Stand By Me Darling
Chapter 451: She Was So Happy

Chapter 451: She Was So Happy

With bowed head, Talia and Arthur sat in the presence of her great-grandmother. Just when they finished breakfast, they were informed of the Dowager’s arrival. Her grandpa arrived soon after.

And here they are, getting lectured.

"I know both of you always acted responsibly and never put a foot wrong when you were teenagers. But to throw a juvenile tantrum just days before your wedding? ..."

The lecture went on and Talia with misty eyes looked at her grandpa. Her grandpa didn’t like to see his precious granddaughter getting lectured like a child for something so trivial. He was always proud of both of them.

So what if they wanted some fun before the wedding? When there kids who shame their family tirelessly, what did my granddaughter and my heir did so wrong that warrants this intense lecture? Look at my poor granddaughter about to cry...

"Lady Catherine," he spoke in a stern voice. "Artie asked for a motorbike and if I gave what he wanted, this incident wouldn’t have happened. So just-" he paused seeing the glare of the Dowager.

Look at that! Even grandpa cannot survive against my Gigima.

Talia cried in her heart. She turned to look at Arthur and he had the same face he used to have in mathematics classes – the face of the guy who is sleeping with his eyes open.

Her great-grandma’s lecture meant nothing for Talia, but the smug face of Lambert standing behind her, made her want to give a square punch in his face.

Why am I getting lectured in front of him?

"Lambert! Come here."

Her great-grandma asked Lambert to stand in front of her and only then Talia got relieved.

He’s going to have his lecture too! At least I was asked to sit!

After that Lambert got lectured for filing a case against his sister’s fiance knowing full well that he is not actually stealing his vehicle.

After everyone got lectured, Arthur was told to return to his hotel immediately and was forbidden to visit Talia until the day of the wedding.

"Gigima, you cannot! The tradition is only three days. Why should-"

"Because I said so!"

Talia has never seen her great-grandmother this angry and still she wanted to fight back this injustice. But Arthur held her hand and calmed her down.

"If you respect me, you will keep my word. Think about what you’ve done." Her great-grandma was stern.

"But the rehearsal and the lunch with both families the day before?" Talia asked.

"You will meet in the presence of others and will return immediately. No alone time will be permitted. You have phones. That is enough." Her great-grandma said and left the room.

"Grandpa..." Talia whined and hugged her grandpa. "What should I do?"

"Listen to her," he patted her head. "I heard she couldn’t sleep the whole night knowing that you left the gates. It was raining and... MaryAnn, are you fine? What got into you to act this recklessly? It’s not like you. Artie, did you have a fight? Did she-" his voice was filled with care.

"No, grandpa. We didn’t fight." Arthur answered and looked at Talia.

"Nothing, grandpa! I just wanted to do something I have never tried before, that’s all."

Talia didn’t want to tell her grandpa about the miscarriage. In fact, after returning Talia and Arthur talked about their unborn baby.

After baring their heart and crying, followed by a thrilling experience, their heart did feel lighter than before. They decided to plant a tree in the Oakley castle in memory of their unborn child. That way they decided to find closure.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything," Talia hugged Arthur.

"Never mind, she is angry because we were careless with our lives. She has seen enough of her family die in vehicle accidents. She’ll calm down soon," Arthur rubbed her back. "And I can sneak in if I want." He whispered in her ear.

"What?" Talia was surprised. "How?"

"It doesn’t matter how. I always had contingency plans in case your family didn’t accept our marriage," Arthur grinned ear to ear.

"Ah, I am going to miss not seeing you, my love!" he kissed her cheek.

Talia was confused. Didn’t he say just now that he has ways to meet me?

"But you just-"

Her question was swallowed by his kiss. Only later did Talia realise that they were already surrounded by guards.

Talia was brought to Louis’ residence. It was always the plan for Talia to leave for Church on her wedding day from Louis’ place. She was going to get married off as the Princess Royal of Rosandale.

There were discussions on who walks her down the aisle and Talia insisted on her grandfather. She knew Louis wanted to do it too, but she always wanted her grandpa to do it and it was settled.

With just a week to the wedding, the guests started to arrive. Rebecca was one of the firsts to arrive along with Arthur’s family. Arthur’s family opted to stay in the hotel with him. Talia’s grandpa was staying there too.

Little Lotte had grown a lot and she was sitting and sometimes she even crawled a bit. She smiled a lot and preferred to stick to Joe rather than her mother. Only when she is hungry, she searched for her mother.

Talia wondered why Rebecca’s parents didn’t attend. Rebecca told her that after their stay in Oakley Castle, they got scared of getting the royal treatment. Apparently, having a staff nearby all the time made them very uncomfortable.

"They could have told us," Talia felt bad.

"Never mind! They won’t leave anywhere this time of the year with the crops needing care. The whole town is excited for the wedding though," Rebecca showed the posts of some of the people from her hometown.

"My father-in-law was waiting till the last moment that we will bring him to the wedding," Rebecca said with a mocking smile. Talia didn’t invite them and she didn’t feel bad about that either. She invited Mrs. Johnson and her grandson though. She helped a lot by giving her food.

"And?" Talia asked.

"I was going to come up with some excuses, but Joe was straightforward. ’Get a clue, dad. You are not invited’ were his exact words." Rebecca couldn’t hide her smile.

For the final fitting of her wedding gown, Talia brought Rebecca with her along with Celine and Jolene.

Talia asked Lambert to announce that Jolene and he are dating, but Jolene didn’t want to announce yet. She wanted to be a bridesmaid at Talia’s wedding and she was over-enthusiastic.

"Oh, Tallie... You look so pretty! And the dress looks wonderful!" Rebecca wiped the corners of her eyes.

The bridesmaids’ dresses were also fitted along with the flower girl and pageboy dresses. Talia chose ivory, blush pink, and gold for the theme of the wedding. Everyone expected her to choose blue, but maybe it was her inner child that awakened, Talia chose blush pink.

That was the theme in the wedding invitation cards too. Her grandpa went over the moon and each invitation cost more than two thousand dollars with their names printed in rose gold.

Although she was busy taking care of the final arrangements, Talia didn’t forget to call Arthur whenever possible. Maybe receiving the ban to meet him made her feel more desperate, Talia called him more than usual.

She felt like Arthur was more stressed than usual with handing his job and other preparations in Esteria. And she felt like after promising him that she is not mad about him hiding her miscarriage, he still wasn’t convinced.

So she called him often and told him that she loves him and that she cannot wait to become his wife.

She was talking to Arthur during her bridal shower and they hid her phone, resulting in her sulking.

"You are going to be with him for the rest of your life! Can’t you stop thinking about him for half an hour?" Vivian asked.

Talia just shrugged with an innocent face. They still didn’t give her phone back. Sitting in the middle of those ladies wearing a little veil, Talia wondered why they are roasting her this freely when it is her bridal shower.

Maybe because they will never get another chance?

Eh, whatever! I’m so happy I’ll give them a pass.