Chapter 21
Gustavo turned to Valerie. “Are you the little girl he raised like his own?”
Lucius didn’t get what he meant, but Valerie did. “Does this have something to do with him?”
Instead of answering her, Gustavo turned to Lucius. “Ten years ago, your father faced a deadly calamity that no one in the mystic arts world could resolve. By all accounts, he should’ve died.”
Lucius frowned. Ten years ago, he was 16 and had no recollection of anything unusual occurring in his family.
Gustavo continued, “Someone powerful stepped in and saved him, promising to extend his life for another ten years. The condition was that he had full say over who the heir of the White family would marry.”
Melvin had lived a life of indulgence and left many unresolved entanglements behind. At the age of 46, he finally settled down after meeting Lucius’ mother, Kate Caldwell.
Kate was born into a family of scholars and was the very picture of a cultured young lady. Though they couldn’t have been more different, fate brought them together, and they fell in love.
Kate wasn’t the first woman in Melvin’s life, but she was the first he had ever been willing to marry and publicly honor. Before tying the knot, he declared that Kate would be the White family’s one and only lady of the house.
In ancient times, a mother’s standing rose with her son’s fortunes. In the White family, it was the other way around.
Because his mother was so highly favored, Lucius unsurprisingly became Melvin’s favorite child and the rightful heir of the White family. This unusual family history was no secret to
the outside world.
Valerie read between the lines. “Are you talking about that old geezer?”
The term made Gustavo’s lips twitch. “By seniority, he would be considered one of my ancestors.”
“Who is he?” Lucius inquired.
Gustavo was about to answer when Valerie beat him to it. “An old codger who should have been claimed by death long ago.”
Gustavo was rendered speechless.
Whenever Valerie felt upset, she would spin her pen madly to calm the storm within her. She
Chapter 21
had suspected that Magnus was behind what had happened recently.
2/2
Gustavo’s attention was drawn to the twirling pen. “Is that pen made from lightning-struck
wood?”
“Mmhm,” she responded absentmindedly, her mind racing for a solution. Ever since the
incident a year ago, Magnus had vanished without a trace. She had no idea where he had gone.
Lucius swallowed his doubts. “Gustavo, can anything be done about the supernatural phenomenon that happens to Valerie and me after we fall asleep every night?”
Gustavo answered candidly, “It’s nothing supernatural. It’s a binding vow.”
Lucius and Valerie were dumbstruck.
Gustavo continued, “Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s a knot of fate, not an omen of misfortune. Once your marriage is recognized, your destinies are tied together.”
Lucius was still puzzled. “We checked with the courthouse. It shows that we were officially married a year ago, yet we just met a few days ago. If marriage binds our destinies, why was there no sign of it before?”
Gustavo smiled. “After you officially met, didn’t you go to the courthouse to file for divorce?”
“We both agreed to it,” Lucius responded.
Gustavo’s smile widened. “Did your divorce go smoothly?”
Lucius and Valerie both thought of their marriage certificates that had been struck by
lightning and the unexplained thunderclaps.
Valerie asked, “Could it be that by agreeing to divorce, we inadvertently activated the binding vow array, causing us to appear on the same bed each night after falling asleep?”
