Eliza and Will

Chapter 44

*18 years later*

"And that is the story of how we got together," I tell to mine and William's five eager children as we relax together in our living room. For reference, William and I narrated a mellowed down story of our love journey, in order to make it suitable for little ears to hear.

"Awwww," exclaim our daughters Laura and Olivia excitedly, who are aged eight and six.

Our oldest son James aged ten smiles, but I catch him rolling his eyes, clearly having inherited part of my sense of humour.

Our three year old twins Theo and Anna also join in with their giggles, while little Anna claps her hands together and says "Mummy loves daddy."

"And daddy loves mummy," reveals William. "Very much," he emphasises, kissing my head before reaching Anna and scooping her up into his arms, much to her delight.

I beam at my husband, with my love and joy for him and our family being stronger than ever.

"Bath time for for you Miss Anna," he says, as he prepares to make his way upstairs.

"You too Master Theodore," I happily sigh, lifting him into my arms. With the rest of the kids in tow, I follow William upstairs before letting Theo join his father. I remain in our bedroom and have a quiet moment of relaxation, during which I further contemplate over our last eighteen years together.

Like all true love stories, it only feels like yesterday when our relationship officially began. And how so much has progressed for ourselves and the people around us, I think fondly to myself.

After we became boyfriend and girlfriend at the end of summer, I went on to finish my last year of University. During that time, I would travel to Derbyshire every weekend or during my days off to stay with William at Pemberley. In the middle of that year, Lydia gave birth to a baby girl at age 16, named Daisy Rose Bennett. My niece is absolutely adorable and so grown up, having recently turned 17. Lydia and Daisy were both well looked after under the residence and guidance of my grandparents. My sister had greatly learned and grown from her mistakes and soon gained back her sparkle, which had been destroyed in her early youth.

The next year following completing his PHD doctorate degree, William began his successful law career. I decided to do a PGCE one year Masters degree programme, which allowed me to become a secondary school English teacher. I completed this in Cambridge university and relocated to London permanently to be near to William's home he purchased there. Jane and I rented an apartment together, close to our boyfriends' houses. Mine and William's relationship continued to blossom and we were closer than ever, but it was important for us not to live together too early as I was young and needed independence. He understood and we didn't want to live in Pemberley so young, which was where we would live together after getting married.

A year later I was lucky to gain a job as a teacher in a very respectable school in London. Jane and I ended up each moving in to apartments with our boyfriends at this time, as we wanted more time with them while managing our full time careers. Jane also became a teacher, having taught in a successful primary school now for many years. The four of us have and always will be very close, and during the early years we had so much fun together as young adults, growing up together and exploring the world and all of its opportunities.

Moving forward to when I was aged 26 and William 28, he proposed to me in the acres of land at Pemberley one late summers evening. I naturally said yes, and it was such an exciting time. We married the following Spring and held our celebrations at the estate, together with our family and close friends. That was when we took over Pemebrley as man and wife, which was one of the best days of our lives.