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“Charlotte, please look at me,” Marc said in a low voice.
Charlotte shook her head. “I can’t. I’m too ashamed of how I acted. Of the things I said to you. So, if you’re breaking up with me, please just go ahead and do it.”
“Breaking up with you? Why would I do that, Charlotte? I love you.”
Charlotte swung her head up. “Excuse me? C-could you repeat that?” Surely she must have misheard Marc.
“I love you, Charlotte Duvall. I am over the moon in love with you and I have no intention of ending things over a silly argument.”
Marc heard the love shining forth in his voice. She saw it reflected in his eyes. She knew it to be true from the way he spoke with such conviction.
Charlotte threw herself against his chest and wrapped her arms around him. “Marc! You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say those words.” She pulled away from him. “I love you too, Marc. And I’m so deeply ashamed of how I acted the other day. The only thing I can say is that sometimes I let my insecurities get the best of me.”
Marc ran his hand across her cheek. “We all stumble and fall sometimes. The issue of the wedding was bound to bring tension. I’m not sure I handled it right either. I don’t think I considered how important it was to you.”
“You’re important to me. And I thought I’d lost you.”
“Charlotte, I’m crazy about you. You’d have to do a lot worse to run me off,” he said with a laugh.
“I’m trying to be a stronger person, Marc, one who loves herself. You’ve helped me with that. But please know I’m a work in progress.”
Marc pressed a kiss against her forehead. “I love you just as you are, but positive growth is good for all of us.”
“It may take me years to get to where I want to be, but I’m going to get there. I promise,” Charlotte vowed.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about the night at my parent’s house. You tried to tell me something out on the porch, but I distracted you. I’ve been thinking about it and wishing I’d let you speak. Something tells me it might have been important.”
Charlotte bit her lip. “I don’t know if now is the right time.”
He stroked her cheek. “There’s never a bad time to tell me anything. I love you, Charlotte. And I don’t want to spend another minute without you. These last few days have been awful. I wanted us to have some space so we could both cool down, but it was torture.” Marc winced.
“I feel the same way. I’m just happy we’re back on track.” She let out a sigh. “I want us to go the distance. I don’t want any secrets between us. It’s hard for me to say this because I don’t want it to change the way you view me.” She took a deep breath. “A few years ago I was sexually assaulted. For a long time, I’ve felt a great deal of shame about it. Victims tend to blame themselves and I was no different. If it hadn’t been for Case—he found me on that terrible day after the assault—I don’t know what I would’ve done. We were supposed to meet for lunch that day and I went to meet someone at a studio for a job I’d seen online. To this day I have no idea who my attacker was. He fled the scene and left me in a pretty bad shape. My brother, bless his heart. When I didn’t show up for lunch he came to find me. For that I will always be grateful.”
“My sweet Charlotte. First of all, this changes nothing for me. I still view you as the strong, gorgeous woman I love. I’m so sorry you went through all of that. I wish I’d been in your life then so I could help you get through it.” He reached out and squeezed her hand, his eyes awash in tears. “There can be so much evil in the world. It’s understandable that it crushed you. But I’m so proud it didn’t break you.”
“And now it never will. Because I have you in my corner, Marc. You restored my faith in men and love and faith. For a long time, I was afraid to hope…to believe that I deserved the fairytale. I didn’t feel worthy of it. Oh, Marc. You made me feel worthy.”
“You are so very worthy,” he said, moving toward her and placing a kiss on her lips. “You’re worthy of it all. The brass ring. The happily ever after. The fairytale. I want to give it all to you on a silver platter.”
“I’m the luckiest girl in the world,” she gushed, pulling Marc’s head down so she could shower him with a flurry of kisses.
“Mmm. You’re spoiling me, Charlotte,” Marc murmured.
“I’m just making up for lost time,” Charlotte said as their lips met in a triumphant kiss. They both knew how blessed they were to have found each other against all odds.
EPILOGUE
Marc and Charlotte were standing outside Savannah in the moonlight with their arms wrapped around each other. It had been a long day for both of them. Fancy and Case had gotten married this morning with a reception afterward at Savannah House. Marc had come to the reception, but he’d spent the morning with his father. It had been made clear at Lucien’s most recent doctor’s visit that his time was reduced to weeks now, perhaps even less. Marc knew time spent in the bosom of his family was precious.
“The reception was lovely, wasn’t it?” Charlotte asked, her face luminescent with the soft glow of the moon.
“It was really nice. I’m glad Case and I talked things through. It made being here way more comfortable than I ever imagined. We both agreed life is way too short to harbor any bad feelings.”
Charlotte smiled up at Marc. “My two favorite men in the world. My heroes!”
“You and I came together against all odds,” Marc said. “God really showed us the power of true love. It pushes past all pre-conceived notions, all judgements, all prejudice.”
“We sure did,” Charlotte said. “You’ve taught me so much about life, Marc. With your gentleness and caring. Opening myself up to you, warts and all wasn’t something I was prepared for, but I know it’s what you do when you love with all your heart. You reveal yourself. Marc, you always walk in your truths and you learn from your mistakes. I love that about you.”
