Chapter 8

Arthur's gaze drifted lazily between Tamara and Mildred as a glint of amusement flickered in his charming eyes. "Tamara…" Tamara's fingers dug into her gown as she bit her lip and shot Dorian a glance. To be honest, there were two reasons she didn't want to marry Arther—his frail health, and… Because she had someone else she loved. Arthur chuckled. "The Gingers did say that the engagement was never with Ms. Tamara, so I wouldn't want to ruin her happy future." Relief swept through Tamara, but when she caught a glimpse of Mildred standing beside her, annoyance burned in her chest. Now that Arthur was miraculously healed, Mildred, a slum stray, would benefit greatly from the marriage. Arthur turned to Mildred as the corners of her lips tugged into a smile. "A long-lost heiress from the slums is rather out of my league, too. And from what I noticed, Mr. Sheppard here seems to have taken a fancy to Ms. Mildred. Shall I let him have you instead?" "Arthur!" When Arthur turned and met Margaret's fuming gaze, he slipped an arm through hers and playfully leaned in. "Grandma, now that I'm healthy, I'm perfectly capable of finding myself a wife. The engagement with the Gingers has dragged on for years, so it's clearly not meant to be. We can't force it too hard, can we?" Margaret caught Kieran's anxious, desperate expression and was deeply satisfied. So, she gave in and said, "Well, since my newly named heir says so himself… You don't have any objections, do you, Kieran?" Slightly displeased, Kieran frowned and began. "Mrs. Luzon Senior—" But Mildred cut in. "I have no objections." "That's settled then!" Margaret declared with finality. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a rest. You young people can talk." Kieran steered his wheelchair after her in panic. "Wait, Mrs. Luzon Senior!" Arthur turned back to Mildred with a frivolous grin. "Don't take it too personally, Ms. Mildred. There simply isn't a spark here, and even if you begged to marry me, I won't love you either." Pearl seized her chance to sneer. "See? When I said Arthur would never settle for you, I wasn't wrong, was I?" Nox chimed in with a cold laugh, "Well, Mr. Sheppard did enjoy playing hero for Mildred. And now that Arthur's passing the engagement along, you aren't going to refuse, are you?" Tamara panicked. "Don't talk nonsense, Nox! Mr. Sheppard would never—" "That'd be lovely." Dorian's voice cut clean through Tamara's words and left the crowd stunned into silence. "W-What?" Dorian looked up to meet Mildred's wary eyes and repeated. "That engagement sounds delightful. I'd be a fool not to seize this chance if Ms. Mildred and I are fated to be." Tamara's eyes practically spat fire. Dorian was supposed to be hers! How had a slum stray like Mildred seduced Dorian into taking her side? Yet Mildred frowned and spoke up. "I don't agree." With that, she turned and walked out of the ballroom. As Dorian watched her leave, a quiet sigh escaped his lips. Funny. She used to say she preferred men who were direct, so why was everything so different now? He quickly caught up and grabbed her wrist. "Let go," she snapped. "I know who you are," Dorian murmured. Then, he leaned in and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "The miracle doctor." Mildred's eyes flared cold. "You—" "I'll pick you up tomorrow morning and explain face-to-face." Noticing a few curious stares turning their way, Mildred had no choice but to nod. … At the northwest corner of Luzon residence, Mildred found a black box under the tree, just as they'd agreed on. She flipped it open and found half of it stacked with gold bars, and the other held a pair of flawless emerald bracelets. They gleamed in the moonlight and were obviously worth a fortune at a glance. "Who said you could touch that? Put it down!" Arthur stormed over and yanked the box out of her hands. This was his special gift for the miracle doctor, which now lay in the box, awaiting her visit. She always came veiled to nurse him back to health, but he'd secretly measured her wrist and chosen the bracelet to fit those pair of slender hands perfectly. He hadn't cared about the banquet, engagement, or the Ginger family's precious daughters. Instead, he'd watched the cameras obsessively and waited all night