Chapter 243: Both Got Hurt and Suffered
Eunice entered with butlers who carried boxes filled with pieces of jewelry that had been made to order among the best craftsmen of Valeria. Arabella could give those away since she chose those herself.
"I don’t know what your wife likes so can you please choose something that would look good on her? I would feel bad not giving her a gift as well. The flowers made of gems were beautiful. I understood the message right away. Please choose something that would indicate my goodwill."
"You don’t really have to give a gift as well. She simply wanted to apologize. Moreover, we already received the gifts from the Empire," Andrew thought she felt pressured to give a gift as well.
[What the hell are they doing? They are acting like buddies now. Do they truly have no feelings for each other?] Alwin could still hardly believe what was happening right in front of him.
Ferdinand was watching silently wondering what was happening. He was relieved though that the gift was actually from Andrew’s wife, not him. But it made him worry that Sera may have had ill will against Arabella so he decided to have the flowers checked again to ensure there was nothing dangerous in them.
"No, I have to give her a gift too after I went and bothered you both on your honeymoon. It’s so embarrassing. I’m so sorry to have made you go through all that because of my selfishness."
"Not at all. I understood how you felt. I was also devastated at first and I didn’t want to accept that you were engaged to someone else. It was why I thought eloping would be fine. But we got caught so quickly anyway. And as I got scolded over and over again by my parents and the elders, I did some research about your betrothed. In the end, I had to back down and give up. It was too much danger to selfishly continue to push through with our love. Both our nations could have been in danger. I let go in defeat and spent days and nights drinking while my parents found me a bride. I didn’t want to marry Sera at first but my parents insisted since Lahar could be in danger. The wedding pushed through and I kept drinking even after that. I wanted to reply to all your letters but I was forbidden to do so. They locked me up so I won’t try to go and see you again. But when you threw threats in your letters, they realized I had to reply or you might indeed do what you said."
Arabella learned that the first letter she received from Andrew back then was dictated by his parents. He didn’t want to tell her at all to get married to someone else and he didn’t like his marriage either since he hadn’t gotten over Arabella yet at that time. He still loved her and longed for her. But it was no longer possible due to Ferdinand’s marriage proposal to Arabella.
He was apparently too depressed then and didn’t take care of himself. All he did was drink all day and all night.