Chapter 9: Emelia

Rose sat stiff on the green velvet chair in the sitting room. It was the same room she had first met Anthony in. Although it brought many painful memories, she brushed them away and thought about how, in a matter of minutes, she would meet her worst enemies, both in the same room.

Rose looked over at Jack. He seemed calm and confident, although Jack would describe himself as anything but that. Rose glance over at Emily, who was sitting nervously on the wide sofa. Their eyes met, as both seemed to reveal all they're most inner thoughts and worries to each other.

Suddenly, Rose heard a noise from down the hall. Footsteps echoed down the long marble hallway. That's when, after 20 something years, Rose Dawson was reunited with Satin himself and his little assistant, the Ice Queen. Even after 25 years, Emelia still looked like a pampered poodle, sitting on her thrown just waiting to get noticed. Cal, with his face aged slightly and his hair a light grayish black, looked over at Rose. And for the first time in his life, Cal looked over at Emily. He was suddenly thrown back in time. It was almost as if Emily were Rose's identical twin. His jaw nearly hit the floor.

Rose stood up as did Jack and Emily. John appeared from the doorway. Emily immediately ran to him, embracing him. Both families watched in awe and in somewhat of pain. To Rose, John looked just like Cal, but with a hint of Emelia's fair complexion.

John turned towards his parents with Emily at his side. "Mother, Father…I want you to meet Emily."

Cal looked over at the couple as he put on a fake smile and nodded. "Well then, so this is Emily, huh? John…why don't you two go outside or something? I think that we all know that we have important business to cover."

John's worried look soon faded away when Emily nodded to him in approval. She knew perfectly that if either one of her parents were to get angered, especially her mother, that it would not be a pretty sight. And she knew that there would eventually be anger in the conversation between the two families. It was only a matter of time.

Once John and Emily were gone, Cal spoke first. "Well, I'm sure we all feel a bit…awkward right now. I don't really know what to say to tell you the truth. I had never dreamed in all my wildest dreams…and nightmares…would I have guessed that my son, of all people, would meet and fall in love with your daughter. I know that this won't be easy for any of us, but for the sake of the children, I'm willing to put our differences aside and face what the future holds. Because I don't know about you, but I know my son does love Emily and he'll marry her with or without my consent. So let's just make everything a whole lot easier on everyone and just get this over with and be done with it."

Both Jack and Rose were shocked at the suddenness of Cal's little speech. They had both planned on saying something relatively the same. "Well I'm glad to see that for once, we're thinking on the same level. It's just better this way." Rose said, as she looked Cal straight in the eye. He nodded and moved towards the window where he could see John and Emily sitting on the patio, obviously enjoying each other's company.

Cal lit a cigarette. His nerves were going haywire. He then walked over to Jack and offered him one. Jack took one. "Dawson, would you mind seeing me in my study?" Cal said in a lowered voice. Jack nodded and followed him back. This left Emelia and Rose alone.

As soon as Cal had left, Emelia's tensed body suddenly relaxed. Rose looked at her curiously. "Well Rose Dawson, it seems we meet again."

"I guess so. You seem different."

Emelia chuckled. "Different? Ever since I had John my life has been different. Hell, ever since I married Caledon Hockley, my life has been different. I can see why you left the bastard why you still had the chance. It's no mystery anymore. I had envied you at first, when you were engaged to Cal. I still do to this day. You lead a life that I can only dream of. I mean, look at you! You've got a loving husband who is willing to sacrifice his own life if it meant he could save yours. You've got three beautiful children. You don't have to act perfect around everyone either. You have what everyone in the first class world wants- freedom to do what you please when you please."

"Emelia…I don't know what to say. I mean, the last time I saw you we were ready to strangle each other to death. But I can see how things have changed. What happened?"

"Well…let me just tell you right now that I wasn't exactly saddened to hear of your 'death' on the Titanic. Of course we all now know that you're alive, thank God. Well, back then things were different. Cal seemed to recover from your loss quite quickly, although something inside him was still there reminding him about you. I never really figured it out. Any way, we began to get to know each other better and within a month of my father's death, I was engaged to Cal. My mother was very ill at the time and so she wanted to see her only daughter well off and in good hands before she died. So I was married to Cal, told to behave properly and to obey him no matter what. I was to hide any emotion and think strictly on how we could become wealthier. After a few months, Cal decided he would need a baby boy- somebody to take over the family business someday. After John was born, everything suddenly became clearer. By having John, it also showed me the man that I REALLY married- the cold hearted and concieted Caledon Hockley. I didn't want to look like that in the eyes of my son and so I changed for the better. It was tough, but eventually I did manage. I didn't care about money and fame anymore. All that I cared about was my son and his well being. Cal didn't like this at all and threatened to send John away to boarding school if I didn't change my ways of thinking. I couldn't even think of sending him away and so I promised to change my priorities. That was only the start to a rocky marriage. John certainly didn't benefit anything from it either. His childhood was probably anything but happy. Cal only kept him because he knew that someday John would inherit the family business. To him, he was worth nothing more than an ant and that's how he treated him. I wanted so badly to love John and take him in my arms and just hold him, but I couldn't. If I did, I knew that there would be a price to pay. So I tried to shut him out of my life, but I just couldn't. And so, when Cal was away on business trips and such, I would spend all of my time with John. I'd tell him just how much I loved him and we'd go on little outings together, just like I always wanted to do. Over the years, John warmed up to me and we finally had somewhat of a relationship. I wanted only what was best for him. It's all that I ever wanted. To tell you the truth, this marriage is a blessing. It will save John from this wretched lifestyle so he won't be forced to be like that as an adult."

"Oh Emelia! I know we haven't always gotten along in the past, but I think that we're finally seeing eye to eye." And with that, Rose gave Emelia Hockley a comforting and much needed hug. After 40 years of knowing each other, they finally became friends.


Epilogue
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