The two-story house was as welcoming as on the outside. From the old fashioned parquet flooring to the photographs of Lilian and her husband on the walls, everything about the cabin screamed, warmth, love and cozy.
It had a huge living room that can easily accommodate everyone, with warm Persian carpets and a fireplace made of stone.
“This place is…” Li Shanshan roamed her eyes at the house. “It’s beautiful.” Then her eyes halted at one of the photos on the stone wall. It was a picture of Lily with her grandmother. “This was taken in the mansion?”
“Yes. It was.” Lily nodded, her eyes dimmed. Memories of her grandmother came rushing through her like an unstoppable flood. The photo was taken in one of their Christmas together. Lily did not know that her grandmother had this photo framed and displayed in this house. “This was not here when we visited.” She added.
“Aw…” Li Shanshan hugged Lily. “Grandma Lilian is such a sweet woman.”
“She is.” Lily smiled. “I am really sleepy. You guys have breakfast ahead of us.”
“Are you sure?” Bei Tian asked. “Maybe you can eat first before sleeping?”
“Yes, I have not slept throughout the flight,” Lily answered. “There are a total of four rooms in this cabin. The last room was a little smaller. But it should be enough to accommodate everyone. Bei Tian and Go Jichen can share a room. If they like it… or…” she titled her head towards Yang Mi. “Jichen can share with Yang Mi.”
Yang Mi immediately lowered her head. A tinge of red crept into her face. Lily and everyone else chuckled at her reaction before Lily and Zhuo Jingren left to rest.
…
It was already two in the afternoon when Lily woke up. This time, however, she avoided having extracurricular activities with her husband as she was starving. She went downstairs to find everyone playing scrabble. Even Zhuo Jingren joined them.
“Where did you get the board?” Lily does not remember having a scrabble board in the cabin, nor anyone brought a board with them. She sat next to Zhuo Jingren as she ate some of Fernando’s favorite, Pizza.
“Oh… our neighbors came!” It was Fernando. His enthusiasm surprised Lily. “Turns out. We are neighbors with the royal family of Luxembourg. They spent their holidays in this place.”
“You know them?”
“Of course! My father designed most of the Duchess’ Jewels.” He lifted his chin and smiled at Lily. His eyes turned crescents, but it was not enough the sparked of pride in it.
“Really,” Lily said as she eyed Zhuo Jingren. “They recognized you?”
“Oh yeah. One of their guards came here and gave us board games. They also invited us to dinner tonight.”
“Did they?” Lily’s lips lifted into a smile. “I was not expecting that.”
“Oh… They are cool people.”
“I see.” Lily nodded and continued eating her pizza. “They invited everyone? Including me?”
“Yes, they did.” Li Shanshan said. “I even thought it was weird. They are Royalties. Aren’t they afraid that we are some assassins sent to kill them?”
“It was because they trust my father.” Fernando reasoned out. “And I am also acquainted with their children. Leandro and Mikaela… they still have two more kids, but I did not have the chance to meet them.”
“Wow! You are really familiar with them.” Bei Tian said as he laid the tiles on the board. “Annoy. Double letter here…” he eyed Secretary Go who was writing the score.
“How could you put such simple words?” Fernando chimed in. A smug smile on his face.
“What do you mean by that?” Bei Tian frown. “That’s a double letter.”
“Letter, not word. Plus, you open a triple word spot for Jingren.”
“You- Do you want a fight with me?”
“Ha! I think you are Zhuo Jingren’s minion! Trying to open a good spot for him!” Fernando ignored Bei Tian’s words.
“Hey! I am not! And don’t call me dumb!”
“I didn’t!”
“You just did! Don’t deny it! Do you want to fight?”
While Bei Tian and Fernando started another friendly argument, Lily silently ate her food.
“Are we going?” she heard Zhuo Jingren asked.
“Why not?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Do you think they—”
“I do. It was intentional.” She answered as she turned her attention to Zhuo Jingren’s tiles. “Our turn.”
“Oh… Here… Alkalize.” Zhuo Jingren laid the tiles, gaining both Bei Tin and Fernando’s attention.
“See? I told you! I am right… you are making him win!” Fernando widened his eyes at Bei Tian.
“I am not!”
“This is not fair. I think—”
“Boys…” Lily said. “Stop fighting. It’s Yang Mi’s turn.”
Both Fernando and Bei Tian pursed their lips at the same time.
“So? Are we all going for dinner later?” Bei Tian changed the topic.
“Yes. We are.” Lily said as she finished her pizza. She rose from her seat to get another slice.
“Oh… and it’s a formal dinner.” Fernando said.
“These people are always like this. They eat in really long tables. Just like what Lily has in the mansion. Sometimes, longer. It’s pretty boring.” Fernando shrugged.
“All right.” Zhuo Jingren said. He stood up and followed Lily. “Are you sure about this?” he said in a low voice.
“Yes. I am. They know this house belongs to my grandfather. Maybe they just wanted to meet me in person.”
“Did they try to contact your grandfather before?” he asked. Zhuo Jingren cannot afford to have more enemies at this time so he wanted to make sure that they are not walking in another trap.
“Yeah… his brother did. The late Grand Duke. I didn’t know if they ever saw each other again. Grandma told me, they remain friends.”
“And — Do you think — Do you think they are capable of something evil?” It was a silly question. Zhuo Jingren knew this. He just wanted Lily to give him something… anything that he could use to gauge if these people pose a threat to his wife.
“Of course!” Lily gave her a wry smile. “Stop worrying. I don’t intend to get close to them. But I would not miss the opportunity to meet them either.
