The sound of the door closing separated Rey from Luana, who was still in the room.

As he had said earlier, the man gave Luana time and space to rest, at least to recharge before actually facing what his extended family would be like in the afternoon.


Luana had not yet met Ryan Goette Lueic, and Rey really hoped that his father would not trouble Luana later.

Like his mother who welcomed Luana's arrival earlier as his wife, Rey now hopes that his father will do the same.

Still leaning against the wall, Rey had time to tread with his own thoughts. These few days have been very hard, especially since he made a fatal mistake last night.


Deep down in his heart, he hoped that Luana would not be traumatized by him, or at least that she would forget the fateful incident even if it had to be slowly.

Exhaling heavily, Rey finally swung his steps to get out of there. Down the stairs, heading towards the kitchen to meet his mother, or perhaps just relaxing in the back room of the mansion.


***

Luana was used to being on a tight schedule. Her daily life as a maid at Madam Collins' residence had made her accustomed to moving nimbly, including for schedule matters like this.

The clock in Rey's room still read half past six in the afternoon, but Luana was already getting ready with her hair combed.

Rey had literally left her alone, not even returning for almost four hours. After cleaning herself up and putting on the minimum amount of makeup possible, Luana now had time to look around the room.

"If this is Rey's room, then this is where he grew up before moving to the mansion," Luana softly concluded, as she scanned the room with her head.

It really looked like a man's room, with deep shades of brown and dark gray. Right on the left side, a large wardrobe with four doors stood firmly.

Lined up next to the tall cabinet was a long table with many drawers. There were several medium-sized frames displayed on the table, neatly lined up with various photo backgrounds.

Swinging her steps slowly, Luana's gaze was now fixed on the portraits caught by the corner of her eye.

Some of the frames featured pictures of Rey, with different poses and different friends. Paying close attention to the portraits, Luana found a photo featuring Rey when he was wearing his graduation toga on his head.

Set against the backdrop of a high-rise building, Rey, who looked younger in the photo, was smiling very broadly, with a bouquet of flowers and something round in his hand.

"Is this called a college graduation portrait?" Luana half-mumbled, not realizing that someone had joined her in the room.

"You're right. It's a photo of when I finished my Master of Business Administration at my university."

Rey's voice sounded so close that Luana reflexively turned her body in an unprepared motion. Spinning around, the woman lost her footing and almost made her fall like a mango.

With a quick movement Rey Lueic caught the woman's waist, and saved Luana who was now successfully in his arms.

Blinking, Luana's two eyeballs widened perfectly.

The man's touch still feels very strange, especially the memory of how he touched Luana last night is still very clearly etched in the eye.

Hurriedly stomping and pushing for Rey to let go, Luana made the man take two steps back. Their eyes met not long after, but Luana hurriedly lowered her head.

"S-Sorry!" she exclaimed.

Rey looked a little surprised, due to the response Luana gave him.

"No, it's okay," Rey replied quickly. "I'm sorry that I startled you, but I already knocked on the door a few times."

Luana nodded her head, realizing she was probably so lost in reverie that she didn't notice the sound of the door knocking. It wasn't Rey's fault after all, he had tried to save her.

"Are you ready?"

Rey's voice broke the silence, after a few seconds of pause between them. The man clearly saw Luana who was now presentable, with a knee-length dress that was a combination of black and red.

There was no denying it, the girl did shine in her own way.

"Already, I'm ready," Luana replied briefly.

Right after finishing her sentence, the woman hurriedly swung her steps to create distance between them. It was uncomfortable to be that close to Rey, even though her first impression of this mansion was very warm.

"Alright," Rey replied. "Can you wait for me for a moment? I'm just going to change my clothes."

Not answering with a voice, Luana instead just nodded her head again. Rey had already moved to open the tall closet, taking one of the suits from inside then.

Stepping quickly, the noble headed towards the bathroom and disappeared behind the door. Luana tried to catch her breath, repeatedly chanting a mantra to herself.

"Calm down, Luana. Everything will be fine."

It was almost the 30th time when the sound of the bathroom door pulling was heard again. Rey had changed his clothes, now wearing a black and white suit.

The man walked over, then stopped right in front of Luana who had been sitting on the sofa.

"I'd like to ask one more favor," Rey said bluntly.

Luana raised her head, returning Rey's gaze that had been directed at her.

"What favor?"

Rey seemed to think for a moment.

"Can you wear your wedding ring?" he asked hesitantly. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to break the awkwardness.

Luana frowned, but then she raised her left hand and pointed her fingers at Rey.

"Is this the ring you're talking about?"

Rey noticed how the wedding ring was on Luana's finger, which he hadn't even noticed all this time. The ring she had forged with one of Munich's finest gem designers, which she had reserved for Beatrice Collins alone.

But now it was on Luana's ring finger, and somehow it seemed to fit perfectly.

"Right, that one," Rey said, nodding his head.

Luana blinked twice, just about to speak but Rey had already resumed.

"I'll be around later," the noble said. "My extended family might get a little noisy, but I hope you don't mind that. Answer their questions if you want to, and just give them a smile if you don't."

Luana paid attention to every word Rey said. Deep down she really didn't want to make a mistake, especially in front of the Lueic family.

It was best that she got through this dinner well, and hoped that Rey would keep his promise to work on their return as soon as possible.

"I understand. You don't have to worry," Luana replied trying to be as calm as possible.

This time it was Rey who nodded his head, followed by the man's movement to fix the button on the end of his arm.

Unconsciously, Luana caught a glittering object, which she had never seen after their impromptu wedding.

A ring was now on Rey's ring finger, in exactly the same place that Luana had placed it a few days ago.

The man had taken off his wedding ring when he stepped out of the wedding hall, as if unwilling to admit that he was a married man now.

But today Rey was wearing the ring again, though Luana didn't know why. Maybe it was just so that the pretense would be total, and their attempt to trick the extended family wouldn't fail just because of a ring that wasn't pinned properly.

"Uhm, that... There's one more," Rey piped up again.

Luana looked up at him, half-awake from her reverie about the ring.

"I'll probably be holding your hand a lot," Rey said this time. The man had never asked for permission in all this time, but it seemed that the events of last night had hit him over the head and made him a little more sane.

Luana again looked confused, because this afternoon the nobleman looked very different.

"Didn't you do that before?" Luana asked originally. "Why are you only asking for permission now?"

Rey sighed softly, breathing with all his body and soul.

"It's okay," the man replied. "I just wanted to tell you."

Luana was still confused by Rey's seemingly different demeanor, to the point where she even wondered if the nobleman was possessed by a demon at the moment.

"Are we leaving now?"

Rey's question brought Luana to her senses, followed by the movement of the woman who was now standing upright.

Rey reached out a hand towards her, and Luana couldn't take her eyes off something that glistened between the man's fingers.

The two were already walking slowly towards the door, when Luana stole a glance at the ring on her ring finger.

It was the same white ring that Rey was wearing. It was just that Luana's ring was adorned with gemstones on it, with an elegant and luxurious impression at the same time.

A ring that signifies that two human are indeed in a relationship.

A marriage, which is not only valid in the eyes of state law, but also in the eyes of religious law.