A week later, we announced our engagement at a ball that Meg held. We were so excited, so happy but then gossip started. While I was searching for Edward, I heard all sorts of cruel gossip from the women around me while they were talking to each other.
They were having an affair when Cecelia was alive.
They caused her death.
At least now, we know why she came here all the time.
I wanted to slap every woman of those, no; I wanted to slaughter them all. So, to stop myself, I went outside and sat on my swing to get fresh air and to think, is marrying Edward the right thing?
But as always, I am never left alone. A few minutes later, Edward sat next to me on the other swing.
He held my hand and I had to look at him, "what is the matter, Amy?"
I just shook my head and looked forward, "come on, dear. Tell me"
"I have heard terrible things, Edward," I said with a teary voice.
He frowned, "From whom? About what, exactly?"
I looked at him and whispered, "About us," I paused and took a deep breath, "I... I used to have an affair with you; I actually planned the death of my sister... No, I caused it, could you believe this?"
I bit my lower lip to stop the tears and Edward has already tightened his grip on my hand.
"You know what the worst thing about what they said is? They are right. One way or another, I caused Ceci's death. If she has not seen you so close to me back then, she might have been alive, now. If I have just stayed away like I should have, she could still be alive. I caused her death, Edward. I caused my sister's death"
With that last sentence, he was in front of me, taking me in a hug while I cried on his chest. After a while, he sat on his knees and cupped my face.
"You did not cause anything, Amelia," he said looking into my eyes, "Cecelia died because she was ill not because she saw us. You have committed nothing wrong. I was the one mistaken from the first time that I have met you both till she died. I did not measure my feelings right; I am the one who married her instead of you. Then, when you came back, instead of leaving you to be, I stalked you. I used to make promises to myself at night that I will stay away, that I will not do something that I might regret. But in the end, I did. I just want you to know, Amelia, that not in a million years would I have hurt Cecelia on purpose and that day... I just did it to be close to you... Only for that. I did not mean to be disloyal to your sister in any way"
I held his hand that was on my face and whispered, "I believe you but what about, now?"
"I told you that she gave us her blessings before she died," he said with some impatience.
"Does that make it acceptable?" I said slightly raising my voice.
"What do you want us to do, then?" He raised his voice in return while raising his arms to the sky, "I will not lie, Amelia, I love you and I am tired of hiding it. I want to be able to touch you without being afraid of what will people think, I want to talk to you without boundaries. I want you to stay with me as long as you can," he put a hand on my neck, "I want you, Amelia"
A smile appeared on my face as a tear fell from my eye. He removed my tear with his thumb and we closed the distance until our lips touched.
When we moved away, I debated with myself but decided to ask him.
"I know that I shouldn't ask you this and that it is wrong on so many levels but it has been killing me for a long while, now"
"What is the matter?" He asked with concern.
I bit my lower lip, "Have... Have you ever loved Cecelia?"
After he understood the question, a small smile appeared on his face, "the absolute truth?"
I nodded. He stood up and went to the swing next to me, sat on it and looked to the sky.
"Cecelia was and is that dream girl that everyone watched from afar, that never looked at me twice or if they did, it will only be for a ball then, I am forgotten to them. So, when she came to me, talked, laughed and actually showed genuine interest, I had to be moved"
He looked at me with red cheeks and guilty eyes, "to speak the truth, at that time, I adored her"
He looked to the sky again, "at that time, of course, I did not really know you. Our first conversation actually happened because... Um... Ah," he wasn't easy.
I smiled, "Because of Meg, I know"
"Well, yeah, that. Then, the men did not do you any justice so; I decided to stay with your sister though you really interested me!"
I raised an eyebrow, "interested you!!"
He smiled, "Yeah, I loved our conversations and I was very interested to know, well, how your brain works"
I laughed loudly, I just could not suppress it and when I looked at Edward his cheeks were redder than tomatoes.
"Proceed, Sir!" I said.
