-

"How is she? What has happened?" Were the first words that Benedict said as he walked in the Bennet's mansion.

He came to the house as soon as he noticed that Elena was not in their house. He panic at first but calmed down and went to the first place he could think of.

Benedict walked towards Isabella and Thomas who stood in front of the staircase, staring at their brother-in-law with panic in their eyes.

"Isabella, where is she?" He said with worry and a little bit of anger.

"Uh..." A simple sound only came out of her mouth as she was lost in her own words, not knowing how to explain.

"Benedict!"

He shot his head to the voice who called him. Lord Bennet stood a few feet away from him. He inclined his head towards his office, asking Benedict to join him.

He hurriedly went inside where William explained everything to him. The moment he heard the terrible news, his heart shattered into a million of pieces. It felt like his world was falling apart. But he was mostly sad, because he couldn't stop thinking of Elena.

Ever since he knew her, the first thing Elena wanted after getting married was having a child. He remembered how her heart would melt every time she saw a child.

And now she has to live with this pain, this suffering.

-

"Lena, sweetheart?" Lady Bennet knocked on Elena's old room but got no reply.

She opened the door and sadly smiled as she saw her. "Benedict is here, flower." She said but Elena kept staring at the ground, not answering her.

Anastasia moved out of the way to let Benedict enter the room. She gently patted his shoulder and left.

Benedict's heart broke again when he saw the state that his wife was in. He gazed at her lifeless body, sitting at the edge of her bed, staring at the floor with no emotion.

The spark in her eyes was gone, her face was pale and we could see that she cried a lot because of her red eyes.

Benedict took a deep breath and slowly came closer, taking a seat right next to her.

"Darling..." He whispered.

Elena continued to stare emotionless at the ground without even blinking, a tear falling out of her eye.

"Elena..." He whispered again, but this time he lifted her chin with his finger so she could look at him. But she closed her eyes before they could meet his.

"Please, darling. Open your eyes." Benedict started to cry as well.

Elena opened her eyes as she couldn't ignore her husband's cries. They met eyes and all Elena could do was shake her head and tightly embrace her husband.

She cried into his shoulder while he caressed her head, softly kissing it.

And they stayed like that for a very long time. Not saying a single word to each other, they stayed there in their warm embrace.

After a few moments, they pulled away and Benedict cupped Elena's face.

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" Elena said as she noticed him staring at her for a long time

"I am not mad at you at all, darling." He chuckled at her accusation. "Hey, let's just forget about this for a few days. Now, all I want is to see you happy. I'm having a family gathering tomorrow, would you care to join me?"

Elena lightly smiled at Benedict and nodded.

"I love you, Elena."

"I love you too, Benedict."

-

"Aunt Winnie has send word!" Lady Bridgerton said to her family, entering her drawing room with a letter in her hand. "Francesca will be arriving home tomorrow."

"How exciting!" Hyacinth exclaimed.

"Perhaps she can tell us of time spent far from London." Colin said.

"Fran has missed so much." Gregory remarked.

"Mm. Indeed. It certainly has been an eventful season, what with Daphne and the duke, Benedict and Elena, and then Anthony and..."

Anthony sent his mother a gloomy glare which made her to stop talking.

"Yes, well, never mind." She was going to walk out of the room but stopped and turned. "And children, do not forget that your dear brother is coming here with his wife tomorrow. Now you've all heard of the terrible news, I want nobody bringing up the subject. Poor girl has already been through enough pain." She said strictly and walked away.

-

In order for Elena to not stay locked up in her room the whole day, Lady Bennet decided to take her daughter on a walk in the market that afternoon.

They were looking around many kiosks, their arms linked with each other.

"Ooh, these are lovely." Lady Bennet pulled Elena to a kiosk as she spotted some beautiful flowers.

"What do you think, darling?" She asked as she picked up a bouquet of red roses. "These will lighten up your house, for sure. Last time I checked, it needed more colour." She faced Elena only to meet with her emotionless eyes.

Lady Bennet sighed and put back the flowers, grabbing Elena's arms as they began to walk again.

"I know I am the last person you want to hear this from, but it is not the end of the world." Anastasia stated which made Elena roll her eyes and stop walking.

"Of course I know it's not the end of the world, mama." Elena slightly raised her voice. "It's just really hard to take in. Benedict and I always talked about having a child, even before getting married. A baby, mama. That's all we've ever wanted. And it gets snatched away from me. That doesn't seem fair."

Lady Bennet exhaled while staring at her. "I can't say that I understand how you feel because I've never experienced this. But my advice to you, right now, is to move on."

"How on earth will Benedict and I move on after this?!"

"You just do! Life gives you obstacles, Elena and this is one of them." Lady Bennet placed a hand on her daughter's cheek. "You're strong. You'll find away, you always do. But this time, you won't be alone.

-

At Bridgerton house, the whole family was gathered in the drawing room, welcoming back their dear Francesca. Around the same time, Daphne entered the room with Simon behind her, both smiling.

Francesca, who was on the piano, came running to Daphne as she spotted her. "Sister!"

"Francesca! Welcome home." Daphne said as they embraced each other.

"It so wonderful to see you. And you, Your Grace." She bowed to Simon. "I thought four brothers enough, but returning to five is quite nice."

Just then, Benedict and Elena entered the drawing room.

"Mmh. I even return to four sisters." Francesca said and made her way towards Benedict and hugging him.

Then she went to Elena. "Miss Bennet, welcome to the family. I hope we get along very nicely." She smiled.

"I'm sure we will, my dear." Elena returned the smile.

"You know, I've been practicing my pianoforte during the summer. Would you like to hear it?"

"I would love that." Elena replied and Francesca brought her to the piano.

