Chapter 3

"How could you still agree to such a crazy marriage?" Kendrick demanded.

I smiled. "Because I've already been through something even crazier today."

My fiancé ditched me, and I became the butt of everyone's jokes in town.

So having a seven-year-old snatch me away was no big deal.

Kendrick stared at me for a long time.

Then, he smiled.

"Alright," he said. "Since Raymond has chosen you, you're the Murray family's future granddaughter-in-law. But there's one condition."

"Please go ahead," I replied.

"Raymond's situation is... special. You'll need to take care of him until he... recovers," he said.

"Recover?" I echoed, still puzzled.

I thought Raymond was perfectly fine.

But then I caught the deep meaning in Kendrick's eyes, the worry in Juliet's gaze, and the hint of amusement in Leland's eyes.

I was sure there must be something off about this family.

But Raymond? He was a whole other level of trouble.

That night, I ended up staying at the Murray family.

The guest room was massive, way fancier than the master bedroom back at the Harper family.

Della was helping me unpack, grumbling the whole time. "Miss Harper, you shouldn't have been so reckless. How could you take a seven-year-old's words seriously?"

"What else am I supposed to do?" I said. "Turn the whole convoy around and let everyone in Prizatburg laugh at the Harper family?"

"But..." Della started.

"No buts," I cut her off. "The Murray family is way stronger than the Harper family. Even if Raymond's just a kid, I'm still his future wife.

"That title beats being Steven's discarded fiancée a hundred times over."

Della fell silent.

She knew I was right.

In this circle, reputation was everything.

I'd rather marry a seven-year-old than end up as "the woman Steven ditched."

I just couldn't put up with it.

That evening, the elegant woman, Raymond's mother, Juliet, came to see me.

"Emelia," she said softly, "May I call you that?"

"Of course, Mrs. Murray," I answered.

"Good girl," she murmured, squeezing my hand as we sat together. "You must have felt so wronged after everything that happened today."

"Not at all," I replied. "Raymond is honestly adorable."

"Adorable?" Juliet gave a bittersweet smile. "He wasn't always like this."

Something stirred in my heart.

"Mrs. Murray, what happened to Raymond?" I asked.

Juliet sat in silence for a long time before finally saying, "Raymond isn't actually seven years old."

"Wait, what?" I blurted out.

"He's seventeen," Juliet replied quietly.

I was completely floored.

Seventeen? I couldn't believe that the kid who looked seven or eight was actually seventeen.

"Three years ago," Juliet said, "Raymond was poisoned. Some rare neurotoxin messed him up.

"His body got stuck at seven years old, but his mind... is still seventeen."

"So, what he did today..." I asked, still confused.

"It was his seventeen-year-old thinking," Juliet sighed. "He saw the news about Steven ditching you and said he wanted to 'rescue' the bride.

"His grandpa told him, 'If you've got the guts, go marry her yourself.' And, unbelievably, he actually went and did it."

I was stunned, not knowing what to say.

So this whole thing was just a reckless farce out of frustration.

"And the poison..." I asked, my voice trailing off.

"There's no cure," Juliet said, shaking her head. "We've had experts from all over the world look at him, but the toxin has destroyed his ability to grow. He might never change."

As she spoke, tears started to fall.

"Emelia, I know this isn't fair to you," she said softly. "If you want to back out, the Murray family won't hold it against you."

I fell silent.

So Raymond wasn't a normal child.

He was a teenager stuck inside a kid's body.

And I would be his wife.

"Mrs. Murray," I asked, "did you find the person who poisoned him?"

"No," she replied, her eyes flashing with a cold determination. "But the Murray family will make him pay."

I understood.

The Murray family didn't bring me in just because of Raymond's impulsive act.

They needed a 'wife' to look after and protect him until he got better or grew up.

And I just happened to be exactly what they needed.

"Mrs. Murray," I said, "I'm not backing out."

"Really?" Juliet asked, surprised.

"Really," I grinned. "A seventeen-year-old mind in a seven-year-old body?

"Honestly, this marriage is way more interesting than marrying Steven, that big baby in his twenties."

Juliet was stunned.

Then, she laughed, too.

"Emelia," she said, "you're going to be a great Murray family daughter-in-law."

As I left Juliet's room, I ran into the young man, Leland.

He was Raymond's uncle.

He was leaning against the doorframe, watching me with an amused smirk.

"I heard you're not backing out?" he said.

"You really are well-informed, Mr. Murray," I replied.

"Just call me Leland," he said, stepping closer. "Raymond's seventeen. I'm not much older than him."