We'll Write Our Way Out

Family

For a moment there was nothing but silence in the room, nobody said a word, moved a muscle, nothing. Then, Alessia broke the silence, her voice merely a whisper.

"Sacrifice?"

Alexander looked up at her as he heard the pain in her voice and frowned a little. His eyes were burning slightly and he knew that tears were trying to steal themselves to the surface.

"You have everything a man could wish for, the best wife, the best children. Now look at me, the best example of being left behind and not knowing what to do, finding happiness and being ignored by her most important family member. And then some random woman comes along and you give her all you have...", Alessia paused and looked down, not wanting to look at her brother.

"Alexander, I really love you," Alessia then said. She heard steps and she didn't have to look up to know that Alexander came around his desk and walked towards her. She felt his hand on her shoulder as he said "Alessia..."

Alessia turned away and headed towards the door, laying her hand on the knob. She looked over her shoulder to find him looking at her, lost, before she said "I'm disappointed in you."

"Alessia, I'm so sorry...", Alexander began, trying to find the right words to say, but Alessia held up a hand to silence him. Stepping back towards him, she then said "Don't say sorry to me, say it to your wife. I know Eliza like I know my own mind by now, you will never find anyone else who's as trusting or as kind as her. She asked me if I was okay with her marrying you and I said yes, do you know why?"

Alexander frowned and looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he remained silent.

"Eliza loves you more than anything in this life, I can tell just by looking at her. And I know that out of every other woman out there, she is the best wife for you," Alessia said and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She frowned at her brother, the sadness and disappointment getting clearer with every second.

"Eliza is the best thing in your life. So, please, never lose sight of the fact that you've been blessed with the best wife," Alessia said and turned away from him once more, again heading towards the door.

"Every sacrifice you make from now on has to be for Eliza. Even though she's the best for you, she doesn't deserve any of this."

She opened the door and closed it behind her as she left. She didn't have any more words to say to him. She couldn't put her emotions into words in that moment. She just felt like Alexander had stabbed her in the back. He'd promised her he wouldn't do anything stupid. Now look what happened.

When Alessia arrived at home, Thomas and Frances sat in the living room, Thomas holding Frances close and calming her. The two of them had formed such a strong bond over the years, it astounded Alessia. She was glad though, that Frances accepted Thomas as her father.

"I'm home," Alessia smiled softly. Frances jumped to her feet and ran over, hugging her tightly. Alessia chuckled softly and held onto Frances just as tight.

"Mom?", Frances asked and Alessia could hear that she had been crying for a while. "Yes sweetie?", Alessia replied, to which Frances said "I don't ever want to see uncle Alexander again."

Alessia frowned slightly, but then nodded and said "Don't worry, you don't have to. We'll still invite Eliza, her sisters and the kids."

Thomas opened his mouth to say something but Alessia shut him up quickly "No buts, the Schuyler's are still part of my family. Alexander can stay in his hole of a house and rot."

Thomas sighed but then chuckled and got up, walking over to Alessia and Frances, hugging them. "Group hug!", Frances yelled excitedly, making Thomas and Alessia laugh.

After Thomas released them, he then said "How about we head out and go get that dress you've been wanting to get for a while now, Frances?"

Frances stared at Thomas with wide eyes and asked "Really?" He nodded and Alessia said "Thomas pays." The mother daughter duo laughed at Thomas' face, he joining in after a moment.

Then he wrapped his arm around Alessias waist and said "Let's go!" Frances grabbed her mother's hand and almost ran off, Alessia holding her back though, so the three of them walked at a normal, relaxing pace out the house and headed deeper into the city to where the shops were.

"Mom, dad, did you choose wedding rings already?", Frances asked as they just passed a jeweler. Alessia was about to say no, when Thomas beat her to it and said "Yes, I did, but your mother can't see them since it's a surprise."

Alessia gasped and looked up at Thomas "When the hell did you do that? You weren't supposed to, I said we'll do that together!" Thomas merely grinned "Well, I decided otherwise."

Frances squealed lightly and said "Dad, can I see them? Please?" Thomas nodded and replied "Sure, when we're home. But you must promise not to snitch to your mother." "I won't!"

Alessia sighed and shook her head "You two always plot against me!" "But we love you," Frances replied and grinned innocently.

"How about you two go ahead to the dress store, I need to head to the bookstore and talk to my publisher," Alessia said as she spotted said store. Thomas nodded and said "Okay, let's go then Frances. We'll get you later."

Almost immediately Frances grabbed Thomas hand and began to ran off. Alessia chuckled as she saw her fiancé and daughter run off like that. Frances seemed really eager to finally get that dress.

Alessia made her way through the crowd and into the bookstore. You looked around a little, searching for an interesting book, to read, when you ended up staring at an interesting author.

"Shakespeare is quite interesting," a voice tuned up beside her and Alessia nearly had a heart attack, she'd been so deep in thoughts that she hadn't noticed someone stand beside her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Hamilton," the man beside her said and she looked over at him. He wore a brown coat and held a brown hat in his hat, since it was impolite to wear a hat inside of closed rooms.

"Who do I have the pleasure to meet?", Alessia asked and raised an eyebrow, the man smiled and said "The name's Andrew Lawrence." He bowed and took her hand, kissing the back of it.

Alessia curtsied, before she said "I'm afraid I've never seen you before."

Andrew chuckled and smirked at her "I've just moved into the city. I've heard a lot about you. And I'm afraid that I don't know anyone here, so I'm glad to run into someone familiar. Would you maybe give me a tour around the city?"

Alessia frowned a little, before she said "I believe I can do that."

[AN: who is Andrew Lawrence?]