Chapter 146 - Bad For The Baby

"I am overjoyed to see you again, my friend." 

Devon's eyes softened as a sigh of relief slipped past her lips. At the back of her head, she knew Marshall wasn't the friend she knew in her world. She couldn't help it, though. 

Arthur. That was the name of her only friend in her world. The person who genuinely cared for her and fought for her freedom... that cost him his life. 

The man she owed for all the short yet great memories. The person who made things a little bearable during her stay inside the tower..

Meanwhile, Marshall stared blankly at his grandsons. Lewis and Dion were both baffled, furrowing their brows as they could only look at each other.

Devon smiled as she slowly broke away from Marshall. "Hi, Grandpa."

"Hehe! My little angel is so sweet~! I knew it! You will like me the second you lay your eyes on me!" Marshall's lips stretched from ear to ear, clasping his hand excitedly. 

She simply smiled with her eyes fixed on him. Although Marshall's skin was wrinkled and his hair was blanched, he still had the resemblance of Arthur.

"Right! Since you're here, why don't we have brunch first, eh? Butler Xue set up the table in here. It's good to eat outside." Marshall ordered while Butler Xue bowed.

"Yes, Chairman." Butler Xue left to execute the order.

As the butler left, Marshall suggested for them to join him on the farm. Devon agreed almost instantly, while Lewis didn't have a choice. Dion was about to sneak away, only to freeze upon sensing Lewis' gaze. In the end, Dion didn't have a choice but to tag along. 

"Oh, my pumpkin! You've grown so well~!" Marshall fawned around his beloved plants like a kid in an amusement park. One could tell that his plants received more love than he had ever given his grandsons. 

Devon's eyes softened, watching Marshall spoil his 'babies'. Lewis, who stood beside her, cast her a side-eye.

"Arthur?" he asked, snapping her back to reality. 

She turned to him briefly. "My friend in my world."

Lewis pressed his lips together, setting his eyes on Marshall's figure. They had been talking about what Devon told him about being a different soul inside the real Devon's body. 

It was still hard for Lewis to believe her story entirely. Not that he kept his mind closed about it. Still, he needed to take some time for it to make it logical.

"He looks just like my grandpa?" he inquired.

"Yes." She smiled gently. "An older version of him."

He kept quiet momentarily as he constantly glanced at Devon. "Does that mean you're the same age as my grandpa?"

"Who knows?" Devon chuckled without taking her eyes off of Marshall. "Arthur never got to grow old."

Upon hearing her last remarks, Lewis frowned. What did she mean by that? 

As if taking notice of his puzzlement, Devon explained. "Arthur is a good friend of mine. Back when I was locked in the tower, Arthur got lost in the imperial palace. He is adventurous even as a child, so when he saw the tower, he couldn't help but see what's inside."

"That's when we first met. I was afraid of him initially, but there was just something in his energy that I got me drawn to him." She continued, smiling as she recalled those beautiful memories from her previous world. 

"His first visit was followed by a second time, third, fourth, and many more times throughout the years. I looked forward to his every visit to hear more of his interesting stories." Devon's smile slowly grew bitter as she gazed down. 

"We promised that once I get out of the tower, we will roam the world together. He will take me to a place where there was a vast of saltwater. Have a trek in the mountain, ride our steed as fast as we could, and many other things. Sometimes, I can't help but wonder, what if we didn't make that promise? Will things have changed?" 

There was a brief silence between them as Devon let out a shallow breath. When her lips parted, soft words of regret filled her voice.

"If I wasn't greedy or didn't ambition to go out the towers, he would've surely lived a long life. He would probably get the chance to get married, have children, and simply grow old." She set her eyes back to Marshall, smiling bitterly. "But because of that stupid promise, his visit slowly decreased and before I knew it, my brother had served his head on the silver platter."

And that was the end of the beautiful memories she had in her previous life. After that, everyone was just a blur — a recurring event of nightmares.

"He was foolish to risk his life for me. I didn't ask for him to die." Her voice grew cold and melancholic. "I didn't mind staying inside the towers for as long as I can... instead of losing him forever."

Lewis remained quiet but listened to her story. He could feel that the person she was talking about was someone very important to her.

