Sophia grew increasingly uneasy the further she walked, for she had a hunch who she would be meeting, and a pang of guilt and self-reproach arose within her.
She had already promised Martha back home that she would stay away from Arthur, but now, she had chased him all the way here and even snuck her name into the guest list. Just the thought of it made Sophia ashamed of meeting Arthur’s grandmother.
Sure enough, she found Martha sitting on the couch when they arrived at a quaint hall. The older lady was dressed in a fitting dark silver dress, looking noble and majestic.
“Good evening, Old Madam Weiss,” Sophia greeted Martha.
Martha sized the young woman up in response, not in anger but amiably, pointing toward the seat across from “Have a seat.”
Arthur had wronged this young woman, after all, and she didn’t need to ask to know what would happen between them had probably already happened. But now, Arthur was marrying another woman; this was unfair to her..
“I didn’t expect you to have come, Miss Goodwin.”
“I’m sorry, Old Madam Weiss. Please forgive me for inviting myself. I swear I won’t cause any trouble during Arthur’s wedding,” Sophia promised eagerly as she looked up.
To that, Martha waved her hand. “No need to apologize. Everyone’s a guest here. All are welcome.”
Sophia couldn’t help being taken aback, and she had now witnessed for herself the older woman’s noble demeanor. Martha’s tolerance and kindness made Sophia grow increasingly self reproaching and unable to face her. “Tomorrow will be Arthur’s big day. If you feel uncomfortable, I can make arrangements for you to tour around the area.” Martha had considered her feelings instead.
But Sophia shook her head. “Thank you for the arrangement, Old Madam Weiss, but I won’t be attending the wedding tomorrow. I’ll be returning home with my boss after the wedding is over.”
Martha suddenly felt bad for Sophia. She hadn’t forced Arthur upon this wedding, but Arthur chose his own bride.
So why exactly had he let go of Sophia and chose Emily instead? This was a question that still puzzled her to this day.
“Have you two fought before Arthur came back?” asked Martha, curious.
Sophia shook her head in reply. “No, we didn’t.” Then, after some deliberation, she asked, “If you don’t mind me asking, Old Madam Weiss, had something happened to Young Master Weiss lately that led him to suffer from amnesia?”
“Amnesia? Nothing happened to Artic. Why would you ask so?” asked Old Madam Weiss, bewildered.
“Because… he seemed to have completely forgotten about me.” As dejected as Sophia was, she dared not let it show.
Martha, on the other hand, couldn’t help reeling. “What did you say? Arthur has forgotten about you?”
“Yes, after his departure. I realize he has completely forgotten about me on our first reunion here.” Sophia was now purely worried if Arthur had suffered any injuries that led him to have amnesia.
At that, Martha recollected Arthur’s behavior since coming home. He was now indeed behaving very differently. from the first day he returned. However, she still couldn’t figure out what had led. her dear grandson to behave so indifferently to everything.
“Artie is behaving differently, but nothing happened to him either. Martha affirmed.
Sophia was relieved upon hearing so. This was good news, for a severe trauma had to happen to cause someone to lose their memories. As it appeared, he was
fine, just that he had completely forgotten about her and her only.
Finally, Martha understood why Arthur would choose Emily as his wife. It was because he had suddenly forgotten about Sophia. But how did it come to this?
“Old Madam Weiss, it’s getting late. You should rest early. Tomorrow’s a big day.” the senior servant said.
Martha checked the time to find it was already 10.00PM. At that, she nodded, then turned to Sophia. “You should get some rest as well, Miss Goodwin. You’re more than welcome if you want to join us for the wedding.”
“Thank you, Old Madam Weiss.” After seeing Martha off, Sophia allowed the servant to take her to her room.
Meanwhile, a back sedan drove into the manor. As the door opened, Arthur stepped out of the vehicle. His back suit, complimented with subtle embroidery that showed off his nobility, made him domineering like he was a lord in the dark.
