𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝘼𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚 | 𝙋𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖

xvi. One Love, One Lifetime

A month later...

"Gosh, I can't believe I'm getting married," Charlotte smiled as she pinned another curl in place. "There. Gustave, can you give me a hand with finding my shoes? I seem to have misplaced them."

Gustave bounced up out of his seat and walked across the room, lifting the hem of Charlotte's cloak to reveal the white, kitten-heeled shoes she would be wearing. "The cloak was hiding them," he said with a little chuckle.

Charlotte laughed a bit. "Gosh, I'm so nervous," she said breathlessly as she put in her earrings. "There. How do I look?"

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you," Charlotte said softly. "And thank for agreeing to walk me down the aisle. It means the world."

"I'm happy to. I just hope I don't trip." Gustave then turned to the mirror and frowned. "I can't get my tie right. It's all crooked."

"Would you like me to tie it for you?" Charlotte giggled.

"Yes, please. I don't want to look silly at your wedding," he said.

"Alright." Charlotte stood up and moved over to tie the boy's tie. "There," she grinned, resting her hands on his shoulders. "You look smashing."

"Thank you. I match with Papa!"

"Yes, indeed you do," Charlotte laughed softly, putting a hand to his cheek. "Are we ready?"

"If you're ready, I'm ready too," he replied with a smile. "Alright," Charlotte smiled, fetching her bouquet and lacing her arm through his. "Do you have the ring?"

"Yes, I..." Gustave trailed off and his eyes went wide when he didn't feel the rings, but breathed a sigh of relief when he found them in the other pocket. "I do."

"Good," Charlotte chuckled. "Crisis averted. Let's go."

Gustave led her through the halls of the Opera House, but as they looked through the doors into the main lobby, Charlotte stopped short.

"What's wrong?" Gustave asked as he poked his head out to look down the stairs.

"Papa's here," Charlotte whispered, a wide smile growing on her face. "Nadir came! He actually came!"

"Is that Papa's friend that he mentions?"

Charlotte nodded. "And the man who took me in when I was sixteen."

"That was the surprise guest Papa told me about!"

"I can't believe your father did this," Charlotte smiled fondly. "Could you go ask Nadir to come over? I want to talk to him, but I can't let your father see me."

Gustave nodded and hurried down the stairs to where Erik and Nadir were standing. "Excuse me. Nadir?" he said quietly.

"Ah, Erik, is this your son?" Nadir smiled, turning to face Gustave.

"It is, yes. This is Gustave," Erik replied with a proud smile.

"It's nice to meet you finally," Nadir nodded, extending a hand to the boy.

"You too. Papa talks about you a lot," Gustave said as he shook his hand.

"Good things, I hope," Nadir chuckled.

"Most of the time," he said with a giggle.

"Erik, what have you been telling this boy?" Nadir sighed, shaking his head.