Elizabeth redid her take and afterwards left without further explanation of what happened. Not a word about what happened was shared nor spread. Not because they"ve signed a disclosure contract, but because they understand how she felt. She is the most desirable lady in the world but ironically, is the one who is having the hardest time finding someone who"ll love her
"I feel sorry for Li Zi, she must have been carrying all the burdens for years. I mean, who would"ve thought that she was going through so much."
"Yeah, I can see why the family is so protective of her. Now I feel the accident that happened to Li Zi last time was no longer a coincidence. People are really trying to find the Young Princess."
"I hope Sis Li Zi will be fine. But still, isn"t she going out with President Feng and the Young Master of Yun? Do you think they know who she is already? I mean, they always spend time with each other."
"Who knows, all I hope for is that Sis Li Zi will be fine and that she gets what she wishes for. Anyways, I"m sure, if she ends up with President Feng, he"ll treat her well."
On her way out, Elizabeth overheard everyone"s conversation. She ponders if it"s really is indeed time for her to reveal who she is. But, she fears in in doing so... It means hurting some people whom she cares for.
"Well, I have to tell them eventually..."
Elizabeth headed to her university to attend her afternoon cla.s.s. Since it will be the end of the year soon, her schedule has been so packed that she has missed quite a few of her cla.s.ses. However, since she was gifted with a photographic memory, she was able to maintain her grades and stay on top of her cla.s.s.
When she arrived at the university, waiting by the car park was Song Mi and Zhu Zhilong.
"Sis Li Zi, is something wrong?" Song Mi inquired after noticing that the girl seems to be in deep thought.
"I"m fine, I just have something in my mind." She answered.
"Ah, that reminds me. Senior Li Zi, we have arranged everything for the drama. We can start shooting on the second week of November. I"ll send the details to your company tomorrow." Zhu Zhilong added, as he followed the two girls to their cla.s.s.
"Okay." Elizabeth answered with a short reply and a low tone unlike her cheerful self.
Both Song Mi and Zhu Zhilong looked at each other, curious as to why the girl sound so gloomy. She was not the usual Li Zi they know. They wonder if something had happened to her lately.
On their way to their cla.s.sroom, Elizabeth received a call from an unexpected caller. When she saw the name on the caller id, she excused herself and looked for a secluded place to answer the call.
"Dad..."
"I told you to explain yourself to your mom, not fight with her." Lord Knightley who just received news of what happened was on the brink of exploding was triggered again, allowing for the imminent burst.
"Daddy, I didn"t mean to cause mom to become upset. My emotions got the best of me. Besides, mother was out of line too."
"Elizabeth Knightley, watch your tone. She is your mother and she knows what"s best-"
Lord Knightley was unable to finish himself when the girl interrupted and raised her voice against her father as well.
"And removing my memory is the best course of action, is it!?"
The man sighs frustratingly, regretting the fact that he did such an act. However it may be, he had no choice because it was the only way to save his daughter back then. "You remembered then?"
"I haven"t.."
"Then do you wish to remember?..."
Elizabeth sighed and shook her head. She knows her father is against her recalling her memories. The person in her memory must be the reason as to why her father is so against her recalling them. Could the person in her memory have any connection with Shen and Jayden as well? A thought entered her mind.
"I won"t since father is against it."
Lord Knightley gathered his thoughts for a moment. Even though his daughter said those words, he knows that she"ll surely do something to retrieve her lost memories. He has no choice but to make sure she would not meet Petrovich. "Very well then."
"Dad, if you have nothing else to say, I need to head to the lecture hall."
"Elizabeth, talk to your mother." Lord Knightley requested in a low tone.
Elizabeth couldn"t answer her father"s requested directly and instead answered, "Take care dad."
She then ended the call and headed to her lecture hall. She did not ponder on what she and her father discussed.
At the same time, Lord Knightley did say anything further when his daughter ended the call. He knows things will be much more challenging now that his daughter is slowly gaining her memories back. He just hopes that her life won"t be in danger again. But he has no choice since he promised Shen that he won"t get involved.
"My Lord..." Winston reluctantly approached the man with the doc.u.ments he held in his hands.
