Five

Emma

As I continue on scrolling down my phone while we cue at the airport, my mother continues to talk about how she doesn't exactly understand what exactly is going on but I pay no attention because I don't want to trouble my mind with regrets that I can barely resist. I may letting go the chance of a lifetime but if it doesn't include happiness, I won't participate. 

''Can I at least know why?'' She asks, making me turn to face her and see the look on her face—it shows confusion. Deep inside, I know I would be the same if I'm in her shoes; I would want to know. 

''There's nothing to know,'' I reply, dropping my phone inside my handbag before putting both of my hands in my coat's pocket. Honestly, I don't want to tell about what happened yesterday to her even though I know that she deserves to know because she's my mother and she came here with me. Leaving without a reason is definitely confusing for her but my reason is enough for me to leave. 

My mind can't seem to forget the words he said yesterday and he didn't deny it either when we were talking. He kept his word, he did book a flight for both mum and I for our return to New York. The queen was surprised to hear my decision but she didn't stop me because she knew, her son doesn't even want to marry me. We don't want to marry each other. 

''There's nothing wrong with Emma. She's a wonderful person and I'm very sure that she has a pure heart but it's not something that I can force upon myself. I can't love her, mother. When I look at her, I just don't see myself loving her in a way that a husband should love his wife—in fact, I don't see myself loving her in anyway possible.'' The way he spoke, showed determination. 

I let out a deep sigh before glancing down at my wrist watch, wanting to get out of England as soon as possible and without a second thought of this place. My new plan is to get back to New York, probably spend a couple of days trying to make my priorities straight and my feelings stable before finally going back to the restaurant to start dealing with the business again. 

It may sound like a perfect plan but plans can be ruined by unexpected people. Happens all the time. Mum might come and try to force me to leave the house just so that we can go back to England but I won't be taking any chances coming back here; I don't feel like there's a purpose. We came all the way from New York just to hear myself getting rejected and it wasn't even at my face. 

My heart continues on saying that it doesn't matter and it doesn't bother me at all but deep inside, I want to know if he even thinks of me as someone who's beautiful. I want to know why he doesn't want to try and give in for once just so that there's a chance for our relationship to work out—everyone starts as strangers and we can probably begin there. 

Like I said, Emery and I are two different people. He's the prince and I'm just a city girl with a business to run instead of a country. He deserves someone better and with a high status other than me because look at him, he's like the definition of perfection. The way he look, stand, talk and even move, it contains power and grace. 

''There's obviously a lot of things to know, Emma. You just don't want to tell me, that's all. You want to keep it to yourself and I don't blame you for that but I have the right to know if you decline the marriage or even the engagement—is there something that you don't like? What happened with Emery last night? Did he say something hurtful?'' She continues to ask which makes me let out another sigh—she pisses me off sometimes and I just wish I can block my ears for a few hours until she finally stops talking but I can't do that so it irritates me. 

''You said that we have a choice. What I'm doing right now is choosing my choice so I'm not looking back because that's far from what I have in mind,'' I reply. 

''I want to know the reason behind this.'' 

She starts to stand in front of me as she looks at me dissatisfaction so with another sigh, ''He doesn't want to marry me. I don't want to marry him. We don't want to marry one another and from that, it shows how our marriage will never last. I don't want to be forcing myself to love or even like him so the only way to not regret afterwards is to walk away, leave everything behind and start fresh.'' I say. 

''That's not even a great explanation,'' She mutters. 

''There doesn't need to be an explanation, mum. Just know that this is my life and my choice so you have to accept everything without saying how I will regret this. I might regret this one day but that's life, you just got to move on and forget the unnecessary details of your life.'' I say, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. 

When I see that she's looking at something behind me, I turn to follow her gaze—surprised to see Emery standing there, looking straight at my face. My eyes widen slightly at his presence before he continues to walk closer towards me until we're close enough. 

His light brown eyes are buried deeply into mine without a sign of looking away. Even though I still feel slightly uncomfortable under his gaze, I pretend to not care and just look back; wanting to show how he doesn't have any effects on me even though he brings me all sorts of feelings in my stomach. 

My mother clears her throat as she makes her way towards the restroom, leaving Emery and I standing awkwardly close to each other while we just try to calm ourselves down. He's probably thinking in his head while mine remains blank and confused. Due to his gaze, I know that he's here for something, probably wanting to clear things out but I don't know, I can never be so sure. 

