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“No, darling,” he said. “I was afraid.”

“But -”

He reached for her as he waded through the water, pulling her along with him. “I had seen the lake take everything I loved,” he murmured, “And I spent my childhood believing that it could, someday, decide to take me next. Even as I grew, the idea never left me, no matter how foolish it might’ve been. And when you…” Michael slowed to a stop.

Cordelia swam around to be in front of him, resting her hand upon his cheek. “Michael,” she said. “It’s all right.”

He met her gaze. “When you fell into the lake, I thought that fear had finally come true once more,” he continued. “But I came into the water. I did it without even realizing.”

“You are strong.”

“No,” he said, his lips pulling back into the widest smile she had ever seen him have, “Youare strong, Cordelia. You have brought me back from the brink of collapsing into a darkness I would’ve never been able to pull myself out of. The fear that once grabbed a hold of me had no power when I looked at you. Becauseyouare brave.Youhave taught me that, darling, and I will be forever grateful for what you have done for me.”

Cordelia swallowed the tears that threatened to streak down her face. Though she doubted he would’ve noticed them when she was already soaking wet. The words were priceless and she wished to save them like she did in her paintings. If she could’ve captured that very moment with a paintbrush, she would’ve spent the rest of her life just admiring it. She cleared her throat, her voice thick with emotion on the cloudless and beautiful day.

“I wonder how you can repay me,” she finally said.

Michael smirked. “Is there something you wish for?”

“Let’s see.” Cordelia started to lazily drift through the water alongside him. “What is it thatIcould possibly ask for?”

He laughed, the sound low and musical. “I’m sure you are capable of thinking of something.”

She shrugged, the smile growing along her face. “Well, there just happen to be a few things.”

“Oh, really?”

“But I’m not sure if you can handle them, Michael!”

He swam next to her. “Now I’m far too curious for you to not say it.”

“Perhaps I ask for you to hire some workers,” Cordelia said.

He frowned. “I beg your pardon?”

“Hire some workers,” she repeated with a nonchalant shrug. “We’ll need them to build an addition to the estate, of course.”

Michael’s eyes widened. “Good lord, Cordelia. An entire addition?”

“What happened to repaying me?”

“Well, anentire-”

She waved her hand through the water, splashing him a few times. “Where else will we have the nursery?”

Michael froze. “Nursery?”

“It can’t possibly go in any other rooms,” she continued, ignoring how he was no longer following her. “The redecorating I have already done is still practically new to be set aside and done all over again. No, it won’t do.” Cordelia tilted her head. “And what of the children’s rooms? They require something other than the guest rooms you -”

Michael’s hand suddenly clasped down on her wrist, and he effortlessly pulled her through the lake, till she was directly in front of him. The sun’s constant gaze rendered his cheeks a delightful red, the shade beginning to take over his neck and shoulders. Blocking out the sun, Michael tucked his finger beneath her chin, keeping her eyes entirely focused on him. Disbelief filled his expression the longer he stared.

“Be clear with me,” he whispered, “Do you still tease?”

Her eyes widened. “Do you wish it to be so?”

“Cordelia,” he sternly said. “Tell me.”

Whatever fear she might’ve ever had about his response no longer touched her. In fact, she could hardly remember a time when she was ever truly afraid of him. While London’s Ton feared the man with scars and a sour looking face, Cordelia never quite understood it. He was simply a man, and a wounded one at that. She saw a blank canvas that slowly began to have streaks of color splash across it. Tears finally pooled in her eyes and she had no intention of stopping them that time. They were joyous and glad tears, ones that deserved to be shed on that beautiful moment.

“We are with child,” she whispered.

Michael gasped, the breath hitching in the back of his throat. He searched her face once more, before his eyes filled with delight. He laughed, the smile beaming from ear to ear as he swallowed her up into a tight embrace, the water splashing around all around them. He held her tight against him, one hand holding the back of her head. It was gentle but affirming, his heartbeat hammering loudly against her ear.

“I love you,” he said into her hair.

Cordelia breathed in deeply. “And I love you.”

If only she could have painted the moment, to be remembered for the rest of time.

The End?