fate | CL fanfic

eight

As we walked back into the house I could only muster "Thank you, I've never had anyone stand up for me like that before."

If I'm honest I could have been worse to her, more nasty and horrible, but I have his reputation to uphold now. If he gets kicked from this country club nonsense it won't be at a fault of mine.

"It's fine Eva." He replied chucking the car keys on the side and taking my coat for me, putting it wherever it was meant to go before a maid could do it before him.

"No honestly," I paused - all whilst in the car I was silent, so many thoughts swirling at once "My dad forced me into this and, I don't really have any friends here and all I wanted to do was live my life and now we're stuck together and you've just been so kind to me and I was so horrible.."

"Hey, don't worry about it, I get it, I understand that it's a shit situation but there's no way I'm letting somebody speak to you like that, ex girlfriend or not," he shrugged "I was going to break up with her anyway."

"Right right." I nodded reassuring myself as I walked over to the main living area, the couch looked like a perfect place for a nap in front of the cinema sized screen. Besides, six thirty pm is late at this old age.

————

"Well you seem cheerful for a man who is now wifed for life, so tell me, did you go for a friend of the exes again?" Pierre asked me childishly over the phone, he and his girlfriend Kika had gone to Portugal for the week to see her family and it was hard not having your best mate around the corner.

"No she isn't," I shook my head, "But she's.. yeah she's really nice."

Pierre shook his head, "Wasn't what you were saying last going off, you were agitated about the lack of communication in the texts."

"No we've progressed from there a bit," I admit "She came to play with your dog, good luck getting him away from her actually he loves her."

"Everyone loves a dog." Pierre shrugged.

"Suppose so, but yeah, we had dinner together last night and she came to the country club today so that's good." I explained, Eva was actually a lovely human being and I did enjoy spending time with her even if I won't admit it.

"The country club," Pierre gasped "You don't take girls to the country club, that's so not you."

"Mhm she's different." I shrug

Pierre's mouth was still gaped, Charles had never taken a girlfriend to the country club, "A one of the boys different or love of your life different?"

"I'm not answering that."

"You like her." Pierre commented

I rubbed my eyes, "Well of course I don't hate her, I mean I feel bad for the girl. She's left everything she's ever known..."

"But now you're even richer and the business is thriving!" Pierre replied with a smile.

"Yeah.. but I'm just not motivated like I used to be you know? The business men aren't good people and they're hard to negotiate with, even more so I don't want them in the house if Eva's going to be here." I expressed a slight concern as I confided in Pierre, my friend since I pretty much was born.

"Yeah, they aren't nice guys," he agreed "But they have good wallets let me tell you."

"Hmph you sound like my dad." I recollect

"Not a bad thing." Pierre replies

We could sit here and talk all day about my father Hervé who passed away a couple of years ago. He was powerful, in more ways than one, and for some reason he thought I would be too. Hence why I have the responsibility of the business over my brothers Lorenzo and Arthur.

At first Lorenzo was bitter considering he is the eldest of us kids but then again, his life is so much more fulfilled. He travels the world often, his girlfriend is amazing, he has a nice cosy home and does what he pleases.

I'm strung up in the business.

Whether I like it or not.

And these days I don't.

"Joris thinks I should pass it on to Arthur, but I can't do it to him." I admitted

Pierre sighed "Nah you can't, he's only young," he thought for a moment "Although maybe just do one or two big deals and retire, you have the cash. Fuck I mean with the Ashby money too! Your set for life, generational wealth is here."

"I guess so."

Pierre shrugged, "I'm sure Eva can help you, I mean her dad is literally Ralph Ashby... he knows what he's doing and I'm sure she's inherited that gene."

"Hm we'll see, bye mate." I was confident that Evangeline didn't carry said gene considering she didn't even know about the business at all. Like nothing. Which although it was crazy it made sense, Ralph was a good dad and kept her out of it.

Before I knew it we'd been on call for hours and it was the middle of the night and I don't know when sleep takes me but I do know when it lets me go. It's when the bed dips informing me I'm not alone, the dim glow of the tv light she must have turned on illuminates Eva's tear streaked, frightened face as she perches on the end of the bed.

She closes her eyes, shuts them tight as if blocking reality and then swallows hard, her body tense. She might be bracing to say something, but the fact she snuck over to me in the middle of the night and now sits here, steeling herself for the worst, tells me more than words ever could.

It doesn't matter what I ever thought about her being some rude fearless kind of girl, she's here now. Vulnerable. I'm sure it took a great deal of back and forth before she gathered the courage to come over. To put herself on display, risking rejection in the most intimate kind of way.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, blinking her eyes open to meet mine, her vulnerability clear in the near dark. "I didn't mean what I . I... I-" She pinches her nose.

The turmoil whipping me into a frenzy all evening subsides. The world sharpens into focus.
The fog and the static buzzing in the back of my mind dissipate, replaced by a clarity I haven't felt in a long time.

"Come here," I whisper, lifting the comforter.
More silent tears slide down her pale skin, her shoulders hunch, relief visibly rattling through her. Without hesitation, she slides under the blanket beside me on the bed, a bit stiff and guarded, unsure how much I'll allow.

a whole fucking lot

"Thank you," she mutters settling awkwardly on her back, leaving enough distance for another person between us.

She's already in my bed and my wife, We might as well not build a pillow wall between us like teenagers. I wondered why she was upset, if she wanted to talk about it but right now I think she just needs somebody.

And I will be that somebody for Eva.

"I said come here, Mon Cheri," I coax, lifting the comforter higher. "Either your head on my chest or my chest to your back."

She then looked up at me, "I'm going to hug you." Her voice was barely above a whisper and I was sure if I was even an inch further away from her, I wouldn't have heard her, "And I hope that's okay."

That's more than okay, I wanted to shout, but instead I stayed silent.