Tangled By Fate

Something crossed in Veronica's mind. 'Why doesn't he like me though? What did I do wrong? I don't ever remember offending him. Could it be because Arthur left my stuff and made a scene there? Vincent is the resort Manager. He could be worried at that time. Maybe that's the case.'

As for Vincent – he secretly sighed in relief. 'Oh, thank goodness. I can't imagine what would happen if they saw a boy kicking my butt. If they told Catherine, our future together would be gone.'

Catherine didn't know what their minds were thinking about. She commented, "Then I guess you are done with your lunch."

"Oh, yes, yes. We are leaving actually. We won't bother you actually. Enjoy your date." After that, Veronica pulled Arthur's arm and dragged him out of this place. She didn't want to stay there any longer and keep seeing Vincent's dull face. Before leaving she gave her best friend a hand wave to make her happy. 

Catherine waved back with a smile. After Veronica and Arthur got lost in the crowd, her smile disappeared. "I wish Ver would be with us. We would have a great time together."

Vincent felt a lot better when she saw Veronica leaving with her partner. When Catherine said that he hurriedly said, "We will have a double date later on. They are a couple. They just want some private time. That's why they were hurrying."

"Yes, I think so too. They barely went anywhere after reuniting," Catherine agreed with him.

"Reunited. Oh, you did tell me that your friend was married."

"Yes, that's her husband." Catherine didn't want to disclose more information. She could understand her friend being cautious around Vincent with her husband. They didn't want normal people to get to know the Master of the Magic Tower. That would be troublesome. 

She suggested, "Let's go. I'm starving."

"Sure!" Vincent smiled at her. 'No matter what, the date is successful.'

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Using teleportation magic, Arthur transferred Veronica to Silvertein, the capital city of Tybu. They had a fancy meal in the city as he promised. Later, they walked on the lone road in the woods. Their destination was the Magic Tower.

The snowflakes were falling from the sky and settling down on the ground. The whole area surrounding the tower was covered with a blanket of snow. The trees looked like they were decorated with snow. It was a wonderful view at night. 

No matter how magnificent the view was, the chilling wind sent shivers down to Veronica's spine. Near the woods, the temperature dropped several degrees. It was cooler than the city area. She shuddered. She couldn't help hugging her shoulders. 

Arthur used a fire magic circle around them. Inside the circle, they would be warmer. As they moved, the magical circle moved along with them.

"Ah, thank you." Veronica rubbed her palms together and held them toward the fire circle, trying to make them warm.

"Anytime," Arthur quietly replied. After a pause, he stated, "Nica, you don't have to worry about your body. You have the most beautiful body anyone can have. Don't listen to an outsider's nonsense. They know nothing."

Veronica raised an eyebrow while turning her head toward him. "Are you defending Betty?"

"Not at all. What I mean is – you don't have to care about what others say. They don't know you. They only say those words to hurt the people of their target. If you feel bad, they will only win. So, don't listen to them all right?"

"All right," Veronica went along with him. "I wasn't upset that she tried to look down on me. I was upset because she made fun of my scars. These scars remind me of my hard work and the happy faces of the women and children I saved. I can't even think of my life without these scars."

"You can proudly exhibit it to everyone. I'll support you," Arthur declared.

Veronica's eyes glistened with tears. Her heart softened. "Oh, Arthur! What happened to you? You are so supportive today. First the Roxana and now the scars. You wanted to make these scars disappear, remember?"

Arthur lowered his head. "Yes, I know. And I'm sorry about this. I made a mistake. These marks are still on your body because you wished for them. You would have used multiple ointments to make them disappear, but you didn't. That was your wish for your body. You have absolute right over your body because you own it by birth. I shouldn't have pressured you and hurt you."

Veronica stopped in her tracks and hugged Arthur. She tightly wrapped her arms around his back. "Thank you for your understanding. I hope you keep supporting me like this. There's nothing I want more than that."

"Well, you already made sure that love isn't all about becoming one during sex. It's also about two hearts being connected, being respected, and being trusted. It is also about wishing the best for each other."

"You learned well, Arthur. I'm impressed," Veronica praised him.

Arthur stroked her head while gazing at her tenderly. "It's because I have a wife whose heart is filled with wisdom… And… thank you for taking my side and trusting me. I never had any connection with Betty. She was just a regular girl. I didn't know why she reacted that way. I should have protected you well. However, you did an excellent job. I didn't have to interfere."

"She… is a regular girl… Are you serious?" Veronica wanted to laugh but she couldn't. "A regular girl can't talk like this to a newly wedded couple. Oh! Wait, wait… in your eyes, she is a regular because mostly all girls fall for you and act like they want to sleep with you. That's why in your eyes, women are cheap. They don't have a high value."

"…Ahh… Nica…?" Arthur realized that things were getting in the wrong direction. He wanted to stop his wife before she jumped to the wrong conclusion. One heartbreak was enough.

"The reason you got interested in me was because I wasn't the same as those women. And, you tried to control me thinking I'm not even a human…" Veronica stared at her husband.

Arthur was having goosebumps. A droplet of sweat rolled from her left temple. "Nica, even though I thought like that, I'm trying to change. You changed my point of view."

"Did I?" Veronica looked at him. 

"If you don't, who will?" Arthur held her securely in his arms. "I've already lost you once. I'm not making the same mistake twice."

Veronica's heart fluttered at his words. She placed her head on his chest and stated, "Together… let's not lose each other again."

"Yeah…"

As the snow came down around them, the couple embraced each other like love birds in the middle of the road, surrounded by snow-covered woods.

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Kerbell, the port city in Tybu

It was a late night. The restaurants were closing down. Bridget was closing down the restaurant, and Angela was crying behind her.

Angela's father came to help take his family home. When he saw his little princess was sobbing, he became worried. He carried her in his right arm and asked, "Little baby, what happened? Why are you crying? Tell papa. He will punish whoever upsets you."

"Uhuhuhu… Papa… you know… Aunt Betty is a bad girl. She made Arthur and his pretty bride upset." Angela cried louder when she complained.

"What?" Angela's father was flabbergasted. 'I thought someone bullied my little princess. How did Master Arthur come to the story?' Not finding the answer by himself, he looked at his wife for an answer.

Bridget could only sigh. She narrated the whole story shortly, "Master came with his wife. I was preparing a special meal for them, and Angela was drawing. Betty took this chance to create a scene. 

"Everyone saw it. Master and Mistress left after paying without eating anything. When I brought their dish, they were gone. Customers were whispering to themselves. I heard later what happened from a customer."

As if another lightning struck him. "Master… he got married?! When?"

Bridget tried to remember, "He said it was a few months ago."

"A few months ago? But that time…" Her husband became quiet and said nothing more. 'Wait, when there were rumors that Master lost his sanity and tried to use dark magic because of some women he crazily fell in love with, was it true? Was that his wife? Did he succeed in getting his woman back using dark magic?'

"Honey, are you okay? You look pale?" Bridget asked in concern. She noticed how her husband's face turned pale after hearing the story. "I guess Betty did something real bad, didn't she? We should go to the tower and offer some dishes. I hope that will quench Master's anger."

Her husband nodded. "Yes, yes… Let's do that. Why don't we go tomorrow? Angela doesn't go anywhere because we are always busy. It'll be a good trip."

Angela's face instantly brightened. "Are we truly going to see Arthur and his pretty bride?!" Her eyes glittered in excitement. No one could tell she was crying a while ago.