Chapter 4 - My New Mother

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 she could disappoint such a good looking boy. In her life, her main weakness was children. She loved them to death. Even when she was teaching at the university, she would still spend time visiting the orphanages and played with the children. She was an orphan herself and therefore, she understood the craving for parental love and would always try her best to fulfil such void in the children's heart. She had spent so much time plotting on how to get out of this marriage but she had forgotten about the most important thing, the Duke's young son! Now, facing him, how could she deny his sincere intention? This was truly unexpected.

"Yes! I love cookies!" The young boy's eyes twinkled at this. Boy oh boy! A new beautiful mother who could cook as well. He's going to keep her no matter what his father said. With that thought, he held her hands tightly and they both left the room, not giving a glance to the other two men in the room.

Duke Kensington was dumbfounded. His usually fussy son had taken an immediate liking to Lady Melissa, and he had even proposed to her on his behalf. She had said yes to that proposal, didn't she? So did this mean she agreed to marry him as per the Queen's request? Unfortunately, his son had snatched her away from him so he had no way of asking her himself. Now they had even left him standing there alone, not inviting him to come along.

Duke of Hurrey suddenly laughed at the way Duke Kensington was looking at the moment. He looked like he had eaten a bad meal. He went over and patted the man's shoulder.

"Looks like Melissa had made up her mind after all. What about you? I guess you had no say in this? Who would have thought that the great Duke Kensington would one day be ruled by his 5 year old son. Hahahaaha!" Duke Malcom laughed heartily.

Duke Kensington smiled at the older man and after a moment, he said, "I have no objection with having Melissa as my wife. I'm sure she would be a great choice and true enough, William likes her a lot. That's enough for me. Don't worry. I won't mistreat her. I will make sure to keep her safe and provide her with anything she desires. Please be rest assured."

"I've no doubt about that. All we care about is Melissa's happiness. She seems to be getting along well with your son. I'm sure the boy will keep her happy. As for you, just remember, if you make her unhappy, Melvin will come after you. You know how protective he is towards Melissa." Duke Malcom reminded Duke Kensington.

Duke Kensington flinched at the mention of Lord Melvin Knight. That petty man was well known with a sister complex issues. The reason why not much information was obtained regarding Lady Melissa was heavily because of Lord Melvin. Knowing his affection and protectiveness towards her, no one dared to speak about Lady Melissa for fear of offending him. Who didn't know how badly Sir Henry was beaten by him just for saying Lady Melissa was ugly and unpresentable. Ever since that incident, most of the noblemen and noblewomen avoided talking about Lady Melissa and soon she seemed to have slipped into oblivion. Although Lord Melvin and him were friends, he still felt this man would give him a hard time in the future.