Chapter 7: Memory’s Secret and the Monkey Hero

"Don’t be sad. Get ready and come to the party. Afterward, I’ll take you to see your favorite marionette show!"

Puppets again, monkey again!

I pouted. Harrison noticed, pulled me into his arms, and smiled:

"No need to be so excited! If you like going out, I’ll take you—just don’t sneak out over the fence."

Leaning on his shoulder, I blinked at him. Such a handsome guy, but why does he always tease me?

Tears fell again. Harrison, feeling my tears, panicked.

He cupped my face, wiped my tears, but I couldn’t help it. The tears just kept coming.

Finally, he pinched my cheek and kissed me. I was stunned, staring at him.

Is he taking advantage of me?

Blushing, I tried to push him away, but he wouldn’t let go.

After a while, he let me go. Ashamed, I hid in his arms.

He smoothed my hair, smiling:

"I really thought you were fearless!"

At this, I couldn’t hold back and started bawling.

Harrison froze, at a loss, hugging me tight.

I thought, is he trying to smother me?

I cried even louder, muffled, scaring Maddie outside the door to call for me.

But Harrison coldly stopped her.

Hearing his icy tone, I dared not act up, quickly wiped my tears and sat up straight.

I took out the leather belt I’d picked for him.

With so many people at the party and me showing up late, my unimpressive gift was better given in private.

"Very nice. I like it."

It was your engagement gift to me! Of course you like it.

Harrison took me to the party. Guests sat around, dinner half over, but Elena was nowhere to be seen.

"Where’s Elena?"

"No clue, probably busy with guests."

No wonder Harrison came to find me—Elena was busy.

Worried someone would see my puffy eyes, I sat quietly by Harrison, head down. Luckily, everyone was watching the show.

The guests cheered, and I couldn’t help but look up.

Wow, so beautiful! The dancers were graceful, their moves mesmerizing.

I was entranced, chin in my hand.

Unexpectedly, Harrison knocked my head, making me glare at him.

He lounged back, smiling at me.

Why isn’t he watching the showgirls, but staring at me instead? Is he up to something…

I turned away, ignoring him.

After only a few acts, the party ended. Harrison took me to see off the guests.

I’d met most of the town officials before, so it wasn’t hard. I just stood by Harrison, smiling as they left.

Dad and Mom were leaving too. Still annoyed, I pouted. Mom tapped my nose with her finger.

"You’re not Miss Carter anymore. You need to mind your manners here and not trouble Harrison."

I’d rather still be Miss Carter. The best would be if Harrison didn’t trouble me!

"You’ve been here a while. You should start a family and stop acting like a kid."

Starting a family is Elena’s job. When would I get a turn?

Mom gave more advice I barely heard, only knowing that if she kept talking, I’d forgive her.

"Mom, go with Dad. You say I’m grown, do I still need your advice?"

I said while nudging her out. Mom laughed:

"You little monkey!"

Worse than the puppet show! Infuriating.

Just then, Harrison came and put his arm around me, telling Mom:

"Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Rosie."

Mom smiled, satisfied. Harrison turned to me, grinning.

What’s he so happy about? Stealing my mom’s affection and showing off?

After everyone left, Harrison really took me out of the house.

"Isn’t Elena coming?"

"No, just us."

But Maddie and the driver are outside… Harrison really isn’t that sharp.

He was in a great mood, smiling the whole way. I couldn’t help myself—I had to say something:

"Harrison, the car’s huge. Why are you sitting so close to me?"

He was so close I was practically sweating.

I saw his smile fade, and he slowly let go, turning away.

He didn’t come near me again, and soon we reached Main Street.

The night market was lively, with booths and crowds, string lights everywhere, people shouting and laughing.

Harrison was still sulking about the car, but I happily dragged him around.

"Honey, look at this cotton candy, it’s so cute."

Harrison looked at me, finally not sulking.

"Buy it!"

"Sir, I want a little bunny."

"Give her a monkey."

I asked for a bunny, but of course he insisted on a monkey.

I glared at him, but he insisted the vendor make me a monkey.

"Don’t you even know my zodiac?"

He paused, touched my head, and said:

"Sorry, add a bunny too!"

I held the cute bunny in one hand, the ugly monkey in the other, staring at them as I walked.

"Why not eat it? Saving it for later?"

I was torn and whispered:

"If I give the monkey to Elena, will she be upset? But I really want the bunny."

Harrison suddenly stopped, face dark:

"They’re both yours."

That’s right! I can buy something else for Elena, no need to give her the monkey.

"Then you have it!"

I handed him the monkey, but he wouldn’t take it.

"Eat it, it’s sweet!"

After I took a bite, he reluctantly accepted, but wouldn’t eat it.

