On the other side, Daphne followed Kane to Fragranerde Hall, only to discover that Eduard was already there. And Juliana was in the living room, but there was no sign of Arthur. "Eduard, where's Arthur?" Daphne asked as she entered.
"At the office. I asked Kane to bring you here, and the rest of us have to figure out what we're going to do tomorrow," Eduard said, frowning.
Daphne looked down. Yes, the engagement party was tomorrow.
"Daphne, how did it go with Lucia?" Juliana asked Daphne anxiously. "Did she tell you the truth?"
Daphne shook her head in dismay, and at the sight of her shaking her head, the mood of the people in the room sank to the bottom.
"Not even you?" Eduard said, feeling disappointed.
"Lucia still hasn't said anything, but there's something different in her eyes, like some sort of determination..." Daphne whispered.
"What is Lucia trying to do?" Juliana asked, with more confusion by Daphne's words.
The most important thing, however, was to settle Arthur down.
"Douglas doesn't dare to leave Arthur now, and we have to figure out how to keep him calm. Lucia's engagement party looks like it's going to happen," Eduard said worriedly. "Arthur must be in a lot of pain right now..." said Juliana, feeling distressed for her best friend.
Several people look lost, looked at each other, and really did not know what to do.
At this time, Arthur, who was concerned by them, was busy working on documents in the company, and seemingly focused on his work but Douglas was even more worried about him. With Lucia and Spencer's engagement party tomorrow, Arthur's composure was worrying him.
Simple-minded, Douglas finally got impatient and interrupted Arthur's work.
"Arthur, why are you so busy working? Let's talk about what we should do tomorrow."
Arthur's hands did not stop moving, as if he had not heard what his brother said.
"Arthur..." Douglas called again and was really worried.
With a sigh, Arthur finally stopped writing and looked up at Douglas,
"Douglas, at this point, what do you think I can do?"
Douglas immediately said, "Tomorrow we're going to get Lucia back! Let everyone know that you and Lucia are a couple. Isn't that right?"
Arthur smiled bitterly. He wanted to, and he did, but what if Lucia didn't go with him then?
"Do you think Lucia would come with me now? If she does, why would she be engaged to Spencer?" Arthur asked Douglas, laughing at himself.
Douglas was speechless. Yes, if Lucia didn't go with Arthur, then...
"But we can't let things go on like this," Douglas said, trying to comfort his brother
"Douglas, you've been by my side ever since I was a child. If there's anything that I can still work on, even if it's a one in 10,000 chance, have I ever given up?" Arthur asked his younger brother. Douglas shook his head.
"So I won't do anything tomorrow," Arthur said, snuffing out his hope with one sentence.
"Arthur..." although Arthur's words were pure and ordinary, Douglas, who knew him well, could see the deep gloom and disappointment in his eyes.
"There's no need to say anything else. Go back and tell Julia and the others that I'll stay at the company tonight and continue working tomorrow. Tell them not to worry." Arthur lowered his head to look at the document after he finished speaking, but he knew that he could not read any of the lines on the document.
Douglas looked at Arthur unhappily for a long time. When he saw that he was back to work, he could only sigh helplessly and turn to go back to Fragranerde Hall to tell the others the news. He knew that he was not the only one who was worried about his brother.
When Douglas left, the office became so empty that the air seemed to stop flowing.
Arthur put down his pen and stared at the document in a daze for a while. Then, he reached out and took Lucia's photo. For the first time in his office, Arthur did what he had always done in a decadent manner, which was to lie on his desk. Pressing the frame to his cheek, Arthur silently closed his eyes.
Arthur tasted the slow cutting of the heart.
Time flied. The sun set, and the moon rose. Although Douglas returned to inform then of Arthur's reaction, Eduard and the others were not at ease. After much thought, Eduard and Kane arrived at the Branch of Davonnis, intending to stay with Arthur the whole time. Douglas had told his parents by phone. Edwin and Sophie were worried, but there was nothing they could do.
At nine o'clock in the evening, Eduard and Kane arrived at Arthur's office with a couple of bottles of red wine. The room was dark, except for the hazy moonlight that shone through the French windows and allowed them to see Arthur sprawled on his desk.
Eduard stopped Kane from turning on the lights and walked to his desk. Arthur's side profile was beautiful in the moonlight, but there was a hint of sadness on his face, even though he was in a dream. "Arthur is asleep," Eduard whispered to Kane.
Who knew how long Arthur hadn't slept well, but Eduard and Kane chose not to disturb him, and they sat on the sofa in the moonlight, silent and thinking.
The night was still long.
Since the engagement party was the next day, Esmae had left Lucia at the hotel tonight to prepare her engagement dress and make-up for the morning.
Spencer wanted to stay, too, but Lucia ignored him. Esmae took care of her feelings and sent Spencer away. She chatted with Lucia for a while.
"Lucia, your uncle and I got married directly back then. We didn't go through the engagement party, but it's as good as a wedding. After tomorrow, you'll have to face your own identity."
Esmae said to Lucia, who was sitting in front of the mirror combing her hair.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org
Lucia looked at herself in the mirror, combing her hair for a moment. In the eyes of the woman in the mirror, she clearly saw Arthur's shadow.
She wondered if Arthur was like her who thought of him all the time.
When she saw Lucia standing still, Esmae was so displeased that she hardly had to guess who Lucia was thinking of. She got up and went behind Lucia. Esmae took the comb from her hand and slowly combed her hair. Lucia looked up at her in the mirror.