"How tragic," he commented under his breath, letting out a sigh. "But I think it's too much for you to blame yourself."

Devon frowned as she gazed at him. The latter just shrugged indifferently while he shove his hand inside his pocket.

"I think he did what he had done, not because of a simple promise. He fought for your freedom because he wanted to." Lewis explained as he put himself in Arthur's shoes. "It was just unfortunate that he was powerless against his enemies. But I'm certain he fought until the end with pride and dignity, and never once blamed you for it."

Her eyes softened as a soft chuckle escaped her mouth. "You don't know that."

"I am not him, so maybe I don't. But if I am in his position, I will do what he has done; I might be successful, though." Lewis cocked his head to her, casting her a confident look.

"Grandpa looks like Arthur. But now that I think about it, you act like him." She humored but was telling the truth. She didn't notice it until now, as she didn't dwell on it before. 

"Maybe I am him?" 

"That's impossible. You don't look like him." 

"Who knows? You don't look like Lin Devon too." Lewis raised his brows as the corner of his lips stretched into a grin.

As the two of them converse, Dion, who was not far away from them, darted his eyes between them. His brows furrowed, tilting his head.

"Uhm... hello? I am here?" he cleared his throat only to get ignored by the two lovebirds. 

*****

"Eat, my little granddaughter-in-law! All ingredients came fresh from my farm!" Marshall exclaimed proudly, chuckling heartily. "They're all safe, unlike the ones that my grandson buys for you!"

"Thank you, Grandpa." Devon smiled, turning to Lewis, who perched on her side. 

"Grandpa, are you competing with Ge?" asked Dion as he had noticed how Marshall kept slandering Lewis as if he hadn't done a good thing in life. 

Marshall kept saying 'unlike what Lewis bought, give, or anything' since earlier. Dion tried not to ask, but he couldn't take it anymore.

"What's there to compete about?" Lewis inquired with a misplaced cluelessness on his face. Before Marshall could assume, Lewis was trying to declare sovereignty, the latter clarified.

"Grandpa already won my fiance's heart."

Marshall's face instantly brightened up as a smug grin appeared on his lips. "Is that right, Angel?"

"Yes, Grandpa." Devon nodded, smiling brightly at him.

"Hah! My beautiful granddaughter is also smart! Come, eat more~! What do you think about the food? Better than the ones my grandson cooks, right?" 

"Yes."

"Hehe!" Marshall radiated, almost blinding Dion as the latter covered his eyes. 

Dion cast Lewis a look with eyes full of dismay. To his disappointment, Lewis didn't seem to mind as he ate in peace. Was this what they called the calm before the storm?

The brunch continued with Marshall currying favor for his future granddaughter-in-law. Amid the meal, the old man couldn't help but feel emotional.

"How come I never had such a sweet granddaughter like you, my angel?" Marshall dramatically wiped the fake tears from the corner of his eyes. "The one above only gave me disobedient boys who only know how to raise my blood pressure. I'm so happy that I finally got a granddaughter~!"

Devon chuckled while the other two around the table just stared at Marshall. Unlike Lewis, who didn't have any reaction, Dion massaged his face as he had been experiencing face spasm. 

"I know I'm already happy that you visit me once, and it will be alright if you don't visit me again after a year. I'll just be sad, but I will be alright." Marshall let out a sigh. His intention was obvious, but only Dion had a dismal expression on his face.

"We'll visit you more frequently, grandpa." Devon smiled sweetly, before turning to Lewis as if asking for reinforcement.

"We'll visit you more once she is done with her entrance exam." Lewis nodded. "She's still busy reviewing for it."

"Really?!" Marshall's eyes lit up. "My granddaughter, if you're having a hard time, just tell grandpa, alright? I will give you a perfect score in every subject."

"Grandpa, please don't corrupt the country's innocent education system," Dion murmured. Their grandfather didn't even do this to them. Instead, he pressured them so they could be 'role models' and don't bring humiliation into their family's name.

"It's alright Grandpa. I am studying well and Lu had been tutoring me." Devon explained softly. "But I decided to take it easy first since it'll be bad for the baby."

There was a moment of silence after her remarks. Dion dropped his cutlery, eyes on her. Even Lewis froze as he stared at her blankly.

"What?!"