"My Lady, I heard Duke Kensington will be coming over for a visit this evening and your presence is also required. Shall we decline that visit as well?" Lily asked tentatively.
Hearing the cursed name made Melissa trembled unconsciously. "Is that Duke Zachary Kensington whom you referred to?" Melissa enquired, her heart unwilling to accept the answer. "Yes My Lady." Lily confirmed with a smile in her eyes. Who in this mansion didn't know that Duke Kensington had been chosen as the Mistress's future husband. "Decline, decline! Tell His Grace that I am unwell and I need to rest! No visitors until I feel better!" Melissa exclaimed suddenly, making Lily jumped a step back. "Yes My Lady. I will inform the Duke right away." With that Lily backed away and left the room, looking puzzled. Her Mistress was fine just now but now she seemed annoyed and possibly angry too. What's going on? Did she not want to marry Duke Kensington? 'Okay, okay, calm down. I need to figure this out. According to the plot, I would marry that unreasonable guy soon. The fact that he's here for a visit means the marriage is not finalized yet. I can still get out of this. Yes I must avoid him at all cost. Only when I don't marry that I would be able to avoid my tragic fate!' Melissa thought hard and finally decided this would be the best. Once she avoided this marriage, she could plan her own life path. She wondered what had happened to the original soul of this body. But thinking that this was actually a novel world and therefore the characters must be somehow replaceable? Anyway she didn't want to think too much of it. Since she's here now, she must think of her own life. Downstairs, the Duke of Hurrey's brows furrowed when he was informed of his beloved daughter's sickness. "Call for the doctor now. Let me know once Lady Melissa is better. I will visit her then. No one is to disturb her for now, understood?!" Duke Malcom Knight bellowed with his loud voice. "Yes, Your Grace." All the servants replied submissively, bowing to him before they left the room. "Father, is Melissa not feeling well?" Lord Melvin entered the study in haste after receiving the news from his assistant. Duke Malcom sighed heavily while looking out of the window. "Yes, she is unwell and just need some rest. Don't worry, the doctor has checked on her." Duke Malcom answered his son. "Then why are you looking so down? Is there anything else?" Lord Melvin questioned his father. Duke Malcom looked at his son before replying, "Did Melissa speak to you about Duke Kensington?" Duke Malcom knew that both his son and daughter were really close knit siblings and Melissa might have told Melvin about this. "Duke Kensington? Zachary? No, she didn't say anything about him to me. Why Father, what's going on?" Lord Melvin was puzzled at his father's query. What did Zachary has to do with Melissa? As far as he knew, Melissa rarely went out of the mansion and she had no friends. Although he pitied his sister for not having any friends to speak to, he knew of her character well. She had never once complained to him and always put on a smile whenever he saw her. Therefore no one really knew how she felt or whether she was truly happy. As such, he tried to spend as much time as he could with her, trying to fill the void in her life. However, she never once mentioned about Zachary, lest anyone else for that matter. He also knew Zachary and his sister had never met each other. "I informed her yesterday that the royal family has chosen her to marry Duke Kensington, and he would be visiting her today. And this morning, I got news that she's unwell. We have to cancel the Duke's visit as well. I can't help but wonder if Melissa's sickness shows her unwillingness to accept this marriage." Duke Malcom explained to his son. "What??! Melissa is to wed Zachary?? But Father, how could this be fair to her? Eventhough he is a good match in terms of status and wealth, but that's about it. Father, Zachary is a widower with a son! Not to mention he is 8 years older than Melissa. How is this marriage possible? Melissa is still a young girl. And now she has to wed an older man and become a stepmother to a young child? No Father, even I as her brother is unwilling to accept this, how could she? She didn't tell you because she loves you. No Father, you need to decline this marriage." Lord Melvin was furious at this ridiculous arrangement. No wonder Melissa suddenly fell sick. Who's willing to accept such a match? Duke Malcom sighed and pinched his eyebrows together before explaining to his furious son. Of course this was something he wouldn't agree as a father. But the one proposing this was none other than the Queen herself. Duke Kensington was her nephew and everyone knew how much she loved him. Duke Kensington's mother was the Queen's older sister and she passed away when Duke Kensington was still a young boy. The Queen took it upon herself to raise him as one of her own and therefore she was naturally very concerned of Duke Kensington and his young son. When the news of Lady Delia's passing after she gave birth to a son, the Queen was deeply worried about both her foster child and his baby boy. She had tried to persuade Duke Kensington to remarry but that man had remained obstinate all these years, citing he's no longer