TWO

Lord Jasper stared at the document he was holding with blazing fury in his eyes. He gritted his teeth in anger and gripped his knuckles until it turned deathly pale. 'Fools! How dare they try to hurt my daughter?! They thought they could get away from their crime?! Imbeciles!'

For one whole year, he investigated the 'car accident' that almost took the life of his precious daughter, Celestine de Merville. He knew it was nothing but that. It was all planned out just to completely annihilate her.

Someone called from behind him so he quickly closed the white folder and turned around. He smiled sweetly when he saw that it was his wife. "Honey? Are you all right?" He nodded while looking at his wife lovingly. "Should we go now? Have you called Jasper? Is he and Jasmine coming?" He asked.

"Yes, we will go now. As for our son and his wife, they will visit after finishing his business in the court." He took his wife's hand and held it while they walked side-by-side towards their daughter's room.

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One week later...

Celestine stared at her tutor with disbelief. "Gabrielle?" 'Oh my God! What is happening here? Why is he here too? Is this some kind of joke or something?' Gabrielle looked at the beautiful woman in front of him with a confused look. "You know me? Have we met before?"

Celestine's jaw dropped on the ground. 'He does not know me? Is this some kind of a parallel universe?'

"Are you all right, Miss? Why are you looking at me like that?"

She faked a cough before speaking. "I'm sorry. I just thought you look so oddly familiar."

"Oh. Then, how did you know my name?" Celestine mentally slapped herself. 'Oh my God! What should I tell him now?!'

"Ah... My father told me about you. Yes, that's it." She smiled awkwardly. Fortunately, the handsome yet aloof professor did not ask further. Currently, they are inside the library for the lecture.

Still looking at Gabrielle in disbelief, Celestine sat down at the chair across him. He's the modern version of Gabrielle in the past who is also one of Celestine's professor in the Wisdom Academy (past) but now the current Gabrielle is working in the Matthew Lionheart University (present) where the present Celestine graduated two years ago at the age of twenty-one (A/N I hope you're not confused with all of this information). The present Celestine, after all, is a genius so she finished her studies two years in advance.

Note: I just want you all to know that their educational system is similar to the Philippines and other countries such as the USA, Japan, etc. Six years of primary education and another six years for secondary education. Also, they have universities and colleges. Hope you understand what I'm writing here.

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Two hours later...

Celestine is now sipping a hot tea inside a pavilion located at the center of a man-made pool where gigantic lilies and beautiful fishes reside. Gabrielle already left after their last lecture half an hour ago because he still has a class to attend to so she was left all alone.

"Aw... Poor baby sister. Why are you alone here? Don't worry, brother is here." Celestine grinned before standing up and running towards her brother who's waiting at the edge of the bridge. He engulfed her in a tight hug and smiled widely. "Daddy, can I hug Aunt Celestine too?" A shy little boy was standing behind his father. He was the exact replica of his father, Jasper de Merville II.

"Little Jasper! My favorite nephew! Come here and give your aunt a warm hug!" Celestine hugged Little Jasper while the child was grinning. She kissed both his cheeks before holding his hand to guide him unto the pavilion.

"My son's your only nephew, Tine. So, of course, he's your favorite." Celestine smiled when she heard her brother call her 'Tine', it's the present Celestine's nickname and only her family and friends call her that.

"Did your boyfriend visit you after you got discharged from the hospital?" Celestine choked on her tea when her brother suddenly talked about her 'boyfriend' whom she hasn't seen for one whole week. She got discharged in the hospital but her so-called 'boyfriend' which is Samuel Northwood, a man who is so busy with the military affairs he even forgot to visit his girlfriend, did not even call or text her. Thinking about it made her blood boil with anger. 'How could someone just ignore the ever-so-beautiful Celestine de Merville?!'

When her mother told her about her boyfriend [Samuel Northwood] a couple of days ago, she was flabbergasted. Who wouldn't? Samuel Northwood was one of her husband's Royal Knight before [past] and the only one, other than her family, who tried to save her from the execution. Unfortunately, his plan did not succeed because he was imprisoned.

Celestine smiled bitterly before answering. "Stop talking about bad things, brother. It will only ruin my day." She grabbed a napkin and wiped her face to clean the tea residue. Reluctantly, she stood up and gave her nephew a kiss on his forehead and bid them both goodbye. "I'll take a rest in my room and I'll be joining you both again later. Where's your lovely wife, by the way?"

"She's with Mom. Okay, rest well. We'll see you later."

Celestine went back to her room only to find a large box wrapped in beautiful red silk and a letter on top of it. 'Who is it from?' She was puzzled but took the letter nonetheless.

Celestine gasped when she realized it was from Samuel. She wanted to jump and squeal in excitement but constrained herself from doing so. Her face was tomato red when she opened and read the letter.

Dearest Celestine,

Love, I'm very sorry for not visiting you in the hospital and for not contacting you for one painful week. God knows how much I miss you right now. Unfortunately, an emergency came up and I must attend and do my duty. I hope this gift will suffice your anger and disappointment in me. I love you so much. I'll see you in three days from now.

Love,

Samuel N.

She hastily unwrapped the gift and squealed in delight when she saw a large white teddy bear and a recorder. Then, she pressed the play button and waited for anything to come up while hugging the cuddly bear. Her face got redder than a tomato itself when she heard the voice of Samuel.

Love, how are you? I miss you so much. I wish I could hug and kiss you now but I can't. But don't worry we'll be seeing each other after a couple of days. I love you so much Celestine de Merville.

'Oh gosh! This is all too much!' Celestine slept that afternoon with a wide smile plastered on her face.