Chapter 51: Chapter 51

"Time and memory are true artists, they remould reality neare to the heart's desire."

-John Dewey-

***

Time had passed by so fast, each year just seemed to go by faster and faster than the previous ones. For once there was peace in Clara's life. She felt like ever since she moved to Paris, things were a bit more complicated than they used to be, with Raphael and the lifestyle he had driven her into, quiet moments of solitude when she could just stay in her room while drinking a cup of warm chamomile tea felt like a blessing. Such serenity she had not felt in a long time, it almost made her lost track of reality.

It was early December, the city had been painted with white hue of the snow. Some little children were seen playing outside and the shopping streets were filled with fashionista who needed to change up their looks. Winter had arrived in Paris and Christmas was making its way, the shops had been decorated with Christmas themed decorations and snow was starting to pile up on the street.

"Those children looked so happy, it makes me wonder what our children would look like in the future." Raphael and Clara were walking alongside the most famous shopping district in Paris, they had just bought gifts for their friends and family when they saw some children playing with the snow. Those kids were probably no older than 6 years old. They were relatively small and still adorable. Clara chuckled as she watched them play for a second before they walked pass them.

Lately, Raphael had been bringing the conversation about children a lot. She did not know what it was with him, but it appeared he could not wait to be a father. As for Clara, the desire was also there, somewhere within her. Yet she was still nervous, she did not know why, but maybe because everything was becoming more and more real.

For Clara and Raphael, their marriage was to be held in two months, by then she had met all of Raphael's family members during a family dinner, which was quite a long story to be told, she did not even know where to start. Let's just say he had some rather interesting people in his family tree. They were nice people, it was just, some were a bit more unbearable than the rest. They would ask a lot of questions, so much to the point the dinner nearly turned into an interview session. While Clara managed to maintain a polite smile and answered them well, did not mean it did not suck.

That night when she was home from meeting his family members, she needed to take a long bath to relax her muscle. During the process, managed to keep her shoulder straight the whole time. Although Raphael's mother, Darlene Desroches, was a bit skeptical of their marriage in the beginning, at the end of the night she had softened up a bit to her. It was not easy, because if your man is close with his family and your mother in law doesn't favor you, you know you are screwed.

On the good side, Clara had gained the favor of Raphael's father since the beginning. Archard Desroches was in relief that his son was at least marrying a decent woman from a good background. Celine, on the other hand had been busy recommending names for her future nieces or nephews, she had gifted her a book filled with baby names, for 'reference' as she called it.

"A baby's name represents his or her parents' wishes, you must think about it carefully." she always told her. Who would have guessed someone like Celine could get hyped up about things like that.

For Clara, whenever the topic was brought upon her face, she was excited and nervous at the same time, and it showed through even during her work. She spaced out a lot recently, she still got the work done, but it was clear when talking to someone her mind was somewhere else. It was not something she was proud of. She had always had a principle to separate personal life from her work life. Truth to be told, she was scared. Wedding was no easy matter, it was something major. For Clara, who was a hopeless romantic, it was something she thought would change her life forever and technically it would.

***

"Are you okay?" Corentin tapped her shoulder when he realized Clara had been typing non-stop on the computer for the last thirty minutes without any breaks at all, which was something she did not use to do. He caught her pattern, she would take a five minutes break to take a deep breath and stretch herself every half an hour. She definitely would not break her pattern for no reason at all. It was just a tiny details that made all the difference. Judging from the look on her face, she was certainly bothered by something.

"Yes, I'm fine." She assured him, but Corentin knew what was on her mind, she was experiencing pre-wedding jitters. Yes, it was no longer a secret. Everyone in their mother knew about it and Raphael made it damn clear to Corentin that the two of them were getting married. Therefore, whenever Clara appeared strange like that, he knew she kept on thinking about the future, sadly enough for him, her future with Raphael. If he was to be honest with himself, he felt hurt.

His feelings for Clara had gone too deep beyond what he liked them to be, it sucked, really. Corentin should have known there is no such thing as true friendship between a man and a woman. One of them is bound to have feelings for the other, especially if the woman was as stunning as she was.

Corentin who had accompanied her the whole time at work, listened to her stories and had his stories listened in return, took her out for lunch almost every day, became her support system and her shield whenever she needed him, had to admit that he felt a bit heartbroken facing the reality that someone he held so dear to his heart was about to be married off to another man.

He wished he had met her sooner, before Raphael did. He wished he had won her heart instead. Maybe she could be his. How much delight he would receive if his wishful thinking was reality. But he had to face the truth, he was just a good friend for her, he had always been and would always be. Fate was not on his favor, even a great man like him lost to time and space.