interested in having a wife. But now, the boy had turned 5 and needed a mother to raise him well. He's at the age where motherly care and guidance was needed the most, to shape the man he would become in the future. The Queen had decided it was time for Duke Kensington to marry another wife and gave his son the security and love much needed. They couldn't depend on the servants to raise this boy as it's not proper. After much contemplation and going through the list of potential brides, the Queen had settled on Lady Melissa Rose Knight, the only daughter of the Duke of Hurrey. Duke Malcom's reputation as a dignified and honest nobleman had much impressed her and the royal family. Although she had heard some unfavourable gossips about Lady Melissa's character, she refused to acknowledge these groundless gossips unless she witnessed it on her own. Furthermore, the apple couldn’t fall far from the tree. As the Duke of Hurrey’s daughter, she would definitely had been raised well by her parents. Although Lady Rose Knight passed away a few years ago, she herself was a kind and virtuous lady, not to mention one of the Queen’s close companions. Therefore, Lady Melissa was the best choice for her beloved nephew. Lord Melvin was still unsatisfied after listening to his father’s explanation. However, upon learning that the Queen herself had propositioned this to their family, they couldn’t reject as it would be unbefitting to oppose the Queen’s wishes. Both Father and Son sat in silence, thinking of Melissa’s uncertain future. It was a common knowledge among the noblemen that Duke Kensington was a sharp and astute person. Due to his decisive nature, coupled with his profound intelligence, he excelled in everything he did. At a young age, Duke Kensington had single handedly expanded the wealth and estates of the Kensington family, thus making him an invincible persona in the business world. However, he was also known to be cold and unfeeling, except to his son. After the death of his wife, Lady Delia, the only person who could bring a smile to his handsome cold face was little Lord William, his adorable son. Many women had tried to seduce him but failed miserably. He showed no interest in women whatsoever. Therefore, both Duke Malcom and his son knew that the reason he accepted this marriage was solely due to the Queen’s pressure. If that’s the case, how would he treat Melissa after she married him? They didn’t dare to imagine her future. They just hoped she would be safe and sound. Lord Melvin had secretly vowed to make sure he visit her often so at least that way, she could be happy when she meet him. For now, she had no choice but to follow the Queen’s wish.Few days had passed since she transmigrated and faked her sickness. During this time, she managed to gather more information from Lily regarding her intended fiancé and his background. It all matched whatever was described in the novel, except Lily didn't know anything about Lady Sophia, Duke Kensington's cousin and her nemesis in this life! This lady caused all her sufferings and ultimately her death, so she needed to know everything there was about her. Fortunately it was mentioned in the book that she lived on the Duke's estate and was one of the estate's staff. Hence, she was able to get close to Lady Melissa and manipulated her. So now, all she had to do was to avoid this marriage. Without this marriage, she wouldn't meet this vicious woman and thus she would be safe. Right, good plan so far. "My Lady, your presence is required in the drawing room." Lily suddenly appeared by her side while she was engrossed with her thoughts. "Reason?" Melissa asked Lily. "I was informed
Unexpectedly, Lady Melissa crouched down and carried the boy in her arms with ease, as if she had done it many times before. There was no awkwardness at all in her action. Smiling, she led the boy to the nearby seats and they sat side by side. She then pinched the boy's nose slightly and asked, "Would you like me to be your new mother? Won't you be afraid to have a stranger as your mom?" "No! I'm not afraid. Father said I'm a brave boy. I like you to be my new mother. Would you? We can be best friends!" The young boy said proudly. He liked the look of this gentle lady. Her eyes were so beautiful and she looked kind. He knew she would be the perfect playmate for him. In his mind there're already so many games they could play together. He won't be bored anymore! Aunt Sophia was wrong! This lady was not ugly at all. "Alright then. If you'd like me to, I can't refuse a request from such a cute young boy. Would you like some cookies?" Lady Melissa sighed inwardly.There was no way sh
Lord William Kensington was grinning ear to ear on the way back, holding the bag of cookies as if that was his most prized possession. Duke Kensington shook his head looking at his son, who looked so foolish with that silly smile on his face. "Do you like her that much? You've been smiling from the moment we left." Duke Kensington asked his son. "Yes! She baked the most delicious cookies. And she added extra chocolate chips, just for me! Will she come and live with us soon, Father?" Lord William enquired excitedly. He wished Lady Melissa could come back with him today itself but she's not married to his father yet. Thinking of how slow his father is, Lord William couldn't help but pout his lips. 'What a man, he can't even make her come and live with them sooner!' Looking at his son suddenly looking at him while pouting, Duke Kensington felt helpless. 'This boy is thinking of something for sure.' He had been hogging Lady Melissa all to himself during the time they were at the K
