Kenny Sylvester was the first to speak. “It’s good seeing you again, Mr. and Mrs. Greenland, the Allisons, Georgina, Kenny and little Maria.” Mr. Harmony exchanged pleasantries with everyone present. I shook his hand and returned the greeting, but from the corner of my eyes, I observed her. She didn’t introduce herself right away. She stood silently with her hands resting gracefully below her stomach. That smile didn’t move from her face. After Georgina gave him a hug, Master stepped back and placed his palm on her shoulder. “Ah, what nice music. I would like to introduce you to Copper Harmony, my only grandchild.” So that’s her name. She shared the same one as her grandmother. Copper stepped forward, but instead of coming to me, she approached my father’s wife. “Nice to meet you,” there was a slight pep in her voice. “I presume you’re Caroline, right? I am Copper, and might I say I love your dress!” She blushed and pushed a stray platinum blonde hair out of her vision. “Why

Copper “There they are!” Someone exclaimed. Kenny and I slowly strode down the stairs. Not only that, but my arm wrapped around his. Both of us smiled as if nothing was wrong. However, while we walked together, we didn’t hesitate to whisper our raw, and honest thoughts. “Marrying me won’t give you a better life,” Kenny said, nodding at his mother. “You’ll be in the center of the public eye and sooner or later they’ll make you a spectacle.” “I appreciate looking out for me,” I grinned at everyone. “But Mr. Harmony, you might know him, he’s your mentor, will teach me how to react if such an event were to arise.” “Mr. Harmony, can’t say I ever heard of him. Is he the reason you can act so well?” “Oh my, so you don’t know him. My bad, honey~ I don’t know how I could have mistaken you for one of his educated and well-mannered disciples.” Kenny sat in his chair and I did the same. Mr. Greenland spoke to me. “Did that boy apologize to you, yet?” “Yes, Mr. Greenland. He was a perfect g

CopperI walked downstairs after my nap with the intent of going to the kitchen. Hopefully, there would be something I could drink. Kenny wasn't here. Sylvester had yet to come back, and I had no interest in creating small talk with the maid whose name I had yet to remember.Not that I had an issue with her per se. We haven't even talked. Maybe we should. Maybe that would help put my mind at ease.When I arrived at the last step, the front doors swung open and four men dressed similarly to my grandfather's butler marched inside. My jaw dropped. They strode by both sides of a large trolley stacked high with gifts of all colours and sizes. They stopped in the middle of the foyer. I blinked. "Um...""Is something wrong, Miss?"I jumped and held my arms up defensively. After seeing it was the maid from earlier, they went down. "Oh, nothing. But what is this?"She stood close to me as her blue eyes took in the gifts. "These are the presents given by the guests at your wedding, Miss.""Wow.

KennyWhat was wrong with me? What was wrong with her?Sleep eluded me, and for good reason. I still had no intention of getting close to her, not even a little. But it seems that she felt the same. That filled me with an unknown emotion that was hard to describe. While sitting there with her, I expected to be annoyed with her presence alone. Yet each time she unwrapped a gift, each little comment she made wasn't enough to make me feel that way. Her eyes brightened when she smelled something she liked and narrowed when confronted with something she didn't understand.It might just be all in my head, but I saw what looked like disdain when she realized the truth about our wedding "gifts". I took off my T-shirt and resigned to sleeping half-naked. Mother and Father got what they wanted, I'm married now. When will they get it that what people think of me is none of my concern? People should be looking up to me for my intelligence, not looking down on me because of some stupid rumours.

Copper"So that's the boy you got married to," Mom said after Kenny went outside. "He's not giving you any problems, is he?"I brought the used dishes to the sink. "Not at all. He's a little straightforward, but not too hard to handle. He didn't want this marriage either so we sort of understand each other."Except that he keeps his distance from me for some reason. However, I don't mind. As long as he doesn't behave childishly and take out his dissatisfaction on me, there won't be a problem."That's good." Mom chuckles. "He doesn't seem like the talkative type."I shrugged. "He speaks when he has something to say and only then. Quite an odd fellow, right?""You've got that right." She kept smiling. What was that about?"Mom? What's wrong?" She shook her head. "I just never thought that when you get married, it would be like this. This wasn't what I envisioned for you.""It's only for two years." I shrugged and added soap to the dishwasher. "Besides, there's always later. I never pla