"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. The girl was so beautiful but she seemed to be completely unaware of it. He had come to Dream Arts today to speak to the manager about getting new supplies when he noticed her walking into the shop. A young man, which Duke Kensington recognised as a Knight working for the Knights mansion based on the insignia on his uniform was following her around. Duke Kensington didn't approach her at first but went about to finish his business. When he was done, he didn't see her anywhere in the shop. However, as he was about to leave the shop, he noticed the same Knight standing outside, possibly still waiting for her. Duke Kensington then walked back in to look for her and after few minutes of searching, he found her sitting down on the floor, in front of the paints' section. As how she had dressed the first time they met, she was dressed the same this time as well. Her attire was simple but on her, it gave such an allure and made one wanted to look at her again and again. Her long hair was tied up in half bun and her low neckline revealed just enough to spark one's imagination. His eyes glanced swiftly at the shape of her bosom before slowly tracing up to her neck and eventually it landed on her lips. Her lips were luscious and pink with a tinge of rose red. He subconsciously wondered how would those lips taste if he kiss them. Duke Kensington unexpectedly found himself swallowing his saliva and his nether region started feeling a little bit uncomfortable. He was surprised with himself, responding to her like this. He held no affection nor desires for any other women and believed his energy should be spent in building an empire for his family. When Lady Delia was chosen as his bride, he visited her only when he needed to perform his husbandly duties, which was not often as well, and once he's done, he would leave and went to sleep in his own chambers. He held no love for Lady Delia, only a sense of responsibility towards his wife. The more he looked at Lady Melissa, the more hardon he got. Duke Kensington tried his best to calm down, lest he would make a fool of himself especially when Lady Melissa was present so close to him. He seriously didn't want her to think of him as a perverted man. He closed his eyes and channelled his thoughts to his business ventures and the next steps he should take. By the time his regained his normality, he looked up only to find Lady Melissa was nowhere to be found. Duke Kensington groaned at this impudent woman. How dare she pretended he didn't exist when she could have clearly seen him sitting here. He stood up and saw her at the counter, paying for the materials she wanted. He quickly strode to her side and glanced at the materials she had chosen."Pack everything the Lady had chosen with no charge." Duke Kensington said to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper merely bowed at him with a simple "Yes, Your Grace" and went to do as instructed.
Melissa didn't expect him to come to her again. When she finally chose her materials, she saw him sitting on the nearby bench, deep in thought. Not wanting to spend another minute with him, she quickly slipped away before he noticed her. But here he was again, trying to take control of her purchase! "Your Grace, I have money to pay for all these. You don't need to do it for me." Melissa patiently said. Duke Kensington could sense impatience and annoyance in her tone. He was somehow surprised and could not help but wonder what did he do to irk her so much. Until a few days ago, they had never met each other nor had any relations whatsoever. Why did this lady seem to dislike him? "Don't worry. You are welcome to come anytime and get anything you need in the future. You'll be the Mistress of this place after the wedding." Duke Kensington said, disregarding what she said. "Mistress? Are you saying you own this shop?" Melissa started to hate the way the story unfold. Duke Kensington just smiled and didn't say more. Melissa closed her eyes briefly and let out a long breath. When she opened her eyes, Duke Kensington was staring at her, puzzled at her reaction. Not wanting to create any awkwardness between them, especially since they would be wedded soon, Melissa simply smiled and said, "That's very generous of you, Your Grace. Since you're in a giving mood, why don't you help me carry these to the carriage?" With that Melissa curtsied slightly and walked out of the shop without waiting for Duke Kensington.Looking at her retreating back, Duke Kensington was stunned for a while before laughing out loud. The shopkeeper was taken aback by this. The Duke actually laughed! Never ever would he imagined this day would come. Duke Kensington carried all the parcels out and when he reached the carriage, Lady Melissa was already seated waiting for him. Sir Andrew recognized Duke Kensington and hurriedly went to take the parcels from him before placing them in the carriage.
"Very well, thank you Your Grace. Have a lovely day ahead." Melissa looked at Duke Kensington who was standing outside the carriage and extended her gratitude. However, what happened next baffled both her and Sir Andrew as well. Duke Kensington opened the door of the carriage and stepped inside, and went to sit opposite Lady Melissa.
"Your Grace, what do you think you're doing?" Lady Melissa asked, her voice slightly raised which indicated her raising anger. What the hell is this man trying to do? He thinks this is an Uber shared ride??
"My Lady, please pardon my intrusion. If it's not too much trouble, may I seek help for you to send me home? I believe it's on your way home." Duke Kensington said with a smile on his charming face.
"Isn't that a little too presumptuous, Your Grace? What makes you think I'm going home? I might have some other things to do." Melissa replied, all the while maintaining a smile on her face.
"Oh really? I presumed you'd be going home as I believed the royal tailor would be visiting you today for the wedding dress. Or am I wrong?" Duke Kensington replied with a mischievous grin.
Melissa suddenly remembered what Duke Malcom had told her this morning, that the royal tailor would be coming to take her measurements today. How could she forget that! This man...is he out to embarrass her purposely!
"Cough! Cough! Ah yes, you're right, Your Grace. It slipped my mind. Thank you for your kind reminder. Sir Andrew, lets send the Duke home first." Melissa finally accepted defeat. Somehow the plot twist would never side with the female lead! Such bad luck, now she was stuck with him for another 30 minutes or so. Lady Melissa's personal carriage was not big to begin with, since it was meant only for her alone. Therefore with him sitting across her, his long legs brushed against hers no matter how hard she tried to avoid them. Ah! Whatever! Let’s ignore it for now. She said inwardly while shifting her gaze out of the window.
