Paris - 12:01 PM

Alexandra blinked her eyes a few times as the electronic signboard kept on changing the estimated time for trains to leave the St Pancras Station en route to their next destinations.

"Ready?" Grant asked as he appeared from behind.

Turning her front to face Grant, she smiled faintly and nodded her head once. Her hand carefully reached out for the tall paper cup containing her hot latte. The misty steam from the cup slowly seeped throughout the hole at the top of the cup and dissolved into thin air.

Both her and Grant walked side by side as they made their way towards the train. This morning, he had surprised her with two train tickets to Paris. She was in fact surprise at first and had asked Grant about it when all he said was that he wanted to spend more time with her and that he had cleared his schedule for the whole two weeks.

Two days after she had been discharged, Grant was more strict than ever about her diet and daily activities schedule. Even Rae had been in cohorts with him in banning her out of her own bakery until she gets better in health. Grant even less likely to be on called every other nights recently and had been staying home since then, taking care of her and fending to her needs.

Once they were seated in train ready for departure, Grant slowly reached out for her hand and held it in his warm ones.

Alexandra smiled, "I can't believe we're going to Paris. I thought you were busy this month since the patient with severe case involving his heart had just been admitted at the hospital."

"Well... I decided it's time for me to spend more time with you instead. My co-workers will take over my cases while I'm away." He said reassuringly. "Besides, you always wanted to go to France, especially spending time in Nice."

He then continued, "So, we'll be arriving in two and half hours at Gare du Nord. We stay in Paris for two days and onto the next train the next day heading to Nice."

Two and half hours passed, the train slowly coming to a stop just at it's designated platform. Alexandra excitedly left the train, leaving Grant behind as he chuckled amusingly. Both of them hailed a taxi and soon they were on their way to the famous hotel that overlooked the infamous Eifel Tower.

Taking time freshening themselves up, Alexandra was the first to get dressed and was waiting eagerly for Grant. Like a kid in a candy store, that was what Alexandra was feeling right now.

She cleared her throat and faced Grant, "Where will we be heading first?"

"Oh I don't know. Why don't you take a guess?" He asked teasingly.

"Oh! Oh! The Louvre! I have always wanted to see the Mona Lisa."

And so, gone were both Grant and Alexandra to the famous art museum, The Louvre. Grant had rented a car an hour before they arrived. A convertible to be exact, saying that it would be a desire of him to watch the love of his life, Alexandra's, hair to sway in the wind in Paris.

They walked, hand in hand as they enjoy each of the painting and finely-carved statues in the art museum. Grant loved every single second of the time he's with Alexandra, having to witness the look of awe on her face as she studied each of the paintings they stop by in the museum. While she was busy staring at the paintings interpreting the real values and beauty behind them, Grant Carson on the other hand was busy staring at the woman who he intended to marry anytime soon, that is if Alexandra really did choose to be with him instead of Nikolei till the end of their lives.

Finally, they halted in front of the Mona Lisa. Seeing the excitement displayed on her face, Grant chuckled sightly and sneaked his right arm around Alexandra's petite waist as he held her in his arm comfortably and lovingly while they stared at the world's famous painting right in front of them.

"The painting was thought to be a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo. At the age of just fifteen, she was the third wife of the successful cloth and silk merchant, Francesco di Bartolomeo di Zanobi del Giocondo. Mona Lisa, or in French, La Joconde, was painted by Leonardo da Vinci when her husband gave Leonardo commissions for a portrait of his wife to celebrate the birth of their second daughter, Andrea, and the purchase of the family's home." Grant explained, smiling at the end of his sentence as he tightened his hold around Alexandra's slim waist.

He continued, "Speaking of paintings, I'd love to have a painting of your own in our home in the nearby future. It would remind me of your beauty, the beauty that first made my breath hitched and forced the feelings in me that had been buried for a long time to emerge back to the surface of my heart when you first stepped into the hospital's room during the first time we met each other. Looking so vibrant with your gorgeous red hair cascading behind your back, I was taken aback by the beauty you hold in and around you. I love you, Alexandra. I truly do. Je t'aime, ma belle et magnifique fiancée."

Alexandra was starstruck as her eyes remained static on her fiancé's face. The blood rushed to her cheeks as she blinked twice or thrice in her stares. Grant's dimple had shone as he smiled, making quite a remark and presence on his left cheek as he smiled cheekily in her direction before winking his eyes teasingly at her as the naughty thoughts of his surfaced in his mind all of a sudden.

"A huge portrait of you naked for my private keeping would be worth painting." He whispered faintly into her ear. "Every single details of your body being put into the portrait, I still believe paintings will do your beauty no justice, my alluring princess, but still worth for my fingers to dance for on an innocent white canvas."

"Grant!" She shouted, as quietly as possible only for his hearing.

The blush on her cheeks were getting furious in shades as Grant playfully nibbled onto the lobe of her right ear for a few seconds before he broke into a fit of chuckles, earning them a few amused yet curious glances from the art-lovers nearby. Alexandra shyly walked away leaving Grant behind as she approached the portrait of Madame Récamier.

As she was busy interpreting the painting in front of her, Grant approached her from behind and once again sneaked both of his arms around her, lovingly. A smile graced his lips as they were buried in her hair. "Ah! Juliette Récamier... One of the famous socialites during her time. Wife of the Parisian banker, same as Lisa del Giocondo, Juliette too was married at the age of fifteen to a man who was thirty years her senior. A true beauty, she was. The painting never did finished. To why it never did, no one really knew why."

Alexandra turned around on her heels and faced Grant who was stunned at first later amused by her sudden turn. He bit the corner of his right lips when Alexandra's eyebrows rose curiously at him.

"How come you know all about the person in each of the paintings we passed by?" She asked.

The man who stood closely to her smirked handsomely, "Why, my dear I took art and literature as my minor course in university and that I was gifted with the hands and creativity of a true artist as my professor said it."

"Cocky." Alexandra whispered as she slipped pass his arms.

Grant chuckled and followed Alexandra as they finished their tour in The Louvre. Both of them were satisfied and as they stepped foot just outside of the museum, Grant was quick to pull her with him as they rushed towards the convertible Grant rented. They drove through the streets of Paris, enjoying the breathtaking view of the town of love. At the end of the day, Grant and Alexandra made a stop at Jardin du Luxemborg. Giggling as her eyes were covered with a piece of cloth, Grant guided her through the garden for a few minutes when they finally stopped in their tracks. The gushing sound of water fountain reached Alexandra's ears when the cloth was finally removed from covering her eyes.

It was almost dark in the evening, but Alexandra gasped in awe as her eyes took in the surrounding of De Medici fountain. The sky was getting darker by each minute but the fountain and garden was illuminated with holiday lights and sparkling light bulbs hanging in the tree and around the fountain. Grant slowly planted a kiss on Alexandra's forehead and lips. He then guided her to a place not far from the fountain. They took a seat on the picnic blanket laid on the grass. A bottle of merlot and champagne together with hors d'oeuvre were sat nicely on the side.

"I take a kiss or two as thank you." Grant expressed teasingly as he popped one of the strawberry into Alexandra's mouth.

Alexandra smiled gratefully and breathed a sigh of relief. "You did all of this?"

Grant hummed, "Thankfully, father is good friends with a few of the senates here in Paris. I'd asked for a favour and they gladly helped me out with this plan of mine to woo my lady."

Just as his sentence ended, Alexandra jumped on his bones and repeatedly kissing Grant as they got lost in the ambiance. They pulled apart a few minutes later, Grant chuckling in return as he witnessed the faint blush on Alexandra's face.

"Sweet as always, with a hint of strawberry flavour." He winked and pecked her lips for a second.

An hour had passed and here they were, lying down on the grass in each others' arms. Grant had his arm around her body with the other cushioning his head while Alexandra had her arms around his torso, with her fingers lightly tracing circles on his muscular chest area. Their breaths were synced when Grant decided to break the silence between them.

"I'm sorry that I have not been spending my time with you lately." He muttered. "My heart broke when I saw you were unconscious that day."

Alexandra stopped tracing circles and looked up to Grant. "No, it's not your fault. I'm just stressed from the constant sleepless nights I had. That's all."

"No! I'm just as much as to blame for the cause of your stress. I should've agree straight away when you called me that evening."

A breath escaped her parted lips as she tried to find comforting words in her mind, but nothing came up. Alexandra snuggled deeper into his side and tightened her arms around Grant's torso. While she tried to think another topic for a talk, the curiosity in her started to emerge and filled her thoughts. Maybe Grant knew all about it and she believed that they were the keys to stop her constant dreams from disturbing her during the nights.

"Grant..."

He hummed in response.

"Who is Nikolei and why have you been allowing me to spend time with him lately?"

She could feel him tensed beside her as the question escaped her lips. His chest collapsed downwards as he heaved a sigh.

"Alexandra..." He said, almost a whisper.

She quickly cut him as she sat straight from her position, "I know who he is, Grant, but I want to hear them from your own mouth. You two have been acting strange lately and I started to notice something. You have been giving him the chance. What chance, I'm not quite sure."

"Your husband. He was your husband." He uttered faintly, sitting up as he faced her with guilt shone in his eyes. "A lot happened in your past Alexandra. When Brent told me everything, I knew that Nikolei was the victim too when both of you were manipulated into doing things you later regretted. Both of you were the victim of greedy and selfish people."

He then continued, "I love you, Alexandra. So much that I am afraid of losing you to someone else. I am selfish and my heart was telling myself not to let you go when Nikolei really deserves you after all he had been through. I met his son once. A sweet and handsome little boy. His eyes light up brightly when I mentioned your name and when he called you 'mom', at that time guilt struck me hard when I realized that I have been keeping you all to myself when there's a boy who has been needing and longing for your love has been hoping for years for you to show up in his life once again."

Her ears caught every word Grant was saying. Just as she was about to speak, Grant stood up and started packing the beverages and leftover food near the blanket. She could see the sign of distress shown on his face but he did nothing to ease them up. She wanted to but when she reached out to him, he pulled away from her and distanced himself as he packed everything, leaving only the lights hanging on the trees illuminating the dark surrounding with its light.

They arrived at the hotel a few minutes later. Not once did Grant turned towards her and teased her with his usual naughty jokes and chuckles. There's no way to hide it. Her heart clenched painfully at the cold attitude he was throwing her. It has not been a day yet and she already missed his warm and loving presence and attitude.

She wanted the old Grant back.

The loving and romantic Grant who never fail to make her laugh and blush.

The Grant that always stands by her side no matter what.

The Grant who made her heart beat rapidly and the butterflies in her stomach fluttered crazily.

Bathroom was Grant's first stop as they entered their room together. No one spoke a word. Not even a mere sound of wheezing. Alexandra just watched him sadly from the corner of her eyes as the door to the bathroom softly slammed closed.

A few minutes later, Grant walked out of the bathroom with his basketball shorts on, minus the t-shirt. From the looks of it, Alexandra could tell that he had just finished his shower a few moments ago. By the time she finished freshening up, he'd already settled himself on the bed as soft snores could be heard from where she stood.

With an aching heart, Alexandra slid into the bed on his side and snuggled into Grant's back carefully not to wake him up from his sleep. She loved the warmth radiated from him as she hugged his torso lovingly when a drop and two of her tears escaped her eyelids.

She knew she couldn't stop her tears from touching Grant's bare skin and she hoped for him to be fully asleep not to feel her crying beside him, but fate has other thing going on.

Just as a few more tears started to pour, Grant moved and turned his body around to face her. He faced her in the darkness of the room as his hands shot up to her face, softly wiping the tears away from tainting her soft, beautiful porcelain white skin.

His arms engulfed her, and lovingly, he planted a kiss on her forehead as she sobbed softly into the palm of her hands. They were muffled, the sobbed barely could be heard but Grant knew that she was crying as her body shook lightly under his hold.

"I'm sorry." She whispered between her sobs.

Grant let out a faint sigh and enclosed the small gap between them. "Shh. It is not your fault. I'm sorry too for behaving and treating you like a jerk just now when I should be giving you the best time of your life on this trip."

"No. It's not your fault, Grant. I shouldn't have ask and pry informations from you."

"You deserve to know about your own past, Alexandra. It is wrong for me to hide them from you when I know about all of it. I should have-" He said.

Alexandra loved that both her and Grant were opening up to each other, but she hated it when Grant put all the blame on himself. So, she decided to do what her mind told her to do. Alexandra quickly silenced him up by kissing him with full passion.

As they kissed each other fighting for dominance, Grant reluctantly pulled away from her. He breathes heavily, trying to catch his breath as he stared at Alexandra whose cheeks were flushed. Even in the darkness she still looked beautiful and breathtaking.

"What I wanted to say, Alexandra, is that I don't mind if you chose to be with Nikolei. When you told me you know who he is at the fountain, I was upset. Upset that maybe it is time to let you go and be happy with him." Grant expressed seriously. "I want you to be happy, sweetheart. Whatever you decided to choose, I will always be happy for you no matter what happen. You deserve to choose and have a happy life with someone you truly loves."

With that being said, Alexandra remained silent as she stared at the slightly concerned Grant. The sadness was very visible in his eyes as she got lost in them. Her heart was beating rapidly as she scooted nearer to him. With only a slight move forward, her lips could touch Grant's warm ones. Their nose touched each other as she stared bravely into Grant's eyes.

"Make love to me." She whispered into the night.

As the words dissolved, Alexandra and Grant got lost in each other's embrace as they indulge in the heat of the moment.