Haha, he looked so funny—I wanted to tease him.

I pushed the candy to his mouth, but he resisted. I couldn’t win, so the monkey ended up with Maddie.

Maddie looked at me, pleading.

"Eat up, Maddie. Once it melts, you can’t see the shape. It’s tasty."

Then I dragged Harrison forward.

A booth was covered in lanterns—so pretty.

"Honey, do you think Elena would like this?"

"Why do you keep mentioning her?"

Harrison was moody again, leaving me confused.

I stopped asking and bought a lotus lantern for Elena.

After more than an hour, I was happy and rode home.

"Harrison, who was the guy sitting next to General Thompson at the party?"

"Why do you ask?"

Harrison’s arm tightened around my waist.

"I just saw him at a makeup booth, picking out lipstick for ages."

I laughed—a guy picking lipstick for so long, how funny.

Harrison didn’t answer, just stared at me, then suddenly kissed me.

He blocked my words, and when I tried to push him away, he hugged tighter.

My heart was pounding.

After a while, he let go, pressing his forehead to mine:

"He picked for so long, and you watched him that long?"

Is he… jealous?

I laughed and kissed him lightly:

"I just thought it was funny."

Harrison was still mad, hugging me tight, his chin digging into my shoulder, kind of hurting.

He started heating up again. I tried to push him off, but he wouldn’t let go. I didn’t dare get him mad, so I let him be.

Back at the mansion, he pulled me straight to my room, walking so fast I could barely keep up.

Inside, he didn’t leave, but closed the door.

Seeing he wouldn’t leave, I nervously said:

"Harrison, aren’t you going to see Elena tonight?"

He pressed his lips, pulled me into his arms, and after a long time kissed my hair, saying:

"I want a real family. A real kid."

On our wedding night, the housekeeper explained a lot. I knew what he meant and blushed.

But thinking of Elena, who worked so hard and was his favorite, always helping me—if I kept him here tonight, she’d be sad.

I didn’t want my husband going to another woman, but I always knew I wasn’t his true love and would suffer here.

After a long pause, I said:

"But Elena…"

Harrison lost patience and kissed me.

He carried me to the bed. Blushing, I tried to get up.

But he held me tight, pulling me close, burning hot—I didn’t dare move.

He propped himself up, carefully taking out my hair clips. I felt his fingers in my hair, warm and gentle, sending shivers down my spine.

I saw the leather bracelet on his wrist fall out from his sleeve, hanging by a red string.

Wait, is that…? It was the belt I’d given him—why did he string it up and wear it like that?

Was it not the same one?

I took it to look closer. He seemed to know what I was thinking and said:

"It’s your first birthday gift to me, of course I keep it safe. If I wore it every day, it’d get worn out. If I lost it, you’d cry again."

He kissed my still-swollen eyes.

Haha, Harrison treasures this, but I wouldn’t cry if he lost it!

I couldn’t help but laugh, and finally, I’d managed to tease him.

Seeing me laugh, he laughed too.

"When did you put on the red string? Weren’t we together all day?"

"When you were watching the dancers and ignoring me."

He sounded a bit resentful. I kissed his cheek, teasing:

"Do you even get jealous of girls?"

He didn’t answer, just kissed me again, this time gentle.

I felt warm, touching his face, asking:

"Harrison, do you like Rosie?"

He just looked at me, then kissed me harder.

"What do you think?"

I thought: he must like me a little. I hugged him happily, saying:

"I think Harrison’s not a fool—he knows I’m worth liking."

He said with a smile:

"Don’t call me Harrison anymore, and I’ll tell you."

What should I call him? Harry?

I tried:

"Harry?"

He was stunned, then smiled, leaning close to my ear:

"Sounds better than husband."

"I love you, Rosie."

Did I hear that right? The guy who teases me every day says he loves me.

Blushing, I hid in his chest, but he pulled me out, staring at my face.

I really couldn’t face him, twisting to hide.

He hummed, pulled me close—I thought he was going to do what the housekeeper explained.

I couldn’t resist, so I begged him to turn out the light.

He seemed awkward at first, but finally was gentle as I cried.

We didn’t sleep all night. At dawn, he refused to go to work, wanting to sleep in.

"If you keep this up, your dad’s going to be furious!"

"Yesterday, when your parents brought gifts, they told us to have kids soon. If you give me a big, healthy boy, Dad won’t punish me."

Annoyed, I kicked him to get up.

But he was too solid, didn’t move, just hugged me tighter.

"People are coming today. I took the day off. Didn’t sleep last night, let’s rest. Aren’t you tired?"

He teased me again. I turned away, ignoring him, but he hugged me from behind and fell asleep.

I woke up mid-morning; Maddie said Harry had gone to the front hall.

