Chapter 25

On the wedding day, the bride’s waiting room was quiet. Due to the extreme limitation on the number of guests, the only people beside the bride, Harriet, were a few wedding hall staff, her close aide Yvonne, and Olivia. It was a scene so quiet it couldn’t even compare to three years ago.

But it wasn’t completely silent. Sensing the bustling excitement beyond the window, Harriet asked subtly.

“Yvonne. Are there a lot of people outside?”

“Yes. There are a lot of reporters and onlookers. Even though it’s a confidential wedding, somehow they caught wind of it.”

Yvonne sighed softly, looking out the window with a worried face.

Even without looking, Harriet could gauge the crowd from the cheers she heard, and she shrugged her shoulders.

“There’s no such thing as a perfect secret in this world. Someone probably sold the location for money.”

“That too. And why here, of all places…”

Olivia, who had interjected, shook her head with a face that showed she didn’t understand.

“This place was originally your wedding venue three years ago. Of all the wedding halls you could have chosen, why here?”

“This was the only place left. There’s no need to avoid it.”

Harriet replied defiantly, and with the help of a staff member, she put on her shoes and stood up. Clicking her tongue, Olivia retorted sharply.

“When you act stubborn like that, you really are like a child. You know that?”

“Have you only known me for a year or two?”

Behind Harriet, Olivia and Yvonne exchanged glances, as if to say they couldn’t handle her.

As she was about to put on the tiara with the attached veil, there was a small commotion outside the door. All three women looked toward the door almost simultaneously. A troubled voice was heard.

“The groom shouldn’t see the bride before the ceremony.”

“It will only take a moment.”

“You can see her at the ceremony later.”

“Then it will be too late.”

“Your Grace, this is difficult.”

The one arguing with the guards outside was Lennox. It was unexpected, given his always upright and exemplary demeanor. Surprised, Harriet gestured to Yvonne to open the door. Yvonne approached the door and greeted the visitor.

“Your Grace?”

Harriet’s gaze was fixed on the neatly brushed blonde hair. Below it, her eyes slowly traveled down to the golden eyes. A prominent forehead and mysterious gray eyes were visible. The tuxedo fit his solid physique perfectly, almost breathtakingly so. While she couldn’t take her eyes off the suit jacket that seemed about to burst, a low voice resonated from above her head.

“Coco.”

“…Lennox.”

“I stopped by to give you something before the ceremony.”

Lennox, who now called her by her nickname without hesitation, stepped into the room. Olivia and Yvonne tactfully left, leaving only the bride and groom in the waiting room. Although it was a contractual marriage on paper, they had registered the marriage the day before, so they were already legally husband and wife.

“What do you mean by something?”

“This.”

What Lennox took out from his pocket was a small ring case. It was a small but luxurious case decorated with gold trim on black velvet.

“A wedding ring? If it’s that…”

She had already received it as a wedding gift sent from the Ducal family a few days ago. It was a platinum ring set with a diamond so large that even Harriet, who was relatively accustomed to luxury items, was wide-eyed.

“Consider that just a gift. You can wear it anytime or give it to anyone. It doesn’t matter.”

“What?”

Even that was worth the price of several houses in the capital. Harriet blinked at the arrogant remark, shocking despite his wealth. Meanwhile, Lennox opened the ring case, took out the ring, and slipped it onto her left ring finger.

It was a modest wedding ring with a diamond much smaller than the one she had received beforehand. However, it had an elegant and eye-catching quality.

“This is my mother’s ring. It’s both the Duchess’s seal and wedding ring, passed down through the Ducal family for generations.”

Her golden eyes widened slightly. She wondered if it was okay to accept something like this. As her eyes wavered, Lennox smiled gently and lifted the bride’s hand to kiss her fingertips. The musky scent that suddenly wafted to her nose made Harriet unconsciously step back, stepping on her dress and losing her balance.

She thought she would fall backward, but a quick arm reached out, grabbing her elbow and pulling her towards him. With a ripping sound, the dress she stepped on tore, and Harriet found her cheek pressed against his firm chest.

At the same time, Harriet felt a pounding heartbeat. It wasn’t hers; it was his. Even though it was just a shell of a marriage, she wasn’t the only one nervous. Realizing this, she somehow felt relieved. Instead of pushing away from the groom’s chest, she asked as if talking to herself.

“Is it okay for me to accept something like this?”

“It has to be you.”

