Chapter 2

An ear-splitting car horn stuns Duke by surprise, causing him to shift his head towards its direction. There, he sees a certain young woman in the middle of the road, almost hit by a car.

“Duke, are you listening?”

He looks at his father who’s sitting beside him at the backseat of the car. With furrowed eyebrows, his father continued to speak.

“Could you pay attention?”

Duke Crezford has just arrived in the city from overseas and there goes his father again. He expressionlessly motioned his hand to raise the partially opened car window. He could still see the woman earlier, now walking away from the middle of the road.

Edmond stared at his son who seemed uninterested with everything he’s been saying since earlier. “Duke, are you with me?” There was a hint of exasperation in his voice. But judging by Duke’s facial expression, his son doesn’t care at all.

“I’m listening,” Duke shortly said, turning from the car window to his dad. He watched as his father opens a brown envelope and brings out a small photo inside, showing it to him.

“Olivia Reign. Your bride-to-be. You have to come with me to meet her in Reign mansion two days from now.”

Duke takes the photo from his father’s hand before speaking. “She looks just like her,” he whispered.

Edmond raised an eyebrow as he asked, “Have you met her?”

“No,” Duke quickly answered, before turning his gaze outside the tinted window.  “But the woman...”

The woman is not on the other side of the road anymore.

“Woman?”

Duke shifts his attention back to the photo in his hand. With his eyes narrowed, he peered at the lady in the picture. There’s no doubt about it. She looks just like the woman who almost got hit by a car earlier, except that this woman looks more refined and sophisticated – more like a real lady. He puts the thumb of his free hand just below his chin, trying to think.

“Probably not, we were quite far, after all,” he nods, convincing himself that he’s mistaken, and oblivious to the fact that he’s been thinking out loud.

At the corner of his eyes, he could see his father’s eyes squinting, almost weirded out by his strange actions. He quickly reverted back to his usual demeanor.

Puzzled, Edmond asks, “What are you talking about?”

“It’s nothing, Father. Anyway, I see that you’ve really got everything planned out for my return. Including my engagement, that is. What a nice way to welcome your only son back home,” he said. His tone sounding sarcastic, despite his efforts of hiding it – or not.

Duke has been staying overseas for a while now. He took charge of one of their family’s foreign businesses, because he figured it was the only way to get away from home. Which might not be the best way after all, because now, he is back to his home city and even about to get engaged with a woman aristocrat. A complete stranger.

For wealthy people like them, arranged marriage is nothing new.

However, Duke had always hoped he could escape from this predicament. He had always wanted to break free from the clutches of the Crezford surname. This marriage might as well be his father’s method of tying him down.

“How generous of you, dad.”

Edmond decided not to respond to his son’s sarcasm anymore. He fears that answering will only end into another argument. It’d be bad if Duke leaves the country again. Above all, he only aims for the settlement of his son’s engagement – especially to the only heir of the Reign family.

Duke doesn’t want to get engaged. Not to Olivia Reign. Not to someone arrange by his family.

If he gets married, especially to someone well-off, he could only imagine how his father will use this to further expand their family’s influence. He isn’t the only son of the Crezford family, but rather he is a family tool necessary for building connections.

Right after getting home, Duke quickly locks himself in the study. Being away from business, he spends all his time reading or rather, researching – he gathered information about the Reign family particularly Olivia.

Just like that, two days had passed, and he finds himself inside a car heading towards the Reign household. Today, he will be meeting Olivia Reign for the first time.

“We are here, sir.”

Duke quickly took a glance of the view outside the car window. The car stopped right in front of a seemingly huge mansion. His dad gets off the car, and he followed.

“You, be nice,” Edmond reminded his son right after getting off the car.

To Duke, it sounded like an order rather than a reminder.

A servant comes to greet them as they stood there right in front of the huge white mansion. The Reign family looks even more well-off than what I had initially researched, Duke thought as he gazed at the grand front elevation of the house.

Duke, along with his father, were both guided by the servant to the entry hall. At the end of the hallway, he could see a tall and well-built middle-aged man waiting for their arrival.

To the Reign family, a marriage to Crezford family is an opportunity to expand their influence internationally. For this reason, Charles Reign, the Reign family head, has been insisting for Olivia and Duke to get engaged, which Edmond finds beneficial to the Crezfords.

Edmond, although wants to improve his relationship with his son, needs this marriage for their family’s local relations and influence. Despite being influential internationally, the Crezfords have had conflicts with their local relations. As he sees Charles at the end of the hallway, he flashes a smile – the business kind of smile.

The relationship between Reign and Crezford families is not really on a bad term, but not entirely on a good term either. Regardless, both finding an advantage to this engagement, both families have agreed for their sole heirs to get married.

“It’s good to see you looking well, Edmond,” Charles remarks, presenting his palm for a handshake which Edmonds accepts. “And to you too, Duke,” he turns to Duke who’s quietly eyeing the both of them.