He cleared his throat, "as I was saying, I preferred Cecelia at the time and seeing that you got well with Charles really helped the situation. With time, my affections increased for your sister and to speak the truth for you too. But your sister was much more. I proposed to her and she accepted then, well, I started to see a new face of Cecelia"
"The society lady face," I said a little distant and to myself more than to him, "the face I hate the most"
"Yes," he replied also a little distant, "after marriage, that face dominated our life more until I forgot the face that I loved... The person that I loved"
"That was a very dark era in my life," he continued with hurt, "my work was getting harder, I was facing a lot of problems, then. No wife by my side and no one to talk to. I was shattered," I felt his hand on mine again, "then, you came. You came with conversations, comforting, love, caring and happiness. You came and made everything bad in my life good. Then, you tried to distance yourself and I was so scared, then. I was scared that my life will become dull again. You made me so happy that I couldn't imagine my life without you"
He paused then, continued, "The answer to your question is yes, I adored her in a part of my life and I loved her in the rest. Even when you were with me, there was still a part of me who loved Cecelia, the true Cecelia, not the social heartless lady who couldn't care less about me"
A smile appeared on my face and it was my turn to kneel in front of him. I rested my head on his legs and he played with my hair.
"You are not angry?" He asked.
I looked at him, "I admire you, now more than I ever did, before"
He frowned, "I am happy to hear that but... But why?"
I touched his cheek, "Because I will have a husband who loved his wife though she was not perfect or even near it"
"So you are not calling our engagement off?" He asked with a hopeful smile as he stood up.
"Of course, not," I shouted as I stood up.
He smiled, took me for a hug and spun in a circle. A joyful scream came out of my mouth as my feet were off the ground.
"You actually thought that I will call it off?" I asked when he rested me on the ground with my hands on the back of his neck and his arms around my waist.
"To tell you the truth, I did not know what to think," he said smiling.
"You will not get rid of me that easily, mister"
"Who said that I wanted you to leave?" He whispered before pulling me for a kiss. It was a strong one that literally took my breath away. As if he was telling me that he will never let me go.
He moved away and we started breathing hard. I could feel his warm breath. My cheeks were red and I think that my heart was coming out of my chest.
I raised an eyebrow and smirked, "that was tense"
He came down and whispered into my ear breathlessly, "Just showing you how close you are to me"
I bit my lower lip and looked at the ground.
He put a finger on my chin and raised my head so; I would be looking at him. He was raising an eyebrow while smirking, "Becoming shy?"
I hit his chest lightly, "Oh, shut up"
"How did you know that I would be here, anyway?" I asked looking into his eyes.
He shrugged, "Where else would you be?"
"Inside, in the crowd," I said matter of factly.
He raised an eyebrow, "Not if I have been watching you"
My eyes widened, "How should I take this normally?"
"You should know, my half lady that I am a very jealous man," he said coming closer that his body was pressed to mine.
I raised an eyebrow, "if a man liked me, he would not wait for me to get engaged to declare his love"
His eyes widened, "No actually, it would be the perfect timing"
I frowned, "why do I feel that you are talking out of experience?"
"The first time that I realised that my feelings for you were strong was when you danced with Dr Reeve"
My face went blank, "but that was before your engagement"
He nodded, "yes, I think it was"
I pushed him away, "but you still went on with your engagement to Cecelia"
"Amelia, I told you, my head was not straight about my feelings and at that time, I adored your sister," he said taking steps towards me.
I walked past him to a corner outside the house that was a blind spot where no one could see me. I took my shoes off and sat on the grass.
He came towards me but I acted as if I did not see him as he took a seat before me on the grass.
"Amelia!"
I did not answer.
"Come on Amelia, talk to me," he said desperately.
"I will tell you something but do not be angry," I said not looking at him.
He nodded, "I will not be angry"
I bit my lower lip and looked at him, "I... I do not know why I am angry but I am"
A chuckle escaped his lips and I hid my face behind my legs to hide my blushing face. Out of nowhere, I found a finger under my chin lifting my head up. I moved my head to find Edward sitting on his knees which were touching my barefoot and his face very close to mine.
"Are you jealous?" He whispered.
I shook my head, "not jealous but angry. Angry at you for not seeing that we could have been together from the start"
"You did not help in there, did you?" He said matter of factly.
