Heena knew the history of this courtyard. This couple had no living children. Their only daughter had died in a tragic labor accident a few years ago, long before she ever reached the age of marriage. They had never gotten to see her dressed in red. They had never gotten to sit in the high chairs and accept the ceremonial tea from a new son-in-law. It was a gaping, bleeding wound in the older couple's hearts, and looking at Heena now, their eyes were filled with an agonizing, desperate kind of expectation.
This was the profound difference between the ruthless, backstabbing nobility and the commoners of the East Market. Down here in the dirt, people became family in the blink of an eye.
Heena let out a soft breath, her pitch-black eyes entirely losing their cold edge.
"Why only father?" Heena asked, tilting her head. "If you are officiating, you should also be prepared to act as a strict father-in-law to the groom."
