Chapter 67 Where are my great grandchildren!!
Dandelion.
"Flower, come help me with the roses!"
I looked up from my script to find Grandma Wini waving at me from the garden path, with a secateurs in her other hand. She had been obsessing over her prize rose bushes all week, determined to have them perfect for some upcoming garden society event.
"Of course, Noona." I set my book aside and joined her in the sunshine.
The estate gardens were beautiful this time of year, bursting with color and the sweet scent of blooming flowers. Grandma wini had already filled a basket with cuttings, her face flushed from the afternoon heat.
"These roses need a woman's touch," she said, handing me a pair of gardening gloves. "Men just hack away at them with no finesse. Even the gardeners I hire don't understand the delicate work required."
I smiled and accepted the gloves, kneeling beside her near the white rose bushes. We worked in comfortable silence for a few minutes, the only sounds being the snip of our shears and birds singing in the nearby trees.
"You know," Grandma wini said suddenly, her tone deceptively casual, "my mother always said rose bushes bloom better when there's new life in the household."
I paused mid cut. "Is that so?"
"Mmm. She claimed it had something to do with the energy. The joy." She examined a particularly perfect bloomed rose. "Of course, she was a bit superstitious. But I do find myself hoping for that kind of joy soon."
My stomach tightened. I had a feeling I knew where this was going.
"These roses are already beautiful, Noona."
"I'm not talking about the roses, dear."
I kept my eyes fixed on the bush in front of me. "What are you talking about then?"
"When am I getting a great grandchild?"
The directness of the question made me fumble my shears. I caught them before they fell, but Grandma was already watching me with those sharp, knowing eyes.
"We've only been married a short while," I said carefully.
"You've been sharing a bedroom for months. That's plenty of time." She set down her own shears and turned to face me fully. "Unless there's a problem I should know about?"
"There's no problem." I said quickly.
"Then why do you look like you want to run away every time I bring this up?"
Because I do want to run away, I thought desperately. Because your grandson and I have a contract that specifically forbids what you're asking about. Because we've only had sex once and it was a mistake we both pretend didn't happen.
"It's just a private matter," I managed.
"Private?" She scoffed. "You live in my house. You're married to my grandson. I have every right to wonder when you're going to make me a great grandmother."
"Noona---"
"Are you on birth control? Is that it?"
My face burned hot. "I'm not on birth control."
"Then what's the issue? You're young and healthy. Alex is certainly capable. Unless," her eyes narrowed, "he's not being attentive to you?"
"He's very attentive!" The words came out too quickly, too defensive.
"Then I don't understand the delay. When I married Alexander's grandfather, I was pregnant within a month. These things don't take years, Dandelion."
"Every couple is different."
"Yes, but most couples actually try." She studied me intently. "Are you two even sleeping together?"
I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole. "Of course we are."
"Every night?"
"Yes!"
"Then where are my great-grandchildren?"
"Noona, please." I abandoned the roses entirely, pulling off my gloves. "We're just taking our time."
"Taking your time with what? You're married! The whole point of marriage is to build a family!"
"Not for everyone," I argued weakly.
Grandma stood, brushing dirt from her gardening dress. "I'm seventy years old, Dandelion. I don't have time for everyone. I have time for you and Alex to give me a great-grandchild before I die."
"Noona don't talk about dying."
"Why not? It's the truth." She softened slightly. "I'm not trying to pressure you, flower. I just want to see my family continue. To hold a great grandchild before I'm gone. Is that so terrible?"
Guilt twisted in my chest. She didn't know this was all fake. She thought her grandson had finally found love and settled down.
"It's not terrible," I whispered.
"Then what's stopping you?"
"Stopping who from what?"
We both turned to find Alexander approaching, his suit jacket slung over one shoulder, sleeves rolled up. He must have just come from a meeting.
"Noona wants to know why I'm not pregnant yet," I said bluntly.
Alexander stopped mid step. "Excuse me?"
