The Duke and Duchess of Clarence

Chapter Nine: Family Therapy

10th of October 2022 - FitzClarence Manor

Taking a deep breath as he climbed out of his car, Simon stared up at the place where he had grown up and almost wished that he could turn around and flee; he honestly had no idea why his mother thought this was going to end well.

Anne had invited all her children to the latest therapy session that she was having with Susan, she had made it clear that no wasn't an answer since there was no point them avoiding what was going on. 

There were many places that Simon would rather be right now, home with his wife and four children was one of those places; the royal family had not long returned from mourning with work slow to start back up. 

Charles had reassured everyone that they could start coming back at their own pace, some quicker than others to do just that and there was a lot to pick up on now. 

Simon entered the manor, pausing to slip off his jacket and hanging it up expecting to hear arguing instead he was greeted by silence one that made him even more nervous. 

Lucy at least had an excuse not to be here, her baby was due any day now and so Anne had accepted that her older daughter would not be able to attend the meeting but instead would join them at a later date. 

Celina and Lucy were excited for the birth of their second child, a little boy from what the scans had told them and they had already picked out a name for him. 

Wei-Xiang Li-FitzClarence would be a welcome addition to the family, Jia was going to be a wonderful older sister and had already made a card to welcome her baby brother with the help of her cousins. 

Directed to the living room, Simon paused in the doorway taking in the pitiful sight before him; his stomach turned seeing how sad his mother looked, he wished that he could take away her pain. 

Rupert and Susan had once been so close, close like Simon and Lucy had been; the bond between them broken by what Susan had done and now they sat on opposite sides of the room. 

"Thank you for joining us Your Royal Highness," the therapist greeted knowing that Simon had likely taken time out of his very business schedule to be here and she hoped that it did help this family heal in some way. 

Simon moved to take a seat on the couch, he patted Rupert on the shoulder as he passed him; Susan staring up anxiously wishing that Simon would acknowledge her in some way. 

"Simon please," he insisted sitting down, he doubted that he would ever get used to being addressed as a prince and his royal highness; he was truly honoured that Charles had done what he had for him. 

The therapist nodded her head, her attention turning instead to Susan who seemed to have lowered her head; her eyes staring down at her engagement ring, no doubt thinking about everything that she could lose right now. 

"Now that we are all here, who would like to start?" the therapist asked, looking between the gathered members of the FitzClarence family waiting to see how this session was would play out. 

Anne had been worried about how this conversation was going to play out, Susan was eager to make amends for her actions and her marrying Joseph was conditional of that. 

"Susan? Why don't you start?" the therapist stated seeing as no one was speaking up, she offered the younger woman a encouraging smile as Rupert scoffed; he crossed his arms and glared at his older sister, the woman that he once had considered his best friend. 

Susan took a deep breath, she fiddled with her fingers and played with her engagement ring; she didn't want to fight with her brothers, she knew that she deserved their hatred right now.