Taking a deep breath as she climbed out of the car, Briana tried to prepare herself for what she was about to do; it had been a long time since she had been there and she felt bad for not visiting more.
Things had been pretty busy before she had moved to Aulea and Briana felt horrible that she hadn't been able to visit her mother's resting place more often when she had lived in Barcelona.
Her father had never liked to come here and Briana guessed that had something to do with the fact that he wanted to focus on the family he truly had with his wife.
Something that Briana had never truly felt apart of when she had been with him and it had made her jealous of how he treated her half-siblings when she had been younger and ignored by him.
Lionel eyed the cemetery that they had come to, it was all so strange and he wasn't sure what to make of the place that sat before him where he had come to pay his respects to Briana's mother.
He had never thought that they would come to such a gloomy place and he could sense that something wasn't quite right with the place that they had come to.
"This is it?" Lionel questioned taking Briana's hand, he had never thought that this place was where they would bring people to bury them and pay their respects.
It was so different from where his people buried people when they past, Lionel wasn't sure what to make of this place that seemed so quiet that it was uneasy.
Briana nodded her head, she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat wondering what her mother's grave would be like; she doubted many people would come to lay flowers or clean up around her grave now.
***
Lionel eyed the simple looking patch of ground that held Briana's mother, it wasn't what he had expected and it seemed unsuited for the Princess of Aulea's mother; he had no idea what to say as he watched Briana work.
She had set about pulling any weeds that had grown since her last trip and tidying up the grave where her mother lay; Briana seemed determined to make sure it looked good again.
"How did she die?" Lionel asked moving to sit next to Briana on the grass, he didn't wish to upset her and he was curious about the woman that she had been.
Briana was nothing like her father or his family and Lionel guessed that she took after her mother more; it left him with so many questions and unsure what to really say.
"She was sick," Briana whispered softly, she didn't like to talk about it but she knew that Lionel didn't have anyone else that he could really turn to, to ask these questions.
It wasn't like he could talk to Carlos about what had happened, Briana doubted her father even know what was wrong with her mother before she had died; he had been too busy working on his career and living life with his family.
Briana took a deep breath and focused back on what she was doing, she wondered when the last time had been that anyone had come here and cleaned up the grave like she was now.
Lionel didn't say anything, he could sense that it was a delicate subject for Briana and he was sure that when the time was right that she would feel better about opening up to him.
The hot summer sun beat down on them and Lionel couldn't help but wonder more about the woman that had clearly been everything to Briana; it seemed almost cruel that she had been left without the true love of a parent for so long and with no one to truly care about.
"She must have been an amazing person," Lionel whispered eyeing the grave stone, he felt his heart go out to Briana and he knew that he would do everything in his power to keep her safe now.
She deserved better than she had gotten and Lionel was going to make sure that no one hurt his wife or any children that they had in the future; they were everything to him now.
Briana sniffled a little remembering her mother and nodded her head at Lionel's words, she missed her mother so much and she didn't know if she would ever get over losing her.
It was even worse that she didn't have a lot of pictures of her now, Christina had made sure of that by destroying every picture that she could get her hands on.
Wrapping his arms around her, Lionel rested his head against Briana's and closed his eyes wanting to comfort her; he didn't care if people could be watching them, she needed him right now.
There were security guards around them and Lionel was sure that they could handle whatever came their way; he was just going to comfort his wife.
"I miss her," Briana whispered knowing that she would have been more prepared for all of this, she couldn't imagine what her life would have been like if her mother hadn't died when she had.
Lionel nodded his head, he couldn't imagine what he would have done without both of his parents in his life; he was going to make sure that Briana never had to be alone again.
She was his wife now and she deserved so much better than how Carlos and Christina had treated her, she was so much better than they would ever be.
***
"I'll hire someone to make sure it's properly taken care of," Lionel murmured knowing that it could be years before he and Briana could return to Barcelona and in that time the grave site would become a mess.
He was determined to make sure that didn't happen and Lionel knew that the house was going to be cared for while they were away and he was sure the same could be arranged for the grave.
Briana cuddled into Lionel's side, she was tired but glad that she had gone to visit her mother's grave and lay flowers after so long; she was sure that in time that things would have been so much easier for them.
"Thank you," Briana mumbled closing her eyes, she wanted nothing more than to rest for a little while after the day that she'd had; she rested her head on Lionel's shoulder wanting to get some sleep.
Lionel smiled down watching her, he knew that this hadn't been easy for her and he hoped that things would be okay now; he didn't want anything stressing her out more than it needed to.
Things were going to get crazy after their honeymoon and Lionel had little doubt that his siblings were already campaigning hard to make sure that they put themselves in a good position to become the next King or Queen of Aulea.
Brushing his fingers through Briana's hair, Lionel thought about the last couple of days and smiled knowing that there was a very good chance that she was pregnant now; he was sure that it wouldn't be long before they would be announcing that they were expecting a little prince or princess.
Lionel didn't want anything to happen to the family that he was building with Briana, he was going to make sure that no one had the chance to get close to her and hurt her.
It was no secret that things weren't working out well for Carlos and his family, Alexander had turned his back on his family and was focusing on his engagement while Bethany was completely unable to find herself someone to marry.
There was little doubt in Lionel's mind that Carlos would do anything to get into Briana's good books to gain influence.