Unedited. Will be edited in a few hours.
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“I understand.” Lily nodded before she rose from her seat. “One last thing… when you approached Mr. Neeson… did you tell him about that Japanese man?”
“No. I didn’t.” Claude said. “He told me not to mention him.”
“And how do you send him the list?”
“I leave it outside in the mail. With no address. Then… someone from the post office will pick it up. To be honest… I don’t think that man worked in the post office at all. I have never seen him in the post office nearby.” Claude said. “Then… I receive a call from various numbers. Telling me what to do next.”
“I see.” She pursed her lips and signaled Secretary Go to follow her out.
“What about my grandmother?” he asked. However, unlike the first time that Lily talked to him, she never stopped walking.
“She will be fine,” Lily said as she closed the door behind her. From this conversation, Lily immediately learned that there could be two factions in this organization. That Japanese man might be a member of one faction, while Mr. Neeson is a member of the other.
Both factions were looking for someone. But their goals might not be the same. She let out a sighed before she went to where Madam Luo was kept. According to the doctors, she is fine for now. But because of her age, they could not really assure them that she will survive this knife wound. They said, she lost a lot of blood and suffered a couple of internal injuries.
However, Lily was still hopeful that she would wake up.
“Madam… The Duke just called and said that Mr. Harringfort wanted to talk to Mr. Zhou. Shall I go ahead and decline?”
Lily turned silent for a few seconds. She immediately wondered if there is a need for her to talk to him. However, in the end, she decided not to engage in any conversation with that man. “Decline. Tell them Jingren is… sick. He won’t accept any visitors while we are staying here.”
“Understood.” Secretary Go immediately informed The Duke and ended the call.
…
Meanwhile, Harringfort hastened his steps towards his car. After the Duke informed him that Zhou Jingren is sick, he immediately bid him goodbye. Surprisingly, the Duke didn’t stop him this time. This was unlike their previous interactions but, to be honest, it does not concern him in any way.
He figured that this was all because of the way he treated Eliza. This could only mean one thing. The Duke is thinking of canceling the engagement. Could it be possible that Eliza talked to her father about it?
Harringfort recalled the conversation that he had with that naive woman when Lily visited Madam Luo. At that time, Harringfort decided to tell her that he does not like her and he probably won’t like her in the future. She should talk to her father about canceling the engagement.
He was expecting her to rage, maybe even slap him and say mean words. However, Eliza only laughed at him and said that she would think about it. What does that even mean? The memories of what happened immediately made him more irritated.
“Your highness?” As if on cue, Eliza’s voice echoed behind him. He halted his steps and looked at the woman wearing a pink winter long coat and brown boots. “Would you mind? I would like to talk to you.” She smiled. “In private.”
“Private?” He smiled. “We are the only ones in the corridor. I believe this is private enough?” To be honest, he does not want to have another conversation with this woman. He already felt that something is different in the way she looked at him. He would not want to give her hope that one day, he would like her. That would not happen.
Eliza pursed her lips in response. She looked at the blond man in front of her. “I am not asking my father to cancel the engagement.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” Eliza said. “If you wanted to cancel it. Then talk to your father about it.”
“And if I won’t?”
“Then… a marriage between us will happen,” Eliza said.
“Are you crazy?”
“So what if I am? So what if I’m not?” she countered. “The thing is… I would not cancel the engagement. If you don’t like me… then fine. Who cares. I don’t like you either. This marriage is not about you and me. It’s about our country.”
“Are you insane?” His eyes widened. “I don’t like you! We won’t be happy together!”
“Happiness?” Eliza muttered. Since that day he told her that he won’t like her, she already knew that her lifetime mission would be making this arrogant man’s life miserable. Her happiness is to make him unhappy! “Who cares about Happiness? If you have the guts then talk to my father about it. Tell him that you don’t like me and you won’t marry me because… you will never be happy with me.”
She bravely met his complicated eyes. “I am not going to be the one who will end this engagement.” She lifted her chin as if challenging him to do something about her words. “What? If you are a man then… go talk to your father about your happiness!” Disgust laced his tone.
Eliza thought that she was making the right choices. Lily’s presence around her made her think that she has the ability to make choices. Choices for her life and future. And this…. Marrying this man was the first step of the choices that she was about to make. This is going to be the key to the freedom that she always long to have.
“You are crazy,” Harringfort said before he turned his back on the annoying woman. He immediately wondered if Eliza was only doing this to gain his attention. Was she trying to be difficult for him to think about her? Because that… that would never happen! Ever!
……
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