Chapter 239

Willow dropped to her knees before Eloise, ignoring the pain from her still-healing leg. She insisted, "Mother, you can't let Michael leave! Even if I have to crawl there today, I'll make it to his estate—no matter what!"

Tears streaming down her face, Willow struggled forward, dragging her injured leg behind her as she made for the door. The eldest maid hurried forward to block her, urgently pleading, "Miss Willow, you mustn't go out!"

"Get out of my way!" Willow snapped in desperation, yanking the fruit knife from a nearby table and pressing its sharp tip to her throat. "If you don't move, I'll kill myself right before your eyes!"

Eloise stared at Willow, her face a mask of shock. After all she had done for her daughter’s well-being, Willow was now threatening to take her own life to get her way.

An indescribable ache filled Eloise’s heart. ‘Why can’t Willow understand all my well-intentioned efforts?’ she wondered.

"Willow," Eloise asked, her voice laced with a mixture of warning and weariness, "Have you truly considered this? If you walk out that door today, you’ll face endless suffering and humiliation. Are you still willing to go through with it?"

To Willow, Eloise’s painstaking care was nothing more than a stumbling block. After waiting all this time for Michael, with happiness finally within her grasp, Willow would never let go.

Willow nodded emphatically at Eloise. "Yes, Mother, I am still willing. Even if I must endure countless humiliations, even if I am dragged to the depths of hell, I don’t care."

Her words were so resolute that Eloise knew that if she kept pressing the issue, it would only breed resentment between them.

Eloise nodded slowly, her voice heavy with resignation. "Alright, Willow. Since you’re so determined to marry Michael, I won’t stand in your way any longer. I’ll let you have your wish."

Eloise waved her hand at the servant blocking the way. "Escort my daughter to her wedding."

"Thank you, Mother," Willow said, gritting her teeth against the pain in her leg as she nodded to Eloise.

The servant gently helped Willow to her feet and carefully draped the bridal veil over her head. Following tradition, another servant carried her out of the room.

Fireworks exploded, and classical music played, filling the air with unbridled wedding joy. Yet an indescribable pang of bitterness gripped Eloise’s heart. She had meticulously planned everything for Willow, only to be outmatched by an outsider.

Outside the duke’s estate, Michael saw that the gates remained stubbornly shut. His patience had run out. Just as he was about to leave, festive wedding music suddenly rang out from inside.

Just then, the tightly shut gates of the duke’s estate finally swung open, and the bride emerged. Eloise and the Duke of Suffield, their faces clouded with sorrow, escorted Willow to her wedding.

Despite all the wedding mishaps and drama, Michael took comfort in one thing–at least Willow married him with her whole heart. Michael thought, ‘I can’t let Willow down–this is my commitment to her.'

Michael stepped forward, facing Willow. "Willow," he declared, "I’ve come to marry you."

He took Willow’s hand, swept her into his arms, and strode purposefully toward the waiting bridal sedan chair. The fireworks show became even more festive, and the music played with even greater joy, filling the air with celebration.

Their custom dictated that the wedding procession couldn’t retrace its steps, so to return to the Osborne family estate, they had to circle the entire city. With such a lively celebration, and their happiness in sight, they wouldn’t mind going the long way home.

Michael ordered his attendants to scout ahead, ready to respond to any trouble. Meanwhile, he dispatched a messenger to the Osborne family estate to update Kelsey on the situation and requested that she keep the guests calm.

Chapter 239

The bride-fetching procession had already taken two hours, and the return journey would take nearly four more. The auspicious hour for the wedding had long passed, but there was no other choice; they had to grit their teeth and press on.

Perhaps to make up for his earlier mistakes, Michael had his attendants withdraw some cash from his account to scatter around as they marched around the city. The townsfolk scrambled eagerly to grab the money, naturally lavishing the couple with effusive wedding blessings as they did so.

"Congratulations, Lord Osborne! Wishing you and Lady Osborne a blissful marriage and a lifetime of happiness together!"

"Congratulations, Lord Osborne! May you be blessed with a healthy child immediately!"

The chorus of blessings from outside sent a flush to Willow’s cheeks and made her heart flutter. She lowered her head shyly, her eyes alight with quiet triumph. ‘How wonderful,’ she thought, feeling both bashful and secretly delighted.

