The Beau & the Beast

51- A heart of glass

-Belmont-

It was over.

I was so relieved I could not stop smiling. No one would quarrel with us anymore. No one would dare.
We were damn royalty now!

Lumiere had proved that he really was on our side. There was no doubt anymore and we were now the family I always wished we could be. We had killed Levi and Lumiere had gotten what he wanted with our help. Or rather, with Clocksworth's help.

He was both the brain, the heart and the inspiration behind all this. I glanced at him. He was deep in thought and did not seem at all as happy as I was.

However, there was a small problem left which was probably a reason why he did not relax. The princes were dead but their closest friends were still alive. They had no idea of ​​Levi's plan to deceive us and would probably be greatly surprised when Lumiere crowned himself king of all of France. But that was his problem now and nothing we needed to worry about.

"King Lumiere," I laughed as I lay in bed with a bottle of champagne in one hand and a blood bag in the other. "And cheers to Queen Marianne!"

"He got what he wanted." Clock smiled where he sat and looked out the window, "He usually does."

"Has it always been his dream?"

He shrugged, "Probably, he's always been thirsty for respect."

"But not you."

He turned to me and I sat up in bed. We were both tired after everything that happened and the big party we had afterwards. So the whole day after was spent in bed with most of Clocks' whiskey stock carried to the room.

"I have never demanded respect."

"But you've always got it anyway," I told him with admiration in my voice.

He shrugged again, "Not always."

"Did you ever crave power like he does?"

He sighed. "Power was Anthony's desire, if Lumiere is smart he should stay away from his similar morbid desire for power."

"Like becoming the king of vampires in all of France." I teased and he laughed.

"Mmm, like becoming king of all fucking France."

I got out of bed and went to put my arms around his neck and sought his eye contact. "You know they would rather have you as king."

"King is not a flattering job," he grinned, "and they are usually cruel and mean."

"Do you have a lot of experience in the subject?" I laughed. He nodded slowly with a much more serious face expression. "But you would have been different." I told him as I placed a kiss on his nose.

He looked up at me with tired eyes, "But I don't want to."

With a sigh, I realised that he was not in a joking mood at all, so instead I leaned down and kissed his cheek, "I know." I felt his arms tighten around me and his forehead leaned heavily against my chest. "We're free now Theo, we can do whatever the hell we want!"

I felt his body tense a little but I dismissed the anxiety that hit me.
He had toiled like an animal for months, of course he would be completely exhausted, now as everything was finally over.

It must be such a sick fucking anticlimax when you fight so hard for something and then it's over, I thought and admired the man I had in my arms.
The man who always smelled of cigar smoke, always looked at me with the most loving eyes and always thought of me before himself.

I touched his chin and angled his head slightly so I could look into those beautiful chestnut eyes.
"This is just the beginning Tick-Tock, we have hundreds of years ahead of us." I smiled and pressed my lips against his in a tender kiss full of hope and longing.

But it did not take long before my happiness was shattered once more.

***

I woke up the next morning with a smile on my face turning to face the love of my life. But instead I found a letter.

I stared at it with trembling hands. I knew deep inside what it was, but I didn't want to believe it. It wasn't possible.

I opened it and read it. Tears started to flow down my cheeks. I read it a third time ... a fourth ... a tenth time.
The words remained, nothing changed even though I read it over and over again, it said the same thing.

"Forgive me, Belmont. I had to leave."

He left without me? I didn't understand. He wouldn't have left... not without me? I felt completely empty inside, like a shell without feelings. He couldn't leave without me!

A rage began to grow somewhere deep inside.
"Forgive me?" How the hell could he even think I'd forgive him?!

The rage disappeared and tears began to flow down my cheeks again and the sadness and the feeling of being let down washed over me like a tsunami.

How could he not understand, after everything we've been through I wouldn't survive without him! He was my everything.

My heart broke and it felt like a thousand shards of glass slowly cut through my body.

Alone... I was all alone again.

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A/N

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This is not the end though, but prepare for some emotional chapters 💔