After the dinner ended, everyone except Lily and Zhuo Jingren went back to the cabin to rest.
“You should visit Luxembourg when you have the time.” Duchess Esther mused. “I am sure you will love it.”
“We would love to. However, we are currently very busy right now. As you know, my wife just recently branched out in Asia and we are also busy with our upcoming wedding ceremony.”
“A wedding?” Mikaela looked at Lily
“You guys are already married, right?” Eliza who was sitting next to her sister asked.
Lily smiled in response. “We are. This is just a ceremony. I would really love it if everyone could come.” All throughout their visit, Lily did not sense any animosity from everyone. In fact, she had genuinely enjoyed the dinner and felt the warmth from the Duke and his family. It was something that she never felt as she grew up.
For Lily, inviting them to a wedding is just like honoring her grandfather’s roots. Something that she never had the time to do before.
“Really? That’s great! Mother… I will go ahead and take care of everyone’s schedule.”Mikaela rose from her seat and left the living room without waiting for anyone to utter a word.
“Forgive her. She’s always like that.” The Grand Duke shook his head and smiled. “We would love to come to your wedding. Allow us to contact you after a few days to confirm. We still need to fix our schedules.” He added and gestured Eliza to follow her sister, leaving the Duke and the Duchess alone with the couple.
“Thank you,” Lily uttered.
Shaking his head, the Duke eyed the fireplace in front of them, “I should be the one thanking you. To be honest, I already knew who you are the moment my wife informed me that you were occupying the cabin next to our house.” He shifted his gaze at Lily before looking at his wife. “I was not expecting that you will agree to meet us.”
“So you did not intend to invite us for dinner?” Lily asked.
Her words surprised the Duke. “You are smart.” He laughed. “But yes, that is right. I would not want to embarrass myself in front of my children.”
“What made you change your mind?” Zhuo Jingren interjected.
“Me,” Esther answered. “I was the one who insisted on having dinner with everyone. I mean… we expected a rejection. But when Fernando said that you agreed to join us… I — we were pleasantly surprised.”
“We expected that you dislike us,” the Duke added. “You can’t really blame me for thinking such things, right?”
“Dislike is a strong word. It was more like… indifference. I have never met anyone from my grandfather’s family, therefore, I never cared about them or any of you before.” Lily decided to be honest. This was a fact. She does not hate them, she was only indifferent towards these people mainly because she doesn’t know anyone of them.
A flash of amusement can be seen in the Duke’s eyes. He gave her a warm smile, “Your honesty is refreshing. I have never met anyone who told me that they feel nothing towards my family.” he ended his statement with a low chuckle.
“She is? Right?” the Duchess concured. “She is Lilian’s granddaughter, instead.”
The lighthearted conversation continued. It was something that both Lily and Zhuo Jingren seldom have when they were in Hong Kong. They drunk and laughed as they discussed some details of the wedding, unaware of what is coming…
…………
“So you are planning to visit Switzerland too?” the Duke asked.
“Yes, we are planning to do it before going back to Hong Kong.” Lily nodded. “The wedding is coming up and we are planning to spend some time in Europe to complete everything then go back to Hong Kong for our businesses”
“Look at this child… still thinking about business at times like these.” Duchess Esther said. “Why don’t you leave everything to your Directors and VP’s and concentrate on your wedding?”
“Esther, you are talking to business tycoons. They have a different mindset than the rest of us.” Duke Phil corrected his wife.
“Well… I was just saying. After all, a wedding ceremony is a special event for every woman.”
“After our wedding, we are planning to take a break. A honeymoon for a few weeks, away from the corporate world.” Zhuo Jingren explained. This was the reason why they wanted to take care of the business days before getting married to make sure that everything is ready.
“That is a fantastic idea! This reminded me. When I married, the Duke tens of years ago, we went to the Caribbeans for our honeymoon…”
“Not that story…” The Duke interrupted.
“It was true. Hmph!” Duchess Esther ignored his husband’s protests and looked at Lily. “After two weeks, the previous Grand Duke called us and asked us to come back. There were some emergencies and we need to be back to do our duty to the country.” she rolled her eyes.
“We already spent two weeks with each other.” the Duke added.
“We planned to spend a month on our honeymoon!”
“But we already did two weeks!” The Duke insisted. “And please stop talking about the past. Refrain yourself from talking such embarrassing stories.”
“Why would it embarrass you? Ah… of course! Because you left me in the Caribbean! Alone!” The Duchess looked at Lily, amusement filled her gaze. “Can you imagine that? My husband left me on our honeymoon to fulfill his duties to our country. Not that I am complaining about it, I married the next Grand Duke after all. Still — I find it entertaining and unforgettable.” She giggled. “Sometimes, I wonder… if my husband did not leave me, maybe I had gotten pregnant after that month.” Duchess Esther said, her chin held high as she stared at her husband.
The Duchess’ words made everyone laugh. Who would have thought that someone as beautiful and elegant as she would have these kinds of thoughts?
…………….
Somewhere in Europe.
The smell of coffee lingered inside the room. The flickering fire that illuminated the cold place accompanied it.
“Is everything ready?”
“Yes… your excellence.” The man in a black tuxedo bowed. “They are going to Switzerland soon. Everything is prepared.”
The man in the leather chair nodded and smiled as he shifted his gaze to the wall of glass next to him. The lights from the town far away from his castle glinted like stars under his gaze.
“Soon… Lily…” he uttered, his voice contained a hint of warmth and affection. “Soon.”