On the other hand, Benedict went to take a seat next to Eloise who was stuffing her mouth was chocolate.

"I do not share my food." She said with her mouth full.

"You are not to do what you did the other morning ever again. Do you understand, Eloise?" Benedict said angrily to his sister.

"Ahh, you mean when I visited you during your honeymoon?" She smirked. "I apologize I shall never do that again." She said sarcastically.

"You really had the nerve to knock on the door when I was enjoying some peace and quiet with my wife."

"Now, Benedict. Please do not get mad at her." Both siblings looked at Elena who took a seat on the other side of Eloise. "I'm sure she was just excited about telling me her big news."

Eloise proudly smiled and looked at her brother. "Yes, BENEDICT. Do not be mad at me, I was just excited."

"Elena!" She turned her head to the person who called her. It was Hyacinth, seated on the floor in front of her. "Could you please tell me everything about your tour around Europe??" Hyacinth begged as she was clearly bored.

"Mhmm I do not know. It might bore you." Elena replied.

"Are you kidding?? Touring Europe is all I ever wanted to to do. Do not leave out any details."

Elena chuckled at her excitement and interest. "All right, I shall tell you everything."

The whole time Elena was telling everything about her journey, Benedict kept staring at her with lust and love in his eyes. She was so good with children and it pained him that she couldn't have her own.

-

It was now time for Daphne and Simon's ball. The guests have already arrived at their house but Elena and Benedict were still getting ready to leave.

Benedict patiently waited in front of the entrance for his wife to come down the staircase. He faced the front door, tapping his feet on the ground, until he heard footsteps from behind.

He turned around, seeing the most beautiful woman he could've ever seen walk down the stairs. She wore a dark blue dress with butterfly patterns on her shoulder, her sleeves were long and floated when she moved, and her black hair was loose, not even tied to a low bun.

When she arrived in front of Benedict, he took her hand a placed a soft kiss on it.

"I think this might me the thousandth time I fall in love with you all over again." He said, making Elena blush.

"Well, it's your sister's ball. I wanted to look good."

Benedict held out his arm for Elena to take. "Shall we?"

She nodded and tightly grabbed onto his arm.

They arrived at the ball and were greeted by every guest that was already there. Benedict and Elena left each other to go see other people. He went to see Mr. Granville and Elena went to see Daphne.

"I'm so glad you came, Elena. And I heard the news, I am terribly sorry." Daphne said, placing a hand on Elena's shoulder.

"Please, love. Do not apologize, these things happen to people and I am one of those people." Elena replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"You look astonishing, by the way." Daphne added.

"Thank you, Daphne. You look beautiful as well."

Elena's eyes gazed off her younger sister, standing there alone, all nervous.

"Excuse me, I shall be right back." Elena said and walked towards Isabella.

"There she is." Elena said, making Isabella shoot her head towards her. "Mama's new victim."

"Yeah." She nervously replied, her breathing getting heavier.

"Did mama leave you here? Or did you escape from your little cage?" Elena asked but Isabella seemed to be having a small panic attack.

"I saw Eloise go up to the library. I'm sure that Daphne wouldn't mind if you went as well." Elena told her to calm her down.

Isabella smiled. "I believe I should thank you, sister."

"Whatever for?" Elena asked.

"For being so perfect, so I don't have to be."

Elena returned the smile, inclining her head towards the stairs. "Off you go. I'll handle mama."

After Isabella went to the library, Elena went back to Daphne to continue their conversation.

She noticed that Daphne was exchanging glances with Simon who was on the other side of the dance floor.

"You two are so not subtle." She chuckled, making Daphne turned her head to her.

"I wonder, Elena. Is it different for them, men... to know whether they are in love? Everything else seems different to them." She stared at her husband. "We agreed to one dance tonight, a waltz."

"At least you get one dance..." Elena stated and looked at Benedict. "Since yesterday morning, we can't even look at each other. I'm scared at how things are going to go from here."

"It's going to be okay." Daphne softly said and held her friend's hand. "I know it. You two love each other so much, you will be alright."

Elena smiled at Daphne and intertwined their fingers. "So will you."

They stood there in silence for a moment, gazing at the guests at the party.

"It's funny." Elena started . "So many things happened to the both of us, and at the same time. We're like platonic soulmates."

"I think having you as a friend was one of the best thing that's ever happened to me this season."

"I think it's one of the best things that's ever happened to me in my life."

Elena and Daphne stared at each other, smiling until the music stopped and the dance floor was clear.

"Go. Dance with your husband." Elena said and gently pushed her towards Simon.

Beautiful music echoed through the ball room as Daphne and Simon started waltzing, staring into their eyes and never looking away. Many more couples danced as well, until it started raining.

All of the guests went underneath of the roof as they didn't want to get wet, except for Elena. She stayed there as the rain started pouring on her. For the first time in a very long time, she felt free.

She laughed as the rain wet her dress and hair while the guests just stared at her. She opened her eyes and saw her husband in the rain as well just smiling at her.

After a few seconds, Lady Danbury told all of the guests to leave and they did. Daphne and Simon went back inside as well, knowing that Elena and Benedict would want some privacy. They continue to stare at each other with love and affection. Every step they took, the more nervous they got.

After they finally stood in front of each other, Benedict spoke.

"I love you... more than anything in this world. I truly realized that after being apart from you. We can't have a child, but I want to try again, I want to do everything that's possible to get you a child."

Elena lightly smiled. "How will we do that?"

"Maybe, we could figure it out... together."

"Maybe, we will."

And then, Benedict pulled her into a kiss, which she instantly returned. It started slow and soft at first, until it became more lustful and desirous. Benedict placed his hand on Elena's neck, pulling her closer while she wrapped her arms around his back.

"You're something else, Benedict."