Leonard sighed, he turned to look at Lily whose face had turned white as sheet "I will tell her, don't worry she will like you."
Lily was not ready for this, she remembered the first time she met Zachary's parents. His dad was a man of few words by nature but his mother... from just one glance, it was apparent that she didn't want Lily as her daughter in law. Afterall she was already set on making Alice her son's wife. Alice was the daughter of her best friend and her parents had died in a car accident. So, from the age of 12, Zachary's mother took Alice under her wings and since that day she wanted Alice to be her daughter in law. Lily was nothing but a wrench in her plan.
Leonard saw the panic-stricken face of Lily. He went towards her and cupped her face "Hey..hey don't panic. My dad died when I was 16 and since that day my mother hasn't let a tear fall from her eyes because she wants to be strong for her child. My mother is a very strong and broad minded person, Lily. Don't worry." he said taking her in his arms.
"I hope so Leonard" Lily said holding onto him.
Lily broke the hug and got her phone out, turning it on. Suddenly her phone vibrated with tons of messages from Tulip. 'Shit I have to tell her, she must be worried'. Gathering the courage she called Tulip.
On the second ring Tulip answered. "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU LILY? WHY HAVE YOU NOT BEEN ANSWERING MY CALLS?"
Lily moved the phone away from her ears and sighed "I'm sorry Tulip... I will tell you everything once I get home" before Tulip could say anything she cut the call.
"This is your home now." Leonard said from behind. Lily turned to look at him but before she could say anything he interrupted "I'm telling you. You are married to me. So you will live with me. I'm giving you 2 days to move your stuff here."
Lily sighed, but nodded "But, I have a condition. Since I have joined this competition which, apparently, you are sponsoring. I don't want people to assume that I got to be part of this competition because of you."
Leonard didn't say anything for a few minutes then after sometime he broke the silence "One month."
Lily looked at him confused "One month?"
"Yes, One month is all I can give you. In one month, your competition will be over. And after one month, there is an annual event of my company. That day I will declare our marriage."
Lily processed all the words he said. After contemplating for sometime, she nodded "Deal."
"By the way, I will talk with my mother today and tomorrow we will meet her" Leonard declared.
Lily panicked "What? Why so soon… Can we wait for sometime…?"
Leonard sighed "Trust me Lily, nothing can be hidden from my mother. She will know somehow. Iit's better if I tell her."
Lily groaned "What are we going to tell her? And I have to tell Tulip... God she will kill me! Argh! Life isn't fair... I end up getting drunk and woke up in the morning married… my life has become a cliché rom-com film."
Leonard looked at her, amused. He walked up to her pressing her to wall "Well you should be lucky to have such a handsome husband."
Lily snorted "Handsome..." she clicked her tongue. "You are narcissistic beast."
Leonard grinned and placed a soft kiss on her nose "I'll tell Aunt Jenny to send you some clothes."
___________________________
Leonard exited his room and called Aunt Jenny to his office.
"Make sure she doesn't feel uncomfortable here. She is now the Madam of this house. And keep your eyes on those maids, I don't want unnecessary drama here." Leonard said in a cold voice.
Aunt Jenny nodded "Don't worry about that, Master."
"Moreover don't let her enter the southern part of this mansion." Leonard said.
"Understood, Master" Aunt jenny said.
"You may leave." Leonard said looking at the ceiling, deep in thoughts.
'I can't let her know about the past that has been buried for long… Not yet. Or maybe never.'