"You only woke up at eleven in the morning," Glades Horne said in his low, husky voice. He deliberately mentioned the time to tease her, then blinked his mischievous eyes at her.
"...What? It’s eleven already? Why didn’t you wake me up earlier? What will your family think of me when I go downstairs later?" Julia Bluen exclaimed softly, pushing him away forcefully and dashing towards the wardrobe nearby. However, she had only taken two steps before Glades scooped her up again.
She wanted to look away, but her eyes seemed fixed on his, unable to turn or shift, locked in a direct gaze with him. "Julia, you are my wife! No one can bully you. You don’t have to worry about being treated like a daughter-in-law from ancient times, bullied by the family elders. So don’t worry about sleeping in late and getting scolded. All you need to do is fulfill your filial duties as a daughter-in-law; you don’t need to go out of your way to please anyone," he said.
He was the true helmsman of this family, and she was his beloved wife. Naturally, he didn’t want issues like the relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, or anything else, to affect her.
"I’m not worried; I just feel embarrassed. It’s already lunchtime, and we’ve only just woken up. It’s so mortifying. Don’t worry about me, though. You’ve known me for a while; am I someone who can’t handle relationships?" Julia Bluen replied with a laugh, touched by his words.
This man, he always thought of everything so thoroughly.
"My dear wife, don’t you know that on the first day of marriage, even if a newlywed sleeps until evening, nobody will say a word?" he added.
Was this guy intentionally trying to make her too ashamed to face anyone?
Suddenly, Julia Bluen’s stomach let out a soft rumble.
She really was hungry.
Normally, she had breakfast at seven-thirty. Now it was eleven, so it was no wonder she was hungry.
Although the rumbling was faint, Glades heard it.
"HA HA!" Glades Horne chuckled and then let her go.
"I’ll get you some clothes," he said, heading to the wardrobe.
The wardrobe had originally been filled with Glades’s clothes. After registering his marriage with Julia Bluen, he had secretly bought her many new outfits, had them dry-cleaned, and hung them one by one in his wardrobe, mixed in with his own.
You in me, and I in you.
Julia Bluen’s dowry also included many new clothes, but Glades Horne chose a new outfit he had bought for her to wear.
After she was dressed and had finished freshening up, Glades led Julia out of the room.
Just as they reached the top of the stairs, James Horne happened to be coming up from downstairs, and the three of them met at the landing.
"Big Brother, you two are up. It’s time for lunch," James Horne said with a faint smile, though he didn’t address Julia as "Sister-in-law."
Glades, whose face had just been smiling and affable, instantly reverted to his usual coldness upon seeing James. His sharp, hawk-like eyes stared at James as he asked coldly, "Did you come up specifically to wake us?"
James quickly laughed. "No, I was just coming upstairs to get something." With that, he gave Julia Bluen a slight nod. His smile faltered, and a flash of pain crossed the depths of his eyes before he passed the couple and continued upstairs.
In truth, he too had only just woken up. He had drunk a lot at yesterday’s wedding banquet and gotten very drunk.
Julia Bluen felt that James’s gaze held less hostility than before, yet it was replaced by something deep and unfathomable.
"Let’s go downstairs," Glades said, his grip on her hand tightening slightly, pulling her gaze away from James.
The first-floor living room was full of people—all relatives and friends of the Horne family.
The Old Lady was at the center, surrounded by her children.
Lunch was still being prepared, and everyone was waiting for the newlyweds to come downstairs.
Hearing footsteps, all eyes immediately turned to the couple descending the stairs hand in hand. Everyone seemed to let out a collective, silent sigh of relief. Aside from the Old Lady, no one knew that Glades truly loved Julia Bluen; they were all concerned about this bridal switch between sisters.
"Big Brother, it’s almost time for lunch!" Adele Horne exclaimed in a shrill voice as soon as she saw Julia Bluen. She was speaking to Glades, but her barb was clearly aimed at Julia.
"And have you eaten yet?" Glades countered.