Fake It Until You Make It

Chapter 71: Marrying Into Royalty 101

As fast as my stressful, incessant work emails stopped, the joyful, overly excited wedding messaging started. It wasn't just Lisa I was constantly texting about how would we do this and that, it was Jisoo, Irene, Ophelia and Rosé. It was Tzuyu, Wendy and Natasha. It was Tiffany – who was, obviously, the only one who knew the actual extant of the wedding we would have to plan. It was my mother, who wanted to meet Lisa's family and know when she could throw us an engagement dinner for the whole family. It was Camila – who somehow got my phone number and wanted me to know she was available to help with whatever I needed. And, by God, it was Edward.

Lisa and I took two weeks off to travel to Majorca alone on a romantic break for her birthday, and to enjoy each other alone after the engagement. She turned 33 that September as we swam and made out on the wonderful Spanish waters, smiling about everything and nothing, still talking about our proposals as I marveled that she had actually bought that ring so long ago. I had left it behind, however, knowing it was too risky that someone could see me wearing it.

"I will come back for you, my precious." I whispered to it as I placed it back in its box in my nightstand's drawer before we left, making Lisa grin, teasingly.

"You're imagining the ring, aren't you?" Lisa would ask, again and again, as we laid tanning on the sand in the upcoming two weeks as I raised my left hand to stare at my empty ring-finger.

"I miss it." I'd tell her, smiling.

As soon as we set foot back in England, in late September, however, we couldn't run away from Edward anymore.

Edward Lane-Fox had never been so present at our house. He only afforded us a couple of days to get settled back home before he came by for breakfast one morning, bringing muffins and English breakfast tea.

"As you know, we have a lot to talk about." He started, as Lisa and I were still forcing ourselves awake. "And we should start as soon as possible. Do you prefer to do it here, while we eat, or should we go to your living room after breakfast?"

"I have work." I told her.

He checked something in his smartphone. "Your next meeting isn't until tomorrow, and your promotion for Broken doesn't start until three weeks from now."

Lisa grinned, but I gave him a shocked look. "How do you know that?!"

"I got your schedule from Miss Williams." He told me.

"Monica?!" I asked. "Why?!"

Edward sighed, deeply, and looked at Lisa. "I thought that by now you would have explained her the basics."

Lisa shrugged. "I was hoping we could enjoy the good parts of the engagement a bit more before jumping into the ugly ones."

Edward looked at me. "I'm the chef of Lisa's household. So as she brings you into it, until you hire a new staff for yourselves, if that is your wish, it is my responsibility to bring you up to speed on what needs to be done and organizing your future life together."

I had barely listened to him, and instead looked at Lisa.

"What are the ugly ones?!"

"Well, then, Jennie," Edward took a deep breath, impatient, "Drink your tea and sit back as I take you on a trip down Marrying Into Royalty 101."

"Edward, must we?" Lisa asked. "We have so much time."

"You have three weeks." Lane-Fox corrected. "Then she goes into promoting Broken, then right after is Tangled and she'll only have a few days off before Hamilton and Doctor Who, by when it'll be Christmas and you'll be off to Sandringham and Jennie to Brazil. Then she'll have Award Season and we won't be able to plan anything until March, which is when you want to announce it and, obviously, it'd be appropriate to have planned this before then."