I wondered what guest was so important Harry would take the day off and wait at home?

Curious, I dragged Maddie to peek in the front hall.

Hiding behind the door, I saw the guest was the guy from the party, now in a blue blazer, looking even more handsome.

Too far to hear them, but Harry didn’t look happy.

Since it was a guy, I lost interest and went back to my room.

Just as I set the table, Harry came back.

"Did Harry come back smelling the food?"

I teased, not sure if he’d eaten.

But he sat down beside me, frowning:

"Seems you weren’t tired enough last night? Still have energy to sneak out and look at other guys?"

I was speechless—I was looking at you, you heartless man!

Ignoring him, I ate by myself.

He took my bowl and nibbled my lip in a playful, affectionate way.

I almost cried, mad:

"You only said it was a guest. How would I know if it was a guy or a girl?"

He laughed heartily.

"You snuck out because you didn’t want me seeing other women?"

Who’s sneaky? Of course I don’t want you seeing other women, but you’re Harrison Whitmore. How can I keep you to myself?

Feeling wronged, I saw him eating happily and ignored him, eating quietly.

In the following days, except for work, Harry was always with me, leaving me no time alone.

"Don’t you want to visit Elena?"

I finally couldn’t help asking.

After a long pause, Harry said quietly:

"Rosie, I sent Elena away."

"Away? Where?"

"I don’t know. She’s not coming back."

I was too shocked to speak. Why?

Seeing Harry look a little sad, I didn’t want to ask, so I hugged him, resting my head on his chest.

"Rosie, I’m not Elena’s true love. She’s still single and will find someone else."

I was even more surprised. Everyone said Harrison loved the clever, beautiful Elena. Why say this now?

"But you clearly liked Elena."

Harry’s hand paused in my hair:

"Who told you that?"

"Everyone in town knows—even I knew it."

"No wonder you cried and didn’t want to marry me when the mayor showed up."

What rumor is this? I was at most weeping prettily! I swatted his chest.

Harry fell silent, then pulled me from his arms, looking into my eyes, speaking earnestly:

"Rosie, from the start, I only loved you, this silly girl. I asked my dad for the engagement."

"On our wedding night, I lied about going to Elena’s room because I was afraid you didn’t like me and would cry."

"At first, I hung around Elena to win back her family’s business for ours. Elena moved in for her own reasons. I thought I liked her and wanted to treat her right."

"But I couldn’t make myself get close to her, and I hated you always pushing me to her. Elena likes you and didn’t want you to suffer. So we quietly sent her away. Don’t worry, she’s happy to leave."

"Rosie, believe me, I, Harrison Whitmore, have only you in my heart."

He looked at me, eyes bright, just me in them. I thought, Harry wouldn’t lie to me.

"Harry, I believe you."

He hugged me tight, resting his chin on my head. In his arms, I felt safe.

"Harry, did we meet before? Why do you like me?"

He looked a little upset:

"You’ll have to remember yourself."

Did we meet? I really didn’t remember…

I pestered him to tell me, but he wouldn’t. Even kisses didn’t work.

After a few days, I forgot about it.

Harry stayed with me every day. Knowing I was bored, he took me out shopping, to the park, fishing—life was good.

But these past two days, I felt Harry had changed.

Yesterday, after work, he hugged me and fed me grapes, but absent-mindedly, stuffing my mouth full.

Upset, I looked at him, thinking, does he want to choke me?

But he was distracted, not noticing my look. Only when I choked did he look down.

"Rosie, you really are a little piggy, not saying a word with your mouth full."

He wiped my mouth with a napkin, even laughing.

This man is heartless, or maybe his heart isn’t with me! He stuffed my mouth, yet blamed me.

I grabbed the napkin and got up.

He saw I was mad, pulled me onto his lap.

"Why is my little crybaby upset again?"

He brushed my cheek, almost making me cry again. Why does he always have this effect on me?

I slapped his hand away, annoyed:

"You don’t even know what you’re thinking about, so you don’t know why I’m mad. Stuffed me with grapes, ignored my look, and blamed me."

He just shook his head and smiled, kissed my hand:

"You little monkey really are wild. My hands are sore from peeling grapes, and you don’t care, just poking my chest."

Monkey again. If you don’t care, why say so?

I bit his shoulder hard, making him yelp and slap my butt.

So hard! I bit again.

"You little brat, I was thinking about work! Are you trying to bite me to death?"

Work as an excuse? The town’s quiet, and I’ve never seen him worry about work.

"Hmph, I don’t believe it."

He gave a helpless smile:

"General Thompson’s oldest son comes home tomorrow. There’s a welcome party, and I have to go after work. I wanted to ask if it’s okay—I can’t be home for lunch."

"What work is that? I want to go too!"