“You are looking so much well yourself, Charles,” Edmond answered back.

Feeling disgusted by the pretense between the two old men, Duke can only turn away. He has always been bad with feigning kindness and faking good relationships. On one side of his torso, he could feel his father’s elbow poking his side, as if signaling him to say something.

“I’m very honored to be invited in your mansion, sir.”

“Oh Duke! You don’t have to call my husband sir. After all, we’re going to be families soon.” Suddenly, a beautifully refined middle-aged woman appeared out of nowhere.

It must be the wife of the Reigns, Ophelia Reign, mother of Olivia, Duke thought.

“Mrs. Reign, good day!” his father greets the woman.

“Good day to you too, Mr. Crezford,” she greets back in her most welcoming voice. “To you too, Duke.”

“Hello, ma’am,” Duke says.

“Oh Duke!” she calls out in her playful voice. “You need not to call me ma’am, or Charles sir. We’re going to be family soon! Just call us mother and father.”

There is no doubt that Duke does not agree with this marriage. However, considering that he could call someone “mother”, that’s not entirely bad right?

“Mother,” he said, and it was probably the sincerest word he said since this morning.

“Better,” Ophelia smiles, especially after seeing a soft expression in Duke’s face.

The four of them made their way towards the mansion’s dining area. They were welcomed with a long rectangular dining table. One by one, they position themselves to their respectable chairs – with Charles at the end of the table, his wife and Edmond on his left and right respectively.

Duke finds himself sitting down just beside his father, across an empty seat. However, he noticed that unused utensils were also placed right in front of it, despite being unoccupied.

“Olivia, that girl, she’s late for breakfast,” Ophelia murmured before calling out to one of the maids. “Carol, could you check on Olivia? That ill-mannered girl. I told her this morning that we’ll be having breakfast with the Crezfords. Forgive my daughter for being impolite, Edmond, Duke.”

“She’s probably nervous. After all, she’s meeting her marriage partner for the first time today,” Edmond says shifting his gaze towards Duke.

Duke awkwardly looks away.

“Well, I do hope that you will like my daughter,” Charles says. “She is often cold and distant, but she is a good kid.”

“Duke here is an aloof kid himself,” Edmonds states in a chuckle. “They must be a match made in heaven,” he adds which led to a series of laughter between the adults.

After a few minutes, the maid comes back with a pretty young woman dressed in a pretty pink bloused with a ribbon, and tucked on a long plaid skirt. Her hair is tied in a bun with strands hanging off near her ears.

Olivia Reign is indeed pretty, Duke thought as he watched Olivia, in fact Laura, gracefully settle herself in the empty seat across him. For a while, he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Pretty but I still don’t plan on marrying her.

“I apologize for taking a while,” Laura says as she sits down, trying her best to sound comfortable. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Crezford,” she added, before turning to the young man across her. She’s positive that’s Duke in front of her, but what should she call him? They’re both Crezfords, after all. Would it be rude to call him by his name?

“Duke,” Edmond says, filling her in. “Just call my son Duke.”

“Thank you, Mr. Crezford,” she smiled – hiding the fact that it was a smile of relief because she was not sure what to call the young man. She looks at Duke before saying in her most trying-not-to-be-awkwardly daring tone, “Hello, Duke.”

Just then, a steward comes to serve their meals.

Laura could feel someone’s eyes intently staring at her. From the moment she entered the dining room right up to this moment, she could feel Duke intensely watching her every move.

Although this is my first time eating a breakfast steak, I can’t even eat comfortably, she wanted to say but keeps it to herself.

Noticing how her daughter has been very quiet, Ophelia asks her in a soft whisper, “Honey, are you okay?”

“I am okay. Thank you, mother,” she whispered back.

“Please eat,” Charles, as the main host of the breakfast, says which signaled everyone that they may begin eating.

As they eat, Laura decided to keep quiet, and just allow her parents to entertain the two guests. Afraid that she’ll make any mistake and say something wrong, she held her tongue and kept eating.

Noticing that his daughter is awfully quiet and even eating in an unwomanly manner, Charles says to her, “Olivia, darling, were you hungry?”

Laura stops, realizing she’s not acting the way the real Olivia would.  Regaining her composure, she chuckled. “I must still be asleep,” she said, joking her way out. Luckily, everyone in the table caught up to this unexpected humor.

Feeling relieved, Laura looks at Duke who was just expressionlessly staring at her. What’s wrong with him?

Duke reached for his glass and drinks it before putting it down the table as loud as he could, interrupting everyone’s laughter. As everyone’s eyes are questioningly looking at him, as boldly as he could, he speaks.

“I don’t want to get married.”

From questioning looks, everyone’s eyes widened, surprised by his sudden words. Even Laura, despite being against the marriage just like him, looked shocked.

“What are you saying, son?” In a low and anxious voice, Edmond asks.

Duke inhales deeply before answering with so much resolve. “I’m saying I don’t want to take Olivia Reign as my wife.”