The Duke's Masked Wife

"Oh. Ha ha ha. Good one," Hayden forced a laugh though he did not find it to be funny. He was about to panic because he thought he offended the Duke. "You can take your seats," he decided to move on. "Duchess-Okay, no touching," he held his hands in the air and stepped back as Edgar moved to help Alessandra sit down before he could do it.

'He's going to make this poor man regret working here,' Alessandra shook her head.

"We have an excellent menu for you tonight," Hayden placed down two cards for Alessandra and Edgar to look at. "While you decide, can I interest you in a drink? Firefly creates its own wine and juices. You can find them on the back of the card I gave you.  If those don't interest you, we have other popular drinks."

"I'll take whatever you think is best. It does not matter how strong it might be," Alessandra said as she had a good tolerance for alcohol.

"Give me whatever you're recommending for her," said Edgar.

"Wonderful. I will give you two a moment alone to think about the food. Excuse me," Hayden happily left the table before Edgar could toy with him again.

"What is it with you and stressing people out? I wouldn't be surprised if he quits by the end of the night," Alessandra said.

"Sounds like a wonderful challenge, doesn't it?" Edgar grinned, almost tempted to see if he could pull that off. "I'm joking, Alessandra. All of you make it too easy. What do you think about this place? It's not my kind of place but I can see why they are popular,"  he commented and looked around at the overuse of firefly decor.

"Couples, darkness, candles, fireflies, and drinks. The owner had a good idea. It would definitely hurt to come here alone while couples are enjoying the romantic atmosphere. It would also be awkward to come here with a friend but it is a pretty place to visit at least once. I wonder if Lockwood has special places like this."

"It does. As Lockwood is the capital of this kingdom, it has many one-of-a-kind businesses throughout the town. Even a place like this takes inspiration from businesses back in Lockwood. Homes in Lockwood have all the new inventions first before they spread to other towns. That's why many of the people there are prideful and centered around wealth," Edgar explained.

Alessandra had heard before Lockwood was a town full of wealth which made sense as the palace was there. Most of the people there cared about looks and wealth which was why the rumor about her ruined face became such a big talk. "No matter what bad things anyone in Lockwood does, they will always be forgiven if they have wealth. Money talks as you said."

"We should drift away from talking about Lockwood. We didn't go on a trip to talk about home. How was your time with my grandmother? Was she what you imagined or far from it?" Edgar was curious to know.

"Far from what I thought. No offense but I was expecting the same treatment I got from your mother. I was proven wrong the moment we started to talk. I hope that it does not change in the future. It was nice of her to allow me to call her grandmother. If such a sweet woman had a hand in raising you alongside Alfred shouldn't you have been a little bit different?"  Alessandra wondered what went wrong.

"It hurts to have my wife say that. In the future, you shouldn't think you have everyone understood just after one meeting. There's a reason why my grandmother can put the entire Collins family in check at her age.  In the past, she could make the king bow before her, and a grown man would cry. She was the one who started the game to see which one of us could make someone panic first," Edgar said and enjoyed the look of disbelief on Alessandra's face.

He continued to say, "I suppose she has toned it down as she got older. I heard she was far worse than my mother when it comes to the social world. Seems her heart changed when her dear grandson was born. Regardless of the type of person that my grandmother is, I adore her and wished to stay with her as a child but my parents did not agree with it. If I wasn't sent off to school, I was with my parents until my grandmother sneaked me away."

"Was it only your parent's marriage that made you not want to get married or at least open your heart to someone?" Alessandra asked.

"No, personal experiences made me come to that conclusion. I could never return the feelings anyone held for me so, after two failed attempts, I let women know upfront not to expect anything. I'm starting to wonder if I just did not meet the right person as Alfred liked to say," he tapped his finger on the table and stared at Alessandra. "I really hate proving that old man right."

Alessandra shifted in her seat feeling uncomfortable under his gaze. "How would you be proving him to be right?"

Edgar smirked as he knew she was not oblivious to what he meant and just wanted him to say it. "I clearly remember telling you at the ball that I have started to feel something for you and I would see what exactly it was that I felt. Don't tell me you have forgotten about it."

"I haven't but it has been so long since the ball so I thought you forgot about it. Even though you and I have grown close recently, I don't think either of us has crossed that line because of the rule you wanted and I promised to follow," she reminded him of their contract which seemed to be forgotten.

"Right. That was when I thought it was impossible to care for someone in this manner. I was right to think having you around would be entertaining and while I enjoyed messing with you and watching you slowly come out of your shell, it's evident that I started to like you more than I planned to. Turns out it wasn't a waste for me to attend your father's party. It's unfortunate I have to thank Tobias for forcing me there," Edgar's mood turned sour as he thought about thanking Tobias.

Tobias would never let Edgar forget how much he owed him for finding Alessandra at the party.

"A long time ago, I would have never expected this to be possible but you were easy with making me change my mind. How about we burn that piece of paper and forget the rules? It's not like we have been paying them any mind," Edgar stated as he had forgotten many times that his relationship with Alessandra started with a contract.

A simple piece of paper that was meant to free her from her family and piss off the people around Edgar.

"Are you saying we make this real?" Alessandra asked and pinched her hand under the table to make sure she had not started to daydream.

"I am asking you to let me love you," Edgar clarified his words.