One and Only (Corpse Bride fanfic; Victor x Emily)

chapter twenty four

UNEDITED

I apologize for the delay... I had writer's block and recently been broken up with:/

ive made 10 chapters, wasnt going to released them all until i finished the last chapter but ive been so busy but enjoy the 4 new chapters!!

...

Emily's POV:

Victor and I were at the cabin. I was fixing my broken brushes at the main meal table while Victor was patching the canvas in the sitting room. I watched him as he carefully examine the broken sheet. I wonder if he remembers that night... what we did in the water. I walked over to Victor, taking a seat next to him.

"The secret is, plaster." Victor says as he paints the canvas.

"You should be able to paint right over once it dries." Victor sets the canvas on the table.

"I'm forever indebted to you." I smiled. For a moment, we stared into each other's gaze. Victor plants his lips onto mine. I was shocked but soon I melted into his lips. Wait... His courtship with his betrothed wife. Did he get married? Either way, I shouldn't be kissing someone who's in affair! Oh Emily... What have you done? You kissed a married man! I began to feel tense as questions fill my mind. Swish. We quickly pulled away and looked at the window where the sound came from, there was nothing there. Victor's hand reached for my cheek but I looked away.

"You belong to someone else, we shouldn't cause such trouble." I tell him.

"If you're speaking of my betrothed marriage, i am not a married man if that ease your heart." My eyes catches his gaze. The feeling of relief flowed through my body. The door burst open when Alice and Eugene walked in, shocking us.

"Ah! Victor, Emily greeting!" I stands to hug Alice as I shook hands with Eugene.

"My! You are glowing Alice!" I rub her belly showing off her baby.

"I appreciate the kindness of your words." She says.

"What are you doing here at the cabin?" I asked.

"As you see we came here for some.. well... for some bonking(intercourse) i propose." Awkward began to fill the room as soon she said that. Victor and I quickly packed up our luggage and said our farewells. Victor had accompanied me to my manor.

"And I, thank you." I tell Victor as I bows and enter into the manor. I was smiling from ear to ear behind the door.

"Lovely evening, I suppose?" Genevieve says as she saunter into the parlor room, greeting me at the door. I covered my smile with my hands.

"I suppose it was a lovely evening." I fixed my posture and acted like nothing had happened. Genevieve smiled and guides me to my chamber.

...

The sun had set and the sky slowly turned dark. I sat by the window-- staring at the stars while brushing my hair. In the corner of my eye, I saw movements in the shadow. I felt my stomach dropped at the sight of him. What does he want now? As I was about to shut the window, Barkis shouted. Afraid that my folks would hear, I opened the window once again to give him a mean look.

"Emmie, I know I've done wrong. I've come to realization that you are the one for me. Emily Merrick, will you be my wife?" He gets down on one knee, presenting a ring.

"Why in god's name would I marry you?" I questioned him, fuming with rage.

"Because I will stay loyal if I'm wed you. I promise to vow my loyalty to you and only you. No more mistresses, no more whores and no more lies. I will stay true to you, my wife."

What if he's lying? What if he's telling the truth? Would he stay loyal if we wed? As my thoughts ran through my head, I stayed silent processing what has been said. If we wed, would we be happy? I'll be apart of the marriage group with my ladies. My heart ached with my back and forth conversations in my head, weighing out the pros and cons. Eventually, I gave in. I missed Barkis and his warmth. Forgiving all of his foolish acts and mistakes. I missed how he would take me out places, bring letters and showering me with affection. I gestured him to climb up to my window. I watched him climb his way to my window sill, he took out a small box that presented the ring. The ring was dull, tarnished and dirty. It didn't matter as long as I was getting married. I caressed his face and kissed him passionately.

"We must tell my folks about our engagement first thing in the morning." Barkis froze, I raised my eyebrows in confusion.

"What is it? Did I say something wrong?" I asked, panicking if I've ruined the special moment between us.

"We shall not tell your folks. Recalling our first meeting, I don't think they would be happy to hear about our engagement." Barkis says with such somber. He is right about my mother and father. They disapprove him without getting to know the real him.

"But if I convinced my mother and father, surely they would approve." Barkis shook his head disagreeing.

"They forbid us from ever seeing each other again. They won't approve our engagement."

"Then what should we do?" I looked into Barkis's eyes with wry. Suddenly, his eyes lit up with an idea.

"Let's run away together! We shall meet late at night, throw a party and be wed by dawn!" Barkis smiled big, I start to get excited. I cannot wait to share this fantastic news with my ladies. I can imagine their excitement when I tell them.

"But in order for us to be wed, we need coinage(money). The wedding will cost us a few sterlings." Barkis tells me.

"I will bring all of my family jews and a satchel of gold. I know where father hides them." Barkis smiled widely, pulling me into a side hug.

"That's my wife." My heart fluttered when he called me his wife. Oh wait, lady Barkis. Hello there, my title is Lady Barkis. I'm not sure if it has a nice tone to it, it sounds a bit odd to me. Maybe it'll grow on me.

"We must not tell a soul." Barkis tells me, my eyebrows raised up with confusion.

"But-"

"Not a soul." And with that, I didn't question it. We had said our farewells, I crawled into my bed. I snuggled myself into my bed as it would be my last night as a unmarried woman. Just as I was about to enter into a slumber, I was awoken by the sound of my window knocking.

...

Victor's POV:

I woke up in sweats. My heart's pounding out of my chest. I ran my fingers through my hair as I collected my every thoughts. Now, I know who they wanted me to stop.

...