" Mommy, you are taking long." Jay Jay whined, and he caught me off guard when he called me mom. I only said I was thinking about the proposal, and yet he was calling me mom already.
" Adults need time to think Jay Jay, we don't just make choices that easily." I said in as I pretended to lecture him in a serious tone.
"Really? father, is that true?" he asked with his wide, curious eyes facing his grandfather.
" Call me granddad,, and I will tell you." Master Evans said with a grin.
"Okay, right, granddad?" Jay Jay repeated
Master Evans laughed and said, "Sometimes it is sometimes it's not."
" What does that mean?" Jay Jay asked
" It means that sometimes adults use that as an excuse to lie." Master Evans said,, and I felt my face twitch. Was he saying that I am a liar and I was making an excuse?
" Bad lying is bad, right granddad?"
" Hmm, it is very bad, and adults are not supposed to lie." He said while nodding his head.
Jay Jay turned to me and said," Mom, are not supposed to lie." As he said this, he puffed his cheeks, pouting and crossed his little arms across his tiny chest.
The people outside the kitchen laughed when they heard him say these to me.
" Master Jack is so cute."
" Master Jack is not only cute. He is funny, too." they exclaimed
" Hmm and a smart young fellow."
" I did not lie, Jay Jay." I said
" Then why are you taking long?" he complained again.
He was making it tough for me to say no becaise no matter how much I stood there and thought about it, there was no way I could guarantee my safety and leave the Duke's house with my life intact a year from now. Because a year from now would be the date of my death anniversary and my rebirth.
Sighing, I looked at Jay Jay, who was still in master Evans's arms. What should I do? Everyone was waiting for an answer, and I did not have one.
Then I thought of a brilliant idea, since I could not near to say no to Jay Jay then I would ask someone else to answer for me and if they say no, at least my conscious will feel less guilt. I knew that the person I would choose would most likely say no and not bless the marriage.
" I will get married to the Duke. I have a condition." I started
" I know how hard the ladies who were a part of the selection must have worked hard to win this marriage however, in the end it was bestowed upon me, someone who was not initially a part of the selections. So before I take this proposal, it is only fair that I ask for blessings from the other ladies, and only then will I accept it." I said with a slight bow.
Murmurs erupted after I finished my little speech and I knew already what everyone was thinking, in these times, ladies were very competitive when it came to marriage prospects, they liked the saying: all is fair in love and war. And I knew that what I was asking from them was a massive task that many would not want to do. Therefore, I would not have to accept the marriage.
In all honesty, I was also using this as a way to test destiny, I wanted fate to confirm for me my chosen path, was I reborn to marry Ryan again and perhaps do better for our marriage in this life or was I this second chance to start anew away from all the past wounds and betrayals?
" I give you my blessing." I heard one lady say as I was lost in my thoughts. I turned to look and saw that it was the belle of the kingdom, Miss Emma. She was well known for her good looks and her soft-spoken nature. If anything, she deserved this marriage proposal, and she and Ryan would make a beautiful couple.
"P-pardon?" I asked her
" I said, you have my blessing, Miss Charlotte. I want to make the little child's wish true, and since I have some power to make it true, I thought, why not." She said with a smile
" Awww, Miss Emma is not only a rare talent and beauty. She also has a heart of gold." The crowd was praising her because it was not an easy thing to do to give another woman blessings. It meant that you accepted defeat for that marriage proposal battle.
" Well, thank you, Miss Emma." I said politely. I was not shaken by this because we still had 3 more ladies, and one of them was my step-sister, Sofia.
" I give it to." another lady exclaimed as she ran to the front.
" Then I shall too." One more lady said. It was Miss Aria and Miss Erin.
" Hmm, we too want to make Master Jack's wish true. If he wants you as his mom, it won't matter even if we go against this marriage and try to win it for ourselves because his heart is already with you." Miss Erin said
The crowd was almost brought to tears by her words. I was shocked by their actions, and from the corner of my eye, I saw my mother tear up.
That's when I knew that my request was a bit selfish, I asked for something unreasonable, and these ladies were willing to put their pride aside and bless the marriage. I even felt like I did not deserve to be Jay Jay's mother, and at this thought, I started crying too for real this time.
" Miss Charlotte was moved to tears."
" Who wouldn't be their kind gestures are rare to find in our society."
" Do not cry, Miss Charlotte."
" Yeah, it means you deserve this marriage."
" Just one more blessing and young master Jack would officially get his wish." The crowd roared and cheered
" Who's the last lady?"
" Can she hurry already? The anticipation is killing me!"
" Shhhh, it's Miss Sofia."
" Oh no, what's gonna happen now?"
While the crowd was distressed that my step-sister was the only one left to give her blessing, I saw master Evans whisper something into Jay Jay ear.
He then put Jay Jay down. Jay Jay ran into the crowd with his small legs. The crowd made space for him, curious to see where he was going.
He ran and stopped in front of a lady wearing a crystal blue dress with matching gloves and shoes and a neatly tight bun. It was my step-sister, Sofia!
" Could you please help me make my wish true?" Jay Jay said as he gave a clumsy but adorable bow to Sofia, who was at the back of the crowd with Carlos probably after the incident that happened earlier.
I looked at Master Evans with shocked eyes because I understood what he had done! He sent Jay Jay to Sofia to say these words.
And if Sofia did not agree to them, it would paint her as an evil woman who refused to make a child's wish true. What a devious plan!