A hand gently rested on his shoulder, stroking the back of his neck.
Albert looked up to see Wilhelmina Minna looking at him with deep affection.
“You’re here? What about the Alfaht envoy?” he asked, tightly holding her hands.
“The meeting was brief. I invited the envoy couple to the city hall ball, and they left happily. I came here because I was worried about you,” she said.
Albert kissed Wilhelmina’s hand. “The doctor performed a bypass surgery on him and installed a pacemaker just to be safe.”
“Is the problem serious?” Wilhelmina examined her father-in-law lying on the bed.
“He has a problematic blood vessel, but he’s not suitable for surgery right now. Perhaps when he recovers.”
“Don’t worry, darling.” Wilhelmina brushed her husband’s forehead. “We are the royal family; we can find the best doctors and hospitals for him.”
Albert smiled at her.
Wilhelmina leaned her head on Albert’s knee. “I’m sorry…”
“Willy…”
“Listen to me, Albert. I’m truly sorry about yesterday’s incident. I should have told you and worked on a solution together. I made a mistake by letting my emotions cloud my judgment, which made you worry and hurt your feelings.”
“Shh—” Albert embraced her. “Enough, my love, enough…”
Wilhelmina wrapped her arms around him and softly asked, “You’re not angry anymore?”
“I stopped being angry long ago.” Albert chuckled softly. “I don’t even understand why I was angry yesterday. I didn’t say anything too harsh to you, did I?”
“No, not at all.” Wilhelmina laughed, then remembered, “But you did say one wrong thing.”
“What?” Albert asked, puzzled.
“You said he would always be my best friend.”
Wilhelmina looked up from her husband’s embrace. “You were wrong, Albert. You are my best friend, my closest person. You are my husband…”
Albert cupped her face and kissed her. They held each other tightly.
After a moment, Wilhelmina whispered, “Angela suggested I shouldn’t take the initiative to reconcile. She said you should be the one to coax me.”
Albert laughed softly, “So why did you come anyway?”
“I thought, who cares? She’s not even married.”
