Martha grew anxious after waiting for about twenty minutes, and she couldn’t help asking a servant, “Why hasn’t Arthur come down yet?”
“We’ve knocked on his door, Old Madam Weiss, but Young Master Weiss never answered us. So we assumed he’s still asleep.”
Seeing that time was running short, Martha decided to make a trip upstairs herself. After arriving on the third floor, she knocked on Arthur’s bedroom door. “Artie, wake up. It’s getting late.”
The door opened soon after, revealing a half-naked Arthur with a bathrobe wrapped around his waist and his hair dripping wet.
While the servant blushed, Martha frowned. “Artie put some clothes on. What is the meaning of this? You’re not a child anymore.”
“You go o ahead and have breakfast, Grandma. I’ll go down in a bit,” said Arthur to his grandmother.
“I’ll wait for you. We still have this bit of time. Hurry up and get dressed.” At that, Martha took another gander at him. Her grandson was indeed top-notch in every way.
A hint of a smile even escaped her lips as she turned around, and she involuntarily glanced at the room next door. “Have two people stay here and look after Miss Goodwin. She won’t be heading to the wedding venue, but make sure she’s well taken care of,” she instructed the servant, who nodded in acknowledgment. “Yes, ma’am.”
Sometime after all the servants on the third floor left, Arthur came out of his room in a white dress shirt and fitting suit pants. However, his necktie wasn’t tied up, and his hair was still damp. He was even buttoning up his sleeve while walking to Sophia’s room.
Sophia, tired and sleepy, was drifting into sleep when Arthur knocked on the door, causing her to sit up. It wasn’t until the knock came the second time that she was certain she hadn’t imagined it.
With that, she went to answer the door, only to find Arthur staring at her.
“Yes, Young Master Weiss?” Sophia looked back at him with disheveled hair and puffy eyes, leading Arthur to frown. “Did you not sleep last night?” Why does she look so haggard?
“Of course, I did!” lied Sophia, who actually felt light-headed and quite unwell.
Seeing that she looked awful, Arthur felt her forehead without thinking. The burning sensation caused him to hold his breath; she was feverish.
“You’re feverish. I’ll take you to the hospital,” said Arthur.
Having no clue of her fever, Sophia felt her forehead. The temperature is a little high, but it’s still alright. At that, she waved her hand. “It’s fine. It’s your wedding today. Surely you have a lot of things to do. Go on, get busy! I can take care of myself.”
With that, Sophia reached for the door to close it, but Arthur stopped the closing door somewhat assertively. To him, between a wedding and her fever, her fever was more important.
“Come with me.”
As uncomfortable as Sophia felt, she really didn’t want to affect his wedding, and for that, she took a step back. “Thanks but no thanks. I’ll ask a servant to take me there later.”
Just then, a servant rushed upstairs, announcing, “Young Master, Old Madam Weiss is still waiting for you to join her for breakfast. Time is running short, and you have to get to the chapel soon.”
However, Arthur didn’t respond to the servant but only latched his gaze on this stubborn young woman.
“Are you going to come with me?” he threatened.
Hearing that Martha was waiting for him downstairs, Sophia was now even more certain she didn’t want him to bother
himself with this. Thus, she shook her head. “No, you go ahead.”
Arthur took a deep breath while sticking his tongue against his inner cheek. It was evident he was running out of patience
and was even growing irritated.
“Fine, suit yourself.” Arthur had always been lofty. As if I have the bloody time to coax her. This girl asked for it!
With that, Arthur walked away. Meanwhile, Sophia fought back her tears as she watched him leave before finally closing the door quietly.
A sense of brokenness enveloped the brokenhearted woman as she stood in front of the window, basking in the morning sun.
Downstairs, Arthur joined his grandmother for breakfast. Martha, on the other hand, asked a series of questions only to discover Arthur hadn’t responded at all. His gaze was fixed upon a spot, and despite holding a spoon, he hadn’t taken a single bite for a long time, looking like he was deep in his own world.
