Breaking the News

“You just wait here with dear Ralph and just let that old man pamper you,” Edward suggested.

“Where are you going?” I asked in a panic.

“To let my brother know that we’re getting married,” Edward replied like it was no big deal.

“You mean…Lucien?” I asked in shock.

“Yup. Who else? I only have one brother,” he replied with a smirk.

“Should I come along?” I asked hesitantly.

Truthfully, I didn’t want to be there, but it didn’t feel right to let Edward handle this burden alone. It was obvious that the conversation regarding my marriage to Edward wouldn’t go down well with Lucien.

“No need. To be honest, it’ll be easier if I went alone,” Edward said confidently.

“Ok…” I replied hesitantly.

“You just rest and settle in. Ralph will find something to entertain you with if you’re bored. I’ll be back very soon,” Edward said cheerily as he headed for the door.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine,” I said.

“I’ll see you,” Edward replied before turning back to plant a soft kiss on my cheek.

I watched him go half with relief and half with a heavy heart. I was extremely happy that Edward and I are going to get married but I couldn’t shake off the feeling of worry. Regardless of how Edward tried to assure me that everything would be ok with everyone, I knew that everything was far from ok.

There were many people just waiting to chew us out and waiting for our marriage to fail even before it had even started.

…

Lucien watched as a pale-faced maid came into his study to announce in a clearly terrified and trembling voice that his brother had arrived and was asking to see him.

“Master Lucien, Master Edward…is here to see you. He’s…he’s waiting…outside…” the slim maid said in a shaky voice as she stood only a step into Lucien’s study.

Lucien looked at her with pity. It was pure bad luck on her end to be the one to deliver news that would put her master into a bad mood. Although Lucien knew that all of this was not the poor maid’s fault, he was annoyed, nonetheless.

“Let him in,” Lucien said curtly.

The maid bowed rapidly at the sound of her master’s command. Without uttering a word, the maid quickly scurried out of the room and closed the door behind her.

“Master Edward, Master Lucien will see you now. I’ll show you to his study…” the thin maid said to Edward with a bow.

“There’s no need. You’re excused. Thank you,” Edward said casually.

The maid bowed with a relief look on her face as Edward walked past her towards Lucien’s study.

Without uttering another word to Edward, the maid hurried off in the opposite direction to continue on with her other tasks.

Lucien watched the door of his study in dread as he waited for the appearance of his younger brother.

To his dismay, the large wooden doors to his study were pushed open wide and his brother strode in with a huge smile on his face.

“I’m here to get your blessing,” Edward said excitedly as he plopped himself down on the chair on the opposite side of where Lucien was sitting.

“For?” Lucien answered passively, his eyes still glued to his laptop screen.

“Natalia and I are getting married,” Edward stated loud and clear as he leaned forward across the table to get closer to his brother.

“What?” Lucien said in disbelief and clear annoyance.

For the first time since Edward entered the room, Lucien tore his eyes away from the laptop screen and looked straight at his younger brother. Lucien stared at his brother with narrowed eyes as two pairs of quite identical green eyes faced-off against each other.

“Natalia is pregnant…” Edward finally announced. Happiness and excitement clearly evident in his voice as he beamed a huge smile at his older brother.

“…with your child?” Lucien asked skeptically.

Edward just smiled happily back at his brother.

“I suggest that we have the wedding ceremony as soon as possible before the baby bump starts to show,” Edward continued enthusiastically.

Lucien remained silent and deep in thought.

“Natalia mentioned that she wants to have a small ceremony somewhere private with only close family and friends involved. Obviously, I’ll go along with her request,” Edward continued, unfazed by his brother’s grim face.

“Why are you doing this?” Lucien asked after he was silent for a while.

“What do you mean?” Edward asked innocently.

“Why are you trying to take Natalia away from me? You know that I love her,” Lucien replied seriously.

The atmosphere in the room became even more tense as Edward seemed to consider his next words very carefully. Lucien kept his eyes on his brother as waited patiently for his brother’s response.

“This estate, the position of the company’s CEO and all the wealth and prestige that comes along with being our father’s sole heir, I stepped aside and gave you all of that. I did it because I knew that you wanted it…but Natalia is different. I don’t love her or want her any less than you do,” Edward replied after piecing his words together carefully.

“Do you really love her?” Lucien asked. His gaze unwavering.

“I do and I will give her the freedom she deserves. She’s not one of us, Lucien. She’s not a Rosenhall and she doesn’t need to keep living her life this way. You must let her go,” Edward desperately argued his point.

Lucien narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin, deep in thought at his brother’s words.

“It’s going to be hard being the bride’s father and the best man at the same wedding…” Lucien murmured.

“You’ll manage. We all will,” Edward said as a small smile curved the corners his lips upwards.

“…because we have to. Edward, take care of Natalia,” Lucien said, putting a close to their conversation.

“You know that I will,” Edward replied with a smile of relief.

--To be continued…