The Redeemed Soul [Dorian Gray]

Goodbyes

The day of the exhibition arrived to everyone's excitement. Rosemary's trunk and bags were ready in the living room by afternoon. The youngest Hallward spent the entire morning with Agatha and the Radleys, thanking them for everything.

"I'm going to miss you." Celia said, moving both Rosemary and her mother to tears along with herself.

"I'm going to miss you too." The two of them embraced each other through their sorrow.

"Write to me." She continued.

"I will."

Rosemary also met Victoria and asked her to take care of herself, "We women need to stick together."

The exhibition was a huge success. It might have been Agatha's best organisation yet and she was proud of it. "You take care of yourself." She warned Rosemary.

"I will."

"Oh, I'm going to miss your disapprovals." She joked, spreading laughter across the four of them.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you then." Rosemary laughed.

That night, as they were heading towards their home for one last goodbye, Basil informed her that she had forgotten one person to say her goodbye to and when she looked outside her carriage, they were outside Kelso's mansion.

"I can't..."

"Come out. I have something to tell you." He insisted.

"What is it?" She asked as he opened the carriage door for her and helped her down.

"One minute." He promised and rang the bell.

Victor opened the door and was surprised at the presence of the siblings. "Oh, Hallwards!"

"Hello, Victor." Basil bowed down.

"Hello, Basil." He bowed down in return.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed happily.

"Now you know." Basil said, taking Victor's hand in his.

"Basil..." Victor started to convey his concern when she pulled the two of them into a hug.

"Oh, I'm so happy!" She squealed.

"What?" Victor asked, confused.

"Does that mean that you give us your consent?"

"Why, of course!" She jumped in joy. "Welcome to the crazy family." She shook hands with Victor.

"Well, it cannot be official but I am happy to call you my sister." He replied.

"This has to be the best news that I've heard my entire life."

"Even better than getting into France?" Victor asked.

"A whole lot better than that!" She replied.

He sighed in relief. "Obviously, nobody else can know about it. About us." He smiled at Basil.

"My lips are closed, but have you told mother?"

"Diana knows?" Victor asked.

"They're my family. They love me for who I am and they love you as well." He quickly kissed Victor. "Mother knows."

"Aren't you getting late?" Victor asked, looking at the time.

"We will be leaving right away."

"Can I meet you in five minutes?" She asked her brother.

"Why?"

"I need to..." She gestured to the house.

"Oh, of course." He nodded. "I'll see you later, Victor."

"Can't wait." He replied.

Rosemary smiled at Victor. "Someone has been sneaking behind my back, haven't they?" She took his arm in hers.

"I didn't know how to tell you." He revealed, closing the door as they walked inside the house.

"But I am really glad that Basil trusted to tell me. I knew that there was a reason for his unusual happiness and now, I know the reason."

"Rosemary?" She heard Dorian's voice from the end of the hallway.

"I'll leave you to it." Victor said. "Goodbye, Rosemary."

"Goodbye, Victor." They hugged each other. "I'm going to miss our games."

"So am I." He admitted before getting on with his work.

Then, she walked into the living room where Dorian waited for her. "I wasn't expecting you to come." He spoke.

"I wasn't either."

"Are you here to say goodbye?" He asked, his voice filled with a sorrow that he had never felt before.

"I'm here to ask you if you want to come with me once again, despite what you said last night. Or to say goodbye." The words weren't coming to her mouth but she got them out with difficulty.

"I can't leave London."

She nodded and walked towards him. She kissed his cheek, her hair blocking the true emotions on her face. "Goodbye, Dorian." She whispered before walking out of the house, holding back the tears in her eyes.

Dorian was also trying to stop himself from crying and fell to his knees, breaking down all over again. Unconsciously, he found himself in the attic. He did not know how he got there but he pulled the drape from the painting and forced himself to look at it. He knew what he had to do.

Rosemary and Basil took her trunk from the house and walked towards the carriage. Mr. David helped them sit comfortable with the number of luggage. Diana got in with some difficulty but they were on their way to the station, the same place where this story began from.

The train was delayed by a few minutes and her platform was empty, which was exactly the intention in booking a midnight train. "Will you be careful?" Diana asked, holding her daughter close.

"I will, mother."

"Do not forget us." Basil hugged his family.

"Very funny." She replied sarcastically.

The train was arriving and they could hear it. The turn of the wheels and the steam from the engine were too hard not to notice. "Bye, Rosemary." Diana kissed her forehead.

"Bye, mother. Bye, brother."

"Take care." He told her once he helped get her luggages to her seat. She stood outside to wave at them one more time before going on to her new beginning.

"Bye!" She waved at them, the train's warning of departure echoing through the station.

"Rosemary!" She heard someone shout her name. She peeked out of the railings to see if it was who she thought it was. "Rosemary!"

"Dorian." She whispered.

He was running towards the slowly moving train with a suitcase in his hand. He looked at Diana and she resisted shouting at him, because no matter what had happened between them, he changed Rosemary's life.

"Get on the train. Quickly!" Diana shouted.

He ran towards the love of his life, pulling himself onto the train just as it was taking speed. "Hi." He said, standing closely in front of Rosemary.

"Hi!" She laughed.