Chapter 377

"I love you." Sebastian said. He poured a glass of wine for Pearl and smiled.

"What?" Pearl asked, noticing him staring longer than usual at her.

"You're beautiful." He said, almost sounding surprised.

Pearl blushed.

"I mean, truly, unbelievably beautiful. A goddess." He said. "I sometimes forget that when I think of you because of what you are inside, what you are to me. But tonight, in this candlelight, I'm reminded of the external beauty as well." Sebastian smiled and looked down, shyly. The outdoor terrace was full of flowers and candles and little lights hanging from the ceiling. It made a magical, warm ambiance around them.

"Thank you." Pearl said, taking a sip of her wine.

"So, tell me about the trip." Sebastian said.

"It was enlightening. What Dylan has accomplished there in such a short time in unbelievable." Pearl began. "The work is hard, but it feels good. And the therapy is also pretty tough. It all hits you in the face, all these things you are carrying around emotionally when you are there, in the middle of the mountains, with nothing but the air and sky. There's no where to hide, literally and figuratively." Pearl said, looking off as if the mountains were right in front of her.

Sebastian nodded. "It sounds like a wonderful place." He said. A silence grew between them, filling the air like an uncomfortable cloud. The elephant in the room was more than obvious.

"Dylan is my friend. Nothing went on there between us." Pearl said. She was being honest. Dylan knew she was there for her own growth. That didn't change what he or she felt inside. Sebastian looked up and into her eyes directly, giving her a look that she understood. She knew that wasn't what he wanted to know.

She closed her eyes and looked away. She couldn't answer the question his eyes asked.

More silence between them.

Sebastian changed the subject slightly.

"I hear Erik made an attempt at an apology." He said. Pearl looked over at him, surprised at his knowledge.

"Yes. How did you know?" She asked. Sebastian reached into his jacket and presented her with a letter.

"He did the same with me." He said. Pearl unfolded it and saw that it was similar to what he had said to her. An apology and a plead for forgiveness. He also explained that he had talked to Pearl and that she had forgave him. It sounded sincere and it must have been incredibly difficult for him.

"I did forgive him." Pearl said. She looked away and then back at Bash. "And there are parts of me that will always love him. I was madly in love with him and that's not something that ever leaves you." She said. "Once you truly love someone, they possess a space inside of you, they permanently engrave their soul upon your heart."

Sebastian nodded.

More silence.

"Pearl, I need to know what lives inside of your heart. I already know the Erik and Dylan will always be there. And so will Rhys. I need to know more than that. I need to know where you truly want to be. You say nothing happened between you and Dylan and I believe you. But that isn't my concern. My concern is where you want to be. Where is home to you? Where is it you want to be?" He asked.

It was all out on the table now. She knew the answer. She felt it in her heart, in her body, in her soul. The Pearl she was before all of this would have said it. Would have stood, kissed him on the forehead and left him sitting there. Another failed marriage. Another failed life. But not this time. She had made a commitment to him. To the children she bore. To the country she married into to protect and lead. It was her time to sacrifice, for once, for the good of the life she had built.

She looked up and into the kind and beautiful eyes of the man that loved her.

"Home is here." She said, with a smile, putting her hand on his. He smiled and wiped a tear that had fallen down his cheek.

"I promise I will always take care of you and our children. I promise to love you until the day I die."

He said. She nodded and smiled.

"I know." She said. And she closed her eyes. In another life, she was standing next to Dylan, at the foot of a mountain, the wind blowing through her hair, and laughing that in some other life, they are apart.

She opened her eyes again and looked at Sebastian. In this life, I am the queen and in this life, he is my king.