What a Coincidence, You Also Ran Away From Marriage!

7

"If your bride ran away at your wedding, what would you do?" I asked, genuinely curious about Cedric's thoughts as the groom.

He pretended to ponder for a moment.

"I'd go the next day to demand the betrothal gifts back."

That was a reasonable response.

Since this engagement was now a failure, I assumed Cedric would seize the opportunity to return home, act as if he had never left, and demand his betrothal gifts the next day.

But as I took a few steps away, he caught up with me, explaining that he had given all his money to the burly man and was now penniless and without shelter.

His house was right in front of us, yet he stood there, pleading with me!

8

Despite everything, he hadn't dragged me back to the wedding. I couldn't just leave him stranded on the streets, so I reluctantly decided to help him find a place to stay.

We went to four inns, all of which were fully booked.

At the fifth inn, there was only one room left.

I had no idea inns in Eldermere were so popular.

"Is there a woodshed available? I can make do for the night," Cedric asked the waiter.

The waiter looked troubled. "Sir, please don't compete with us for space! We all have just one bed each, carefully counted by the boss."

What a frugal innkeeper.

"No worries, I can sleep on the floor," I offered.

I had never slept on the floor before, but I was willing to rough it out since we were on the run.

9

I meticulously laid out three layers of blankets, fearing the floor would be too uncomfortable.

After I finished, Cedric returned from his bath.

"I should sleep on the floor. It wouldn't be good for a young lady to catch a cold."

If he thought this, why didn't he speak up sooner?

"Thank you. By the way, I didn't know your name yet," I said, handing him a cup of water, waiting for him to continue his charade.

"Damian Sterling," Cedric replied.

I remembered that Damian Sterling was one of the few friends Cedric had, according to my brother's information.

"And yours?" Cedric asked politely, accepting the cup but not drinking from it.

"Isolde Winter."

"May I call you Isolde?"

I didn't mind since it wasn't my real name either.

10

At night, I hung the bed curtain and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

The next morning, I woke to find the supposedly frail Cedric burning with fever.

I quickly fetched a doctor, who scolded me after examining Cedric.

"You shouldn't force your husband to sleep on the floor during an argument. His health is too delicate for such treatment."

With the doctor's help, we moved Cedric to the bed. I nodded along with the doctor's admonishments, thinking it best to let him believe what he wanted.

After all, I hadn't really done anything wrong.

The doctor then asked me to accompany him to get some medicine.

On the way, he whispered advice, "If your husband refuses to take the medicine, just feed it to him yourself.

"This will help resolve any small conflicts."

I nodded, though I thought the doctor was being overly imaginative.

11

To my surprise, the doctor's prediction came true.

I paid the waiter to prepare the medicine, and I brought it to Cedric, attempting to spoon-feed it to him.

However, he kept his mouth tightly shut, and the medicine spilled onto the cloth around his head.

A wave of frustration washed over me.

I tried to rouse him, hoping he would drink it himself, but it was impossible to wake someone pretending to sleep or someone who was truly unconscious.

Feeling his scorching forehead, I realized how serious his fever was.

His face was deathly pale, and without the medicine, he might be in real danger.

Despite my frustration with the arranged marriage, Cedric had helped me yesterday, and I couldn't just abandon him.

Although I resented the match my parents had arranged, Cedric and I had no personal grudges.