188 Ch. 188 The Beginning Of Harmonieâs Love
Andrew didnât know how long he had been standing on the balcony while reminiscing. Seeing Harmonieâs lonely figure made him want to grab the girl and hug her, but Andrew stayed where he was standing. Even if it only took one step for him to reach outâhe only needed to take her hand, Andrew still did nothing, helplessly watching over her from afar.
If Andrew didnât know what it felt like to have someone close yet so far beforeâhe did now.
Andrew observed their gap and noticed it was only a few steps for him to wrap his arms around the girl, and yet... he felt he had to jump over a towering wall before he could reach her.
Andrew was torn between good and evilâcomply with Stanleyâs wish or follow what his heart told him to do. He still remembered how Stanley disliked him for getting close to Harmonie, but his heart yearned for the girl. When he decided to make a move, his logic scolded his heartâbanned his muscle.
But what if ... he encouraged himself without thinkingâwithout remembering Stanleyâs threat? They were no longer youngsters, and his fatherâs company was in its prime. Even if Stanley tried to play a trick on the company, Andrew doubted Meisya would let her husband do it.
âIt only takes a few steps,â encouraged Andrew to himself. Alas, right after he determined to change their ambiguous, awkward relationshipâsomeone interrupted him.
âMoni.â
Andrew and Harmonie instantly turned towards the sound source when a female voice called out to Harmonie.
âMoni. Where are you?â
.....
âIâm here,â Moni answered so that the voice owner could find this place easily.
âMoni, Iâd like you to... oh, youâve got some company here. Iâm sorry. Did I interrupt something?â
Andrew gave a friendly smile when he saw Anxia coming out of the balcony door and walking over to them.
âAbsolutely not.â Andrew couldnât help but lie and gave his utmost friendly smile. âThen I will return to my roomâI have work to finish. Good night, ladies.â
âWork again? Itâs not like heâs a workaholic.â Harmonie couldnât help but suspect it was only an excuse to avoid her. Nevertheless, she let the man go and greeted her sister-in-law with a cheerful smile.
âAnxia, what is it?â
For a while, Anxia didnât answer and looked at Andrewâs back as he walked back inside. Then she glanced at Harmonie to examine the girlâs expression. It wasnât obvious, but Anxia could see the girlâs gleam of happiness after being with Andrew.
âDo you like him that much?â
Harmonie blinked several times when she heard that unexpected inquiry from her brotherâs wife. She tilted her head in confusion as if she couldnât understand what Anxia was asking her.
Her sister-in-law couldnât possibly know her feelings for Andrew, could she? Harmonie had kept and hidden her affections toward the man for yearsâshe even believed none of her family members were aware of her feelings. If her close kins didnât notice her heart, why would a new member like Anxia detect it?
âWhat are you talking about?â Harmonie kept a confused expressionâacting oblivious, for she still wished no one would know about her little secret.
âYouâre really something, Moni. Iâll give you that. But you know what? Itâs your misfortune to have a sister-in-law like me. You can fool your family, but you canât fool me. I saw how you looked at him, and I caught you occasionally stealing a glance at him. Moni, you love him. Whyâs the secret?â
Harmonieâs eyes widened upon hearing this, but a burst of hearty, bell-like laughter escaped her lips. âAh, Anxia. Now Iâm really curious about what carrier you took before you married my brother. You have a keen perceptive.â
Anxia directly sealed her mouth when she heard her sister-in-lawâs comment because she didnât want her past to be exposed just like that.
âNah, my carrier was nothing important. Donât worry. Your little secret is safe with me. But why did you hide it?â
âItâs my one-sided loveâhe will never see me the way I see him. Why would I reveal this and make my brothers hate Andrew?â
âItâs not like your brothers would force him to like you.â
âBelieve meâthey would.â Harmonie chuckled in amusement to see Anxiaâs opened mouth reaction.
