Love & Second Chances

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Elizabeth's POV

Garrett was here. I still could not entirely believe my eyes. How could it be? I had waited many long years for such a reunion, yet now that he was here in front of me, I felt like fleeing from him. Deep down I knew in my heart that he had moved. We had been reunited far too late in life. There was no hope for the two of us, just as there had never been at the start of it all. However, I kept my composure and acted as if there was nothing out of the ordinary going on.

Alice's request swirled through my memory. She made me promise that I would tell him about Caroline if I ever saw him again. Well, now he was here, with Caroline, none-the-less. How much had they learned about each other while they were speaking? Caroline knew her father by name alone, but she was more than smart enough to figure it out without assistance.

The production had begun some time ago. We waited for her as long as we could, but eventually Vincent got tired of waiting and decided that enough was enough. I told him that I would go find her, purposefully missing the sound of gunshots being fired as was part of the production. I had never liked guns, or weaponry in general for that matter, so it provided me with the perfect diversion. The music room was the first place I thought to look, knowing my daughter fairly well. I had expected her to be there.

However, I had not expected Garrett to be there as well. I had not made my presence known right away, mostly because I was too shocked to be able to do so. I heard him ask her many questions, which Caroline graciously answered. Although I had no idea whether the same thought had crossed his mind, I found that the situation reminded me of that first music lesson at his old estate. With such a fond memory in my mind, I could not stop myself from saying the exact words we had said to one another that day.

Garrett rose from the sofa, turning slowly to face me. He had aged, as I was sure that I had as well. His hair had begun to turn grey, but it did not look bad. I thought that I would not recognize him, but I could not have been more wrong. He still resembled the man I once knew, and judging by the fact that he too had immediately recognized me, I would have to say that I did as well.

"Do you know this man, Mother?" Caroline asked.

Garrett looked back and forth between the two of us with a look of bewilderment. With all the questions that he had asked her, there was a fair chance that he was beginning to suspect who she truly was. Hearing that I was her mother probably added to that suspicion. After a while of looking back and forth between us, his gaze fell back onto me.

"Yes I do," I replied calmly. "Caroline, would you leave us for a moment? There are a few things I wish to speak with him about."

Caroline seemed confused by this. Glancing over at Garrett, she nodded her head to him as a polite gesture, and reluctantly rose from her seat, gliding gracefully across the room. However, she stopped for a brief moment before she reached the door to glance over at me with a questioning look.

"I will explain later," I mouthed to her before motioning for her to run along.

As soon as she was gone and the door closed behind her, I fixed my gaze once again on my former lover.

"Elizabeth ... Who is that girl?" he asked.

He might as well have simply asked if she were his daughter, for I knew that was what he meant. However, I did not know how to tell him. Perhaps I was still overwhelmed by the shock of seeing him again after all these years. Believe it or not, but I was nervous. I, the sophisticated noblewoman who so many saw as incredibly strong and confident, was nervous in the presence of a man. Had the circumstances been different, I might have been tempted to laugh at the irony of it.

"Who is she?" he repeated.

I let out a deep breath, gathering all the courage I could find. For years I had imagined the day that I would see Garrett again and tell him about his daughter. Of course, I imagined it to be a lot more romantic in my fantasies. This encounter seemed more awkward than anything else. However, he needed to know at the very least. The only thing holding me back was the thought of what would happen after I told him. What could happen after I told him? He had a wife and children of his own. For all I knew, he could have fallen madly in love with her and forgotten all about me. I feared that he would have no reply and that I would be forced to leave again, knowing that what we once had was gone for good.