“Melissa, this is the building that I want you to see. Let’s go.” Duke Malcom said, breaking Melissa’s thoughts.Melissa followed her father and saw a two storey building standing independently at end of the street. It looked so majestic and Melissa instantly fell in love with it.The building was surrounded by a high fence, and there was a beautiful looking gate at the entrance to the building’s courtyard. What attracted Melissa was the design on the metal gate. It was a rose.A polite looking gentleman could be seen standing in front of the gate, waiting for them.When they approached, the man immediately bow slightly and greeted them, “Good afternoon, Your Grace, My Lord, My Lady. My name is Walters and I am the estate manager for this building.”“Good day Walters. Shall we go in?” Duke Malcom said.Mr Walters brought them inside and showed the Knights around the whole building.On the first floor, there was a huge open space in the middle, with two adequate size rooms on each side
Walters stood in front of his employer, recounting the whole afternoon's scenario, not leaving out a single thing. At the end of his story, his employer was already smiling ear to ear. He seemed pleased with the outcome and stood up to pour himself and Walters a drink each."Lord Melvin and Duke Kensington tried to dissuade her?" He confirmed with Walters."Yes, they wanted her to see other places." Walters said."Did you mention my name?" Lord Benjamin asked while taking a sip of his drink."No, My Lord." Walters assured his Master."Good. Since she's coming in tomorrow, I want the contract to be ready by tonight. I will tend to it personally tomorrow." Lord Benjamin instructed his trusted agent."My Lord? You will meet Lady Melissa yourself?" A surprised look crossed Walters' face when he heard this. His Master had never bothered to deal with these trivial matters and would always assigned him to close such deals. Furthermore, this was just a simple lease agreement which he had hand
"Melissa wanted to open an art gallery?" Prince Xavier asked the Queen, surprised at this news."Yes, Zachary informed me yesterday. I didn't know she can paint well. You painted once with her, was she good?" The Queen was puzzled too. The late Archduchess Rose had never mentioned about her daughter's talent in painting, in fact if she recalled, Melissa's talent seemed to be in baking and embroidery."Well…." Prince Xavier was hesitant to answer. Yes, he had shown her some painting techniques and she had tried to copy him but that's about it. He had never seen her actual drawing.But then Prince Xavier recalled the rose sketch that she had done for him and thought she must've nurtured it over the years when she was alone at home. He immediately asked a page to retrieve the sketch from his room.When he showed it to his mother, the Queen smiled and said, "It's so beautiful Xavier. Did you sketch this?""Melissa did it." Xavier said."What? It's really amazing. Such a talented child!" Q
Melissa closed her eyes in exasperation at the sight of the carriage. It's not that she hated Duke Kensington, in fact they had gotten along well these past few weeks. But, she's really looking forward to travel alone, having a peaceful moment to herself. She knew the drive to the palace was a scenic one and she had thoroughly enjoyed those rides in the past. But today, she didn't think that would happen anymore.Duke Kensington spotted Lady Melissa the moment his carriage entered the courtyard. He subconsciously smiled at her appearance. As expected, she had once again adorned a simple gown but this time, although the design was simple, the materials were not.The golden light brocade gown was of the highest standard and it looked exquisite on Lady Melissa. The gown was low-neck and it showed her snowy white skin and a hint of her cleavage.Duke Kensington quickly averted his gaze before his mind began to think 'dangerous' thoughts. When he stepped out of the carriage, Lady Melissa c
During the walk to the west wing, they encountered many distinguished guests, comprised mainly of young gentlemen and gentlewomen, all handsomely dressed to impress, especially the young women.Melissa glanced at them and noticed they all seemed to sport the same kind of hairdo, the one Lily had tried on her earlier. Many of the girls wore long drop curls which were arranged in a group of ringlets falling to the neck or bosom on each side while their front hair was brought smoothly down from a centre parting to the ears.Melissa wondered who had come up with such styles, it's too baby-dollish to her liking.The men courteously greeted the Prince and the young ladies threw flirtatious looks at him while extending their greetings. All of them cast a curious glance at Melissa. Melissa's attire, make up and hairdo was entirely different from the rest of the ladies present, making her stood out among them. Not that she cared, she didn't plan to blend in with the rest of them anyway. In fac
"Your Highness, Your Grace, how do you do?" A sweet voice suddenly sounded from the side and both of them turned to see who it was.Lady Anastasia and Princess Katherine were seen approaching them, followed by a group of noble born ladies, mostly unknown to the two men.Seeing that it were these two women, Prince Xavier and Duke Kensington turned rigid and they both cursed softly at the same time, "Shit!"At the sound of that, they instantly looked at one another, sharing the same look of disdain.Prince Xavier simply gave a curt reply, while Duke Kensington merely nodded to all of them, not sparing a single glance to any of them. He took a sip of his drink and diverted his attention to look at Melissa who was chatting with the Queen. Princess Katherine saw this and she was furious. Lady Anastasia took the chance to initiate a conversation with Prince Xavier. She had gone to look for him earlier but was informed that the Prince was with Lady Melissa. Lady Anastasia at first wanted to
"Oh, that's Lady Anastasia, isn't she?" An older woman who was present at the Queen's table suddenly commented. The Queen had earlier introduced her as Countess Geraldine."Yes, she's going after the Prince I presume." Another one, Lady Davis, chuckled when she saw the young girl hurrying to catch up with Prince Xavier. "Your Majesty, probably she will be able to snatch him this time around. You might have a daughter-in-law soon!" Countess Geraldine said, making the rest of them laughed including the Queen."Well, I already have one now, so it will be good to have another in the family." The Queen patted Melissa's hand while she said that.Melissa's gaze immediately followed the lady who was walking behind Prince Xavier. 'So this is the one. Her target is still the Prince.' "Duke Kensington is so lucky to have such a lovely girl as his intended. Dear child, how are you two getting along?" Countess Geraldine asked kindly. "We're doing fine, Countess." Melissa said, she blushed unkno
Sensing something was wrong with the whole situation, especially when the other party was Lady Anastasia, Melissa immediately stepped forward and pushed Lady Anastasia away with all her might. She quickly said to Duke Kensington, "Zachary, the Prince seems unwell." Lady Anastasia, who was pushed away suddenly, quickly came to her senses when she saw the two people who had appeared. She immediately agreed and said, "Yes, yes, the Prince is unwell. I found him like this and tried to help him." She looked at the woman standing between her and Prince Xavier and her fear was replaced by venomous thoughts. Anastasia felt like strangling this woman to death right now. She had meticulously planned the whole thing. Now with the bitch's appearance, she had ruined everything for her. Nonetheless, she needed to save herself first, if not she would be punished severely if the Queen knew what she had done. Duke Kensington who was holding Prince Xavier turned to look at Lady Anastasia and th