"Cry. Forgive. Learn. Move on. Let your tears water the seeds of your future happiness."― Steve Maraboli

William's blood boiled with a newfound rage when he came face to face with Lord Adam in the parlour. He remembered Kathalina's face when she had been distraught at what Lord Adam had done to her.

His teeth clenched and his hands balled into fists. He glared at Lord Adam forgetting he was there to woe Kathalina's parents.

"What is he doing here?" Kathalina was the one to speak. Her voice was angry but William noticed a string of fear attached when she squeezed his hand tighter. His first priority was her. He took deep breaths to reign in his anger and focused all his attention on his wife.

She was his wife. The thought alone made him smile and the protectiveness took a new face.

"What is he doing here?" Kathalina asked once again looking at her parents.

No one answered Kathalina's question. Everyone stood there glaring at one another. Lord Liverpool, her father, rang for the butler and asked them to escort Kathalina and William to the dining hall and suggested not to wait for them.

"No," Kathalina refused to go, "I want to know why is Lord Adam here?"

"Are you going to sit still now too?" Lord Adam said angrily standing, "Your daughter made a fool out of me by eloping and now brings a Kentshire as a husband and you sit there like a damn statue."

"What are you threatening my parents with this time?" Kathalina shouted at Lord Adam. Offended by her words he charged toward her seething.

William stood taller in front of Kathalina like a menacing tiger which made Lord Adam stop in his step.

"You need to throw him out and your daughter," Lord Adam said, "They didn't leave us to show our face anywhere."

"Please," Lord Liverpool said, jaw clenching, "Do not make a scene in my home. Everyone standing in this parlour is a guest, we do not wish to disrespect anyone so if you could all calm down and please do as we say."

Kathalina walked straight and sat on the settee.

"I am not standing," She announced, "And this is my home too".

Her antics made her father snort, a smile forming and disappearing in an instant.

"Kathy," Her mother said, "Please proceed for dinner with Lord Warwick. We will join you soon."

Before Kathalina could question more William put a hand on her shoulder.

"My Lord, My Lady," William spoke to the Liverpools for the first time, "I had multiple speeches prepared on how I will speak to you for the first time and in each one I planned to tell you how much I love Kathalina and that I would do anything in this world for her. But the situation warrants something else from me."

He took a pause letting his words fall on everyone in the parlour.

"I do not mean to offend you in any way and I am saying this with all good intentions. I married your daughter and if you want it or not I am your son in law and my family is your family now. And we Kentshire would do anything for our family. I want you to know that I will now stand with you."

The silence reigned while everyone pondered over his words.

"And what about your standing in parliament against us?" Lady Liverpool asked thoughtfully.

"Family members could have differences in thoughts and opinions but that doesn't mean we stop being a family. We fight with our family members more than we fight with others due to clashes on so many things and yet at the end of the day we want to sit together with them and have a nice meal," He explained.

"Stop your bullshit," Lord Adam interrupted.

William looked at Lord Adam with a murderous glare.

"Lord Adam," He said through clenched teeth, "If you ever dare to even look at my wife again I will slit your throat."

His words sent fear down Lord Adam's neck. Everyone in the parlour stood gaping at William. He turned to Kathalina with a tight-lipped smile, extending his hand for her.

She clutched onto his arm, drawing soothing circles in his palm to calm him down. They walked to the dining hall and a couple of moments later her parents joined them after sending Lord Adam his way.

The dinner passed with tense silence. No one dared to speak another word.

Once everyone retired to the parlour, Lord Liverpool was the first to speak.

"Lord Warwick," Her father said, "Do not live in a misconception that I have accepted you as my family, far from it. And do not offer your family's help so callously. Liverpool's might not have been seen like Kentshires but we know how to take care of things on our own."

"I apologize," William said, his head bowed, "I did not mean to offend you."

"I would like to speak to my daughter alone," Lord Liverpool said dismissing William. Instead of getting offended, William respectfully bowed and left the parlour but not before whispering to Kathalina that he will be waiting for her.

He wasn't offended at all. He remembered this was all for Kathalina sake. And for her, he didn't mind getting schooled. He knew he had a lot to prove to her parents. She was their only child and they will want what is best for her.

It was not compulsory that what you think is best for others is necessarily best for them. Sometimes the thinking is a bit twisted. He comprehended that when he opposed Oliver and Hannah's union.

He believed in Kathalina and his love. He knew she will come back to him, all he had to do is wait for her. He hoped her parents were understanding even a tiny bit back in the parlour.

Kathalina was sitting on the settee her eyes on the ground. Her parents hadn't said anything since William left. She wasn't confident if she should be the first to speak.

"Kathy," Her mother said. They called her Kathy. Kathalina lit up like a Christmas tree. She knew her worst nightmare isn't true. Her parents haven't disowned her.

"I am so sorry, mother, father," Kathalina said earnestly, "I know you are quite angry at me. I didn't want it to happen this way. I am so sorry."

She looked up at her parents with tears in her eyes.

Her father released a deep sigh, nodding his head from side to side.

Please don't give up on me. Kathalina kept thinking, kept praying.

"Oh, we are so foolish," Her father said.

"Father," Kathalina said her voice breaking.

Her father got up and sat down beside Kathalina. His arms wrapped around her in a loving embrace.

"Oh, my child," His father said, "We are such lousy parents."

Kathalina was sniffing. Her head was tucked under her father's arms. She felt like the worst daughter in the world to make her parents feel like this.

Her mother came on her other side, caressing her head.

"Since you were a child you always did what you always wanted. Even if we try to stop you, you will always get your way and you were always happy after it. You never regretted it," Her father said.

"I don't know how we forgot it this time," Her mother continued, "Maybe because we thought our daughter has grown up a lot. Even if you had, you are our daughter and will always be."

Kathalina broke down in her parent's arms. She was so blessed to have them as her parents. They calmed her down and Kathalina murmured her gratitude through her sniffles.

They called back William into the parlour and he got worried when he saw Kathalina crying. But she was securely wrapped in her parent's embrace and William refrained himself from snatching her away.

"Lord Warwick," Her mother said, "I regret to say it but we can't accept you as our son-in-law yet. There has only been bad blood between us."

"But we will accept you when we can pass everything to our daughter," Her father said haughtily before retiring with his wife from the parlour.

After they left the couple together, William nuzzled Kathalina in his arms. She looked up at him with her crying red eyes.

"You better make that bloody bill a law."

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