Rey was transfixed, as he had never prepared himself to accept his father saying that to his wife. His hands suddenly clenched into fists, with the desire to dismiss it all. But the fact was that it was all true.

"She's my wife, Dad...." Rey said quietly. Not at all expressing emotion in the form of anger, the man chose to reveal everything. "And I... really love her now."


Subconsciously bowed down, Rey felt his shoulders sag without him wanting to. It was as if his body lost the strength to keep going, which left him without even the ability to look into his father's eyes.

The eyes that he lied to, the eyes that he lied to.

Ryan could be heard breathing in the silence that accompanied them, watching closely how his only child had grown so much without even realizing it. As two men living in the Lueic family's large mansion, Ryan knew that Rey could be said to be too independent when compared to his status as an only child.


Rey is quick to grow up, Rey is quick to decide things for himself. And now look at how Ryan can only laugh at himself for not realizing that his son has transformed into a real man.

No longer his little Rey.


Without raising his head, Rey said softly once.

"I know I made a difficult decision, Dad...." Pausing, the man tried to fill his chest cavity with enough air. "But I can't. If Mom and Dad came here to ask me to give up and let her go, then that's not going to happen."

"Look at me, Rey."

Ryan straightened his seat when Rey now began to raise his head slowly, directing the eyeballs with his bluish irises to meet the same color of irises as his father's-irises that also looked as calm as the ocean.

"You've grown up so much," Ryan almost mumbled. "I didn't even realize you'd grown up this much, Rey."

There was a distinct flash of light that Rey caught from his father's sad eyes. Those eyes seemed to grow dimmer and dimmer as his father grew older by the second. The things that Rey could remember about his father were that he had really done the best for their family.

He always supported every decision he made, and he always believed in him. Even Rey once thought that if the whole world was against him, his father would be the only person who would stand up for him.

Supporting him, giving the best.

That flash of memory seemed to pull Rey to the best moments the man had spent with his father, and it somehow just made Rey's feelings warm.

"Rey."

The nobleman could only bite his lip, enduring the tremors that were now starting to spread throughout his body. Not only on the surface of his skin, but also throughout the pulse points of his bloodstream.

"Don't ask me like that, Dad," Rey whispered in desperation. "I'll take all the consequences, I'll take all the punishment. As long as you don't ask me to leave Luana, I'll do anything."

Ryan Lueic was at a loss for words, because now he returned to clenching the lips he was just about to open.

"Please," Rey pleaded hopefully. "Yeah, please. I can't do without her, especially now that Luana is pregnant with my child. The child that all members of the Lueic family have been waiting for, is now growing in my wife's womb, Dad."

Rey could see how the father looked surprised, which was signaled by the widening of the old man's eyeballs. Blinking as if to confirm, Ryan's face was filled with question marks.

"Really?" That was all Ryan could say, due to the shock that still lingered.

Rey nodded quickly. "She's pregnant, and really wanted to tell Mom and Dad about it. She loves you, as much as I love you. Believe me, and help her survive, Dad. Please."

Ryan couldn't remember the last time his son looked this fragile. In fact, it seemed that Rey had never shown the side that was now seen in front of his father. And that really made Ryan's heart break in a different way.

"Listen to your father, Rey." Finally Ryan had the chance to say his sentence, which was followed by a look in Rey's eyes. The young man waited, with a hint of anxiety that was all too apparent.

"Speak up, Father. I'll listen."

Ryan pulled the corners of his lips to form a sliver of a smile, not too wide but Rey could see the smile for the first time since they had been sitting across from each other.

"Again, now I realize you've grown so much," Ryan still kept the smile on his face. "I didn't even know you were this mature, in facing and making every important decision in your life."

Rey opened his ears wide, putting his radar on high to digest every word that came out of his father's gray lips.

"That woman's arrival at our home in Leipzig was enough to shock your mother and me, especially with what she revealed," Ryan began. "But you know that we treated her very well, even though Patricia insisted that she didn't like the idea of a woman named Beatrice from the Collins family."

Rey's heart was racing even faster.

"Father...."

"That surprised me and Patricia, of course," Ryan continued with a sigh. "Even though Patricia eventually admitted that she knew Luana wasn't your real fiancée all along, she was just as surprised as I was when Beatrice revealed who your wife really was."

Deep down inside Rey, he was too disgusted with the caste system going on around them. If only he could ask that these titles of nobility did not need to exist. If only.

"We certainly don't accept this easily, Rey." Ryan seemed dreamy for a moment, taking a long pause this time. "But your mother and I are not here to ask you to do what you thought you were doing. No, really. We're not here to ask you to leave your wife."

Rey's eyeballs rolled quickly, widening without him realizing it. His gaze was still fixed on his father, who was staring back at him intently. Rey also no longer remembered when he and his father had this conversation, but now he could feel his heart trembling softly.

"So?" Rey stuttered as he opened his voice. "May I know what made mom and dad fly all the way here from Leipzig?"

Ryan sighed again, this time pulling the corners of his lips up further to form a hint of a smile there. A smile that contained pride, a smile that implied that he was ready to do anything for his son.

"We're here to give you support," Ryan said finally. Releasing his relief with a smile that

shining, the middle-aged man continued. "I admit you took that risk, Rey. And I'm here... to stand by you."

Rey was speechless, as his tongue had turned numb.

"Your mom and I... will always be your most loyal supporters," Ryan said again. "Whatever decision you make, trust that you are not alone."

"Dad..."

Ryan painted a big smile this time.

"You might need me to talk to the Collins family," he said. "About your wife's status, about her debt of gratitude to that family, and I'm here to sort it all out."

Rey was speechless, as this was all like a dream to him. Dropping to his knees in front of his father, the nobleman could not help but feel the relief welling up in his chest.

"Father, I know you will always be there no matter what I choose," the man whispered with both hands resting on his father's knees.

Rey was apologizing, the man was expressing how grateful he was to have a father like Ryan Lueic.

"You're exactly like me, Rey," the father whispered later. "I never thought my son would do the exact same thing I did decades ago."

Rey was amazed, then raised his head with teary eyes. Staring questioningly at his father, Rey could only mumble. "What do you mean, Dad?"

Ryan rubbed his son's back gently, in an equally gentle whisper.

"Your mother, Patricia, was also someone who came from a different caste than me, Rey." Revealing one big secret that they had been keeping close, Ryan no longer felt the need to keep anything about it.

"Mom?"

Ryan nodded.

"Your grandfather --Alexis Lueic, who raised her status so that she could marry me, who is crazy about her to this day." Ryan chuckled. "And I will do the same for you now, my son. I will elevate your wife and make her worthy of us."