Chapter 24

I immediately rent a carriage and went home.

"Nana, you're back" mother greeted and hugged me

"I'm so sorry, I got mad without asking for further explanation. I lost my temper and me... I messed up. Mother, what shall I do? Mrs. Snowfield might change her impression to me" I cried

"My poor child" mother giggled and combed my hair with her finger

"Why are you laughing? Are you fooling around?" I pouted

"My daughter is now a lady, yet she still acts like a child. I will surely miss her. Mrs. Snowfield understood. She should've explained it to you clearly. She said it's only natural for you to react as that and Aria laughed hard when she heard your reaction" mother stated

"Miss Aria? Speaking of Miss Aria, she's not here today" I mentioned

"She's busy with her family right now, besides we'll soon become a family" my mother replied and led me to the dining hall

"We'll be a family?" I asked her

"Oh, I forgot. Don't worry your husband and his family are here today" she told me

"Prepare yourself, honey. You should be yourself when you meet him! Do not play nasty things, okay?" she reminded me

"What do you mean?" I pouted and she just chuckled while pushing me to the direction of my room

I took a bath and readied myself. I wore my sky blue dress and let my wavy long hair down. I braided my hair and set the Alyssum hairpin on it. I smiled in my reflection. Nana, you just threw tantrums to Mrs. Snowfield, you should apologize. Hmm... I heard Reynard said, it's Grandma Snowfield, does that mean Mrs. Snowfield is my fiance's grandmother? If I'm not mistaken, the old general looked kind of old but I can't comprehend his age. He may be older than father but not that old to the point of Mrs. Snowfield.

I looked at my reflection and saw that I am unconsciously frowning. My face! I gently slapped my face and forced a smile. Act like a lady because you will finally see him. Be a good girl, Nana. Act accordingly. I made a deep breath before I leave my room. Why am I nervous?

"Boo!" Reynard surprised me

"REYNARD!" I breathed out because it almost killed me

"Will that kill you? These days you're easily startled. Was that an effect of getting married? You always groomed yourself well and I can't recognize you at all. Sometimes I feel you're already a different person. Is this thing bothering you this much?" he asked

I patted his shoulder and gave him my sweetest smile.

"Reynard, if we keep on looking back, we'll never go to the future. We should let go of the past and enjoy the present. Life is short and time runs faster than it seems to be. I am not a different person, I am the better version of me" I explained

"When you're speaking that way, it made me feel like I'm talking to an old lady" he murmured

"How dare you, you odious fox!" I said and he laughed

I hugged him and he hugged me back.

"I will surely miss teasing you. I will visit you during my free time" he told me

"I'll be waiting for you, little brother" I uttered

"Let's go" he invited and escorted me inside the dining hall

He opened the door for me and I slowly entered the room without looking at the crowd. I can't control my heartbeat. Will I die? Will I lose my consciousness right now? Will I humiliate my family again? I closed my eyes and sighed. As I lifted my face, I forged a smile. I know I should be happy right now, I'll certainly meet him today. However, when I thought I'll be married soon pricks my heart many times. It's like I'm breaking some promise and I should run away before it's too late.

"Oh, here's my daughter, Nana" father introduced me

"Gary, why do you speak formally? It's as though I didn't know her" Miss Aria laughed

"Honey, it's my first time to meet her. It's only natural for his father to introduce her" Old general spoke

"Oh, yes... But I've heard one of our son here was lingering around her" Miss Aria giggled as I saw her nudged his son

I placed my hand on my lips as I saw this familiar brown eyes. I know somewhere I met someone with the same eyes as him. But where? Miss Aria smiled at me. She's sitting beside the old general Snowfield. Was she the real Mrs. Snowfield?

"My good student. See husband? I told you that Fiel will regret to pull off his engagement with her" Miss Aria spoke to the old general

"Indeed, this young lady is something" he complimented

"I'm blessed with your presence, General" I greeted

"This general already left the military. Just call me, Uncle or preferably Dad if you don't feel inconvenient" he smiled

"Henry, we are just talking about the engagement and you are already owning my daughter. It feels like I want to grab my daughter and hide her from you" my father jested

"Don't be like that, we are family" the old general stated and they both laughed

I locked my eyes in the man beside Miss Aria. Is he the one? But I felt something is off. The feeling was not longing at all, however, it was enthusiasm like we've met before and now we're together. My mother pulled me back to reality because she let me sat beside her.

