章 427: Chapter 427
"So, you want a meeting with her." Dylan asked as he stood up and buttoned his jacket.
"Only with your permission, of course."
Erik said stiffly. Dylan walked over to Erik and patted him on the shoulder.
"We both know it is not up to me. Nothing that amazing woman does is ever not her idea. She can't be owned. Not by anyone. It's my favorite thing about her." Dylan said, his eyes sparkling with pride. Erik nodded. They both knew her, and they knew her well.
Dylan walked to the door and turned around to face Erik. "One more thing. If you so much as elevate her pulse one beat with anger or stress, I'll see to it I finish the job of rearranging your face I planned long, long ago." Dylan said as he winked and walked out. Erik cleared his throat, straightened his tie and walked over the the door leading to her private study and library. Oh how Pearl loved her books, he reminisced fondly. He knocked and waited.
"Come in." He heard her familiar voice say.
Erik opened the door and saw her standing beside her writing desk. She was as luminous as ever with her thick and wavy dark brown hair and eyes like glass. She looked years younger than a woman in her 50s. He was still in love with her. He always would be.
"What do you want, Erik?" She asked, his name rolling off her tongue with a subtle but clear hint of disgust.
"I apologize for interrupting your schedule, I know you are a very busy…."
"Cut the shit and waste of formal words." She said, pouring a drink. "The fact that you are even in this place still has me in utter disbelief. If it were up to me, you'd never have stepped foot inside these walls again." She said, savoring the scotch on her tongue.
"Ah yes. But it isn't up to you, is it? No. I'm afraid not. It is up to your son. His majesty. And he has asked a favor of me and I intend to fulfill it." Erik began. Pearl remained quiet.
"I would like, would appreciate your help." Erik said.
Pearl scoffed. "My help? Are you mad? Why should I, why would I help you?"
"Because it's for your son. And it's the one thing we both can give him." He said. The look of disgust on Pearl's face was expected but it didn't deter him. He stepped closer.
"I am Sebastian's cousin. And Christian's uncle. I once thought he was mine. Ours. Even if I did completely destroy it. Let me do this. Let me be the role model I should have been. Help me. Let's begin again. The correct way." Erik said.
"What are you asking, Erik?"
"Come with me to our church in Scotland. Let him marry the girl there. In private. We can plan it all. I can't do it by myself and I need your permission. I need you to be alright with it."
Pearl's eyes grew large in disbelief. "Are you joking? No. He is KING. He can't just run away into the hills of Scotland and marry an American. We have to follow protocol. For the people. No." She said, slamming her glass down.
"I knew you'd say that. For fucks sake, I felt the same way as the crown prince. But Sebastian, my cousin, your late husband, convinced me to do it. Because of how it would make YOU feel. How it would put you at ease. It was the right thing to do and I regret none of it. It was the best moment of my life." He said and stopped. That was enough of him personalizing it, he thought. "I'm sorry. This isn't about me. It's about him. Nightingale… Pearl. I apologize. But listen to me. He loves you and he wants you to be supportive of the the woman he loves."
"No!" Pearl said.
Erik felt frustration growing. He had to help Christian with this. He had to make Pearl understand. This was his chance to set things right. To finally be the person he knew he was, deep inside.
"What would Bash do if he were here?" Erik asked. He didn't want to play that card but he knew he was right. He knew what his cousin would do. Pearl walked over to Erik and slapped him across the face.
"How dare you even say his name?" She was shaking. He sighed and turned away. It was time for the truth. The truth he kept hidden for years.
"You fucked him in the study. I knew two days after I came home. One of the staff heard you both and told me. I didn't want to believe it but I saw the two of you and I knew. I knew and I let it eat me alive until I used it as an excuse to become a monster. To you. To him. To the world. My father had planted the seed but it was that, knowing what happened, that sent me over the edge. Yes. He was the better man. The better father. The better husband. But I knew and I still chose you, even when I suspected it wasn't my child you carried, even if it made me into the worst version of myself possible." He explained it all, painfully, still facing the wall. He heard her gasp.
"Of course I knew for sure after you told me Christian wasn't mine. But I had my suspicions. The entire time. I knew. A man knows." He said. "That's why I let him stay with you in the car when your labor began. I didn't want him to miss his child's birth." Erik put his head down and closed his eyes. He fought the tears beginning to fill them. He didn't want her to see it break him. She didn't deserve to feel any guilt. But he wanted her to know the truth. So maybe somewhere, deep inside, she would see the man she fell in love with and then hated so as a human again.
"I'm no good guy." He said as he turned back to face her. She had her hand over her mouth, still in disbelief of his revelation. He walked closer to her, looking into her eyes. He ran his hands through his salt and pepper hair. "And I deserved what I got. All of it. You have no reason to feel any guilt and that's not why I'm telling you this. But I never lied to you about loving you. Or loving that boy. And I swallowed what little was left of my pride to come here. To be here. Because there is nothing more in this world I would want than to be close to the people I truly love once again." Pearl was searching his eyes for a hint of a lie or motive, he could tell. But she wouldn't find one there. He leaned in closer and put his hands on her upper arms. He felt her tense at first and then relax to his touch. "Please. Please help me. Please help your son. Give him what you know he deserves. Something real. For him. He's always done the right thing. He's always done what is expected of him. I can relate to that. But you… you were mine. Even if just for a short time. And it made me happier and more alive than I've ever felt. Even to this day. Give him that. Don't make him have to do it in secret. Let him celebrate it. Please Pearl. Please." He pleaded. She closed her eyes and nodded, a single tear falling down her cheek. Before he even realized it, he pulled her into his arms and hugged her, completely by instinct. The feel of her was just like the years never existed. Her scent was like home. So familiar. "Oh my god I'm so sorry. Please forgive me." He said, releasing her and feeling ashamed but not regretting it. She nodded. "It's alright. It's fine." She stammered. There was a long silence between them. Erik cleared his throat.
"Alright then. Can we set up a meeting for later this week to discuss a plan?" Erik asked, straightening his suit.
"Yes." She said. He hadn't remembered a time where she was at a loss for words to this degree. He worried she would banish him forever. He bowed and walked to the door. As he turned the handle he heard her speak.
"I'm sorry, Erik." She said quietly.
"Not nearly as sorry as I am." He said, opening the door and closing it gently behind him.
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