Next to Me

Chapter Twenty-Three: Explanations

Sergio sighed as Charlotte looked at him expectantly, he knew that she wanted answers and she deserved to know what was going on; the Sevillian watched as his fiancée change out of her dress and into her blue jersey sweater night dress for bed.

“I love you more than anything Charlie and I truly mean that,” Sergio said carefully as he stepped closer to his fiancée, he swallowed as he sat down on their bed and watched her; his brown eyes glanced down at her flat stomach knowing that it would soon swell with his unborn child.

Charlotte stopped what she was doing and looked at him, she could already feel something bad forming in her stomach; the blonde had sensed that there was more to their engagement than she knew about her.

“Sergio you are starting to worry me,” Charlotte said as she watched him, she crossed her arms as her fiancé sighed and ran a hand through his hair; she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was keeping something from her and the look on his face said it all.

Sergio pushed himself to his feet and carefully approached his pregnant fiancée, he knew that what he was going to tell her would upset her and he couldn’t blame her for being hurt by what he was about to say.

“I’m going to be completely honest with you Charlotte and I want you to know above everything that I say, that I love you and our unborn baby,” Sergio said as he took her left hand and pressed his lips to it, his brown eyes never left Charlotte as he thought about what he was going to say to her; she meant everything to him now and he didn’t want to lose her.

The blonde allowed Sergio to lead her over to the bed and sit her down, her blue eyes filled with worry knowing that whatever he was going to tell her was going to change everything for them.

***

“So let me get this straight… you asked me to marry you because you were told to,” Charlotte said as she tried to wrap her head around what Sergio had told her, a lot of things she had understood but this upset her.

Sergio swallowed as he moved closer to his fiancée, she had refused to let him touch her since he had explained that his father had demanded that he settle down and he’d asked her to marry him as a result; José María was not a man to be denied.

“Por favor Charlotte… I already planned to ask you to marry me before that,” Sergio said as he pulled her closer, she resisted slightly but allowed him to pull her into his arms.

He didn’t want her to doubt how he felt about her when he loved her more than anything but he’d had no choice but to rush his plans for her.

“You were in danger and I had to do something to protect you, you weren’t liable for my family protection unless you were my wife,” Sergio said as he held her close, he felt her relax knowing that he was right; the blonde knew that he was right especially after what had happened with Victor.

The Sevillian pulled back slightly and looked at Charlotte, he truly hoped that she understood why he was doing all of this; he kissed her softly as he brushed some hair from her face as his brown eyes searched her face.

“Trust me,” Sergio said as he cupped her face, he wanted nothing more than for her to know that he did love her and that he had only done what he’d had to; he wasn’t going to lose her or their unborn child because of anyone especially not his parents.

Charlotte nodded her head as she rested it against Sergio’s, she’d never had a reason to doubt him and she never would especially when she relied on him like she did; he was important to her and she’d always trust him.

“You know that I do… I just don’t like being kept in the dark,” Charlotte whispered shaking her head making Sergio sigh, his arms wrapped around her as he held her close; he knew he should have told her sooner about what was going on but he wanted to enjoy the happiness that they both felt for a little longer.

“I know,” Sergio said gently as he rested his head against his, he closed his eyes wishing that they didn’t have these worries to deal with; he wanted them to be able to enjoy this time for what it was instead of having to worry about anyone coming after them.

Charlotte pulled back and looked at him, she nudged her head carefully against Sergio’s making him look at her concerned; he could tell that there was something on her mind.

“It’s about Victor isn’t it?” the blonde guessed as she felt him tense, she’d known for a while that the meeting in Madrid hadn’t gone as planned and that her brother had become a small problem for Sergio’s family since he had learnt that she was alive.

“It’s nothing that we can’t handle,” Sergio said as he pressed a kiss to her head, he didn’t want her worrying about what the other men were doing when she had a wedding to focus on and they had a baby to think about that would be coming in the next year.

***

“How will all of this work?” Charlotte asked as she climbed into bed, she knew that his mother wanted a quick wedding since she was expecting a child and the blonde had a feeling that Sergio would prefer it as well.

Sergio glanced up at his fiancée as he prepared for bed, he knew that she was talking about their wedding and he had given it a lot of thought since he’d bought the engagement ring; he knew what his parents wanted for him but he couldn’t bring himself to care what they wanted.

“Whatever you want… you want to elope? Pick a place. You want a big wedding? Just say when and I’ll be there,” Sergio said shrugging as he climbed into bed, he smiled at the surprised look on the blonde’s face as she took in what he was saying; he had no intentions of forcing one of the biggest days of her life into something that she didn’t want.

Charlotte swallowed heavily as she realised what Sergio was doing for her, she knew that their lives were controlled by what he did for a living but she’d never expected him to tell her that she’d be able to do whatever she wanted for their wedding day.

“But don’t you have some strange family tradition to up hold?” Charlotte asked warily, she didn’t want to get her hopes up in case his parents demanded that they marry in a certain way; she already knew they had to be married before July when their baby was due.

“I could care less about family traditions… I want you to be happy no matter what we do,” Sergio said with a smile as he watched his fiancée knowing just how much this meant to her.

He knew that his parents would be far from pleased but he was taking a leaf out of his brother’s book about putting Charlotte first.

The blonde was completely speechless as she stared at her fiancé, she knew that there had to be consequences if they did something like that and she had a feeling that it wouldn’t warm her future in-laws to her in anyway if they did elope.

However Charlotte couldn’t help but feel something warm build in her chest at the thought of what Sergio was willing to do for her; she knew that they were going to be okay.