"It was because of that stupid lie," I replied in anger.
He closed his eyes for a few seconds then, opened them again, "why are we discussing this on our engagement night?"
I smiled, "Because we are fools"
A small laugh escaped from his mouth. Then, he gave me a serious look, "Amelia, can you promise me one thing?"
I bit my lower lip, "what is it?"
He sighed, his warm breath hitting my face like a summer breeze, "when you are angry at me, talk to me instead of walking away"
I shook my head, "I do not like talking while I am angry"
"Why, Amelia?" He said desperately.
"Because I am afraid that I would say something that will hurt you"
He gave me a smile then, it turned to a smirk, "when I declared my love to you, you slapped me twice then, pulled my hair"
"How many times should I apologise for that?" I asked with frustration then, I smirked, "actually I shouldn't, you deserved those three"
He raised an eyebrow, "really?"
I nodded, "yes, sir. I pulled your hair because you were making fun of me, the first slap was stored rage because of everything that has happened and do not get me started on the second slap"
He looked at my neck then, smiled, "actually, I cannot remember the reason for the second slap"
I forced a smile, "good"
We laughed a little then he called me, "Amelia!"
"Yes," I answered with a raised eyebrow.
"Could we stand up again because I cannot feel my knees," he said with a forced smile and some pain.
I laughed and stood up. I gave him a hand and pulled him up, "do you feel better now, grandpa?"
He glared at me as I went into a fit of laughter. That fit was abruptly stopped when I found myself caged with the wall at my back and Edward in front of me.
"What did you call me?" He said with a raised eyebrow and daring eyes.
"Edward... Do not do something that you would regret," I said a little afraid from his mischievous eyes.
"Do not worry, dear," he said as he leaned down, "I know what I am doing"
"Edward!" A familiar voice called from behind.
We both widened our eyes and I bit my bottom lip to suppress a laugh.
He turned normally and smiled, "Bernard!"
"What are you doing here?" He asked then, he looked behind Edward to find me and his eyes widened, "Amelia!"
I smiled sheepishly, "Hello, brother"
"Now, do not skip into conclusions," Edward said trying to suppress a smile.
"Oh, of course not, it is totally normal to see you two in a dark corner," he said angrily.
Daphne who was standing next to Bernard tightened her grip on his arm, "Bernard darling, calm down"
"How could I calm down?" He shouted in anger.
"Bernard, for God's sake, you did the same thing to me on our engagement night," Daphne said matter of factly.
Both Edward and I, let out a small laugh.
Bernard's cheeks went red, "yes, but... But..."
"No buts," she said ending the discussion, "let's all go inside, now, shall we?"
"What were you doing outside in the first place?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
Daphne looked mischievously at Bernard, "we wanted some... Fresh air"
"Going inside is a very good idea," Bernard said in a slightly raised voice before he took Daphne and left.
Once they entered, I went into another fit of laughter. Shortly, Edward joined me in it.
When we went quiet, he put his arm around my waist and pulled me closer.
I raised an eyebrow, "you do not learn, do you?"
"Never," he whispered in my ear before planting a soft kiss on my cheek.
I took my shoes and wore them back. Then, put my arm in Edward's where it felt so right and so comfortable, "shall we go, grandpa?"
He laughed, "Looks like you never learn too"
I shrugged and we went inside with red cheeks and smiley faces.
Finally, I found happiness. I have seen a lot, suffered a lot but now, he is by my side. And I know that I can face anything if he is by my side.
Author's Note: The last chapter *soooobs* I know that it is taller than usual and probably boring but I wrote it for two reasons.
1) I wanted to show you Edward's feelings about it all. I wanted you to have a glimpse of what is inside his head.
2) I wanted to write more Amelia and Edward scenes XD XD XD I just love them, they are not perfect, they made various mistakes that could have ruined everything and they are just so cute XD
Yes, I am in love with my own characters, sue me XD
Well, I have amazing news for Amelia and Edward's lovers. THERE WILL BE AN EPILOGUE ;D
Please silent readers, vote, comment and tell me what you think. If you hate it or love it, what would you change? Love you all <3 <3