"Be good, Rosie. Just wait at home."

He kissed my cheek, afraid I’d say no.

I pestered him, but he wouldn’t take me, saying it was all men, not for me.

I thought something was off. If it’s all men, what’s not for me? Probably some pretty girls!

I had to know. So today, I dragged Maddie to wait outside the mansion gate, to see which girl Harry was meeting.

But Harry still found me.

"Rosie, why can’t you behave? You’ll be the death of me."

He looked totally exasperated.

Now he says I’m disobedient. The man who used to hug me and say he loved me must have been replaced by you!

Caught by him, I was guilty, pouting in silence. He had to pull me into the car.

In the car, he tried to kiss me, but I was annoyed at not catching him, so I ignored him.

He got anxious, eyes red, hurt:

"Rosie, do you not love me anymore?"

I was both mad and amused—how unfair! The troublemaker complains first.

"Don’t be ridiculous!"

He didn’t answer, just leaned in again. I could only kiss him.

Seeing I’d given in, he hugged me tighter:

"At the party, don’t look at other guys!"

So it’s really at General Thompson’s? I hummed, unconvinced.

At the party, I finally knew why Harry wouldn’t take me.

Turns out General Thompson’s second son was the guy picking lipstick, now in a purple suit, looking like a prince.

Not like Harry, always in white with gold cufflinks. Seriously, Harry?

Looking at Harry glaring at me, all because I asked about him—he’s really jealous.

I smiled at him. He whispered in my ear:

"You promised me just now."

I had no choice but to agree.

Only when the party ended did I hear General Thompson say his second son’s name—Connor Thompson.

On the ride home, I kept thinking about the name.

"Connor Thompson, that name…"

Before I finished, Harry covered my mouth.

So jealous! I just thought the name sounded familiar.

Back at the mansion, Harry gave me the silent treatment, refusing to let me talk.

Finally, worn out, I fell asleep…

I slept deeply and had a dream.

I dreamed I was playing with two boys. One, skinny and small, fell into the lake. I turned into the puppet show monkey and saved him.

Waking up in shock, I looked at the handsome man beside me and finally remembered where we met.

Nine years ago, Dad brought home two boys after work. One was tall and handsome, the other skinny with baby cheeks.

I seemed to like the tall one better, following him everywhere.

He agreed, and the baby-faced boy followed, arms crossed.

With just my brother and me at home, I decided to include the baby-faced boy.

"Big brother’s the leader, I’ll be the monkey hero, and you’ll be the sidekick!"

But he refused and ran off, falling into the pond.

Big brother panicked, about to jump in, but I stopped him.

I got a long branch and pulled the boy out. The water was freezing, and my hands shook, but I didn’t let go. My heart was pounding—what if I couldn’t reach him?

I was only eight, and it took all I had to save him.

The rescued boy thanked me proudly, but I said smugly:

"I’m the fearless monkey hero! Nothing can hurt you when I’m around."

He paused, then laughed, fear gone.

Dad, hearing of the fall, sent both boys home.

I remembered when the boy fell, he called "Connor Thompson," the tall boy’s name.

The guy in white with gold cufflinks, now a tall, handsome man, lay quietly beside me.

I leaned closer to Harry: long lashes, high nose, red lips—the more I looked, the more I loved.

I couldn’t help kissing him lightly.

Harry woke up, voice hoarse:

"What is it, Rosie? Not tired yet?"

I blushed, slapped him, and said:

"I remembered, Harry."

He knew what I meant, woke up happy, kissed me, and said:

"My monkey hero finally remembered me!"

So it was my own doing… making me cry so many times.

"That time, I wanted to leave the mansion, so I had Connor come. But your dad caught us, saying it was improper. Facing the county clerk, I didn’t dare be bold and followed him home."

"Didn’t expect you to sneak out too. I should make you write lines from ‘The Good Husband’s Guide’ fifty times to make it fair!"

I joyfully interrupted him.

Harry pinched my nose, ignoring me, and kept reminiscing. He just loves telling this story.

"At your house, I saw the county clerk’s daughter bouncing around like a wild monkey."

You’re the monkey! I snorted.

"I thought you were smart and adorable and wanted to be close, but you seemed to like Connor more… Only I kept paying attention to news about the Carter girl."

Harry stopped, staring at me, full of longing.

So he’d been holding onto this since then.

So, the girl who saved the Governor’s son and was cherished by him in the rumors was me.

I wrapped my arms around Harry’s neck, kissed him, and pinched his ear:

"Tomorrow before dinner, hand in your fifty copies of ‘The Good Husband’s Guide’ for my review."

He leaned in, whispering:

"Let our son do it for you in the future…"

Harry, thank you for letting this ordinary, silly girl have the world’s most precious love!

(The End)