"What is it?" He said with a disinterested tone clearly heard in his voice.
"You need to check this file, also... you have a lunch meeting with..." Winston explained but stopped halfway with a worried look on his face.
"With whom?" Lord Knightley turned to face the man, curious as to why Winston was having a hard time telling him who this person could be.
"With President Stanford." Winston directly answered while being worried how his superior would react.
"So the boy knows as well. Things are about to become more interesting." Lord Knightley said.
"My Lord, if I may say... The boy has changed since then. He"s not the same boy from back then after what happened between her and the Young Princess."
"Go on..." Lord Knightley was curious as to what Winston has to say.
"If I personally wish to protect the Young Princess, President Stanford is the best option. We both know that the Young Princess does not have enough time left. Back then, you only made that promise because you didn"t have a choice. Even though we know about Young Master Yun"s ident.i.ty, his family does not acknowledge him and to be frank, he is not the best option for the Young Princess. If the Young Princess does not have any affection towards President Stanford then Young Master Feng is another option. The two have a good relationship with each other and we all know how the boy felt about the Young Princess, he only gave in because of the friendship he had with Young Master Yun."
"So are you telling me to force my daughter to pick either one of them?" Lord Knightley questioned Winston as to what his true intention is.
"Master, to be frank... Yes! For the Young Princess" sake and at least she"ll be with someone who loves her. I mean, Master, she does not have enough time left. We"ve been too carefree all this year and we almost forgot about the contract you made, only because we thought maybe she"ll find someone. But her time is ticking slowly to its end and she hasn"t found anyone."
"Winston, to be honest... Sometimes, I wonder if what I did back then was the right choice. I did give my daughter her life back but in doing so, I sold my daughter"s happiness and life to someone else." Lord Knightley spoke with such distress as he sat back and collapsed his whole weight onto the chair.
"My Lord, you didn"t have a choice back then. Everything you"ve done is for the Young Princess." Winston went closer to his master to comfort him.
"All these years, I fought with all odds in order to someday save my daughter but in the end, I still have no choice but to hand her over to them. I"ve controlled almost half of the world and yet it"s still not enough to save her. Winston, what must I do in order to save her?..."
Winston was rendered speechless as he too did not know the answer to his master"s worries. 10 years ago, the princess took her own life and had all her memories removed. He vanished together with his Master with the Young Princess as they seek the dark side of the world. Thanks to Professor Petrovich, they were able to meet the old man who saved the Young Princess"s life, but in doing so, another life was taken. For the sake of the other life that was lost, Lord Knightley promised to do anything to ensure the safety of his daughter"s life. But he did not expect the man would request something so obscure. Since Lord Knightley was too emotional back then, he was not in the right mind to think and just agreed easily to the old man"s request. A contract that needs to be fulfilled10 years later after she received her second life.
During their stay at the mysterious old man"s manor, Winston tried his best to investigate the old man and find clues of who he is. He even threatened Professor Petrovich, but his mouth was sealed tight. Years pa.s.s by, Winston have searched for clues on who the mysterious old man is so they could annul the contract made back then. Be that as it may after they left that manor that day, the old man has never appeared nor does Petrovich know of the old man"s whereabouts.
For almost 4 months, the Young Princess was in a comatose after the miracle happened. During that time, Professor Petrovich planted false memories in the girl"s mind and made sure to lock away all the unwanted memories. But as the years pa.s.s by, her memory would eventually get triggered and they had no choice but to lock and plant even more false memories.
And now, the Young Princess has gained her memory day by day and this time they won"t be able to lock them for they are sure she"ll surely disagree with the method.
"Master..."
"Winston, prepare all the necessary doc.u.ments. Invite father and mother for lunch. We"ll see what the boy has in mind. If he wants to join this battle to win my daughter"s heart then so be it. We"ll see between them who"ll be the last man standing."
"At once my Lord." Winston answered as he headed out of the office and left his master to read through the necessary file he left him. As he walked out of the office he unexpectedly b.u.mped into the man they haven"t seen in awhile.
"Professor."
Professor Petrovich smiled, pleased to see the man. But he knows very well that the man"s arrival could only mean one thing.
"It"s time?" Winston miserably said.