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
At 9 in the morning, the Kensington's carriage arrived at the Knights' mansion. Melissa was waiting at the main gate with her maid-in-waiting. She looked resplendent in a deep green gown, her hair was coiled into a braided bun, secured by a diamond encrusted pin. The only other jewellery she wore was a simple necklace with an emerald pendant. She looked fresh and radiant, and unlike her usually can't-wait-to-run-away-from-him attitude, she was actually smiling when the carriage drew nearer.He was captivated with her smile and was almost smiling back at her when he suddenly heard her shouted while waving her arms excitedly, "William! William!""Mother! Mother! I'm here to fetch you! We're going to see Queen Grandma today!" Lord William's tiny head poked out of the carriage while shouting back at the beautiful girl standing not far away. "William, mind your words, Lady Melissa is not married to me yet. You shouldn't call her that." Annoyed at his misconception earlier, Duke Kensington
A lonely figure with an exquisite looking face stood on one of the balconies overlooking the palace entrance and watched the scene below. No one dared to approach this man who exuded a dangerous aura at the moment. Being born as the eldest prince, he's destined to inherit the throne one day. However, his cold and aloof aura made him unapproachable and those who interacted with him were always cautious in their actions and words towards him. He was ruthless in his approach and seldom offered mercy on those who wronged him. It was said that this prince also didn't have any interest in any of the noble ladies around him, and had remained unattached until today. Many marriage proposals from prominent families were offered to the Queen discreetly but all of them were rejected by the prince, citing they're not worthy of him. After the prince threw a big tantrum about this the last time this subject was broached, the Queen relented and didn't bring it up again. No one knew what the prince wa
As they approached the dining table, the maids all curtsied before the Queen. Melissa looked across the table and saw a handsome young man and a beautiful woman were already seated. As they saw the Queen, they went over and greeted the Queen affectionately. 'This must be the Queen's children'.Queen Serina introduced the young prince and princess to Melissa. The friendly young man was the Queen's younger son, Prince Xander while the arrogant looking girl was Princess Katherine. Melissa extended her curtsies to both the royals when Princess Katherine suddenly said loudly, "So, you're the famous Lady Melissa? The one that went into hiding for years without seeing other people?" Princess Katherine was in fact boiling in anger when she saw how affectionate Duke Kensington was with Lady Melissa moments ago. 'Zachary never smiled at me like that before! How dare this bitch try to seduce him!'Melissa was in the middle of curtsying when Princess Katherine said that. She almost lost her compo
After the meal, Duke Kensington sent Lord William to the guest chamber to take a nap. Although the young boy protested at first, he eventually succumb to his father's instruction. In order to fulfil her expanding curiosity as to how big the palace was, Lady Melissa seek permission from the Queen to take a stroll in the royal garden. Queen Serina readily obliged her request and asked Duke Kensington to escort her. As much as she wanted to wander alone, she couldn't possibly drive Duke Kensington away. Therefore, she walked with her hand looped around the Duke's arm, proceeding to the royal garden. In one hand, she held the white rose which was placed on her plate earlier.This was the first time he held her so close to him and he could smell a faint flowery fragrance coming from her. His body instinctively grew rigid and he found it hard to concentrate. He kept stealing glances at her from time to time, sensing her obvious curiosity on her surroundings. Duke Kensington was slightly puz
When Lady Melissa stepped into the main banquet hall, almost everyone was captivated by her beauty. The young ladies eyed her with envy and jealousy, some even sneered at her appearance. Prince Xavier who was standing with a few close acquaintances of his, all of them young men from the aristocratic families, couldn't help but smirked at the sight of his beloved. As expected of the woman of his choice, she could stunned everyone just by standing there doing nothing. Prince Xavier was further pleased when he realized that the troublesome Lord Melvin Knight wasn't present tonight. It was only Lady Melissa and her mother, Duchess Rose Knight. "Isn't that Lady Melissa? The one who fought with the Princess a few years ago?" Lord Benjamin Blackwell said, while keeping his gaze on the lovely girl."Yes, I see that time has done her great service. She has blossomed well indeed." This suggestive remark from Lord Davis caused the rest of the noblemen around him to look appreciatively at Lady M
Prince Xavier waited, and waited for days but no news came from Lady Melissa after that. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months. After waiting for such a long time but still didn't hear from her, he was worried that something had happened to her. After the last palace banquet, Lady Melissa seemed to have vanished and she never appear in any social events anymore. No one knew what happened to her. Prince Xavier had tried to get information but everyone from the Knights' Estates was tight lipped and no news were leaked on their Lady's wellbeing. Prince Xavier nearly went crazy trying to find out the truth. She had clearly promised to give him an answer, and he knew she wasn't the type to forget about it easily.Unpleasant rumours started to spread about Lady Melissa after that. Some said she was disfigured and became so ugly that she didn't dare to show herself in public. Some said she was embarrassed as she had no friends so staying home was the best option. Some even went as far
For the next few days, Prince Xavier waited for the Queen to approach him with great anticipation in his heart. His mood was much better as well, thinking of the impending marriage between him and Lady Melissa. However, after much wait, there was no sign of the Queen nor was there any summon for him to see her. After much thought, Prince Xavier decided to meet the Queen himself. His marriage was much more important than his pride anyway. When he reached his mother's chambers, he knocked and was summoned in."Xavier, my son! What brings you here today? Is something wrong?" Queen Serina was surprised to see her normally aloof son appeared before her today. "How do you do Mother?" Prince Xavier went to hug his mother. "I'm very well, thank you. Is everything alright, Son?" Queen Serina probed again. "Well, yes I'm doing well. Mother, I heard you've been busy choosing brides these past few days. How's that going?" Prince Xavier asked casually."That's a surprise! I thought you didn't