âWell, I donât want my husband to have a sister-in-law like Quinn. So, itâs fine by me.â Harmonie chuckled at that, but Anxia noticed the sad look in her eyes even though her smile was broad.
âMoni, why does it have to be him? You could find other men much better than him.â
âYouâre right.â was Moniâs straightforward answer, but she didnât add in detail.
âSince when did you like him?â
Harmonie lifted her head and looked at the sky for the umpteenth time.
Her mind wandered to the past, where her feelings for Andrew started to emerge.
Back then, she was still the Gale Master who could control the weather and grow flowers whenever she was happy. Unlike the other realm lords, the Gale Masterâs power would evaporate once she reached adulthoodâwhen she fell in love for the first time. It explained why Harmonie couldnât feel love as a woman toward a guy before she came twenty-one.
No matter how handsome or kind a young man tried to approach her, Harmonie would feel nothing and considered all the young men as friends.
Her heart would only bloom when she turned twenty-one, and that was when she realized that she had feelings for her cousin from the Heinest family.
Upon realizing her feelings, Moni had headaches and frequent nausea because her power as the Gale Master began to fade away. This was the inevitable weakness of all the Gale Mastersâtheir strength and force source represented the Autumn that made all plants fall when the season ended. Likewise, the Gale Masterâthe ruler of Autumnâs legacy, would move on to the next Gale Master once they fell in love.
Little did Harmonie know the stronger her feelings for someone, the greater the dizziness and pain she would sufferâthat was precisely what Stanley was afraid of. He wanted to make Andrew stay away from his daughter so that Harmonie wouldnât fall in love with the young man. But instead of running away from his daughter, Andrew didnât even leave when Harmonie approached him.
The young man always listened to Harmonieâs complaints whenever Quinn stole her toys or snatched her dolls. Andrew was patient even when Harmonie badmouthed Quinn for monopolizing her brothersâ time. The young man even secretly paid attention to Harmonie, making the seeds of attachment grow in Harmonieâs heart.
Itâs just that Harmonie didnât realize it because she was still a teenager at that time and assumed that Andrewâs attention to her was the same as her two older brothersâ attention to her.
But as soon as she turned twenty-first, the feelings that Andrew had instilled came out of nowhere. It was the young man who first made her fall in love with him, so the first person she thought of when her heart bloomed was that young man.
In the first few weeks that Harmonie fell ill, Stanley deliberately failed to tell the Heinests that his daughter was sick. He knew Andrew would come to check on his daughterâs condition and decided to take care of her.
However, Stanley knew that if Harmonie didnât immediately confirm her feelings, she would continue to fall ill and weaken her body. The only way for Harmonie to understand how she feels is to meet Andrew face to face.
If Harmonie didnât like Andrew, she would be fine and still be the Gale Master. But if Harmonieâs heart were set on that young man, then⦠her power would disappear.
Thus, Stanley arranged something for the Heinest family to hear that his youngest daughter had been sick for days. Stanley hoped that his daughterâs suffering would end soon and that her feelings for Andrew were just a mishap.
Harmonie didnât know that Stanley had threatened Andrew several years ago, and she didnât even know that long before this, Andrew had stopped looking at her like a little sister.
All Harmonie knew was, as soon as she opened her eyes and looked into Andrewâs concerned eyesâshe knew right away⦠she had fallen in love.
In that instant, her powers disappeared, and she was no longer the Gale Master.
Even though she had lost her power as a Gale Master and could no longer control the wind as much as she liked, Harmonie didnât feel depressed.
She instead felt relieved that her brain was no longer storing up so much information that it made her feel like she was going to explode because of the overwhelming informationâfrom the previous Gale Masterâs memories and on her own.
Harmonie also had the pleasure of seeing Andrew almost every day when the Heinest family visited her as soon as they heard she had been sick for days. She was thrilled to have Andrew take care of her, but...
Why did the man now avoid her and didnât want to look at her?