"You heard her." Grandma crossed her arms. "You've been married for months now. You share a bedroom. But there's still no news of a baby. What's the problem?"
"There's no problem," Alexander said tightly.
"Then why do you both look so uncomfortable every time I bring this up?" She looked between us. "One would think I was asking you to commit a crime instead of doing what comes naturally to married couples."
"Noona, this isn't appropriate saying it like that."
"What's not appropriate is my grandson neglecting his wife!" Her voice rose. "Or maybe it's the other way around? Are you neglecting him, Dandelion?"
"I'm not neglecting anyone!" I quickly bailed myself out in panic.
"Then somebody better start explaining why I'm not getting any great grandchildren!"
Alexander's jaw clenched. "We're being responsible."
"Responsible?" Winifred threw up her hands. "You're married! What's responsible about avoiding children?"
"We're not avoiding them. We're just not rushing into them."
"Rushing? It's been months!"
I watched them argue, feeling increasingly trapped. This was getting worse by the second, and I had no idea how to make it stop without revealing the truth about our contract.
"Maybe," I said loudly, cutting into their argument, "we just need some time away from all this pressure."
Both of them looked at me.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"I mean, maybe we're both stressed from work and family obligations. Maybe if we had some time alone together, without everyone watching and waiting, things would happen naturally."
Alexander's eyes widened slightly. He knew exactly what I was doing. Setting up an escape route.
But is it a good idea?, I'm not sure, I just had to say the first thing that came to my mind.
Grandma's expression transformed into delight. "A romantic getaway! Of course! That's exactly what you need!"
"But---" Alexander started.
"No, Dandelion is absolutely right. You two need time away from the estate, away from work, just the two of you in a romantic setting."
"I have meetings next week," Alexander tried to protest.
"Cancel them."
"I can't just---"
"You're a billionaire, Alexander. You can do whatever you want." Grandma clapped her hands together. "I'll arrange everything. A private villa somewhere tropical. Five days, maybe a week."
"That really isn't necessary," I said, already regretting my suggestion.
"It's absolutely necessary! Left to your own devices, you two will keep making excuses. No, you need this. Consider it my wedding gift." She beamed at both of us. "I'll make all the arrangements. You leave in three days."
"Three days?" Alexander and I said in unison.
"There's no point in delaying." She gathered her basket of rose cuttings. "The sooner you have proper alone time, the sooner you can focus on making me a great-grandmother. Now, I need to call the travel agent. Excuse me!"
She practically skipped back to the house, leaving Alexander and me standing in the garden staring after her old yet agile figure.
"Well," Alexander said after a long moment. "That backfired spectacularly."
"I was trying to help"
"By suggesting a romantic vacation?" He turned to look at me with raised brows. "How exactly was that supposed to help?"
"I thought if we agreed to go away, she would stop interrogating us!"
"Instead she's now going to expect results when we return."
I sank onto the garden bench, defeated. "What are we going to do?"
"Well, we'll have to go on this trip. We're going to maintain our arrangement. And when we come back, we'll deal with Noona's expectations then."
"She's going to ask if I'm pregnant the moment we walk through the door."
"Probably."
"Gosh, This is a disaster."
"It's not ideal," he agreed. "But we'll handle it."
I looked at him, this man I was contractually married to but felt increasingly complicated about. "Are we though? Because this feels pretty complicated."
His expression softened slightly. "We'll figure it out. We always do."
From the garden we could hear Grandma on the phone, her excited voice purposely sounding loud enough for us to hear through the open windows. "Yes, yes, a honeymoon package. The most romantic villa you have. No expenses spared!"
Alexander groaned. "She's going to make this as difficult as possible, isn't she?"
"That seems to be her specialty." I muttered shaking my head.
We stayed there in the garden, the roses blooming around us, both dreading and anticipating what the next week would bring.
Because spending days alone with Alexander in a romantic villa? That wasn't going to help us maintain a distance.
Instead It was going to make everything more complicated.