Even then, he was determined to remain by her side as long as she needed him. He would continue to love and admire her in silent just like he had always done. When the time arrived, he wanted to be her children's godfather, and watched her flourish in her life and career, yes, just watching her being happy was enough for Corentin. It was what he kept telling himself.

How Silly.

He was sure that eventually he would meet someone else that he could belong with. Because he had to get married and build a family of his own. Yet he knew there would always be a special place in his heart for Clara. She was a joy to love. His precious swan.

Raphael would definitely make her happy. His love for her was out of the question, at least Corentin could feel at ease knowing Clara was on a good hand. If that was the case, then he should at least spend a day with her, not at work, no, he needed to have a time with her alone before she got married, because once she did, things would never be the same again. He knew that much and it crushed his heart, but sometimes feelings overpower logic and Corentin could not help himself.

Just one day. One last day.

"Do you want to come over to my place next week? I have something good to show you." he asked with a bright tone, hiding his own sentiments. Clara thought about it for a moment. Did she have plans already that day? No, she did not.

"Of course, I'll be there"

***

Raphael was having his leisure time after a long rough week at work. He was chilling on the rooftop pool with a glass of lemonade on one hand, brown tinted sunglasses and a towel wrapped around his hip. It was rare for him to have the time to enjoy himself like so. As previously mentioned, he was somewhat of a workaholic, though not as bad as his father.

His guard was lifted when he heard someone walking nearby, he opened his eyes and pulled up his sunglasses to meet Clara's beautiful figure. She was wearing a soft blue bikini underneath her swimming robe, her hair was leg loose. It appeared that she had just arrived back from work. Her face looked rather tired and in need of a refreshment. He had been so engulfed in himself he had not realized that the sun was about to set.

"You're home." He greeted her with a grin. She turned around to flash him a small smile, trying not to give him much attention.

Clara dipped her feet onto the water, her eyes met Raphael, but she said nothing, he knew what she was doing right away. She was subconsciously teasing him. She removed her swimming robe and threw it at Raphael's direction before submerging her whole body into the water, she swam around to the other end of the pool, where she could see the view of the city. The beautiful reddish orange sky blended itself with the silhouette of city buildings, creating a loud but restful scenic. Clara crossed her arms on top of the poolside.

She took a deep breath and relaxed her body. The water felt so refreshing after a long day at work. She just wanted some peace and quiet for herself. That was when she heard a splash in the water. Before long a pair of strong hand gripped her waist from the water, and Raphael emerged.

"You surprised me." She wanted to turn her head around but it did not seem possible then. Raphael rested his chin on the tip of her head. He easily towered over her.

"Did I?" He whispered on her ears.

"Yes." Clara replied nervously. She was still nervous whenever he was close to her. No matter how much physical contact they had had, which was not always a bad thing. Both had their eyes on the view, Clara parted her lips slightly, moving her hands on top of Raphael's arms. Raphael loved the small gesture. The two did not say much, they did not have to, they understood each other enough without words. They remained in that position for a while befor Clara broke the silence.

"I'm nervous." she admitted.

"About the wedding?" He asked. She nodded. Raphael had guessed so. It was understandable. Although he had given her time to familiarized herself with him, and both had known the relationship would end in marriage, when it actually almost time, it was a whole different story.

"You don't have to. Because you know that even without the formality, my heart is yours, Mon amour." He kissed the side of her forehead. It was those little things Raphael said which made Clara loved him. Raphael was not an easy man to love. He had his dark side surfacing at times, but she could not hate him either, because of those little things he said and done to her. Accumulating their way into her heart. She did not want to love him if she had the choice, but it was fate. They were fated.

"Kiss me." Clara demanded. She turned her head and faced Raphael. Her eyes gazed deep into his beautiful ones. It had been a while since they were this close with each other. Her heart was beating rapidly as a playful smile escaped his lips.

"Of course, my love." He presses his lips onto her. Her lips was ever so sweet, he had never gotten tired of tasting them. Parting was the hardest part, Clara had to be the one doing so.

"I love you, don't you ever forget that." He put both of his hands on her cheeks. Clara closed her eyes, and felt the warmth of his body. He removed his hand and touched her shoulder, wrapping his strong arms around her, gradually moving it around her back. Yet his grip remained firm and possessive. He wanted to mark her, to share to the world who she belonged to. Clara was his. Only his.

"I love you too, Raphael."