47 Chapter Forty-Seven: Who’s the brave man?

"Pfft. Lies." Lukas came sliding down the rear of the staircase and he sent Clair a teasing grin.

Everyone turned to look at her accusingly.

Clair gasped in disbelief. She turned to someone who she trusts won't be as childish as everyone else. To her surprise, the oldest in the orphanage Deliah raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously.

"Come on, you can't believe his words! I promise I did not come to ruin the surprise intentionally!" She defended herself but nobody believed her.

"Hmmm, I'll tell Yaci to avoid you for the entire week and I'll have her stick with me for that period of time," Clair smirked.

"I- It was my own fault. I apologize for ruining the surprise." Lukas sighed and admitted his defeat. He had forgotten that his sister knows his weakness and she would not hesitate to use it against him.

The kids groaned in disapproval. "Come on brother Lukas, you can't do this all the time." They complained.

"BUT I got you guys a great surprise to compensate you!" Lukas pointed towards the backyard. "Let me guide you there dearest sisters and brothers!" He bowed and with his palm he pointed towards the huge bouncy house outside.

Clair shook her head. He surely knew how to pacify the kids. Even if they seem to be complaining they understand Lukas hates surprises. They already expected him to surprise them instead but they played along because they wanted to see Lukas happy.

Times like this made Clair confused. Is it them who give the children unconditional love or is it the children who love and care for them? Both she and Lukas have been through hardships in their lives and they were both the same when it came to their hearts.

They would offer the utmost protection to their hearts. Since they met it was clear that their closed-off personalities matched. Opposite of her Lukas was able to open up his heart over time. Although she too had some growth she didn't become like Lukas.

Maybe, because he's that kind of person. Being cheerful and happy it's something he can't get rid of ever after such hardships. He's always so optimistic that it makes her jealous. She would often think about how easier her life would be if she was like Lukas.

It's okay….she would often see her biological brother in Lukas too. She wished for Lukas to be happy.

Brother….

She missed him.

She sighed and decided to not ruin the kid's happy moments because of her gloominess. The way the past still haunts her till today is probably her punishment. She would be happy to just live with it.

The whole afternoon she interacted with the kids and had a lot of fun. Afterward, she reluctantly bid them goodbye because she had to go to Doctor Liz's office.

"Can I come with you?" Dahlia asked when she was leaving.

"I want to go visit my mom, is it fine if you drop me off there?" She asked.

"Of course, I'm actually heading that way." Clair nodded and they went towards her car.

****

"Mom!" Dahlia hugged doctor Liz as soon as they reached her office. "How was the surprise for Lukas?" Her mother asked.

"I think you can already guess how. He always surprises us instead." Dahlia laughed.

Clair took a seat and waited for the mother and daughter to finish catching up on their day. It would always be this way. The relationship between mother and daughter was quite healthy. She loved that. Though Doctor Liz irritates her with her questions she's a good person and a good mother.

After that Dahlia said goodbye to her mother. She turned to Clair with hesitation. "I have a competition in two weeks…." She glanced at her mother and took a deep breath. "Is it okay, if you can help me train? I only ask for an hour. Just one hour I'm sure I will be able to learn quickly." She nervously explained.

"Sure, just tell me when you want to start, though I think more than an hour should be better," Clair suggested.

"Y-yes thank you!" Dahlia bit her lip.

"Pfft, so stubborn of you of course I would love to help." Clair teased.

"Alright, you should go with your father. He's leaving early today so tell him to take you home." Doctor Liz told her daughter. Dahlia nodded and she left the office to look for her father.

Ten years ago, Doctor Liz and her husband adopted her and treated her like their own daughter. That's all Clair knew. The girl is talented, bright and she socializes well with people she's close with, but she has a problem approaching others and she doesn't express her emotions well. Having a mother like Doctor Liz must be awesome!

Especially for a teenager like Dahlia who has been diagnosed with depression and social anxiety before. Clair loved that, she loves seeing the kids so happy. She also missed the ones who have been adopted before. Thankfully, Dahlia insisted on still visiting the orphanage often despite being adopted long ago.

Before, the orphanage was not in the best conditions and when Clair found it she made it the perfect home for the kids. She was quite proud of that. She wanted to improve the system because it has been so bad for kids in this country.

Having the future king himself as her husband was quite convenient in this case. She would do her best to bring this problem to light. If there is someone who can fix the corrupt system is him, she is sure of it.

"Let's get started." Doctor Liz turned to Clair. "Uh-huh."

Clair started by telling her what triggered her and how bad was the experience from 1-10, 10 being the worst.

"Did anything else happen today?" She asked.

"Ahem* I don't know how to say well umm….I got married a week ago."

"W-what?" Doctor Liz knew better than to celebrate as soon as she heard that. She stopped writing down in her clipboard and she looked at Clair. She wanted her to confirm it before she could start celebrating.

Did someone finally manage to take down the walls around her? Who could this brave man be?

"Father, suggested our marriage for a few reasons. I agreed to get him off my back." Clair told her.

"You did what? If your father was mentally ill, why would he..." She was quite disappointed. How could he do this to his daughter? She strictly told him to be patient because a person like Clair should be treated carefully or else she would run away and disappear.

How could he suddenly ask her to get married?

"Was it to Elliot?" She asked. If it were him she would be more relieved. After all, that's the only man Clair has been close with other than his father and brother.

"Huh...." The thought made her cringe.

Elliot is what you can call a perfect man, kind, gentle, talented, rich, cooks good food and caring. He's totally awesome but he's not her type.

To her, Elliot sounds like the perfect male best friend but definitely not a husband.

Seeing Doctor's Liz breaking out of character made her laugh. She had never seen such an expression on the woman.

Doctor Liz took a deep breath in. She got up and took a seat in front of Clair. "Tell me how is he? If you don't want to continue a marriage with a stranger I will talk to your father."