''What are you doing here?'' I ask, breaking the silence between us. 

He clenches his jaw, ''I came here to explain things to you before it's too late and I might not see you again. I hope that you'll give me a few minutes to talk, then you can make your own decision, I'll accept.'' He replies, glancing for a few seconds at the surroundings around us. 

Some people are glancing towards our direction, probably wanting to confirm themselves about the figure in front of me. It's their prince and they don't seem to notice much—but I don't bother think about it. There's a lot more worth thinking about than that. They can waste their time for all I care.

''I don't really think there's anything much to explain,'' I mutter.

''Look, Emma. I'll just be honest with you because that's what I'm good at, being honest. I know that you heard everything that I said with my mother last night and that's probably the reason why you're leaving. I would too because who would want to stay when the other person doesn't even care or want our presence, right?'' He starts before he clears his throat, ''But the thing is, you're the only one with a choice in our situation.'' 

My eyebrows furrow in confusion as I take a better look at his face, trying to seek for lies. 

''What do you mean?'' 

''You can leave this country and never come back. Then, you will meet someone out there before you actually choose to settle down with him—have a family and all that stuff or you can stay here, continue on this agreement that our great-grandfather decided to make for the sake of their friendship and marry me. From there, we'll see how it'll goes.'' He speaks. 

''That doesn't explain why i'm the only one with a choice here,'' 

Emery sighs, ''You're the only one allowed to marry someone else other than me. In the agreement, it states that I am allowed to marry only you and take the throne but if you disagree, I am not allowed to marry anyone at all until the day I die. With no heir or throne, my family are left with nothing except for our fortunes,'' He continues; making me frown at the difficulty of our situation. 

If I leave and choose to not marry him, he will not be allowed to marry anyone else because that is what stated in the agreement. He will also not have an heir—due to the fact that he will never get married so he will lose everything that has been going through his family for generations. On the other hand, if I stay and choose to marry him, he will step up for the throne once it is time and I will be his rightful queen. 

We both look into each other's eyes, probably thinking of what can possibly happen.

My throat suddenly feels dry due to the fact that his future depends on my choice. How can that even be possible? It's highly impossible. He's the prince, for god's sake, he is allowed to marry whoever he wants but due to the stupid agreement that was made centuries ago, his choice is limited—it all depends on me. 

''What do you choose?'' I ask, my voice low but loud enough for him to hear.

''Is that the prince?'' We both hear someone say from afar but Emery keeps quiet, only focusing on me without looking back. 

''Do you choose me?'' He asks, leaving me in utter confusion. 

''I don't know,'' 

To my surprise, he goes down on one knee, earning almost everyone's attention. Within seconds, most of the people here start to realise that he's actually their prince. I look down at him before glancing around the airport, seeing that people are muttering words that I can't comprehend as they look at us in surprise. They've never seen or heard about me before and all of a sudden, their prince is kneeling to an unknown girl.

Emery furrows his eyebrows, ''I don't really have a ring with me but uh, either way I'm still kneeling. You can walk away and leave or you can accept me and we'll get this over with. So, Emma, I barely know anything about you because we met yesterday and it's really unrealistic for me to be proposing to a woman I barely know but when I first laid eyes on you, I saw a very beautiful woman—not the prettiest but you are very beautiful. I don't know what else I'm supposed to say and this is probably the most horrible proposal but Emma Faye Parker, will you or will you not marry me?'' He says, causing me to continue on staring at him blankly. 

My lips curve up into a small smile, seeing that he's actually putting zero effort into the so-called-proposal but I don't really mind. He's correct, we barely know each other and if he goes down with a cheesy proposal, it wouldn't sound real—it would sound like he's not sincere. 

''Well, I feel sorry for you to die as a loner so yes, Emery France Van Allan, I will marry you.'' I reply with a playful smirk on my face which causes him to smirk back before standing up, clearing his throat. 

From the side, I see my mother wiping tears from her eyes as she smiles widely at me. When my eyes wander around the airport, I see that people are starting to clap for us as they watch us with awe and adoration. Emery on the other hand, continues to look at me, ''Don't worry, they didn't hear my proposal so you're the only one who knows how stupid it sounded.'' He says. 

