Chapter 198: A Deal That Lasts A Lifetime

Everyone turned to the entrance, confused by the little girl’s sudden call of “Daddy” But when they saw who was standing there, astonishment rippled across the room.

The man exuded power and sophistication, standing tall with chiseled features and piercing hazel eyes that seemed to burn with intensity. His sharp jawline and broad shoulders commanded respect, making it clear he was no ordinary individual.

However, it wasn’t just his looks, domineering bearing, or the possible identity behind him that astonished the onlookers, but the undeniable resemblance between this man who suddenly made an entrance and Celine’s children.

Leah’s warm blue eyes froze on the man. She had immediately recognized Tristan as the man she had once met and had pretended to be his daughter, the man had promised to come find her someday, maybe he was indeed keeping to his promise.

She had called him Daddy on instinct the moment she saw him, though the little girl wasn’t certain if this man was her own father or not, she had felt a special bond with him even from when she just met him back then. He had been the reason she’d opened up to her mother that she wanted a father.

Leo had his eyes fixed at the entrance, the little boy frowned deeply upon seeing Tristan. It was him!

Julian looked at Tristan’s face, his eyes narrowed sharply, then his gaze travelled over to the two children standing below the altar.

He knew this man. Tristan Grayson, but he had never once thought that the familiarity he’d seen in Celine’s children was because they looked so much like…

What was going on?

Celine was unable to will herself to move, nor was she able to take her eyes off the entrance.

Tristan stood at a distance, his gaze locked on hers, his eyes a turbulent ocean of emotions.

As he began to take steps, approaching her, walking over towards her down the aisle, Celine was unable to stop the pool of tears that suddenly clouded her vision.

What was he doing here? Why did he have to show up in front of her now? She was about to begin a new life, she had begun to accept the life that had been in front of her, she had already blocked all routes and memories of him in the back of her mind, him showing up here all of a sudden, she could feel it all crashing down in her heart, the tall walls she had painstakingly built against him all came crashing down into nothingness as her heart picked up its pace, beating against her ribcage.

It seemed like forever, however, it was just a few seconds, but he eventually came to stand right in front of her. The whole hall had fallen completely silent, where even the sound of a pin being dropped could be heard.

His hazel eyes searched her own, but in them, she could see everything, pain, surprise, realization… love.

Love?

That was impossible, just like she had once led herself to believe that he felt something for her, perhaps right now, this was just a mirror of that illusion she had made herself believe. And that belief had broken her heart.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Tristan had so many things to say, but unable to find the words to express himself, only this question came out.

On the way here, he had thought about it multiple times. Had she just told him, then perhaps all of this would not have happened.

Five years ago, had she told him about her pregnancy, what would he have done? Tristan had asked himself.

Back then, he would have been shocked at first, maybe even feel the urge to refuse it, but he knew that he never would have been able to turn his back on her or his unborn children. Perhaps he’d have acknowledged it, he’d have her stay at his house, then he would do everything he could to learn about women and pregnancy just to make sure that his children would be born healthy as well as her, he would want to take care of her, want to ensure her safety at all times.

Maybe he wouldn’t have quickly realized his feelings for her, maybe he’d even try to keep his distance from her at times, but then their children would be the linking connection between them.

Five years ago, had she not hidden her pregnancy from him, then perhaps he never would have let her go.

But then, perhaps it was destiny that things happened the way it did, it had taken him to a circle of realizing just how much she meant to him, it took him towards realizing that he loved her.

He wasn’t forced to be with her because she had his children, he wanted to be with her because he loved her deeply.

“Why didn’t you tell me about our children? Why did you hide this from me?” His voice was quiet, gentle even, regret laced heavy in his tone as if he would turn back time, all the way back to the moment it began.

Hearing his question, Celine wasn’t able to stop the tears that slid down her cheeks.

A painful pang struck her chest, so he was actually here for his children…

Celine was quick to compose herself, “I had my reasons.” She tried to sound firm, doing everything she could to curb her emotions or the fluctuations of her heartbeat due to his presence, “It is true that I had your children five years ago, Mr. Grayson, and I chose to keep them secret for my own personal reasons.”

A frown came upon his brows at her distant form of address.

Julian’s whole body froze as he heard the words Celine just uttered, those words were a confirmation that Tristan Grayson was indeed the father of these kids.

“If you’re here because you want custody of them, I’m afraid we’ll have to settle that in court some other time… Right now, you’re disrupting our preparations, so I’ll ask you to please leave, Mr. Grayson.”

She turned to head towards Julian, but before she could take a step, he grasped her hand.

She could feel the warmth of his hand as he held her, the familiar warmth of it brought awakened all the memories she thought she had buried, never to resurface.

“I’m not here just for the children, Celine.”