"Long time no see, Nana" he greeted and gave me the warmest smile I can ever have

"Oh, you don't remember me I guess, this guy is Helian!" he introduced

Oh right. The banquet of the king when my father was luckily invited. I remembered him and his older brother who's more mature than him. It's been a long time and he can still identify my name?

"Hello, Mr. Helian" I greeted

"Don't need courtesy, call me Brother-in-law" he smiled

Brother-in-law. It's not him. He's not my engaged partner? Then it is...

Before I ever fixed my thoughts, the young general entered the room.

"I'm sorry I'm late, there are some issues I need to make before coming. I hope the Galester Family especially my fiancee understand" he greeted and bowed before sitting beside Helian

"It's fine, young general. We're just having a fun conversation before you entered" my father smiled

I'm curious why does he need to hide his face. What's within that mask? Is he ugly? By his stature and his appearance, I don't see him like that. He's gentle and kind even though he is sometimes domineering and cold. I know that it's because of his job and I don't think it will be a big deal also in the future.

"Nana, it's rude to stare at a man for this long time. Don't drool over him, I thought you're having troubles with your last fiance?" my mother murmured

"I am not!" I denied in a whisper

I saw Miss Aria chuckled and I looked down out of shame. Miss Aria is Mrs. Snowfield and I don't even have a single hint that she is. I hate it. She should have hated me or maybe she shares all my humiliations with her children. Now, I am doomed to be a fool. I should've known this information.

"Let's eat" my father announced

Reynard can't stop teasing me when he caught me watching the general and I hate it. I just unconsciously glance at him and be astonished. I can't believe that the reason for the general to look after me was because he replaced his brother. I gloomed about the thought of what if he was forced to marry me to compensate what his brother did?

"Mother, is this marriage forced to the young general?" I asked and my mother giggled, thus everyone's attention turned on us

"Oh, I'm sorry. My daughter was quite interested if the young general has some girls in her mind" my mother spoke and all of them giggled

"Mom!" I retaliate shyly

"Nana, how can you be this shy?" Miss Aria added the fuel that made everyone laugh more

"As to answer Ms. Nana's question, no, I don't have. Please don't distant yourself to me, I feel relieved that you're also curious about my life. Feel free to ask me anything" he said and looked at me

"Thank you... Thank you, Mister" I responded like almost a whisper

"You can just call me Gabriel if you don't mind" he spoke

The dinner was a feast. My family enjoyed Gabriel's family. Helian light up the mood too. It feels fun to see how lively our family could be, but I noticed that Gabriel never joined our conversation which made me a bit in awe. Do these things irritate him? He has works to do, but he was forced to attend this because it was like our official family engagement. There will be another one just before our marriage and that will invite more guests. Surely, things will be bustling again. I hate the crowd and asked my parents if they could only limit our engagement's guest in only both family friends and close relatives, however, it's impossible. The old general has a lot of acquaintance and given that my father is a businessman, his partners shouldn't be invited to her daughter's engagement.

I stooped myself out of tiredness and hopelessness. I hope I can make the young general happy about me being his wife. There should be a lot of women who wished to be in my position. He must have a lover that he needed to leave because of me. He's unfortunate enough because it was me instead of his beloved and I feel guilty about it.

"Why does Miss Nana feel down?" a man's voice whispered and I jumped out of my place

"Gabriel, you scared me. I thought it was Reynard" I spoke and calmed myself

"You're guard must be very important to you. You always bring him up every time we have conversations" he noticed

"My brother is the only man and friend I can have after what happened in my past" I replied

"If Miss Nana won't mind, may I ask what was that?" he asked

"Come, let's sit in the garden. The moon is quite solemn. I want to watch it" I responded and led him to our garden

We sat on the bench and I relieved a deep sigh before I talked.

