After accepting the unacceptable – the loss of his mother, as imperfect and deranged as she may have been – Virgile finally decided to give me a chance. Over these last twelve months, our cohabitation first became livable, then joyous. For a while, I thought I'd never see the day, but the teenager finally accepted me. This morning he even said: "I love you."
Don't cry, not now...
Two sky-blue eyes stare into mine, then the warm, soft lips of my lover press against my mouth. Gabriel and I took some time to heal. Eleanor's gruesome end and Tristan's death could have destroyed us, thrown us into chaos and darkness, but we chose the light. Little by little, we have pulled ourselves up, catching the other when we fall, making our love the most powerful and effective of remedies.
"You look like you're ready for a second one, Gabriel" Marion teases as she takes her daughter out of his arms.
"We're working on it," he smiles, shooting me a mischievous look.
"Thirty-seven years old, you guys!" Céleste laughs, talking to her brothers. "You need to start thinking about hatching some mini-Diamonds!"
"Two pairs of twins! At the same time!" Virgile exclaims, making everyone laugh.
Marcus seems a bit worried all of a sudden. I reassure him, explaining that we aren't planning on kids right away; he can count on me to be one hundred percent invested in our new project:
Body Agency
, the communications agency we just launched.
Body: mixture of Baumann and Diarra.
Ferdinand de Beauregard, my ex-boss, was not too happy about my leaving; he felt betrayed, judging by his initial reaction, but he eventually accepted the situation. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that the dandy already found a new prey.
Good luck to her...
Night has fallen. Marion, Céleste and the kids go back into the house.
"Did you know that Miss Secret has a new girlfriend?" Silas whispers, making sure his sister is out of earshot. "A fashion designer who people are clamoring for all over Manhattan apparently..."
"Sil, she'll tell us about it when she's ready," Gabriel scolds him playfully.
"You have a short memory, Gabe. Let me remind you that she had no qualms about prying into our personal lives!"
"That was in the past," Camille interjects. "How about you focus on us, Mister Busybody. For example, when are we moving to France? In the South, it goes without saying..."
"What for? We're happy in Sydney!"
"I miss my family," my sister whines, pretending to pout.
I take her to the side and repeat the same speech for the third time today: Simon, our little brother, is off touring the world with his friends and won't be back for a year. As for our parents, they're planning to go to Sydney for a few months to spend time with her.
"What about you and me?" she says, tears in her eyes. "It's not the same as before..."
"Nothing is the same as before Camille, but life goes on. And life is pretty great, don't you think?"
"Yeah," she eventually agrees, cracking a smile. "Well, especially since Prudence decided to stop harassing me..."
Gabriel and I look at each other, confused. Then Silas explains:
"She was calling Camille every day, hoping to fix everything. She asked us constantly how you were doing, Gabriel. Apparently she finally got sick of trying..."
"Virgile talks to her often, but that's about it. I need time," my gorgeous blond mutters. "Oh, and did you know Dad met someone?"
"What? George has a girlfriend? Since when? And don't tell me she's our age," his twin says, worried.
"Her name is Judith, and no, she's not a bottle-blonde bimbo, but a divorcée who wants to get back on her feet, like him. Since he left Mom he looks ten years younger, it's impressive! And if you could hear him laugh... It's heartwarming."
Apparently Prudence was our kryptonite," Silas says, lost in thought.
"You think you're a superhero now?" I tease.
"Yeah, Super Loser!" his twin mocks him, ramming into him with his shoulder.
"My Super Loser!" Camille says, kissing him