Joséphine and César - de la Vallière suite



Joséphine hadn't realized just how little she truly understood her husband, or at least that part of him that handled his amorous liaisons, until prying the lid off Pandora's box and unleashing a host of consequences from its depths, consequences they both were currently attempting to seal back inside, to give each other the opportunity to deliver a honest explanation. Joséphine was no longer certain what she had expected to hear, or how she truly imagined the conversation would go: two scenarios had intruded in her imagination, one in which César confessed his mistake and another in which he admitted to loving her less. Now that they stood face to face, both clearly troubled and taken aback by each other's words, she realized it was never going to be that simple or straightforward, nor the solution easy to grasp. As long as they themselves weren't able to understand the other's thoughts and feelings on the matter, there would be no solution to be found, only a tangle of confusion and uncertainty.

Uncertainty was the dominant feeling within Joséphine at the moment: César's reassurance that his extra-marital encounters had nothing to do with her, or their relationship, and that he considered them separate matters, had shaken her beliefs to the core, confusing her feelings as well as her thoughts: on one hand, knowing he loved her was a great relief, on the other, knowing that it wasn't enough to be faithful caused fear to stir inside her again. One thing the young Marquise could tell for certain was that César hurt as much as she did, and understood, at last, how she felt about the whole matter. Against better judgement, she entertained the hope that this new insight would prevent him from pursuing other women again, though what Joséphine truly wished was for her husband to want to stay faithful, because he felt no need for a mistress and not because he knew he would hurt his wife. Any promises made then would be unfair to request, or even to expect, one's fundamental views could not shift so abruptly.

"But...", César began, apparently plagued by the same uncertainty she felt "Joséphine... I'm here. Don't you see that? I'm here, and I always have been."

Finding it further proof of how differently they viewed the matter, Joséphine suppressed a small sigh in the moment of silence that followed, before César added an afterthought:

"At least I've tried to be..."

He had been, Joséphine couldn't deny that. It only made the times when he hadn't been there more confusing and difficult to bear. She remained silent a while longer, attempting to sort out her thoughts and fashion a response that would offer a solution, of some sort. One thing was absolutely certain however: with a child most probably on the way, Joséphine's main focus shifted from her well being alone to that of her children: Adèle, Angélique and the baby needed a father.

“I think neither of us truly understood each other until now,” she said, lowering her gaze. “We both assumed things that were untrue, and they festered. I do not wish to make any more accusations, for I don't believe the blame was ever held by just one of us, and neither you nor I can foresee the future. What I wish for is a new beginning...”

Joséphine looked back at her husband:

“...If you do as well.”


((ooc: Atropa - Sorry if this is messy, or if the dialogue sucks, I was seriously lacking inspiration.

funheart - looks perfect now, she's been added to the list and I'll soon change the suites map too :jig: ))

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