69. The Skyfall.

[Claire]
I laid on the sofa, my head on Sophie's lap, she and Michele had come to comfort me after I landed and they could not believe what Jean had done.
"I'm sorry to say but I told you so." Sophie sighed as she ran her fingers through my hair.
"No, you're not sorry." I looked up at her with red eyes.
I'd been inconsolable, I'd been crying since I landed and it had already been a week, I sent a resignation email to my boss because I didn't feel up to going anywhere and I'd been at home since.
When I turned on my phone, I saw tons of messages and mixed calls from Jean but I didn't respond to any of them. He'd tried to come and talk to me twice but I'd hidden in the room till Sophie and Michele were able to get rid of him.
"You need to pull yourself together and stop moping around." Sophie frowned down at me.
"Are you my friend or are you just here to make me feel worse."I sat up from her lap and glared at her. "Michele?" I looked at him, resting my head on his lap.
"You'll be fine, beau, but you really do need to stop crying." He leaned down and wiped my tears away.
"Believe me, we've all been there before and we both know how it feels," Sophie said.
"No," I stood up angrily. "No you don't know how I feel because you've never been deceived in such a way, you've never believed that you knew someone when it wasn't even him."
"Calm down, Claire."
"He deceived me, I opened myself to him, and every time he was just lying to me, I mean did he even love me?" I cried.
"You'd have to ask him that for yourself," Sophie said and I groaned.
"You've not even spoken to him," Michele argued.
"How are you going to get the closure you need?" Sophie asked.
"I'm not ready for that now, I don't want to face him now, I don't want to face anybody." I cried again.
"Girl." Sophie stood up and pulled me back to the sofa. "Even if you are not ready for the day." She started.
"It cannot always be night." Michele finished the saying and I would have laughed if I wasn't so heartbroken.
"Did you two get that from TikTok?" I asked them and they nodded, grinning at me.
"I promise, I'll talk to him when I'm ready," I said and they both nodded.
"What have you eaten?" Sophie asked and I pointed to three empty cans of ice cream and a bag of chips.
"Dear heavens, child, are you trying to get sick?" Michele said, facepalming himself dramatically.
"It's comfort food, I needed comfort and they provided that for me." I pouted.
"Yeah, I can see why your hips are so wide and your ass is so big," Sophie said and I laughed.
I laughed and then I began to cry when I remembered how Jean used to say that he loved my hips and butt.
I'd always been self-conscious of my size but with him, I never had to worry about that, I thought he loved me for me.
"Why are you crying again now?" Michele asked, looking concerned.
"We made love." I blurted out.
"What?"
"I guess it's quite normal, we'd have to be crudes to pretend not to know what happens when one is in a relationsh—"
"It was my first time," I said, interrupting Sophie.
"Oh, merde." Michele cussed.
"I hope you used protection at least?" Sophie asked and I froze.
"I-It was my first time, I am not experienced, I didn't even think about that, we didn't… he didn't… oh my God… am I going to get pregnant now, is that it?" I started to hyperventilate as I began to panic badly.
"No, no, darling, no, please calm down."
"Deep breaths please, deep breaths."
"What is going to happen to me?" I asked, trying to calm down.
"It was your first time, chances of you getting pregnant… I'd say it's a pretty slim chance but I could get you some morning after pills just to be safe though I think it's past time for a morning after pill to work." Sophie said and I began to panic again.
"Past time?"
"No, no, I think it's still viable, or you can just take it for luck," Michele added immediately.
"Okay, I'll take it."
"I'll go get it for you." Michele jumped off the sofa immediately.
"No, no, she has not eaten and between the three of us, you both know that I cannot cook for shit and she's not in the right state of mind to cook so the responsibility falls into you." Sophie stopped him and also stood up.
"Alright, I'll bring you some tea, and then I'll start making some food, okay," Michele said.
"We can just order in," I said.
"Nah, you have a lot of groceries at home and Mich is up to the task. Besides, you need to eat something healthy to make up for that junk, and please pick the place up a bit, will you?" She said and batted her eyes at her brother.
I lay back down on the sofa and covered up with a blanket after she left. Michele went to get me some tea and then he cleaned up all the junk from the parlor, when it was all gone, he went to the kitchen to cook.
About thirty minutes later, the bell rang and I groaned but I still got up because it was Sophie at the door and I desperately needed to take the pill. I did not want to risk getting pregnant.
I opened the door and gasped at the face I met. I tried to close the door immediately but he was faster than me and he held it in his hands.
I looked down at my appearance and I groaned, embarrassed.
I was wrapped in the blanket and my hair, let's just say a bird wouldn't even call it a home, it was that bad.
"Please, I need to explain things to you." I looked back at him and I could see the sincerity in his eyes.
He looked tired and he looked like he had lost some weight, he still looked handsome but he didn't have the same look as he used to have before.
He looked dejected, broken, and maybe defeated.
I shook my head as I tried to expel those thoughts. I couldn't feel sympathy towards him because he didn't think of my feelings when he was lying to my face.
"Why your royal highness, what are you doing in my humble home? This place is far too humble for you to step in, you should return to your palace where you belong." I said sarcastically.
"Claire, please don't be like this." He siansand tried to touch my hand.
"Don't you dare touch me." I removed my hand from the door and it opened completely for him.
He walked inside and pushed the door shut immediately.
"Whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it."
"Please, just let me explain, I didn't mean for all that to happen, I planned to tell you the truth, in fact, I was about to tell you the truth when you—"
"I don't care about anything you have to say, Jean or should I say your royal highness Prince Luke of Denmark." I looked him in the eye and said mockingly.
"Please just hear me out, Claire, I can't live without you."
"I thought I couldn't live without you too but turns out I can," I said and tossed the blanket on the sofa, grateful for the fact that Sophie had bullied me into changing my outfit that morning.
"I need you to understand that I never meant to hurt you."
"I'm done talking to you." I frowned and turned my back at him because my eyes were watering too much and I didn't want him to see me crying. "Michele, please we have an unwanted guest, please can you come to show him out," I yelled.
I shook my head when Michele slammed the fridge door close and pretended not to hear me.
"You have to leave, right this moment." I turned back to Jean, fire in my eyes.
"I'm not leaving." He moved closer to me. "Not until you hear me out."
"What do you even want to say that's going to justify what you have done?" I sighed and dropped to the sofa.
"Everything else was true, I never lied to you about my feelings, I couldn't tell you the truth because it's complicated, my life as a royal is too restrictive, I couldn't tell you the truth but I planned to, when I got back to the room, you weren't there." He said.
"And do you blame me, did you expect me to still stay after what I'd just discovered."
"Yes, you should've stayed so that I could explain myself." He said.
I stood up and slapped him hard across the face, I put all the hurt and anger I felt into the slap.
"Get out Jean, nothing you could ever say would change what you've done, we're done and I could never trust you ever again."