Chapter 211 - I Was Born Ready

Lucy glanced at the man across from her and all that was left was her asking the gods why she had to end up with him as a father. Weren't there billions of men in the world? Why did it have to be one who didn't understand her even when she was already in her forties? What irked her the most was not the fact that he was doing his best to keep her away from her happiness, but that he was only doing it as a display of power.

She crossed her arms. "I have loved him for long enough. You don't expect me to stop loving him just because you said I should, do you?"

He took a small sip of his drink. "You are stubborn, dear. Don't forget…"

"Don't mention the past." She glowered at him as she interrupted whatever he was going to say. Nothing good ever came out of him mentioning the past.

____

3 decades ago.

Lucy had left Theodore a fake address for him to send her letters so they kept in contact. The letters took too long to arrive and would take weeks sometimes, so she found a chance to pay him a visit.

They spent the whole afternoon sitting in the park and talking about random topics, including how they first met.

"Sianna will never forgive me." She sighed when he admitted that his sister didn't like the fact that they were in contact.

He held her hand in his. "It's okay. All that should matter to you is me."

She rested her head on his shoulder with a bright smile on her face. "To be honest, I only care about your opinion, Theo."

He smiled and held her shoulder in a tight hug against him. "Then, will you be mine?"

"What?" She pulled away from him in shock.

He scratched the back of his neck and panicked when she recoiled. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry… If it's too soon, you can forget what I said." He panicked when she didn't say a word. "We have been exchanging letters so I thought… I thought too much."

He looked down and mocked himself inwardly. How could he think that such a beautiful girl could like him? She must have hoards of admirers. Why would she choose him out of all of them?

She grabbed his hand when she realized that he had misunderstood her. "You didn't. It's not. God, I've waited for this day for so long. I thought you had never thought of it." She blushed as she lowered her voice to remind him of a major point. "Besides, you kissed me…"

"I will definitely be responsible for you." He confessed and kissed her again. "I knew I wanted to be your husband from the second time I saw you."

"Second?" She blinked. Didn't men always say that they loved a woman from the first time they saw her?

He nodded and explained in all honesty. "You know that I hated you the first day. But that's until I realized what a sweet girl you are."

"Theo…" She blushed and couldn't look him in the eye.

"So what do you say, Lucy?" He asked, more confident since she had said that she was waiting for him to ask her.

"I say let's meet the parents soon." She suggested and immediately looked away with a frown.

"What's wrong?" He asked worriedly. Was there a reason why they couldn't see the parents?

"Actually, can we not involve our parents?" She suggested.

He frowned. "Why?"

She thought hard and couldn't come up with any reason aside from the difference in their background, which her parents would obviously mind. "My parents have a stereotype."

His frown deepened and he put some distance between them. "You said you were not some rich girl."

"I'm not!" She immediately defended herself. "That's not what this is about. Trust me. It's not my opinion. I mean… I like you for you. I don't care about anything else but my parents definitely don't think that way." She desperately tried to explain in a way that wouldn't make it sound like she cared. If it was up to her, she wouldn't ever let her parents know that she had found the man she wanted to marry. She sighed in exasperation. "They care about many more things."

"Namely?" He asked gently. When she looked like she wanted to make an excuse and weasel out of it, he kissed her cheek. "You can be honest with me."

"Your status." She reluctantly said. "They will not let me be close to you if they find out and…" She shook her head when she thought about what would happen if it got to that. "Theo, let's not meet them yet. When we get married, it will be too late for them to say anything."

"When?" He smiled broadly and she was confused.

"Huh?"

"You said when." He looked like he was about to grow a pair of wings and fly off.

"I did say that…" She looked at him like he was a lunatic. What was wrong with what she said?

He hugged her tightly, overjoyed as though he had heard the best news. "It's not a possibility. It's a reality. You are certain that you want to marry me."

She finally understood him, and she smiled. "Yes Theo. We only met two months ago but who still cares about such trivial matters?"

"Then we will get married as soon as you are ready." He promised. He was ready to plan the wedding as soon as possible. In fact, screw the wedding crap. He wanted to have a civil marriage if that would be faster.

"I was born ready." She stood up and dragged him up.

"So was I." He held her hand. "Come on, I'm sure we can find a magistrate right now."

"Not so fast. Where do the two of you think you are going?" An angry voice interrupted them.

They both turned at the same time and they looked like they had seen a ghost.

Theodore's first reaction was to pull Lucy behind him. "What do you want this time, Mr. Su?"

Nathaniel shook his head. "I should be asking you that. What are you doing, holding my daughter's hand?"

Theodore looked at Nathaniel then Lucy. Did he just say… his daughter?