Chapter 8
Ugh, I was so done listening to their drama. I grabbed My Maid and headed out.
A month later, Draven and his whole crew were sentenced to immediate execution. Trevor, who got a promotion for his role in all this, came to tell me the news while I was busy plotting my next big move.
“I want to open a shop.” I announced.
Trevor flashed me that familiar grin of his.
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to sell all those gadgets of yours?” he teased.
“Why not? Is that a problem?” I shot back.
Trevor hesitated for a second.
“Alright, you can sell your little contraptions as novelties, but nothing big or dangerous,” he said.
I shot him a look. “Do I look that dumb to you?”
“No, but aren’t you forgetting something?” he asked.
I knew exactly what he was getting at, but I just played dumb.
“Remember that hairpin I modified? I packed it with all sorts of Medicine, but ended up not using any of it,” I said.
“That’s not what I meant,” Trevor blurted out.
Trevor, usually so smooth, suddenly got tongue–tied.
“I’m talking about us. Are you gonna say yes to Marrying Me or not? If you do, I’ll go get His Majesty’s approval,” he stammered.
Just to mess with him, I pretended to turn him down.
“Why? Did I mess up somewhere? That thing you wanted is already being delivered…” he blurted out.
He froze mid–sentence when I gave him a big smooch right on the cheek.
“DUMMY, like I’d ever say no,” I laughed.
Who would’ve thought our wedding would drag on for three months? It wasn’t until everything was finally sorted out that Trevor brought me the news.
“His Majesty said yes. Our wedding’s set for the Mid–Autumn Festival!” Trevor blurted out.
I paused, and suddenly, Memories of the first time I Met Trevor came flooding back. I was just eight years old then, always tagging along with my parents wherever they went.
Then one day, Dad turned to me and said, “Audrianna, the war’s finally over. We have a home now.”
That was how I ended up living right next door to the Dominguez family.
Trevor was only nine at the time, but he was always buzzing around me like a chatty little bird.
“Hey, Audrianna sis, check out this toad. Wanna take it?” Trevor teased.
That was a hefty chunk of meat.
So they roasted it up and started eating. Halfway through, Trevor Mumbled, “Audrianna, you’re the best. None of the other girls ever want to play with me.”
I sprinkled some seasoning on the meat and shot back, “With that wild Monkey look of yours, which girl would ever be interested in you?”
“You would!” Trevor shot back without missing a beat.
Trevor’s words came out a bit Mumbled, but his eyes were shining with excitement.
“Come on, as if your parents would ever want me around. My MOM is always scolding me, saying I’m not gentle enough, not ladylike, always embarrassing her, and nothing like her,” I shot back.
Trevor got even more fired up. “Perfect! I’m a bit of a wild troublemaker, and you’re just as much of a handful. I’ve decided. When we grow up, I’m marrying you.”
Mortified and furious, I hurled a rock at him. I had no idea that his casual promise would one day come true.
When the wedding day finally came, I found I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I had imagined. The only hiccup was almost losing track of my wedding dress.
“Miss, remember, once you’re in the bridal sedan, don’t say a word,” the Maids reminded me.
Their constant reminders were giving me a headache. The Dominguez family was handling everything for the wedding, and as for my her parents, well, that was a long story.
Ever since that night they had a huge fight, their relationship was never the same. It wasn’t until the day Draven was beheaded that all the pent–up resentment finally blew up.
In a fit of rage, Dad wrote a letter of divorce and sent Mom back to her family. But Mom was even more decisive. She set their house on fire, burned it to ashes, and Dad was so furious he died on the spot.
After Draven died, MOM was heartbroken day and night. When she learned her husband had passed too, she went completely mad, laughing and crying all day long. They finally found her at the bottom of a dried–up well.
The beauty who once dazzled the world ended up being taken away, wrapped in nothing but a straw Mat.
“Careful, there’s a rock ahead,” one of the Maids warned me.