Chapter 126 First Surprise
A wave of disappointment rose in Peach’s heart when the first day of her marriage didn’t go how she expected it. It was evening already, their plans were ruined.
With a disheartening expression, Peach stumbled into her new home, her heels clicking sluggishly. She looked frayed.
“We were supposed to enter together, make it our new beginning. Look at it now,” she muttered.
“Tsk,” With a constant frown, she threw her heels away without bothering to wear the slipper.
“Welcome home-”
“Where is Luke?” Her voice came razor-sharp, eyes searching for the man who must be infuriated for her actions.
Nothing else mattered more than convincing him to her.
“In your room, Madam,”
Her blazer was unbuttoned, her perfect hair was messy with a few stray strands falling over her tired eyes. Barefoot, a mess, she stepped into their room.
"Luke? I am so sorry, the meeting ran-"
Mentally preparing herself to greet him only to greet a strong scent or roses coming from their candle-lit room, brightening her face in a heartbeat.
“Wha…” Words vanished from her tongue.
Standing at the edge, eyes rapidly observing the flowery room pink roses, of course with dim candle lights and gifts scattered on the bed.
Luke didn’t want a simple ‘Welcome Home’ dinner, he wanted to create an atmosphere where the Galaxy Chain didn't exist.
Stunned, her mind shut down as she stood like a statue that earned a soft, melodious chuckle from the man.
“What? Are you going to stand there?”
Blinking, she knocked back to senses, stepping inside slowly, contemplating the room which disappeared all her tiredness.
Replacing her disappointment with an overwhelming felicity. Not once did she imagine sharing a moment like this with Luke.
“Luke… it’s beautiful,” She whispered, a grin adorning her cheeks.
"Less than you." Luke placed the phone in which was making a video of her away and walked toward her.
His pace was slow, deliberate. He didn't ask her how her day was. He didn't ask about the files.
He reached out and took her briefcase from her hand, setting it on the floor without breaking eye contact. He took off his slippers and offered it to her.
“The floor's cold. Wear it,”
“I was so exhausted, I didn’t notice,” She chuckled sheepishly, wearing the slippers, clicking a few pictures of the room.
“It’s alright. I hope this lessened your exhaustion a little,”
“Lessen it? It killed it!” She beamed, jumping into his arm, kissing his cheeks with a brightening grin which made the man chuckle.
“Ah, I am so happy! This is the first surprise of my life!” She giggled, accidentally slipped an unwanted reality of her life.
“Wait, what? Really?” Luke stopped, pulling away slightly.
Her grin eventually converted into a dejected one, her eyes cascading down, holding her elbow with embarrassment.
The spoiled princess never had a surprise? How odd.
“Uh-huh, never had time for them,” She paused.
Lifting her gaze for a second to check his unreadable reaction before softening his eyes with pity.
“Right, I forgot you used to have appointments just to meet your own parents. Should have suspected that,” He rolled his eyes, shrugging it off.
She did not like how it sounded.
Before she could defend or justify, his hand moved to her shoulders, pulling her into a side hug, kissing the top of her head for reassurance.
“But, don’t worry, you have to take an appointment to see me,” He whispered, vanishing her sorrow in one gesture.
Her cheeks flushed, staring at her husband’s questionable actions, failing to comprehend what he intended to achieve by this.
“Forget it. Freshen up. I cooked dinner for us. You must be starving. I am waiting in the dining hall, okay?”
“Okay,”
Utterly delighted, Peach fresheened up hastily, observing their beautifully decorated room once again before rushing down, searching for her man.
The table was set with flowers, rich aroma of food dispersing in the air and a heart-throbbing smile plastered on his lips.
“Welcome, Madam,” He smirked.
Helping her to take a seat before serving her dinner, twinkling her delicate features for being pampered so affectionately.
“Though I am not a Michelin chef, it’s edible. I hope it won’t be that bad,” He smiled.
“You made it, it’s already above all.” She grinned, pinching his cheeks before taking a bite of her steak.
Although it was average, the fact ‘he’ made it for her alleviated the taste to an unmatched level.
“Absolutely delicious,” She grinned, taking another bite, soothing Luke’s worry that she might not like it as they were having dinner.
As they were having dinner, Peach couldn’t help but to glance at him from time to time, tentative words at the edge of her tongue but was too perturbed to express them.
Noticing her glance, Luke raised his brows, “What? Do you want to say something?”
“I didn’t mean to go-” He pointed his fork at her, shaking his head in denial. “Don’t talk about it,”
Nodding, she glanced once again, forming her lips in a thin line. He couldn’t help but to smile nervously, “What now?”
“Are you doing this from the bottom of your heart or because we are married?”
His gaze lowered, munching on his bite, replying truthfully, "Because we are married. Is that not enough?”
“You are doing this to show yourself so you can show her that you are happy in your marriage? What difference will it make?” Peach trailed off.
She thought about it a lot but her mind failed to apprehend for what reason he would show off his marriage to Arabella nor it mattered to her honestly.
He was hers. That was all she cared about. Reasons were not her concern.
“What if I say I am doing this to give you a second chance to redeem your mistakes?”
Her eyes shone, her heartbeats magnified with delight. Placing the fork down, Luke leaned back on his seat, arching an eyebrow questionably.
“What will you say then?”
“If it’s true,”
Returning a beautiful smile, Peach held his hand with her purest endearment and kissed his knuckles. Surprising the man when she made a promise of a lifetime.
“One day, I will make you do all this for me from the bottom of your heart, Luke,”