Prosperous Marriage: Married to My Brother-in-law

Aunt Mei's gaze moved past Uncle Ying, settling on Marcel Horne as he arrived with Ruby Bluen. She was taken aback at first but quickly grasped the situation. "The Old Madam is still taking her nap," she said to Uncle Ying. Then, pushing past Uncle Ying, she approached Marcel with a smile. "Master Marcel, we've finally been graced with your return. The Old Madam was just talking about you the other day. Miss Ruby, you..." Her words trailed off as her eyes fell on Ruby Bluen and Marcel Horne's interlocked fingers.

Ruby Bluen started to explain, but Marcel Horne stopped her.

Aunt Mei was a servant; even a senior one had no place to question the masters' affairs.

Marcel's subtle gesture brought Aunt Mei to her senses, and realizing she had overstepped, she promptly stepped aside to let them into the house. Marcel then instructed her to prepare a cup of coffee for Ruby Bluen.

"Grandma is still napping; let's sit for a while," Marcel said, leading Ruby to the sofa in the main hall.

However, they had barely sat down when the Old Madam emerged from her room.

Clearly, she too had been awakened.

The Old Madam was a light sleeper, easily disturbed by any sound.

"Grandma." Seeing the Old Madam, Marcel immediately stood up and took a few steps forward to support her.

The Old Madam, however, petulantly pushed his hand away, saying testily, "Unfilial grandson, I don't need your help. Get back to your military unit." It had been five years since this grandson had last been home, five years since she'd seen him.

Now that he had returned, she was inwardly overjoyed, yet she couldn't resist complaining outwardly.

As people age, who doesn't like a house full of children and grandchildren? Who doesn't enjoy seeing them every day? She understood that duty to the country came first, but surely Marcel couldn't have stayed away for five whole years without a single visit? Well, alright, he had come home once, but it just so happened that she wasn't there, so they hadn't met.

"Grandma." Marcel couldn't help but chuckle. After all these years, Grandma still acted like a mischievous old child. Hearing his grandmother's complaints, he deliberately said, "It seems I'm not welcome then. Alright, I'll speak to my superiors and request a transfer back to Tibet. After all, I've grown rather fond of the place." Then he made a show of turning to leave.

"Marcel Horne, are you trying to be the death of your grandma? Come here and help me this instant! You've aggravated me so much I'm dizzy, my vision's blurry, and I feel weak all over; I feel like I'm going to faint!" The Old Madam immediately put on a stern face and scolded him, but her voice, full of vigor, completely belied her claims of dizziness and weakness. Though her aged face was stern, her old eyes greedily drank in the sight of Marcel, her gaze filled with years of longing.

Marcel Horne chuckled lightly and quickly helped the Old Madam toward the sofa.

Ruby Bluen stood up and took a couple of steps forward, intending to help, but the Old Madam deftly sidestepped her offered assistance.

All Ruby could do was pretend not to notice. She smiled and said, "Grandma, I'm sorry for disturbing your nap."

The Old Madam didn't reply. She sat down on the sofa and immediately began bombarding Marcel with questions. After a lengthy interrogation, she finally turned to Ruby Bluen, sighed deeply, and said, "Ruby, you owe us an explanation."

Everyone knew that Ruby Bluen had abandoned her precious eldest grandson, Glades Horne. Ruby had also returned and apologized previously, a fact of which everyone was aware. Aside from Adele Horne, who, in a fit of rage, had slapped Ruby, no one else had continued to blame her after seeing that Glades had forgiven her, especially out of consideration for Julia. However, they still didn't know why Ruby had fled the wedding.

Now, seeing her soldier grandson appear with Ruby, the Old Madam felt a jolt in her heart. She'd already guessed most of it, but she still wanted to hear Ruby explain it herself.

"Grandma..." Marcel began to say something but was stopped by the Old Madam.

Ruby knew that what was destined to happen would happen, and what needed to be faced must be faced. She wasn't afraid. She looked directly at the Old Madam and declared, "Grandma, I love Marcel. The person I have always loved is Marcel."

So it was true!

The Old Madam's face darkened by several shades, and her gaze turned considerably colder. Her eyes, sharp as a sword, seemed to pierce Ruby as she questioned her, "You left Glades and fled the wedding for Marcel? That month, were you with Marcel? You say you've always loved Marcel, so what were your six years with Glades? Ruby, I watched you grow up, and Julia is now my precious granddaughter-in-law. I don't wish to make things difficult for you. I just want to ask you one thing: do you feel the Horne family owes you something? You were in a relationship with the older brother while loving the younger one, toying with my grandsons' hearts. Don't you think you've wronged them? How could you? You all grew up together. Wasn't Glades good to you? If you truly loved Marcel, why did you become Glades's girlfriend in the first place? The wedding date was set, you were about to register the marriage, and then you ran off. What exactly did you mean by that?"

The Old Madam was usually benevolent, but that didn't mean she lacked a temper.

Ruby remained silent.

After a long pause, she said softly, "Grandma, I'm sorry. It's my fault. But do you know how Glades and I even got together? That year, I was twenty-two, fresh out of university. My father arranged for me to join the company, working in the Finance Department. Glades, then only twenty-six, had also just recently taken over the Valence Group..."

Ruby drifted into her memories, back to the year her relationship with Glades Horne began.

She was young and beautiful, and with her status as the eldest daughter of the Bluen family, countless men pursued her. Some genuinely loved her, while others were after the Bluen family's wealth. These suitors employed all sorts of tactics to win her affection.

And Glades, though only twenty-six at the time, had come of age. As the eldest grandson of the direct line of the Horne family, everyone wanted him to succeed in both career and family, so they relentlessly arranged blind dates for him. Even after he repeatedly refused, the Horne family didn't give up. When he wouldn't show up for the blind dates and refused to meet any women other than the Bluen sisters, the Horne family resorted to showing him photographs. Ruby remembered that the Old Madam was the one who most frequently ran to the company, armed with a thick stack of photos of young ladies from prominent families.

However, Glades was never one to be dictated to by others. No matter what methods his family tried, he wouldn't compromise. Instead, he became thoroughly exasperated by them and didn't know how to get his family to stop their incessant pestering.