Chapter 7 – The Unexpected Visitor

The consequences of the accident are fading. Daily life has become much better. She meets Edwin at the restaurant, where he sits at a lavish table. As she sits down, he smiles at her, “I hope you enjoy it.”

Because she needs to eat healthily, no greasy food is served on the platter. The duke’s head chef exerted his utmost best to prepare a good meal for her because she was coming to the restaurant to eat for the first time since the accident, allowing her to delight in scrumptious appetizers. It has been a very long time since she had had a meal that was prepared just for her. 

After the meal, she has tea with Edwin. She takes a sip of the tea and studies Edwin from across the table. During her recuperation, he had come to see her every morning, always leaving as abruptly as he came and giving no chance for a chat. 

He must be really busy being a Duke of the empire, but he always makes time and comes by to greet me every morning. He never says much, only checks to see that her condition is getting better. He did not want to be a bother.

He wanted to allow her time to adapt and recover. She was beginning to adjust to life here faster than she had thought.

Edwin puts down his teacup and asks her in a soft voice as if he felt her gaze. “Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes, I’m feeling a lot better now after getting a lot of rest.”

“I’m glad. Still, the after-effects are going to last a while because it was a major accident. Don’t push yourself too much.”

“I won’t. Thank you for your concern,” she paused, “father.” It still feels so strange to utter the word. She couldn’t call him ‘Edwin’ like the others. 

He wears a look of surprise as if he did not expect her to call him ‘father.’ She smiles awkwardly and looks away from him. Why is he looking at me that way? Even if she had lost her memory, she was still his daughter, Tiana. There should be nothing wrong with calling him ‘father.’ She asks herself, Was their relationship so bad that she didn’t call him father? He has been really sweet to me.

There was never enough time to see him. However, she could see that despite his being unable to express himself properly, he was a kind and loving father. She did not have a father to call her own and because of that, she was happy to be able to call someone father. She hoped she was not getting ahead of herself.

“I… Am I not supposed to call your father? Should I rather call you by your name?”

“Oh no. Why would you ask such a thing? You are my daughter, so of course, you should call me father.”

‘I was wondering, because of how you reacted to it.’

“I’m just really happy and I think it’s fortunate that you woke up. I am glad I can talk to you like this again.”

She nods her head with a smile. He really has a way with words. There was something wrong and she knew it. His expression earlier did not match his words. He must be hiding something. Feeling it wasn’t the right time to start digging, she shrugs it off her mind.

Breakfast continued with a tinge of awkward silence. She is thinking of what to say when a knock on the door breaks the silence and Alfred, the butler, came in. He seems in a hurry, unease evident in his eyes. When he sees her, he hesitates but he speaks up anyway.

“Your Grace, there…”

“Yes?”

“There is a guest for the lady, but…”

“A guest?”

Who is this unscheduled visitor? She is not the only one bewildered by the sudden visit. Edwin’s face sports a frown, “Who is it?”

“It is the Grand Duke, Your Grace.”

“What?”

His Grace the Grand Duke? As far as she knew, there was only one grand duke in the empire. That would be Lucius, the man who was to be her husband. Oh goodness, he is here to see me? She knew they would be meeting someday, but didn’t think it would be so soon. She is taken back by the sudden turn of events; however, she feels gladness sweep her heart. She is able to see him in person.

She desperately tries to stop her lips curling into a smile. She would have to contain herself. They didn’t know that she knew who Lucius was, because of her supposed memory loss. It would be strange to see her become excited. 

She tries to hide her smile from them. Alfred sees this and quickly assumes she is trying to hide her bewilderedness and proceeds to explain about Lucius.

“His Grace, the Grand Duke is my lady’s…”

“Alfred.” Edwin rises from his seat and regards the butler with a threatening stare, shaking his head at him. “Tiana, go up to your room.”

“Why?” She wonders what had prompted the action. He was ruining her chance to meet Lucius. She stands up, follows Edwin, waiting for an answer. His eyes have softened now, but she can still glimpse the hard lines of a frown on his forehead.

“I think it’s still too early for you to meet guests. I’ll tell His Grace to excuse you, so you can go to your room now.”

“But…”

“I’ll explain it to you later, just please go up now.”

“Yes… I’ll do as you say.”

A myriad of questions swirled in her head. She watches the backs of Edwin and Alfred hurriedly strut to the parlor. She follows Inabelle who was there to wait on her into her room. Outside her room, Inabelle is waiting for her. She feels uncomfortable not knowing what is going on but enters her room with Inabelle.