Chapter 5: The Wedding Veil

After the board meeting that day, Harrison kept the Delacroix family behind. I knew his purpose all too well. “I had the family lawyer pick a few good dates, so I kept you both to discuss.” Harrison’s words surprised me.

Since when did the family lawyer care about wedding dates? Clearly, the Delacroix patriarch was also surprised, staring at Harrison for a long time. I could see the confusion on his face.

“Julian’s my only brother, so I must have the lawyer pick an auspicious date to feel at ease.” Harrison opened a calendar, pointing at the dates. “There are three good days left this year: the fifteenth of next month, the eighth of October, and the twenty-sixth of December.”

Seeing the patriarch about to speak, I stepped forward, looked at the calendar, and said loudly, “The fifteenth of next month is perfect, let’s choose that.” Harrison looked up at me, his face saying, "Just as I expected."

I pretended not to see and turned to the patriarch: “What do you think, sir?” “Isn’t the fifteenth of next month a bit rushed…” I nodded, my tone flat and unreadable: “Such a good day is rare, only once every two years.”

I glanced at Harrison, who smiled and closed the calendar with all three days marked as lucky. “Julian’s right, it’s not good to miss such a good day.”

I hadn’t thought much of it, but after Harrison said that, my face grew a bit hot. Luckily, the patriarch didn’t object further and agreed to the fifteenth of next month. I felt a strange relief.

“Wait. The fifteenth is a bit rushed. I’ve already prepared the dress, so Emmy doesn’t need to sew one herself. You don’t need to tell her I prepared it, just say you did.” Outside the mansion, I stopped the patriarch and told him this, clearly seeing the gratitude in his eyes.

If he knew I’d commissioned the best designers in New York to work on the dress two years ago, would he still feel grateful? I heard that in the month before the wedding, the bride and groom must not see each other, or it will ruin their marital harmony. Superstition, maybe, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

If I had heard this before, I would have thought it nonsense. Now, standing outside the Delacroix estate, I didn’t dare go in. If I really went in to see the little one, would she dislike me even more after the wedding? I didn’t want to risk it.

I never knew a month could feel so long; if I had known, I would have picked an earlier date. Finally, the wedding day arrived. I could hardly breathe.

I stood at the gate of the little one’s courtyard, waiting a long time before seeing her come out in the wedding gown I had tailored for her, with a red veil. This scene had appeared in my dreams countless times. I thought she would never wear that dress in this life. I almost didn’t believe it.

Maybe because I usually kept everyone at arm’s length, on my wedding day I was in such a good mood that even those who never dared speak to me found a chance to offer me a drink. I couldn’t drink any more; if I was late, the little one would be uncomfortable waiting. I didn’t want that.

Thinking this, I refused the drink someone offered and let the crowd follow me to the bridal suite. As soon as I opened the door, I saw the little one sitting on the bed, her hands wringing her sleeves out of shape. My heart skipped a beat.

If all these people came in, she’d be even more nervous, right? “Everyone out.” I dismissed the crowd and walked to the bed. Just the two of us now.

I picked up the crystal letter opener on the table, my fingertips trembling. Even when signing off on legal documents, I’d never trembled like this. With a light flick, the opener lifted the veil. The little one stared at me wide-eyed, full of panic. She was beautiful.

She had done her makeup, her lips painted, her little face covered in blush, so beautiful I couldn’t look away. The little one seemed to grow even more nervous. I remembered we needed to drink the wedding wine, and that would ease her nerves. But she wouldn’t take the wine from my hand.

She loved drinking, yet wouldn’t take this cup from me. I laughed at myself. This wedding was always just my own wishful thinking. Maybe I should’ve known.

At this point, I wouldn’t let her refuse. I watched as she reluctantly drank the wine I pressed on her, my heart feeling smothered, almost unable to breathe. I couldn’t let her slip away.

“I heard that when we were first engaged, you wanted Quinn to marry me with you?” This had always weighed on my heart. As long as she said no, I would believe it was just drunken nonsense.

After all, she always said plenty of nonsense when drunk; one more wouldn’t matter. But the little one’s hand shook, dropping the wine cup in fright.

“How could it be as a mistress! I wanted Quinn to be a co-wife…” Every word stabbed into my heart, hurting so much I had to run out of the bridal suite. It was as if all the satisfaction of the day had turned to dust. I couldn’t breathe.

The next day, I regretted it. Rumors spread like wildfire throughout the city. “Now anything can be said about the Grant mansion.” I didn’t look at Ben, carefully putting away the painting I’d worked on all night.

“I’ll investigate at once.” I nodded, thinking the little one must be awake and ready to visit the mansion. “Find out, and leave no one behind.” Daring to gossip about the little one, they must have forgotten this is the Grant family’s house. I wouldn’t let it slide.

I had meant to be angry at the little one for a few days, but she cried first, saying I was ignoring her. She hurt me first, so how did it become me ignoring her? She always did like to make a fuss. I couldn’t stay mad.

I sighed and went up to gently wipe her tears. She might never know that her easy tears could make me instantly surrender, utterly defeated. Tonight, I would not sleep in the study again. After hearing the rumors outside, who knows what the little one would imagine.

Marrying her without her consent was my forcing, but I would never force her to give herself to me. But every night I endured so much. The little one had no trouble, always crawling onto me to sleep. It made it harder for me, but also felt as sweet as stealing honey.

If life could always be like this, just holding her as I slept would be enough. Harrison made an excellent head of the family. I never understood why so many thought they could replace him. He was the only one who could do it.

This time, the would-be saboteurs were clever, targeting Quinn when they learned her identity. Quinn was the daughter of the family’s trusted general counsel, naturally tough, so I didn’t need to worry much. She could handle herself.

“Julian, you’re too cold-blooded! If anything happened to me, Emmy would cry for ten days and nights, fainting from grief!” Quinn yelled at me as I was about to catch one of the saboteurs. The little one could cry all night just from arguing with her. I knew it was true.

I sighed, split my attention to protect Quinn from a few attackers, but never expected the one on the ground wasn’t out, and stabbed straight at me. These guys were tough. After catching the last one, I collapsed to my knees. The pain was sharp and sudden.

Dizziness from blood loss came over me. Looking at my disheveled appearance, I only had time to tell Ben, “Don’t return to the mansion,” before passing out. It wasn’t a fatal wound for me, so when I woke up to see the little one’s red, tired eyes, my heart ached so much I wanted to curse Ben on the spot.

I questioned the saboteur for ten days before discovering it was the work of my exiled fourth brother. But Harrison seemed unconcerned lately, as if he had something else on his mind. I made a note to ask him later.