for the miracle doctor to appear. When there was finally a commotion, he hurriedly rushed over, just to see Mildred opening his gift! "This isn't your stuff, so you can't just grab anything you like! Who taught you your manners, huh?" Arthur started shouting as his breathing turned rapid. Anger burned away every trace of the earlier smile in his eyes. Frowning, Mildred grabbed his wrist and pressed her fingers to his pulse. "I told you that your treatment hasn't ended yet, so no extreme emotions and alcohol. But you've partaken in both." "What does it have to do with you! You—" Arthur's words cut off. His eyes widened as he raised a hand to cover her lower face, just to reveal her cool eyes. "It's you! You're Dr. Miracle!" Mildred held out her hand. "Now, my gift." "Huh? Oh, of course! Take it! It's all for you!" As Mildred took the box, she reminded him. "You need two more sessions. And if you wish to completely recover, don't breathe a word about my identity throughout all this period." Arthur nodded profusely. "Got it!" Just then, Tamara came storming forward, coming for the microneedle roller tucked at Mildred's waist. The memory of Dorian and Mildred getting handsy filled her with so much fury that she could choke the latter with her bare hands. Tonight, she'd ruin Mildred's name for good! "Arthur has rejected the engagement, Mildred, so why are you still chasing him into the gardens?" she said, feigning affection while her hands pressed hard against Mildred's lower back. Mildred coolly looked up at her. "Tamara, you know… I've been wanting to do this for a long time." "What is it?" Mildred's hand snapped up and whipped across Tamara's face. Hidden in her palm, the fine power pressed into Tamara's skin along with that slap. Tamara hit the ground as her cheek started swelling visibly. "I'm telling our brothers!" she shrieked. Ignoring her, Mildred turned back to Arthur. "If you wish to finish your treatment, you'd better—" He caught on immediately. "That's strange. Why can't I see anything?" … By the time they returned to the ballroom, Tamara was where they expected, surrounded by a circle of guests. "Stop asking, Nox. It's all my fault that I set her off. No one else is to blame." Then, she turned to Pearl and pitifully continued, "Learn from me and watch what you say, Pearl, or you'll end up like me, slapped silly." When Nox spotted Mildred, he barreled through the crowd toward her. "You slapped Tamara, didn't you!" "I didn't," she calmly replied. "How do you explain the wound on her face?" Mildred gave him a pitying look. "Shouldn't you ask her?" "Tamara said you did it! How dare you deny it!" Raising an eyebrow, she shot back. "Oh, must it be true just because she says so? If she claims I'm a man tomorrow, will you believe that too? "Tell me, are you her pet dog? Why do you believe every word she says? Can't you think for yourself?" Tamara clutched her swollen cheek and cried out, "You totally hit me! At least have the basic respect to admit it! "Arthur was right there and saw everything! He can testify that I never lied!" Nox barked out a cold laugh. "See? You can't lie your way out, Mildred. "Now, Arthur, tell everyone the truth. Did she attack Tamara like a lunatic?" Arthur's eyes lingered greedily on Mildred, his savior, before sweeping lazily across Tamara and Nox. "Of course not." "There, you see… Wait, what?" Arthur cleared his throat and added, "Tamara, I had no interest in your family drama, but you stormed into the garden and started hurling accusations at Mildred for 'seducing' me. You're a woman yourself, so how could you spew such filth? "Mildred showed you mercy, yet you slapped yourself to frame her. What does that say about the Gingers' upbringing? Or perhaps, what does that say about your upbringing as the Gingers' adopted daughter, that you'd trample over the true heiress? "Thank goodness I never agreed to marry you. Imagine if you started attacking me too…" Tamara's eyes bulged in shock. "Y-You…" Pointing at Arthur, she failed to get a coherent sentence out before her eyes rolled back. Then, she crumpled to the ground in a dead faint. Even as darkness swallowed her vision, one question rang in her mind—What spell had Mildred cast on these men to have all of them stand on her side?