Chapter 1: Go Back Home to Get Married
April in Paris, France.
The sunlight lazily made its way into the second-floor room of a petite villa, accompanied by the faint aroma of coffee.
Since it's the weekend, Laura didn't rise until after nine. Seated on the floor, she savored her coffee, gazing at her father on her laptop screen and acting like a spoiled child. "Dad, why haven't you been out this weekend? Need something from me?"
"Laura, come back for marriage," Johnston Weinstein's voice resonated from the computer.
"Marriage? With whom? Haha—Dad, when did you start cracking jokes like this?"
Laura nearly spurted her coffee out, managing to swallow it before bursting into laughter. "Dad, you've developed quite the sense of humor lately!"
"Laura, my daughter..."
Johnston Weinstein appeared hesitant, closing and then reopening his eyes. There was a tinge of resignation in his handsome features. "I'm serious."
"Dad..." A warm smile froze on her lips, her hand holding the coffee cup stiffened.
Dad wasn't joking!
He always said he wouldn't pressure her into marriage unless it was necessary for the Weinstein family's survival. Was something amiss at home? She'd been abroad for three years, spending little time back home, and she had no interest in the family business. But with the global financial crisis, could it be...?
Nervousness gripped her. Countless companies were collapsing worldwide daily. Could her family's company be among them?
"Dad, is something wrong with the company?" she tentatively inquired, her complexion turning pale.
"Laura..." Johnston Weinstein bit his lip, seeming to muster significant courage. His voice was hoarse with pain. "Come back and marry Amandus Laukkanen, the second and youngest son of the Laukkanen Family."
"Why?"
The coffee in her hand spilled, its warmth seeping into her pristine white dress, yet she remained oblivious. Her voice no longer felt like her own. Her dark eyes locked onto the screen, where her father looked weary and worn.
"The company can't survive the financial crisis. You know it was built by your mother and me. She cared deeply for this company, but the financial crisis... Laura... You can't just watch it collapse, can you? Laura, your brother is still young..."
Johnston Weinstein sighed heavily, clearly in anguish.
Laura's heart constricted, barely registering the remainder of his words. But one sentence lingered with her.
Her dad said, "Laura, the ninth of next month is a good day for a wedding."
As she gazed at the date on the computer screen, silent tears streamed down Laura's cheeks.
May Ninth...
Just six days away.
Her identity was about to shift from Miss Weinstein to the wife of the second son of the Laukkanen Family...
She still had a year left before graduating from fashion design school. She hadn't even turned twenty yet. She still dreamed of marrying the man who had resided in her heart for three years when she turned twenty-four.
The spring breeze carried the scent of flowers, rustling the purple curtains and tinkling the wind chimes, but it also conjured a vague, youthful figure in her mind.
Her heart suddenly ached.
Is he merely a dream from her youth?
Will she get the chance to say "I like you" to him again?