''Good to know,'' I mutter.

Then, he looks down at me before I start to look up at him once more. All of a sudden, he gives me his hand as a sign for me to take it—which starts to make my heart go wild. Within seconds, my hand is already placed on his, letting me feel sparks overflowing my whole body; yet I still wonder if he feels them or not. 

''How did you know my full name, anyway?'' I ask.

He smirks, ''How did you know mine?'' 

Once we're back at the castle, I am surprised to see the queen standing in the middle of the stairs before she starts to pull me into a hug—surprising me once more. When she pulls away, her eyes are filled with tears as she glances towards her son for a few seconds. I only smile at her; not really knowing how to react. 

Emery walks closer towards me before leaning in a bit, ''Come with me.'' He says. 

My mother and the queen starts to make their way inside the castle while Emery and I walk towards the back—nearing the other garden around the castle and entering a place filled with flowers, leaving a scent. I look around in awe, loving the surroundings before I finally see a white bench in the middle near the fountain which is currently occupied by Emery. 

I sit right next to him, keeping the distance unoccupied. 

''We actually have a lot to talk about but it's not really a serious matter. Just some stuff that we should know about each other for the sake of ourselves and our—whatever,'' He says. 

I take a better look at him, ''Do you want to get to know me, Emery?'' I ask and surprisingly, I see his cheeks flush a slight pink that's almost fading within seconds. 

''Well, I don't intend on being stuck with a stranger for the rest of my life. Don't you think it's a little bit important to not skip the get to know each other part?'' He glances at my direction for a few seconds before looking at anything except for me. 

My lips curve up into a small smile, ''There's not really much to know about me, honestly. I don't have a story to impress or surprise you because I'm just a normal boring girl with a normal life until the day I know that I've been engaged to a prince ever since I was born—which I find very unbelievable.'' I reply with a sigh. 

He looks at me for a few seconds, ''I'll begin then. The reason why I said that I just came back from Melbourne was because I've been living there ever since I was eighteen so I barely remember much of what happened here in England. Most of the people there doesn't know about me because I'm rarely in the news or anything. My life was just like yours and any other people. I must say that I really like it, I prefer it, actually.'' He says, looking down at the nearest flower. 

My mind starts to think about his past girlfriends. He must have one or used to have one. I thought.

''I don't have a girlfriend, if that's what you're wondering about. I never really even have a girlfriend before because I choose to not be serious with someone. It's a good thing I didn't, I wouldn't have a choice with her anyway. So, instead of having a relationship with someone, I only have the perks.'' He says, looking straight into my eyes. Then, we stay quiet for a few seconds, ''What about you?'' 

I look down at my fingers, ''I used to have a boyfriend but only back in high school. He broke my heart pretty bad so I didn't really give a chance on liking or loving someone. I focused on my studies and my career instead of on myself because I know that it won't worth the time anyway or even the effort, sometimes people just don't appreciate me.'' I reply, ''He was shitty anyway,'' I add.

He chuckles at my language. 

My eyes can't stop looking at him even from the side because I still see the smile on his face even though it's not as wide as it might count as him being happy but there's something than nothing. He continues to look down, playing with the ring on his finger—probably one of those family rings. Then, to my surprise, he looks up, meeting my eyes instantly. 

My brown eyes are looking back at his without a single blink preventing me from doing so. He doesn't show any signs of looking away either and I take that as a good thing—for now. Other than that, he doesn't seem to lean in and try to steal a kiss as he just stay still at his spot, cherishing our eye contact. 

I feel something cold touches my skin and I look down to see him sliding in an engagement ring on my finger, causing me to look down in surprise. Within seconds, I am looking up at him once more, seeing him focusing on the ring down on my finger—surprisingly, the ring fits perfectly fine. 

''I tried it on my pinky finger, I'm surprised that it fits.'' He mutters, loud enough for me.

As I glance one last time at the ring, I find him standing up, putting both of his hands in his jeans' pocket as he looks down at me—meeting eyes once more, ''I'll see you later, Emma.'' He says and I just continue on looking at him until he's finally out of sight; leaving me sitting here and admiring the engagement ring. 

If a ring fitted a guy's pinky finger and also fitted a girl's ring finger, they are match made in heaven. My mind replays back the words that mum once said when I was little, leaving me staring at the ring once more.