"Where are you going?" Sebastian asked Pearl.
"I thought you were going to meet with Erik. I didn't want to be in the way." Pearl said.
"Nonsense. If you feel comfortable, I want you there. We keep nothing from each other." Sebastian said.
They walked to his office where Erik was seated, two guards behind him.
"Hello cousin. Why the need for all the muscle?" Erik asked. "Pearl, I'm glad to see you made it back safely."
Sebastian walked around to him and slapped him hard, across the face. "Stay the fuck away from my wife. Far, the fuck, away. Do I make myself clear?" Sebastian asked. Erik took out his handkerchief and wiped the blood trickling from his mouth. He nodded and smiled.
"Understood." He said.
Pearl sat in a chair at the back of the room. She felt uneasy but wanted to be there.
"Why are you here?" Sebastian asked.
"Your majesty, thank you for taking my wish to meet. I just wanted to talk to you." He looked back at Pearl. "Both of you." He said.
"Regarding what?" Sebastian asked sternly.
"You both were all I had before this... this all happened. I wanted to tell you that I am truly sorry. For everything. There is a chance I may be set free and if that happens, I want to be on civil terms with you both. I forgive you for what you did to me. I deserved it." Erik said, looking at Pearl and then back at Sebastian.
"You forgive us? That's a truly narcissistic thing to say. After what you put her through, after what you helped do to Anna. Right. You forgive us. Erik, I highly suggest that if it comes to you being released, that you place yourself in some kind of mental health center, for a very long time, and get the help that you need." Sebastian said.
"Good advice, king cousin. My wife slept with my cousin and spawned a son that I thought was mine. Was told was mine. My father used me as a tool to gain power and because I knew I was a fraud in his eyes, I did anything I could to make him love me. I have spent two years incarcerated in Britain's toughest prison, in solitary confinement because of who I am, I witnessed my best mate bludgeoned as a young child. You're right. I definitely do need some help with all of this." Erik said, looking Sebastian directly in the eyes. "No one is innocent here." He said and looked back at Pearl again. "The true coup took place when I was abducted. My cousin took the woman I love into his bed and made a child with her. I already am so fucked up about Robbie... and then that."
Pearl jumped out of her chair. "And what about your affairs? You had MANY behind my back before you even knew the truth. Before we remembered the truth. I was alone. And your father shunned me. I was scared. You and I were volatile and the future was bleak. I didn't know what do. I had been through so much. No, I am not perfect. But you.. you are a perfect example of swine, of deceit. Of evil. You are turning this all around on us, it's what you do. I don't feel guilty for a goddamned thing and nothing you say or do will change my mind. I'm glad I made the drunken choice to be with Sebastian that night. Fate was on my side. For once." Pearl said as she walked out of the study.
Sebastian looked at Erik. "I am going to presume this is the last time you will be calling on my myself and my family." He said.
"I want to see Auggie." Erik said.
"Your brother? The one you were willing to stalk, find and possibly murder?" Sebastian asked. "I don't believe seeing you is something he is planning anytime soon, Erik."
Erik stood up and walked to the door.
"Good bye then, cousin." Erik said.
"I am not your cousin. And there is no good here between us, not even in the exit." Sebastian said. The guards walked him out of the door. Erik passed Pearl on the way out, as she was still standing in the hall, catching her breath.
"None of it was a lie to me." He said as he walked past her.
She looked away and turned back, walking toward her bedroom. She needed to lie down.
A few minutes later, Sebastian knocked on her door.
"Are you alright, my love?" He asked, lying down beside her and taking her into his arms.
"Yes." She said, half truthfully.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him, putting his hand on her belly.
"He will be here soon." Sebastian said.
"Yes." Pearl said.
"I can't wait to meet him." Sebastian said, kissing her cheek.
She smiled and nodded.
"And I can't wait to give you more children. I love our family. I love everything about our life. I want so many children with you. So many memories to make, my love." He said. She rolled over and looked at him. He was so beautiful and kind.
"I love you." She said. He moved on top of her and braced his weight on his arm, looking into her eyes. He pulled her panties down and lifted her dress.
"Let's see if we can make this boy get here a little quicker." He said, thrusting himself inside of her, causing her to moan his name. Making love to him was still the most incredible thing. Just like their first night together, he was just as attentive and eager every time he took her. He was gentle yet masculine, eager yet controlled. Always in control. He could turn her on by just a look. Just a flip of his eyes, the tone of his low and raspy voice, a graze of his hand on her skin. He made her feel wanted, like the only woman on earth. And in his eyes, she was. He hadn't been with many women before her but he knew what he was doing, it was natural to them both, loving each other. She looked into his eyes as he filled her with his climax and kissed him.
"Sebastian, you are everything to me." She whispered. He sighed into her neck as he caught his breath. Wrapping her in his arms, he held for what seemed like hours.
In the quiet of the room, as Sebastian dozed off to sleep, she thought of Erik and her past. Seeing him again had caused so many feelings inside of her. She was angry, still. And she thought that after two years it would have subsided. But it hadn't.