Chapter 275 - Epilogue: Recovery Party

Once again, the Wilde mansion was lively. It took Dragon half a year to fully recover and when he did, the man demanded a recovery party and compulsory attendance from all his friends.

Naturally, nobody objected. This time, even Wilmer and Danny would be attending. Debbie and her husband decided to attend as well and Scarlet was overjoyed to learn that her editor would now permanently reside in America with her husband who was determined to work for Jasper and assist the young entrepreneur with his new company.

Everyone who attended knew the Wilde sisters except for two special guests that Edward didn't tell his girlfriend about. Scarlet and Alex were busy attending to their guests and had to explain to CEO Zhu that Jin Si-Han was a male and not a female. The poor CEO had been flirting with Si-Han for the longest time but the shy actor didn't reply until Scarlet stepped in to help him out.

The atmosphere was slightly awkward but soon recovered its jovial cheer when Jeff decided to do an impromptu comedy show. Khalid was once again in charge of music and everyone felt their stomachs grumble when Vivian worked his skills at the barbecue.

The girls and the boys knew about the recovery party and why it was so important. Dragon suddenly vanished from the party halfway together with a few of the boys and the girls did their best to occupy Rebecca until Dragon was ready. The horseriding athlete didn't suspect a thing and enjoyed herself with Lin Lin hosting a bikini competition by the pool.

Dragon returned wearing a tuxedo unbecoming of the casual atmosphere and Scarlet told Jenna to quickly work the camera. They filmed it from a planned location as Dragon got down on one knee to propose to Rebecca who was stunned and speechless until he popped the question.

"Rebecca, I love you. Will you marry me?"

Everyone cheered when the girl nodded through her tears and hugged Dragon. The young couple shared a kiss and Orita felt an arm wrap around her waist. Her husband nuzzled up to her and watched as the teens partied and congratulated the couple. Champagne showers and loud music came on to reflect the happy moment and people danced, not caring who they were dancing with.

Scarlet looked at CEO Zhu and Si-Han. There was something going on in that corner but she didn't have much time to pay attention to them. Claire informed them of two new guests.

"I'll be right back," she told Edward. Alex was busy ordering servants to bring out more chairs so Scarlet went to greet the guests. As far as she remembered, all the guests were here. Did they miss someone out?

"Hello!" Scarlet greeted and paused at the unfamiliar faces. "Can I help you?" she asked after an awkward moment.

At that moment, Edward appeared behind her and the look of surprise on his face mirrored Scarlet's.

"Mom? Dad? What are you doing here? Wait, how did you find th- nevermind. Come in, please."

Scarlet quickly informed Jenna of the identity of the two new special guests. At one, Orita and Wilmer made arrangements to meet Edward' parents even if they attended without notice. Orita, in particular, was most excited about meeting Edward's parents. She had spoken briefly with Mrs Bayon once over the phone and couldn't wait to meet the lovely lady.

Away from the loud music and the action of the recovery party, Jenna ushered the future in-laws into the sitting room and brought tea over. Orita got along very well with Edward's mother fairly quickly but for Wilmer and Victor, there was an awkward tension. Scarlet was nervous and kept her head down the hold time. Edward wasn't feeling any better and held her hand while they sat in silence waiting for something to happen.

"I hope you pardon our sudden visit," Victor smiled and Wilmer nodded.

"It's not an issue. I assume that you're not here for the recovery party?"

The ladies piped down once the men started talking and Scarlet could feel her heart racing as she tightened her hold on Edward's hands. Edward made a decision there and then. He was going to side with Scarlet. If his parents give him the ultimatum, he was willing to throw away his identity and what he had to be with her. After being with the Wildes for a while, there was one thing he now understood. They liked taking in strays.

"No we are not," Victor admitted and his wife smiled. "We are here to ask for your forgiveness in advance."

This surprised the Wildes and even Edward.

Mrs Bayon pulled out a small box that looked like it was for jewellery and opened it up. In that box were couple rings. Edward recognised them. It was something that his mother and father used to wear. Why were they giving this away?

"This is a family heirloom," Mrs Bayon explained. "My husband and I wore this for many years as an agreement between us. Our marriage has been a rather complicated one and Edward left my care at a very young age to be with his father for many years. You can say that we married out of convenience and there were very little feelings between us, not that we didn't get along. I just want these rings to have happier owners. I hope that you can also accept our son as your future son-in-law even if this might be a little too early to be discussing such matters. I would like to put this off for a few more years as well but there are certain circ.u.mstances beyond our control that makes it impossible to wait."

Edward was confused. Then, things started becoming clear. His mother wore a cap indoors and she looked very frail despite only being in her fifties. She was too thin and lacked vigour.

"I have final stage cancer," she smiled and Scarlet felt Edward's hand tighten in hers. "We didn't tell Edward that because he was busy doing important things on the side. However, now that he has recently left the job, I thought it would be nice to introduce myself to his possible future in-laws while I still can."

"Mom..."

Mrs Bayon laughed at her son who looked like a lost and small boy all of a sudden. "It's ok. I've had a very happy and fulfilling life. You've grown up well and handsome just like your father! Also, Scarlet is a lot prettier now that I can finally see her. Your description didn't do her any justice. You could have just taken a picture to send it to me!"

The a.d.u.l.ts laughed as Mrs Bayon scolded Edward lovingly to ease his mood. The Wildes accepted the rings and promised to keep in touch with the Bayons but Victor looked uncomfortable.

"No, please don't. We only came by on a whim and we will disappear like the wind after this. If possible, please do not let anyone know about us. Edward is an orphan from today onwards as written on his new identification papers. He grew up in an orphanage in Paris and left it very early on to pursue what he wanted in America with a foster family who recently passed away. As of now, he is a free man."

Orita was confused but Wilmer was quick to understand. After working with Danny for many years, things like this weren't unfamiliar to him. It was just a sudden surprise but Wilmer agreed and accepted the rings.

"I understand. Please take care and don't worry. We will treat Edward like one of us."

Mr and Mrs Bayon smiled and left as quickly as they came. Wilmer told the young couple to continue to enjoy the party while he talked to Orita who was extremely confused.

When they returned, Scarlet got Edward a drink. "How does it feel like to suddenly become an orphan?"

Edward chuckled. Scarlet still had a whacked sense of humour but he felt better. "Not as lonely as I would have been since I'm surrounded by all these people partying. Most importantly, did your parents give us their blessing? Does this mean I can propose now? I actually have rings."

Scarlet blushed madly and smacked her boyfriend on the arm! Don't you dare! I want to be the star of the party when you propose alone under the night sky with nobody around to ruin the moment!"

Edward laughed and kissed Scarlet into silence.

"Understood. I'll propose to you after we graduate. We'll get a quiet apartment just nice for two people and a cat. You'll write books and I'll do whatever I do then we come home to cook together and have dinner. I swear I'll make you happy but I hope you won't grow bored with me."

Scarlet kissed him back. "Never. Not as long as we both live. I'll even write a journal to doc.u.ment the things I love about you every single day. I'm going to call it the Love Journal. We're going to make everyone sick just be reading it. I'm also going to teach our future children how to read just so they can read the doc.u.mentary of our journey together. How about it?"

Edward laughed. He seriously couldn't think of another person crazier than Scarlet. Yet, this was why they were perfect together.

"I'd love that," he told her and grinned. "Je t'aime."

Author's Note: Please stay tuned, bonus chapters and a special announcement for Love Journal's song parody made by yours truly coming up! Feel free to give me bonus scene suggestions that you want to see me write!