Chapter Text
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The boat was on the horizon as Fran limped her way toward it. The water below was murky near the launch but sparkled further out in the distance, giving way to the path the boat was made to take. The temperature had dropped considerably, but she paid no mind to it as she hurried to catch the boat in time. Nothing was going to stop her from finding Nigel and accepting his marriage proposal.
She couldn't keep waiting for Mr. Sheffield to decide if he wanted to be with her. It was too painful.
Not only was it painful, but unfair for him to assume that she would continue to wait around for him to make up his mind. No matter how hard it was or how badly her heart longed for Mr. Sheffield, she needed to move on. So that's how Fran found herself chasing after another Sheffield - Nigel. Their eyes locked when she spotted him, waving frantically. "Nigel!"
"Fran?"
Sprained ankle be damned, she hurried to him. "Nigel, thank God. I didn't think that I would make it on time."
"I didn't think you'd show at all."
"I almost didn't," She admits, "But I realized something - I don't wanna keep waiting any longer. I want to move on with my life, and more than that, I'm saying yes to your marriage proposal, Nigel."
His lips curled into a smirk, face dropping from concern to blissful happiness as he scooped her up in his arms, "Wonderful news, darling! We're going to make a terrific couple!"
She ignored the pain in her ankle as they kissed. "I can't wait to be your wife."
"And I cannot wait to make you my wife, darling."
A bell from the boat blared, and Fran slipped out of his embrace, wincing at the pain again. "Oh, we should probably get going, right?"
"Ah, yeah, about that darling. You know, I was thinking, seeing as how your family is here, and how long you've waited to walk down the aisle; plus how close you are to my brother and his children - why don't we put a hold on this little adventure and stay here until we're married?"
Fran's smile falls. "Huh?" There was no way she could return to the Sheffield mansion, engaged to Nigel, pretending like everything was normal.
"Well, as I said, darling. Your family is here; wouldn't you want them to be a part of our wedding?"
"Uhh, yeah, I guess so."
"And I'm sure Max's children would love to participate in our wedding too."
The mention of Mr. Sheffield has her damn near close to tears. How could she show her face or even be around him while engaged to his brother? He's going to hate her when he finds out. She couldn't handle that; it would break her heart even more. "You want to stay here?"
"Yeah, don't you?"
"I guess."
Nigel beams at her, "Good. Now, let's go tell our families the good news."
She wasn't too sure if everyone would regard their engagement as good news, especially Mr. Sheffield.
~~
They returned to the Sheffield mansion an hour later, Fran's anxiety reaching new highs as they exited the limo and grabbed their bags. She never intended to step one foot inside that mansion ever again, nor did she intend to speak to Mr. Sheffield again. Shit. The note. What were the chances of Mr. Sheffield not reading the letter she left in his office?
God, she was screwed. "Why don't you go on in, darling? I'll help the driver with the bags."
She nods numbly. Without a word, she made her way inside the mansion, pausing outside the front door to glance back at Nigel. She knew he wouldn't relay the news about their engagement gently to the family, not when he had a chance to brag to his brother.
She sighs and pushes the front door open, expecting to be greeted by Niles since the door was unlocked. But as she glimpsed around, she discovered the house was oddly vacant. "Hello?"
There was no response, so quick on her feet; she hurried further in the room, passing the living room to scramble towards Mr. Sheffield's office to retrieve the note she left, hopefully before he got a chance to read the damn thing.
Thankfully he hadn’t. The note was still tucked in the same spot on his desk, so Fran quickly grabs it and stuffs it into her pocket with a relieved sigh. She leaves his office and re-enters the living room, plopping onto the couch with a groan, the pain from her sprained ankle finally catching up to her.
She braces her leg up on the coffee table, wincing while her fingers brushed the tender skin. “Oh, Ms. Fine, there you are.”
Fran’s eyes widen. Shit.
“I’ve been looking for you.” Mr. Sheffield says as he perches himself on the edge of the coffee table.
Her heart throbbed in time with her ankle. It wouldn’t be long before Nigel was inside too. “Yeah, I went out.”
“Oh. With Val?”
She could lie through her teeth, but what was the use? He was going to find out anyway that she was engaged to his brother. Oy, that sounded awful. “No.”
“Oh.” He repeats, then looks at her propped leg, “Are you okay?”
The genuine concern in his voice has her taking a deep breath, close to tears yet again. Whether from the pain or because of her feelings, she didn’t know. “I hurt my ankle when I was out.”
‘Hurt it chasing after your brother’. She thinks to herself, startled when she feels his fingers brush her swollen ankle. “My God, that’s terrible.”
If he only knew. “I just need to ice it.”
“Well, here let me help you.” He offers, standing as he holds out a hand for her to take. She stares at it for a few seconds, dumbfounded. “Ms. Fine? Are you alright?”
“She’s more than alright, brother.”
Nigel’s voice from behind them invokes Fran to rise from the couch, pain ignored as she turns to face her fiancé. “Nigel, I thought you left?”
It didn’t take long for Max to notice the leopard print luggage by the door, along with Nigel’s bags too. He frowned, eyeing his brother then Fran. “Max, I’ve decided to stay a little longer. I have good news.”
“There’s more to you staying here?”
“Yes, dear brother, there is.” Nigel looks to Fran, beckoning her over to him. She reluctantly complies, avoiding the look she got from Max as she brushed past him. “Maxwell, I’m getting married.”
Oy. “You’re what?”
“Getting married.” He motions to Fran with a sly grin, “Your nanny accepted my proposal.”
Double Oy. She didn’t miss the flash of hurt and betrayal on Max’s face when he heard that little bit of information, mentally bracing herself for the onslaught of yelling that she was about to receive.
“Y-you and Ms. Fine? Are engaged?”
Her heart sank as she nodded along with Nigel, “That’s right, brother. She said yes.”
She felt his glare turn to her. “Well, then why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be out traveling somewhere in the ocean? Wasn’t that the plan?”
“I told my lovely bride-to-be that we should wait until after the wedding to make any travel arrangements. Her family is here, and I’m sure Fran wouldn’t want to get married without them there.”
”I’m sure they’ll be just pleased to hear their daughter is engaged. Especially her mother.”
"Right, my mother. I'll have to call and let her know about our engagement." She says in an attempt to exit this awkward situation as fast as she could.
"Not so fast, darling." Nigel grabs her arm; stalling her from leaving, "My brother hasn't congratulated us yet."
She could see Mr. Sheffield's irritation growing as Nigel continued to push this. "He can do it later." She offers, hoping to tame the tension between both brothers.
"Why not now? We're all here."
"Nigel-"
"It's quite alright, Ms. Fine," Max interjects, clearly perfecting his calm exterior as he slapped Nigel on his back, "Congrats, both of you." His smile was fake as he turned and grabbed Fran's hand, clasping it in his own. "I wish you the best of luck."
Pain gripped more than her ankle as she fought back tears, "Thank you."
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have some work to attend to." His hand drops from hers, and with another nod to Nigel; Max turns and heads in the direction of his office.
"Well, shall we tell the rest of our families?" Nigel says after a few seconds, bending to grab his luggage. Fran didn't move from her spot, "Fran, darling? Did you hear me?"
She breaks from her thoughts, nodding as she grabs her luggage too. "Yeah, sure."
A great sense of dread swept over her as she followed Nigel upstairs. Oy, she was in for a wild engagement.