A few days later. It was the wedding day for Christiano, the son of the Lockwood family, and Adeline, the daughter of the Simpson family. Early in the morning, there were already police directing traffic. Everybody knew that Adeline's marriage to Christiano was to bring him luck. Rose petals filled the air as they were scattered down from a helicopter. Balloons and bubbles floated along in the sky. With dulcet wedding music playing, a wedding without the groom was about to begin. Adeline sat still in the dressing room while the makeup artist spruced her up. Adeline's delicate facial features, peaches-and-cream complexion, soft luscious red lips that looked kissable, coupled with the pure handmade exquisite wedding dress, made her absolutely stunning as though she was an otherworldly fairy. As she studied herself in the mirror, Adeline felt bitter because this was a wedding she never wanted. "Adeline, today is the big day for you. I wish you and Christiano
"Adeline, call Madam Vallerie grandma," Ronald urged from the other side. "Grandma," Adeline shyly complied. "Oh, you're such a good girl! Come on, come over here to me." Vallerie seated Adeline down next to her, and she looked at Adeline lovingly. "Adeline, this is Christiano's good friend, Culver Lester. He just came back from overseas," Vallerie introduced while keeping Adeline close to her. Culver stood up gracefully. With a faint smile on his face, he stretched out his hands, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Simpson." "Hello, Mr. Lester. It's a pleasure to meet you too," Adeline politely put her hand into his to greet him. After the handshake, Culver nodded at Adeline, and turned around to speak to Madam Vallerie, "Madam Vallerie, I have other matters to attend to, I'll be leaving now." "Okay. Come visit us when you're free," Madam Vallerie said with a loving smile on her face. "Sure," Culver curtly answered. He nodded at Ro
Vallerie was elated as Adeline finally accepted the gift. She caressed Adeline's face fondly and said, "Good girl." Looking at how glad Vallerie was, Adeline didn't say anything else, for it would have sounded pretentious. "Thank you, Grandma." "Madam Vallerie, the wedding is starting soon. Maybe we should let Madam Adeline go back and rest," George reminded Vallerie. "Oh, look at me! We've forgotten the time. Adeline, go back to your room, have some rest, and fix your makeup. You're the bride, and you'll be the most beautiful person today." "Then I'll be heading back, Grandma," Adeline excused herself and turned to head towards the door. ...... Adeline had just returned to the dressing room when Nicholas and Martha came in with an attractive man. Adeline looked at them with confusion written all over her face. Nicholas then said earnestly, "Adeline, let me introduce you to Christiano's younger brother, Sandrino Lockwood." Sandrino walked
When Adeline realized what the pastor had said, she could already hear snickers among the guests. Some even started to gossip. As the voices grew louder, Adeline took a deep breath and plastered on a sweet smile. She then took the ring from the bridesmaid and wore it on her ring finger. ...... Adeline sat in a luxurious car and stared at the view outside. Slowly, the car drove to a villa and stopped. The villa had a vermilion gate with two bronze rounded copper lion heads as decorations. The bright lights above the gate shone on the lion statues, and it glistered in faint gold light. The decorations and details on merely the gate displayed its owner's notable reputation. Adeline thought her home was luxurious enough, but it was incomparable to the Lockwood family's villa. The gate of the villa slowly opened, and the car came to a halt. George stepped forward to open and hold the door for Adeline. He greeted, "Madam Adeline, welcome home. Please come
"Mom, I'm ready," Adeline said after she finished changing. Walking out of the changing room, she noticed that Martha didn't change into the sterile suit. She wondered if Martha was going to let her meet Christiano for the first time on her own. Martha brought Adeline to an isolated room. She pointed to the door and told Adeline, "You'll go in alone. We've already gone in today so we can't visit him again." Adeline nodded and said docilely, "Okay, Mom." As she said that, she pushed the door open and walked through it. Martha watched Adeline as she entered the room. Taking a glance at the room inside, a trace of pain flashed across her eyes. She closed them shut and opened them again before she turned to leave. Meanwhile, Adeline headed into the room wearing the sterile suit. There were many pieces of advanced medical equipment in the room, and each was comparable to the ones in the hospital. "Hi, I assume you're Christiano's newlywed wife, Adeline?" A man
Adeline bid Ethan goodbye and went ahead to change back to her clothes. She was about to leave when she spotted Sandrino coming into the room. Sandrino caught sight of Adeline, and his face lit up with a bright smile. Adeline could hear his voice from a distance, "Adeline, are you here to visit Christiano?" "Sandrino, you must be here to visit him too. I just came out, and Dr. Gardner is still inside, so you can go straight in. I'm heading back." Adeline was ready to leave when Sandrino suddenly stopped her, and he said with a smile, "Forget it, I'll skip seeing him today. Why don't I keep you company and give you a tour around?" Then, Sandrino reached out to hold Adeline's hand. But Adeline was quick to pull her hand away from his grasp, and she told Sandrino, "Thank you for your kindness, Sandrino. I can walk on my own." Sandrino noticed how tactful Adeline was, so he didn't say anything further. He smiled at Adeline and took her to tour around the villa
With her head tilted, Adeline was eating in silence when she heard Vallerie asked about her, and she was touched. Quickly, she raised her head and said, "I will, Grandma." At that moment, Nicholas had already finished his meal. He wiped his mouth, then he looked at Adeline and said, "Adeline, you should visit your parents. I'll ask George to prepare some things for you to bring back home, and Sandrino will drive you there." "I'm full now. Mom, please excuse me," He wiped his mouth again, then he got up and walked towards the study room. Adeline also stood up abruptly and stopped him nervously, "Dad, I'll have the driver to send me back tomorrow. Sandrino has to work tomorrow, so it's better not to trouble him." Nicholas stopped in his tracks and turned to glance at Sandrino, who was still at the dinner table. Then, he looked at Adeline and nodded, "Up to you." "Thanks, Dad." After that, Adeline returned to her seat at the dinner table. She noticed th
The air turned thick with tension. Sandrino's soft voice reverberated like thunder to Adeline's ears. Her face darkened at that. She raised her pointed chin, looked up, and locked her eyes on Sandrino's smiling ones. "Go ahead and tell Mom and Dad about it then. Nothing is going on between us anyway, so there's nothing anyone can talk about. Medical technology has become so advanced now as well. I trust it to help to prove my loyalty to Christiano." The dim lighting in the corridor that shone above them cast a yellow hue over them. At that moment, Adeline looked like a fairy – divine, untouchable, and unbelievably magical. Sandrino narrowed his eyes at her determined face. A strange feeling arose in him, but above all, embarrassment started to settle in. He hurriedly to apologize, "I'm sorry, Adeline. I had a little too much to drink. I'll take it into my own hands later." After that, he turned away and made his way downstairs. Adeline sighed a breath of relief. Her