Lord Melvin sighed when he heard this. He really hoped his sister could live a long and happy life after she's married. Unlike his sister, Lord Melvin knew Zachary Kensington well. That man's heart is made of stone!Even the deceased Lady Delia had a hard time adjusting to Kensington Estate after her marriage. This was open secret to the upper class society. Lord Melvin was close to Lady Delia's brother, Lord Desmond and thus he often heard Lord Desmond complained to him about how unfeeling and cold Duke Kensington was towards his sister.According to Lord Desmond, Duke Kensington rarely spent time with his wife, and was often busy with his businesses. Since Lady Delia was meek by nature, she found it hard to command the respect of the servants and staffs and in the end she was overrun by the Duke's cousin, Lady Sophia. Who in the society didn't know that Lady Sophia harboured feelings towards Duke Kensington since young. However, her feelings was one sided as Duke Kensington didn't s
"Queen Grandma! You must make the wedding happen sooner, if not I might lose my new mother." Lord William said while running over to the Queen the moment he reached her inner chambers. Duke Kensington was following closely behind and bowed when he reached her. Queen Serina was puzzled. This little fireball was chattering non-stop about Lady Melissa the moment he saw her today. What's going on? She looked up with a questioning look at Duke Kensington, hoping he could explain. "Your Majesty, my son and I visited Lady Melissa few days ago. They became best friends." With just these two sentences, Queen Serina understood everything. She smiled while holding Lord William in her arms. "Do you like Lady Melissa, William?" She asked the young boy. "Yes, of course! She's so beautiful and kind. She even baked me cookies herself. She will be the best mother ever! Can she live with me anytime soon? Please Queen Grandma." Lord William asked with both his hands clasped together, begging the
In fact, when Duke Malcom mentioned the wedding dress, Melissa was surprised to know that the Kensington Estate's colours were sapphire blue. That was the colour she loved most and in fact, before she died in the real life, she had purchased a sapphire dress. She loved the design of the dress and wanted to replicate it. To do that, she needed some sketching materials and colours. As the original Lady Melissa didn't paint, there was no arts materials at home for her to use. When she was ready to leave, Lily gasped when she saw her. "My Lady, you can't go out like that. That dress was too simple for you! Let me dress you again." In fact, Melissa didn't like the heavy and tacky gowns which noble ladies seemed to wear in this era. She preferred something light and easy to move around with. Hence, she had secretly altered some of her dresses and got rid of the fluffy, frilly and lacy stuffs on them. At first, Lily was shocked to see these modifications but soon got used to it when Me
"Oh, fancy meeting you here Your Grace. Are you buying arts supplies too?" Melissa acted calm and decided to ignore Duke Kensington's displeasure towards her. She could see through his eyes that he was disturbed by her sitting down on the floor like this. 'Who cares! I'm not your wife yet!' Ignoring her question, Duke Kensington asked, "Aren't you getting up?" "I'm not done yet." Melissa answered while continuing to choose her colours, completely ignoring her fiancé, who was obviously trying to get her attention. Duke Kensington looked at the young lady sitting on the floor and couldn't help but be amused at this scene. He wasn't particularly pleased with it but somehow he couldn't bring himself to reprimand her. She was so immersed with what she's doing, as if she's in her own world and he didn't want to disturb that. After standing there gazing at her for a few minutes, getting no response from her at all, Duke Kensington decided to move to a nearby bench and wait for her. Th
Duke Kensington was enjoying the ride much more than he expected. The girl in front of her was quiet and seemed immersed in her own thoughts. She was different from those other women who always tried any means to get near him, seduce him or get him into their bed. If there's another lady inside this carriage with him, that woman would have thrown herself at him! But this young lady didn't seem to be that much interested in engaging with him. In fact, from the looks of it, she must be trying so hard to ignore his presence at this moment. Not a chance!"Do you like to paint?" Duke Kensington asked.Lady Melissa turned to look at Duke Kensington when she heard his question. She tried to remember what the author had written about this male lead in the novel. Didn't the male lead was said to be cold, unfeeling and most importantly, he didn't like to interact with women, even with his wife? The way things were now had completely deviated from the storyline. First, he approached her when she