Celine suddenly felt her heart skip a beat, she hesitantly turned around to look at him, the tears that had gathered in her eyes clouding her vision. She gazed into his eyes and clearly the boundless emotions within them weren’t hidden, unlike he normally would hide under the mask of his indifference, this time, he didn’t hide the depths of affection meant for her, only for her.

“Do you know that you’re committing a crime? You can’t marry someone else when you still have a valid marriage with me.” His voice had a deep rasp to it as he spoke.

“I already signed the divorce papers, Mr. Grayson, whatever marriage we might have had is annulled.”

“Yes, you signed it… But I didn’t.”

Celine’s blue eyes widened in astonishment.

He didn’t sign the divorce papers? Why?

Tristan held her hand in his, “I’m here to take back everything I once said to you.”

He began, “To offer you something of mine, something I’ve been afraid to give you, even if you’d already taken it from me, I forced myself against it, I forced myself to turn my back on it because I thought I was protecting you, and in the process… I ended up hurting you,

“But no matter how I tried to deny it, I couldn’t avoid the fact that… you’re the only woman in my life who made my heart skip a beat, the only woman who made me break my rules, the only woman whose name my heart cannot forget.”

Hot tears rolled down Celine’s face.

“I thought I could erase you from my mind if I turned my back on you, I thought it would all be over if I walked away, but it was just my effort to continue denying the truth of what I feel for you… Like coincidence, you stumbled into my life, until my heart slowly opened to draw you in, until my heart began to beat with a rhythm that only said your name… I thought you had ruined my heart, little did I know you fixed it, you fixed it into falling in love with you…”

Her breath hitched, and once again her heart skipped a beat, then began a small marathon in her chest.

“I never once believed in love, but I wasn’t able to realize it when I fell in love with you, it took me a long time to come to know that I…I love you, right from the moment I set my eyes on you, and perhaps I hadn’t believed in all this in the past, but now I know that something had brought me there at the wedding to meet you, and the same thing had brought you into my suite that night… Some people call it destiny, other people would say it is fate, whichever it is, I want to be grateful for it, because it brought you to me.”

A sob almost escaped her lips, however, she bit her lips subtly to keep it in.

“I take back what I once said, and I want us to have another deal… The first deal we ever made was that night at the suite, the deal had stated no commitments. The second was our wedding night, the deal had been the same even though you’d officially become my wife since then, no commitments as well…”

He looked skyward and she caught a shimmer of something in his eyes, it glistened painfully and her heart clenched. Tears…

“I’m sorry for everytime I hurt you with something I said or did, I’m sorry for pushing you away when I should have held you close. I should have done this sooner…a lot sooner…” His voice strained, faltering as he tightened his grip on her hands, like he never wanted to let go.

Let’s make another deal, Celine, I want to offer you a lifetime of commitments and more, to start a life with me, and our children, all of the other deals lasted a single night, but this one will last forever,

“I want you to give me a chance to love you… for the rest of our lives.”

Celine couldn’t contain the tears as they rolled down her face. These were the words her heart had been dying to hear, for her to know that she was the woman he truly loved.

Her heart had been painfully broken, she had thought that she would never be able to escape the pain, but in this moment, his words of confession had filled her heart, like a soothing balm, healing all the cracks at once.

So hers hadn’t indeed been a one-sided love.

A blissful delight filled her heart in that moment, but that happiness barely lasted as she was reminded of something. The smile on her face shattered and her eyes swung up to Julian.

When their eyes met, his jaw clenched.

Slowly, disheartened, Celine pulled her hands out of Tristan’s hold. She lowered her head to hide the tears…

Tristan wrapped his hand around hers again, his eyes locked intensely on hers, refusing to release her even as she tried to pull away.

“I…” She began but her words were halted when Julian’s voice cut through.

“Celine will choose what makes her happy.”

Her eyes immediately swung up to Julian with disbelief. He smiled at her, warm but bitterly.

“Choose what makes you happy.” He repeated, nodding softly at her.

He was giving her his permission, he knew she’d wanted to compromise for him and he was choosing to let her go.

She smiled back at him through her tears then looked back at Tristan.

“Are you sure, Mr. Grayson? I took a chance and made a deal with you that only lasted a night, if I accept this deal, you won’t be able to turn your back on it, it’ll be just as you said it’ll be… For the rest of our lives.” She asked Tristan tearily.

A dimpled smile broke on his face, “For the rest of our lives.” He echoed her words.

If it would be with her, then he was willing to break every rule every wall, every boundary for a lifetime and more.

Her lips pulled up in a smile, a silent agreement to a deal that would last a lifetime.

Tristan suddenly pulled her into his arms, drawing her into a deep kiss. His lips sealing her own softly in an eternal promise.

Amidst stunned stares from the people who were here in preparation for a wedding, love bloomed in the blissful union of two people brought together by the promise of a single night.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep