A week later, Sabrina still struggled with images of Linus with his secretary. Sabrina and Linus had enjoyed their dinner in the office, but Sabrina couldn't help but wonder how many times he'd treated the other woman to a meal there as well. Or maybe Linus didn't even bother with food when he was with her.

It all came to a head one night after Annabelle had gone to sleep and Sabrina and Linus had watched a movie together. As the credits rolled, Linus moved closer to her and began kissing her neck. Sabrina tried to enjoy it, but tonight she couldn't stop thinking of Linus kissing his tart instead. As his hands moved to her breasts, Sabrina began to feel queasy. When he tried to give her a deep kiss, she finally pulled away.

Linus looked at her with a confused look on his face. "What's wrong, Sweetheart? I mean I thought with the movie over –"

Sabrina had enough of him playing dumb. "Yes, I know. You thought you could have me and your secretary. Sorry, but I can't do this anymore." She got off her glider and began walking away from him to the hallway. "It makes me feel sick thinking about what you might have done with her already."

Linus walked after her and blocked her path. "Sabrina what are you talking about? You can't seriously think –" he yelled at her.

"Yes, I do," she interrupted. "I think you have something going on with her. Maybe you've even already had sex with her. At any rate, I can't pretend anymore."

The look of anger and betrayal on Linus's face would haunt Sabrina in the years to come. "I can't believe you would say that, much less think it. I'm not even going to dignify it with a response. In fact, I don't even think I want to be here anymore. I just…" He shook his head as he walked to their bedroom and began packing a suitcase.

Sabrina trailed after him, too shocked to do anything else at first. "Wait, Linus!" she finally protested as he closed his suitcase. "I'm sorry! I should have known better than to think you would do that." She tried to touch his arm to get him to pay attention to her, but he shook her off.

"Sorry. But I can't look at you anymore," he shouted again. "For you to have so little faith in me, in us…no." He returned to the living room and began putting on his jacket.

"But what about Annabelle?" Sabrina asked, following him again, trying to think of something, anything to make her husband stay.

"You should have thought about that before you lost faith in me," he snapped back. "I'll call you tomorrow to tell you where I'll be staying. Then Annabelle can visit if she wants." And with that, he slammed the door behind him.

Sabrina watched from the window, hoping he would suddenly change his mind and come back. But after he hailed a taxi and drove away, she gave up. It was ironic. Earlier tonight, when she'd believed Linus was cheating on her, she would have almost been relieved to have him leave. But now it was the last things she wanted. All she wished to do was go back in time to the moment when they were finishing the movie. Instead of turning away from Linus's kiss she would respond, as she always had before. Their kisses and touches would build until they made love. Perhaps in the living room or perhaps in the bedroom. It didn't really matter.

Sabrina stood in the living room for several minutes, trying to decide what to do. She hated the silence of the penthouse. It made it all the more obvious that Linus was gone. She turned on the television for a few minutes, thinking the noise would make it better. But it only reminded her of the movie they had been watching before, so the television was snapped off. She should probably go to bed, especially after the long day she would have tomorrow. But as she looked into the bedroom, she knew it wasn't an option. Not without Linus. Instead, Sabrina retreated into her personal dark room, where she developed all of her family photos.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Two hours later, Sabrina was busy developing the picture of Linus holding Annabelle in her pink tutu. It was such an adorable, tender moment between the two of them. Was this the only way she'd see her husband and her daughter together now? No doubt Linus would soon find his own apartment and Karoline would bring Annabelle back and forth. After all, Linus said he didn't want to look at Sabrina anymore.

A tear rolled down her cheek, but Sabrina pretended it didn't exist. Crying wouldn't change anything, after all. Instead she continued working on her photographs. Sabrina shook her head as she looked at the picture of Linus again. How could she ever believe he had been cheating on her?

Suddenly she thought she heard the front door open. Sabrina shook her head, wondering who it could possibly be. It was the middle of the night, so it couldn't be one of their friends. Karoline didn't spend the night here unless she was asked to in advance. Sabrina wanted to believe it was Linus with all of her heart, but she knew she shouldn't expect it. Linus made it perfectly clear he didn't want anything to do with her, and she wasn't sure she could blame him. Accusing someone of cheating when they were being faithful wasn't much better than cheating itself. Still, she washed the chemicals off her hands and made her way to the front door anyway. It was best to find out who it was.

But Sabrina was shocked to find Linus standing in their living room, dripping wet. Apparently it had been raining. "Did you…come back to pick up an umbrella?" She asked him, not sure what else to say. Could she really believe he'd actually come back?

"No," Linus replied. "I came back because…I shouldn't have left. I asked the taxi to drive me to the Intercontinental Hotel, but when I got out, I ended up walking in the rain instead. And I started missing you. I'm sorry. I overreacted."

Sabrina stared at him, not sure if she should believe what she was hearing. She wanted to run into his arms, but she was afraid it wouldn't be real. Would Linus change his mind again? Would she wake up in the dark room and realize it was all a dream? "I thought…you said you couldn't even look at me after what I accused you of?"

Linus nodded. "That's what I thought, too. But when I started walking, I remembered all of our times together. Particularly what happened when we first moved here."

Sabrina stared at him, not sure what he meant.

He picked up his wet hand and touched her cheek. Sabrina leaned into it, revealing in the proof that at least she wasn't dreaming. "I tried to manipulate you into falling in love with me, and then I told you it was all a lie, remember? And when I showed up in Paris, you still forgave me."

Sabrina smiled at the memory of Linus appearing in front of her old Paris apartment. Of him explaining that he'd fallen in love with her as well, even though he'd told her the night before that it had all been a lie. "Yes, I guess I did."

"So if you can forgive me for that, then I think I can try to forgive you for what you said tonight. I want our relationship to work."

Sabrina suddenly noticed his suitcase was on the floor next to him. She sighed in relief, now ready to believe Linus had really returned for good. "Let's get you out of those wet clothes," she told him, trying to pull his jacket off him.

But her husband resisted. "No, the rain is good for the soul on a night like this. Why don't we go out on the balcony together? Don't you always say Paris smells its sweetest during the rain?"

Sabrina finally threw herself into his arms and inhaled his scent. Paris spring rain and Linus…perfect. "Yes," agreed. Let's go to the balcony."

So they opened the doors in the back of the living room and stepped out. For several moments, they just looked at the Paris nighttime skyline with their arms wrapped around each other, listening to the sound of the pitter – patter of the rain hitting the roofs and the sidewalks. Finally Linus turned to face her. "What could have possibly made you think I was cheating on you, anyway? I'm trying to forgive you, but I need to understand…"

Sabrina looked at his shoes, which she could barely make out in the darkness. "I'm wondering the same thing myself. I know you've never been interested in anyone else. But it started about two months ago, when you were working late that week."

Linus sighed. "Okay…I know I was in the wrong there, but…"

Sabrina continued looking at his shoes and listened to the sound of the rain for a second. Then she replied, "I came to your office to yell at you one day, and I saw you talking…no laughing with your secretary." She looked back into his eyes again as she explained, "I've always thought that Annabelle and I were the only ones who could make you laugh, Linus."

Linus shrugged as several drops of rain landed on his head, giving his hair more of that wonderful messed – up look. "I do laugh more easily for the two of you, it's true. I'm trying to remember the incident you're talking about…"

By the tone of his voice, Sabrina realized he really didn't remember it. It couldn't have been that important to him then. She felt as if a load of bricks was being lifted from her and new ones added onto her chest simultaneously. Linus really had no interest in the secretary, but knowing that also made Sabrina feel even guiltier.

"Oh, I think I remember. Miss Cornet said something funny, and I guess I really needed to let go of some tension that day. Still, I laughed because of her once. I laugh for you every day, Sweetheart," he told her firmly. He pulled her a little closer and stoked her wet cheek with hand. "But why don't I remember you being at the office that day, anyway?"

Sabrina paused and ran her fingers through his hair for a few seconds, inhaling the sweet scent of Linus and spring rain again. Then she replied, "I ran away. It sounds silly when I think of it now. But at the time I was so afraid you might be interested in her…I didn't want to be proven right." Several drops of water landed on Sabrina's head and she felt it start to wash away her guilt. Linus was right, it was very cleansing. "I know you like to think of me as brave, but I can be so cowardly sometimes. I waited all day to see you that time in your office in New York, because I was too scared to say what I wanted to. Even when I finally arrived, I tried to get Mack not to buzz me in so I could leave."

Linus nodded. "I see." A couple of more drops of rain fell on Sabrina's nose, and he kissed them off.

Sabrina enjoyed the feeling, thinking perhaps he'd started to forgive her for her for her mistake already. "It didn't help that I found out Paloma's husband is leaving her for his secretary a couple of weeks ago. I know he's not you, but I couldn't help thinking…she never thought he'd do it either…so…" She shook her head.

Linus nodded. "Thank you for explaining to me." He wrapped his arms around tightly and she did the same. Then they gave each other a kiss. "You know, I'm glad we cleaned this up, but if you get worried about me and another woman again, you should tell me. This all could have been avoided if you had just mentioned what you saw before, instead of letting it build like that."

Sabrina rested her head on his shoulder, once again enjoying the comforting smell of Linus and the freeing smell of the Paris rain. She thought about how Linus had always made his feelings about her and David clear. "Yes. I can see that now. I'll try to remember that." Then she gave him another kiss.

When they finally parted, Sabrina thought of something else that involved Linus's brother. "I think I understand a little better why you don't like to see me spending time with David. I always thought it was silly, but that was before I experienced real jealousy. I thought I used to be jealous of David's girlfriends when I was younger. But that was nothing compared to…" She shook her head and kissed a water droplet that had fallen on Linus's neck.

Linus nodded as he ran his hands over her back. "Would you like Miss Cornet to stop working for me?"

Sabrina paused. A part of her did. Even though she now knew Linus had never been interested in her, much less cheating, the images Sabrina had created in her mind…"I don't know. I don't like the idea of you being close to her, but I'd hate for her to be fired because of my insecurities."

Linus smiled, and she could just make out those adorable crinkles from the city lights. "I don't need to fire her. I can just transfer her to another department."

Sabrina nodded. "I think that would be a good idea." She kissed several drops of water which decorated his face, eventually landing on his mouth again. This time the kiss was incredibly passionate, as they let their tongues duel for a couple of minutes while their hands roamed all over their bodies, including some intimate parts.

When they finally parted, Linus murmured, "Let's take this inside. I think we both could use a warm shower, don't you?

A little nod to the original Sabrina at the end, because I'm quite fond of that movie, too.

Well, that's the end. Thank you for all the nice reviews for this story. As I said before, reviews are particularly useful in multi – chapter stories. Here's your responses.

Bloomandgrow: Yes, Sabrina makes the whole situation worse because she wouldn't talk about it. Definitely her biggest mistake in this story.

Glad you liked Annabelle's ballet, too. I like to have a lot of parent/child moments as well as couple moments in my fanfiction. This story didn't really lend itself to a lot, but that was a nice way to have some. (And I think the mental image of Linus holding Annabelle in her tutu is beyond adorable. :) )

Glad you think the subject is interesting, too. I love fanfiction that shows life isn't always rosy after you get married, and this is a good story to deal with some of that. And I think, out of all the couples that I write about, a story that deals with the possibility of cheating fits Sabrina and Linus the best.

Masterof4Elements: Well, things were resolved anyway.

Guest: Here's your update. I won't be doing any pre – marriage Sabrina/Linus, for personal reasons, but if you're interested in their first days in Paris after the movie you can try "Sabrina Extended" or "La Vie en Rose" on this site. I have thought of doing a pregnancy/birth story for Sabrina, but my muse isn't helping me with that one. So between that and the fact that I'm busy with RL and other fandoms right now, it may be a while before I write it. But you're welcome to keep checking for it if you want.

I hope some of you give me some reviews for the last chapter.