A Promise Of Romance (MewGulf AU)

🌞Chapter 23

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"Why did Yaya come here?" Mew asked when the butler came to his room.

Yaya was a cousin from his father's side of the family, seven years older than him. Specifically, she was the daughter of his father's younger brother Stuart. In English law, aristocratic inheritance passes only to the oldest son. If there is no son, the family line ends there.

Mew's uncle, the second son, had been raised as the son of Lord Jongcheveevat, but never attained nobility status. These circumstances deeply affected the man. Because he couldn't have a title, he became obsessed with running the Jongcheveevat family company. His desire had become even more overt after the death of Mew's father.

Mew's father seemed to have anticipated this development by naming Mew's maternal cousin Tong the beneficiary of his estate if the heir didn't carry out his duties. If Mew didn't marry, according to the will, total control of the company would pass to Tong. And if that happened, Mew's uncle Stuart, who was in charge of the company as Mew's steward, would be forced to withdraw his control. Of course, his uncle wasn't going to stand silently by while that happened.

It was natural to think that Mew's supposed engagement to the Simon girl, which resulted in the contract with Gulf, could be traced back to his uncle's manipulations.

And like her father, Yaya was a woman rich with ambition. Eight years ago, she had married an American tycoon, so Mew had assumed she was still with him in America. He couldn't imagine why she would come all the way to Dorsett. He had a bad feeling about it all.

An oddly embarrassed look crossed the butler face. "Were you aware that she has gotten divorced?"

"No, I wasn't," Mew responded. "You might say that this news is a little unexpected."

"Miss Yaya has come to England," the butler continued. "And she believes you ought to marry her."

"What?!" Mew took in this information like a bolt from the blue. "Since it's come to this, tell me the truth old man, who arranged the marriage to the Simon girl?"

"Master Stuart and myself, sir." The old butler drooped dejectedly. "We both stood to benefit from the arrangement. Master Stuart would remain your steward and run the family's business. And if I may say, having known Master Stuart since his childhood, I would prefer that it remain with him rather than it be trasferred to Master Tong."

"I suspected as much." Mew let out a sigh. The old butler had served the Jongcheveevat family since his grandfather's generation, so of course he had taken care of Stuart. Mew didn't have a particularly favorite impression of his uncle, but the butler owed more to his emotions than he did to Tong.

"We selected very carefully," the butler said earnestly. "Out of the appropriately-aged noble women, we searched for the most beautiful and good-natured, who would be most suitable for you."

"Sorry to have put you through so much trouble," Mew said sarcastically.

"No, it no longer matters," the butler said. "I won't direct you any further. You must quickly marry this girl you brought back. Miss Yaya is quite serious. At first, Master Stuart simply laughed the idea off, but Miss Yaya has persuaded him of its merits and he seems to favor the marriage now as well."

"So my uncle's the one blocking the gossip reports of my engagement," Mew murmured.

"All I desire is that you marry, Master Mew," the butler confessed. "But, I would rather someone, anyone...other than Miss Yaya."

He still clearly recalled how Yaya had behaved as a child, her temper flaring whenever her desires were denied, thanks to her spoiled upbringing.

Mew smiled at the old servant. "Relax, old man. There's no way I'm marrying Yaya."

Mew remembered Yaya behaving however she wished, there had been times that he had found her offensive, and also times that he had envied her.

"Another matter, Master Mew..." The butler hesitated.

"What is it, old man?" Mew prompted.

"Would you tell me again the name of the young woman you brought with you today?" the butler finally asked.

"Kana. That's Ka-na," Mew said.

"Kana...Kana...," he muttered Gulf's name to himself like a prayer.

After the butler left the room, Mew sighed.

He honestly didn't care about the  title or the fortune. His father had always been busy with work and had never stayed at home. And his mother had distracted herself from his father's absence by doing nothing, but charity work. No matter how Mew excelled at school, his parents never looked his way. The young Mew had put up with the situation quite patiently. His desires had always been locked away.

Perhaps it was an ironic twist of fate that both of his parents, whom he hardly ever saw, had died in a car accident. Wanting to feel love from his own relatives seemed like a modest desire. In a normal family, such a thing would be taken for granted. They had ignored him because of their money and position, and he would have nothing to do with those things.

Not only that, but they had brought him nothing but trouble. Mew couldn't count the number of people who had come to him, attracted by his title or his fortune. Men and women both had their eyes on the things Mew represented. He was tired of about anything anymore.

It had only been a whim to rebel against the talk of marriage when it came up. He didn't actually care if he married anyone or not. He had felt a bit guilty about forcing Gulf into such a pitiful position, but when he was with Gulf, it helped him to forget his pent-up feelings.

Gulf's single-minded determination in coming to a distant country to follow his dreams touched something inside Mew. He had long lost any purpose in his life. He wanted to keep Gulf bearby as much as possible. One might almost say he was fooled by the plan he had created.

He didn't know why he felt that way.

TBC