"I was innocent of how cruel the world is. I always believe if I have many friends, I'll never be alone. Mister, do you regret being tied with me?" I asked him before I continue to my story

"You returned the formalities, I see. But Miss Nana, I don't see any reason to regret marrying you. You're pure, gentle, and warm. You always find a reason to smile and I feel envious that you managed to live your life up until now although you lock yourself away from the world. I'm curious how you managed to continue and try to cope with the world when you heard about the engagement. At the same time, I felt sorry about getting your freedom again when you marry me. Don't be mistaken, I like the way you are. I feel like when we get married, I'll live up with your surprises and it will never end the interest I have in you" he answered back

I was speechless. He hid his face with his hand and muttered.

"I said too much. I'm sorry"

"No, no. I'm so happy you're so open to me. I appreciate Mister Gabriel's honesty. It's just that, it seems the Mister knew everything about me already and dare not to repeat it myself. I'm afraid the Mister will be bored and sleepy. Besides, with all the matters in your work, I guess the Mister was already tired" I stated

"I might know everything about you, but it's different if you're the one who told me about it. Miss Nana, please don't be troubled by my work. I am not tired and is willing to listen to you any time" he said and held my hands which made me shocked

He automatically distanced himself when he realized what he'd done and I laughed.

"We'll marry each other. It will not bother me anymore. I thought you said I shouldn't distance myself and yet, you call me Miss Nana. I just returned your formalities, Mister" I permitted

"I'm sorry, it's because you never allow me to call you by any name, thus I must..."

"Don't feel sorry. Don't thank me or apologize for every single thing you do. It feels like you're far and I can't reach you" I murmured and he twitched

"I understand," he said

"I was locked by my friends when we played hide-and-seek. I became afraid of tight places and darkness. Ever since that day, I ran away to the world because I thought everyone will do the same. Miss Aria, volunteered to be my teacher and so, I enjoyed myself reading books and teasing her. My brother, Reynard, as well as all the servants, became my playmate as I grew old and they spoiled me a lot that I don't feel something was missing and I never missed the world. I love the snow during winter, we always played outside until the next day I'll catch a cold. Sometimes my parents scold me, but I never listen. For me, winter is the only season I can free myself. I am childish and I am spoiled. I have limited friends and I hate crowds. I love cooking, but I am not quite confident about it. I know the basic standards of being a lady, a wife, or a mother, but neither those I am good with. The first time I defied my parents out of rage was the time you met me in Mr. Harold's shop. But I later regretted it and came home in haste. I say this because I don't want you to worry when I feel frustrated. I want you to know that if I ran away, I'll always know where to come home. If you're going to pull the engagement because of this I will wholeheartedly accept it, Gabriel" I explained to him

He was speechless. That was the longest conversation I had with a stranger, but I don't feel he's a stranger to me. I feel comfort and familiarity that we've met somewhere. We're close more than ever.

"Hey! Speak up! It's so hard for me to say all those things and you're just staring at me like that" I pouted

He removed his masked and looked at me with his genuine smile. I almost melted in my place because of it. His right eye has a scar. It must be a result of one of his fights on the battlefield. I unconsciously touched his face that made him tensed.

"It's beautiful" I complimented and started crying

I'm happy. I don't know why I felt that this person is close to my heart. I don't understand why I felt he's been the person I've been waiting for so long like he's the person I promised to offer my whole life with.

"I finally found you" I uttered

He brushed the tears in my cheeks and hugged me. He tried to calm me down.

"I can't believe it. I just cried" I said in between my sobs trying to laugh

"You're the very first person to cry say those words and then cried out of fear," he said

"It's not fear!" I pushed him away

"Sleep now. I'll visit you again if I have the chance" he suggested

"I said, I am not afraid of you" I spoke as I pulled the mask away from him before he put it back

"Nana..." he tried to get it back

I was startled when he spoke my name without the honorific.

"See you soon, Nana"

"It's you, isn't it? He is you" I said and he jerked

He grabbed the mask and bowed to me.

"Sleep well, Miss Nana" he bid goodbye