‘All my persistence has paid off,’ Willow mused with quiet satisfaction. ‘Michael is my rock. Only by marrying him can I secure a lifetime of happiness.’

The wedding had virtually taken half the city by storm, and Athena was no exception. But Athena paid no mind to their wedding. With Jessa and several attendants in tow, she headed straight for the Guardian Church. She had a special surprise in store for Willow.

Athena came to a halt at the cliff’s edge and peered down into the abyss below. Jessa looked at her, puzzled. "Miss Athena, what are you looking at?"

"My adoptive father’s remains are down there," Athena pointed out. "Jessa, take some men and retrieve them."

Jessa gasped, her round eyes widening in disgust. "Ew, a corpse? That’s so gross. No way I'm retrieving that!"

"What if you help me with this, and I get you a puppy? You know, that Chow Chow breed?"

After observing Jessa for some time, Athena realized she was a foodie, but upon further observation, she had an absolute weakness for anything fluffy. Jessa once chased a wild cat for two miles. She even gave all the precious jerky she’d been hoarding to feed the cat.

Jessa’s eyes nearly popped out. "For real?"

Chow Chows were pets reserved solely for the nobles. Commoners like her would never even get a glimpse of one. Athena’s offer was simply irresistible, and just thinking about it made Jessa’s heart race. She imagined cuddling that fluffy little puppy in her arms, and it made her excited. She felt like she could die from happiness.

‘If I could keep one by my side, I’d be in cloud seven,’ Jessa thought.

She immediately shed her earlier disgust and quirked an eyebrow at Athena. "Just a corpse? Pfft, forget carrying it up—I’d even take a bite if I had to."

With that, Athena leapt into the air and dove straight down the cliff face. Such prowess was jaw-dropping.

By mid-afternoon, Michael’s wedding procession had been moving for two hours, yet they still hadn’t cleared the city walls.

With so much money scattered around, several townsfolk began to make plans to renovate their house, and some even planned to start a small business.

The broad avenues, normally so open, had become so packed because of the massive crowd.

With kids clamoring for snacks and beggars crowding around, the procession came to a halt now and then.

At first, Michael could still manage a smile. After all, in his eyes, this was supposed to be a joyous occasion. But as the crowd grew thicker, Michael could barely move, and any trace of a smile quickly vanished from his face.

To make matters worse, the universe seemed to turn against him—it even started to rain. The once-pristine roads quickly turned into a treacherous, muddy quagmire.

The muddy road was treacherously slick, sending people in the wedding procession tumbling one after another in utter disarray. Michael watched the bridal sedan chair anxiously, silently praying, ‘Please, let nothing go wrong now!’

Chapter 239

But of course, just as he feared, the very thing he dreaded most came to pass. Though the sedan bearers were all brawny men, they couldn’t endure the grueling ordeal of those several hours. At that moment, everyone was utterly famished, and their vision was swimming.

One of the sedan bearers suddenly lost his footing and crashed to his knees in the mud. Though he steadied himself at the last moment, the bridal sedan chair still listed precariously.

Willow’s scream tore from inside the sedan chair as she came tumbling out like a sack of potatoes, rolling right onto the muddy ground.

"Willow!" Michael reacted with lightning reflexes, darting forward in a blur to catch her.

Willow came within an inch of landing in the mud, but Michael wasn’t so lucky. His magnificent wedding suit was splattered with mud. With a tremendous impact, Willow was thrown into Michael’s arms, knocking him heavily to the ground.

Seeing this, the sedan bearer was mortified. He scrambled to his knees, groveling for mercy and crying out, "Lord Osborne, spare my life! Spare my life, my lord!"

Michael’s expression turned thunderous. He fought the urge to wring the sedan bearer’s neck to vent his fury. However, that day was his wedding day; bloodshed was out of the question.

Michael could only suppress the fury burning in his chest. Through gritted teeth, he shot the bearer a furious glare and snapped, "How could you be so careless? If the bride had fallen, do you think you could bear the consequences?"

Just then, a terrified voice suddenly cried out from the wedding procession, "Lord Osborne, it’s a disaster! The ceremonial wedding doves—it’s dead!"