Chapter 19: Marriage Is a Tomb!
"Frederick, man, you've been holding out on us! Just last weekend we were joking about who'd be the first to walk into the 'prison' of marriage, and now here you are, already shackled! That was fast!"
"Yeah, seriously, where's Mrs. Windsor? You didn't even bring her to meet us!"
"I heard she's a knockout. Frederick, are you scared we'll scare her off?"
Benjamin White, a classmate from Frederick's time studying abroad, who had come all the way from River City, was the first to speak.
The other two were Frederick's childhood friends, Ethan Scott and Peter Green.
Any one of these guys could walk out and be the center of attention in Empire City's elite circles.
But right now, the four of them were gathered in an unassuming winery, the atmosphere relaxed and easygoing.
Seeing that Frederick didn't seem the least bit happy about his recent marriage, the three friends exchanged glances, sensing something was off.
Benjamin walked over with a glass of whiskey, handed it to Frederick, and raised his own glass, "Congrats on tying the knot!"
The clinking of glasses rang out. Frederick downed his whiskey in one gulp, set the glass aside, and went to sit at the card table.
They played cards and chatted.
Naturally, the conversation shifted from their business ventures to Frederick's sudden marriage.
"Back in school, you used to get so many love letters you could fill a suitcase! But you were always alone, never seemed interested in anyone. Even after you came back, we never heard about you dating anyone. So, who is your wife? Did your family set this up and you couldn't say no?" Benjamin joked.
Frederick shook his head, rubbing the card in his hand, then looked at Ethan, who was married. "Hypothetically, if you had a love child and Zoey found out, how do you think she'd react?"
"Frederick, that's not something to joke about!" Ethan said, looking horrified. "Zoey may seem gentle, but she's got a fiery temper! Forget a love child, if I brought any woman other than her or my mom to a social event, she'd probably burn the house down! A love child? No way, she'd chop me up first, then go after the mother and child, she wouldn't let any of us off the hook!"
"No wonder you've been behaving yourself since you got married, even riding only geldings at the stables... Marriage really is a graveyard!"
"Scary stuff! I've decided, I'm going to enjoy my life and never give up my freedom!"
Benjamin and Peter joked around.
Then they noticed Frederick's face had darkened considerably.
He had already suspected something before asking, and Ethan's words only confirmed it. Frederick's mind was filled with images of Rebecca.
Rebecca, smiling sweetly: "Frederick, don't worry, I'm not that kind of person."
To show her sincerity, she even acted cute to win Alex's favor.
Now that he was sure she truly didn't mind, Frederick felt an inexplicable restlessness.
Of the three friends, Peter had known Frederick the longest and was the only one who could read his thoughts.
Playing a card, Peter offered some advice, "Women need to be coaxed. Your methods might not have been the most honorable, but she's yours now. Treat her well, and in time, even a stone can be warmed."
"Frederick, with my undefeated experience in the game of love, trust me, you can't go wrong!"
Ethan and Benjamin, picking up on Peter's implications, exchanged astonished looks.
Before they could ask what was really going on, Frederick pushed his cards away and stood up, heading for the door. "It's late, let's call it a night!"
"It's only 11 o'clock, and you're saying it's late?"
"Have you forgotten the good old days when we'd hang out until two or three in the morning?"
As the three friends made faces at Frederick's back, he was already walking out the door.
The Maybach roared as it sped towards home.