotion.
Tears blur my vision as I reach out to touch his face, needing the reassurance that this isn't just a dream. "I love you too, Gilbert Blythe," I say, my voice trembling with emotion. "I've never stopped loving you, and I never will."
He looks down at my lips giving me that playful look before his lips collide with mine. Our lips met in a tender, lingering kiss, fueled by the intensity of emotions that had long been suppressed. It was a kiss that spoke of longing and the acknowledgment of shared desires. Gilbert's hands found the small of my back, pulling me closer, while my fingers traced the contours of his face.
The room seemed to fade away as we surrendered to the warmth of each other's embrace. Our kisses were not rushed but deliberate, exploring the depths of a connection that had been silently growing. Time lost its relevance as our hearts beat in sync, echoing the rhythm of a love that had finally found its voice.
The taste of passion lingered in the air as we broke the kiss, our breaths heavy. Gilbert's forehead rested against mine, and our eyes locked, a silent conversation passing between us.
The world outside continued to exist, but in that stolen moment, there was only the two of us, entwined in a dance of shared vulnerability and unspoken promises. And as we leaned in for another kiss, the world faded away once more.
(I've had this chapter written since part one🥲)