A firm and straightforward answer returned. It was as if he had been waiting for her question, and Harriet smiled inwardly at his response. Freed from his embrace, she promised,

“Alright. Even if it’s just a marriage in name only, I’ll be your wife for now. I’ll return it to you when we divorce in half a year.”

His gentle gray eyes briefly flared with a fierce intensity before returning to normal. It was such a fleeting moment that she wondered if she had imagined it. While Harriet hesitated, Lennox turned his head sharply, sensing something outside the door.

“Lennox?”

Without answering, he approached the door and opened it wide. His cold gaze swept the corridor.

It seemed he had imagined the presence he felt, as there was no one outside, just as he had instructed to temporarily vacate the area. It was a precaution in case Harriet changed her mind about the marriage. Though it pained him, he might have to adopt a somewhat forceful approach.

Despite the effort of casting a tightly knit net over the creek, he wanted to catch the small fish named Harriet without causing any harm. However, if Harriet managed to evade the net and slip through the narrow rocks, he was prepared to use all means necessary to capture her. Even if those means were extreme and immoral.

“Is there something outside?”

“No.”

His thoughts were brief. As if he hadn’t just entertained a chilling idea, Lennox composed his expression and turned back to the bride.

“By the way, is the dress alright? I heard a seam ripping.”

“Oh.”

Finally noticing her dress, Harriet quickly lifted the hem. Part of the lower edge was torn.

“What should I do? It’s not something that can be hidden. Will it be alright since the venue is dark?”

With only a few guests invited, the venue was dimly lit to create a solemn atmosphere, with only a few candles lit along the virgin road where the bride and groom would enter.

“Should I call a seamstress to temporarily sew it?”

Though it wasn’t to her taste, it was the wedding dress she would soon wear for the ceremony. Nothing seemed to proceed without issue.

“Is this how all my weddings are? How unlucky can it get?”

Fragments from three years ago, hidden away, flickered in her mind. Sighing, Harriet looked at the torn part with a serious face, when a large hand rested on her shoulder. The moment their eyes met in the mirror, his gray eyes narrowed mischievously.

“Perfect.”

“…What?”

“Honestly, I don’t like that wedding dress. It doesn’t suit you at all. It’s modest and elegant, but…”

It wasn’t something to say to the bride he was about to vow to as his wife before God. Especially not after tenderly placing a ring on her finger. Surprised by his sudden harsh words, Harriet glared at him, but his unhesitant hands began to undress her. Startled, Harriet quickly grabbed Lennox’s hands.

“Are you crazy?”

“This is the only way.”

As if he had thought of something, Lennox calmly replied and continued to undress her. Thinking he might have come up with a good solution, Harriet cooperated in removing the outer dress.

Once the bride, who looked like a nun wrapped in layers, was down to her corset and under petticoat, he smiled.

“Much better.”

“Are you serious?”

Harriet widened her eyes and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

Surprisingly… it was alright. It suited her even better, almost shockingly so. It didn’t look like underwear, as if he had anticipated this situation. The white corset, revealing her ample bust line, was covered with thin lace decorated with silver vines, and the under petticoat was of the same material as the outer dress.

Though the top was overly revealing for older adults, the bold design exposing her shoulders, collarbone, and bust line suited her much better.

“Is this okay? Both the parents and guests might gossip. Maybe I should keep the top as it is and only change the bottom.”

Her eyes briefly sparkled at the unexpected appearance, but she hesitated. Seeing her hesitation, he smiled and added fuel to the fire.

“Since when did you care so much about others’ opinions, dear?”

“…”

“I didn’t know you were such a coward. Cute, Coco.”

Again. Lennox whispered like teasing a puppy in his arms, blowing warm breath into her ear. Irritated, Harriet turned around and grabbed his shoulder. Though she was almost hanging on him, no one cared.

“Don’t get cocky already. Who allowed you to call me ‘dear’?”

The same applied to calling her Coco, her middle name and nickname, which she hadn’t permitted, but the title allowed only between married couples bothered her more.

His annoying smile deepened at her predictably jumpy reaction.

“What’s wrong with calling you ‘dear’? Try saying it too.”

“No way. It gives me goosebumps all over.”

Harriet shook off his hand trying to grab her cheek and turned her back on him.

“Why don’t you go out now? The groom’s entrance is first, isn’t it?”

“See you later, darling.”

Disliking the term ‘dear,’ he offered an even more cringe-worthy term. Just as Harriet turned to glare at him, the door clicked open and shut.