Chapter 8

"I want to marry Aiden."

Duke and Alice were confused. Eri walked into their room and said it right away.

"Eri, what's wrong?" Alice asked. They were lying on the bed.

Duke shouldn't have given the task to Eri. His daughter was very weak when it came to Aiden. He had to think of a way to prevent Eri from getting back with Aiden.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow, your mom has a headache." Duke tried to make excuses, even though Alice was fine.

"I won't change my mind." Eri went out of her parents' room.

"Duke," Alice called, as Duke was lying down massaging his head. The two pillows on his head did not make him comfortable.

Morning. Eri was already dressed, she picked up her bag and went downstairs without looking back into the dining room. Alice called out to her. Duke didn't even bother to stop Eri.

"It's useless," Duke said as Alice continued to stare at him.

"You should have immediately looked for another man when Eri broke up with Aiden. You know your daughter well, she's very impressionable."

"I never thought of it."

Duke took a sip of coffee, the hot flavor shocking his tongue. He swirled the cup around and remembered something as soon as he saw its round shape.

Duke hurried to put on his suit, then picked up his bag. Alice just watched her husband, enjoying breakfast with a cup of tea.

The man hadn't found a replacement for Fred yet, so he took his own car to the office. But before that, he was going to the hospital to see how Fred was doing.

After entering Fred's room, Duke had to keep an eye on his surroundings before picking up the camera he had placed near the heart detector. At first Duke wanted to wait until Fred regained consciousness, but since Eri seemed to be serious about her words, he couldn't wait any longer.

Duke looked at Fred for a while and then left. After arriving at the office, Duke went into the room and locked the door. He had to examine the tape carefully.

After going home, Duke was surprised to see that there were many things in the house. He looked at Alice, but she just shrugged.

"Eri, Christmas is still a long time away, why do you buy a lot of stuff," Duke said, seeing Eri busy opening boxes.

"I want to decorate our house. I want people to know that I'm getting married. There will be lots of lights outside and inside."

"Eri, you haven't graduated from college yet. Why don't you wait until you graduate? I promise I'll manage well," said Alice, sitting beside Eri. She was even surprised to see some sample invitation letters.

"Mom, this one is good, right?" Eri showed a blue invitation card, the paper was quite thick and had a gold-colored ribbon.

"Eri, listen to me." Alice shook Eri's hand in annoyance. "Please stop all this, I don't like it, you've gone too far!"

"Why do you say that? I'm here to ask your opinion because you're still my parents. Unless you don't want your daughter to be happy."

"Eri, have you forgotten what I pointed out to you a few days ago?" Duke tried to take charge. He could still act calm.

"I didn't forget it, I remember all that, and I want to give Aiden a chance." Eri looked at her father without shame. She even seemed to challenge Duke, like--tell me all of Aiden's ugliness, and we'll see if I'm swayed or not.

"Then you still want to marry him?" asked Duke. He couldn't believe what Eri had just said. He wondered what sweet words Aiden had promised to make Eri turn away so quickly.

"Yes." Eri was still busy with choosing the invitation card design. "Should we get married in the backyard?" She turned to Alice.

"Eri, please listen to us. He's not a good man." Alice was disgusted that it happened again. They didn't know how long to keep Eri from continuing with the plan.

"The dress we fixed yesterday is also ready." Eri took out the repaired wedding dress. "It's really nice." She showed the dress to Alice.

"Do you realize what you are doing now?" Alice just accepted the dress without any interest in looking at it clearly.

"I'm sure it's a big decision, but I'm sure that Aiden is the only man who will love me to death." After saying that, Eri stood up while calling Aiden.

"Your suit is here." Eri turned her back to her parents while facing the door. "Yes, I'll take care of it. Who do you want to invite? Let me know."

Duke and Alice looked at each other. 

"You're not going to allow this, are you?" Alice voiced rather quietly. "Duke, you have to save our daughter."

But Duke was silent.

Two weeks later, Duke's house was filled with daisies. White dominated the outside and the yard. There were a few chairs and an altar in the narrow backyard, where they made their vows.

They didn't get married in a church because Duke didn't want to bear the shame of his daughter marrying a driver, a former driver. They didn't invite many people, just Eri's friends and a few neighbors.

Eri was still in her room. She looked in the mirror, feeling doubtful and sad. This was not the wedding of her dreams.

"You're so beautiful," said a woman with brown hair and wearing a pink dress. She rubbed Eri's shoulder when she realized that her friend was a bit nervous.

"Eri." Alice entered the room.

"I'll wait outside," Shaza said.

Alice approached her, she looked at Eri through the mirror. She couldn't pretend to be happy.

"Call Aiden, everyone is already downstairs." Alice left the room.

Eri's tears fell, she felt like a stranger in this house. She doubted her decision. But she tried to console herself with the thought that after marriage her life would be happy with Aiden.

Eri picked up her cell phone and called Aiden. It rang for a while and then there was a hello from the other side.

"Aiden, come quickly."

Then the call was disconnected, leaving Eri confused. She called Aiden again, but this time Aiden didn't answer the call. She kept trying, but her heart was beating fast. She was scared, confused and angry.

"Aiden," she said rather angrily. Cursing Aiden from the cell phone.

She opened her phone, and there was a message from Aiden saying he was leaving soon. But that was sixteen minutes ago. Eri's palms began to sweat after replying to Aiden's message. The message was delivered, but Eri wanted Aiden to reply even if it was just a thumbs-up emoticon.

"Hurry up, I can't wait anymore." Eri continued to look at the message she had sent to Aiden.