The Lighthouse

Katherine pushed open the door and gasped when she saw what was waiting for her and Charles at the top of the staircase.

A perfectly rounded room encased in glass waited for them on the other side of the wooden door. The space was small, but with all of the sunshine gleaming through, it felt magical and inviting.

Katherine walked to the center of the room and spun slowly to look at every inch of the space and take it all in. There was a circular bed towards the right of the door, a small loveseat on the other end, and a bunch of pillows and blankets to fill the rest of the space.

"Is this a lighthouse?" she asked Charles as she continued to explore.

"It is," Charles said as he watched her with hope in his eyes. "Do you like it?"

Katherine nodded her head up and down, but seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Now we have an escape in both our homes. The garden and the lighthouse. Two places that are just for us, for whenever we need them," Charles said.

A sigh escaped Katherine's lips as she walked over to the glass door that led to a wrap around balcony. She opened the door with haste and stepped out to take in the view that awaited her.

The sounds of the ocean and seagulls flocking filled her ears, and the wind caressed her face and played through her hair. She looked to her left and saw the beach that she had found Charles on that morning, and as her gaze drifted to her right, she saw a city with skyscrapers in the distance.

"The view is somehow even more stunning from up here," Katherine said as Charles walked out onto the balcony behind her.

"Yes, the view is stunning indeed," Charles said, his eyes never leaving Katherine.

"And it's all yours?" she asked as she finally turned to look at him.

"Ours," Charles corrected. "This will be your home soon too, so I want you to have someplace you feel comfortable in. Someplace you can go if you want alone time or to get away for a bit."

Katherine's heart started to race, and she could not tell if it was nerves from his talk about their life together or because of the way Charles was looking at her with such adoration and affection. Both made her uncomfortable.

She swallowed hard and grabbed onto the railing to steady herself. Even though she was outside, she felt like she was struggling for air.

"Are you alright?" Charles asked as he closed the space between them and grabbed onto her arms.

She looked up at him and saw the concern in his eyes. It was totally different from how he had looked at her at breakfast. Katherine was starting to feel like she was getting whiplash from how he was sweet with her one minute, and cold with her the next.

Maybe he felt more tense now that he was back in his home, but she needed answers because with everything else going on, the truth was she needed him. He was her only support in Eos, and she was far from home.

"We need to talk. Right now because I can't take it anymore," she answered firmly as she kept her eyes glued to his. She needed him to understand how serious this was for her.

Confusion flashed across Charles's face, but he nodded and pulled her back inside, away from the strong sun and wind. He walked her over to the bed, sat, and pulled her down with him. He dropped his hands down to hers and held them tightly as he waited for her to explain.

"I know you said you don't know how to talk with me about what has been bothering you, but one minute you're this incredibly sweet person, and the next you seem almost mad at me. So we need to talk about it. You have to be able to trust me," Katherine told him.

As she was talking, Charles dropped his eyes and his body started to tense. "I'm sorry," he said barely above a whisper when she was done.

He sucked in a big breath and looked at their hands that were still together. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand and slowly brought his eyes back up to meet hers.

He was quiet for a moment, like he was gathering his thoughts, before he began to explain. "My parents had an arranged marriage. I watched my whole life as two people who clearly didn't love each other had to spend every day together. Even when my mom was dying, you could tell my father was sad, but it almost looked more like he was losing a business partner and not his wife."

Tears filled his eyes when he spoke about his mom dying, and he looked to the side and did his best to blink them away. Katherine could see how difficult it was for him to talk about all of this. He clearly had a lot of pent up feelings that he had been holding on to.

"My mom lived her whole life without having someone who loved and cherished her the way she deserved. I mean, she had me, but it's not the same, you know?" Charles asked as he turned back towards Katherine. "I don't want a life like that. I want the chance to spend my life with someone I love. Someone who loves me too, and wants to be with me. You and I both deserve that, I think."

When he was done, he dropped his eyes back down to look at their hands.

Katherine watched as his face turned pink from him trying to hold back his emotions, and her heart tugged for him. She hated seeing him upset, especially after he had been so vulnerable. Now she felt bad for forcing him to talk about it.

At the same time, part of her was relieved that he did not seem to be angry with her, just angry with their situation. They had that in common.

Katherine racked her brain for what to say to comfort him. She never had been good at dealing with emotions, and Jasper was never one to open up like this, so it was new territory for her.

Suddenly, her idea for living separate private lives while they were married dawned on her.

"What if we don't have to live lives without love, though?" she asked him.

Charles's eyes darted back up to hers. Katherine immediately recognized the hope that filled his face. This certainly was a time that she was relieved that he had difficulty hiding his emotions.

"Once we're married, we can have our public appearance of the happy couple, but in private, we don't have to be together. You can be with whoever you want, and I promise I won't get upset about it. Likewise, I can go off and be with someone else, too," she explained.

Her words came out rapidly, as though she was afraid that if she paused that she would lose the nerve to tell him her plan.

The hope faded from Charles's face, and he looked back down at their hands. He gave them a small squeeze before he let go and put his hands on his own lap. He even seemed to lean away from her.

"This doesn't seem like something you just happened to come up with," Charles replied with a voice that lacked emotion. He still couldn't bring himself to look back at her.

Katherine felt a pit form in the bottom of her stomach. She tried to quickly think of how to cover her tracks. "No! No, I just think that if you're worried about finding love, that we can work together to make sure it happens for you. Love is special, and like you said, we both deserve it."

Katherine felt panicked. This was probably the only chance she had left at fighting to keep Jasper in her life, and she was not going to give up. She needed him.

Charles slowly nodded his head and brought his eyes up to meet Katherine's. They were cold, and Katherine immediately stilled and felt uncomfortable. She could tell that whatever he was about to say would not be in her favor.

His eyes looked like they could burn a hole right through Katherine, but his voice remained calm as he asked, "Is all of this so you can be with him?"