It'll Come Naturally

After getting the stamp on their marriage certificate, Luke and Michelle were finally tied in wedlock. Previously, their life was riddled with skirmishes, quarrels and insults, but Michelle was now Luke's wife. However, at the gate of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Michelle realized that she was the only one happy about it. "Here are the keys to the house. Pack your things and move them there. But I can't help you. I have to go to work." Luke took out a bunch of keys from his pocket and handed them to Michelle. He gave out a faint snort, barely looking at her, and then turned around to leave.

"Okay," was Michelle's simple answer. She really didn't know what else to say. Luke had already told her that he could only give her a nominal marriage, and she'd better not try in vain to expect other things.

She didn't pack up that much. Except for some clothes and things she held memorable and dear, she didn't need to bring anything else.

It was said that the house was newly decorated as ordered by Edward. The ritzy and glitzy furniture suited his taste. Nothing in that house was cheap. Michelle felt embarrassed remembering how she refused his help rudely before. Now, she was concerned how to get along with him from here on.

Thinking that she would be living here with Luke afterwards, Michelle was of course secretly pleased. She didn't know whether she could be a good wife, but she would double her efforts anyway.

While hanging her clothes in the wardrobe, Michelle suddenly found that Luke had nothing but black suits and white shirts to wear. She frowned at the monotonous and dark colors and thought that her husband was too stereotypical of a bodyguard. She thought long and hard, trying to remember if he had worn anything other than white shirts and black suits, and she couldn't.

"Mrs. Luo, would you like to have dinner here at home or in Mr. Mu's house?" The servant asked Michelle as she went downstairs.

"Huh? Mrs. Luo? Maria, that sounds so strange." Michelle gave the middle-aged Maria a glance, her expression confused. Cynthia sent Maria from the Mu family's house to take care of this place. Michelle didn't think that she would be Luke Luo's wife so soon. "Not at all. You are married now. You'd better get familiar with this title soon." Maria began to work as a servant in the Mu family's house at a young age and hadn't retired yet. Ever since Jonathan and Cynthia moved to Edward's house, Maria was sent there to care for them with only a few people left to look after Jonathan's house.

"Ah ha. I know. But you can just call me Michelle, Maria. 'Mrs. Luo' sounds good but I am not really used to being called formal titles like that. We are family now." Michelle laughed out loud. She was more of a tough girl rather than a prim and proper one. "But..." Maria hesitated. She had to observe the proprieties, but she couldn't disobey Michelle either. Now she was at a dilemma, not knowing what to do.

"No worries. And by the way, Luke said that we'd be having dinner at Mr. Mu's house afterwards, so there is no need to cook for us here," Michelle instructed. Then she got herself ready and went to Edward's house. As a new daughter-in-law, she had a lot to learn so she was being careful.

Cynthia was very happy to see Michelle. She was actually the one who insisted that Luke and Michelle come over for dinner. They were all of the same family and lived so close to each other that there was no need to cook separately. At least not tonight.

"Well, Michelle, how was your first day as Luke's wife? Have you settled in with your stuff?" Cynthia held Michelle's hands affectionately. She loved her new daughter-in-law very much.

"Yes. I have unpacked and everything has been put in order. I didn't bring many things, just some clothes." Michelle felt nervous in front of her respectable and attractive mother-in-law. She never troubled herself much about dresses, so she was a little restrained and uneasy.

"Have a seat. Since you are married to Luke, you are one of us now. But don't get stressed out. Just be yourself." Cynthia could tell that Michelle was nervous. She smiled at Michelle elegantly and nobly but was gentle enough to put her at ease.

"Okay. Thank you." Michelle rubbed her nose and grinned embarrassingly. It was not until the day their parents met that she found out that Luke was an adopted son of the Mu family. She sighed as she felt that she knew very little about him, but it was not her fault. Luke worked as Edward's bodyguard and assistant. Other than that, she didn't know much about his real identity.

As a new wife, Michelle knew nothing about cooking. She grew up around gangs and adopted that kind of rough and always on the go kind of life. Surprisingly, Cynthia didn't know how to cook either. She hired cooks and didn't have to worry about everyday meals for her and her family. Michelle went to the kitchen because she thought she needed to learn about cooking. She couldn't be as good a cook as Leena now, but at least she needed to learn to cook something decent and fit to eat. It had been a common joke how some women got married and then fed their new husbands burnt rice, fried egg with sugar or soup with too much salt. There were other horrifying stories such as entire families needing to go to the hospital after eating what the new daughter-in-law made.

In this family, Daisy was always the last one to arrive. Although she looked cold on the outside, Michelle got to know that she was a lot nicer than the others who gave out a feeling of invisible pressure.

"So Michelle, have you adjusted to living there now?" Daisy in an olive-green army uniform looked bright, snappy and respectable.000000