Three

Emma

It has been a week since the talk with both mum and dad. I took the whole week to really sort things through without hesitation because I want to figure things out instead of keeping them. Due to that, I guess it has been working for me to choose.

Apparently, mum booked the flight ticket earlier than I thought she would. She told me that she knows how I'll think through it and accept sincerely but then she also told me that there was also a high chance of me declining. That's the truth; I was considering declining but like Jace said, why not give it a try other than living in regret. 

''You could be wrong,'' I say, turning to look at her. 

Her lips curve up into a small smile, ''I could but you're here with me—in England, fulfilling your fate. No one can run away from everything, right Emma?'' She replies, putting on her lipstick before eyeing her lips in the mirror. 

I glance one last time at the mirror before we start to make our way towards the exit and my eyes widen as soon as I see a black limousine parked at the front; grabbing everyone's attention at the sight of the two flags. My eyes wander around the tinted windows—trying to see if it's even possible for me to look inside but it's very impossible. 

Mum and I stand still, not really knowing what to do. 

''I thought we're getting a cab?'' I say, glancing at my mother and she nods, completely agreeing. 

To my surprise, a royal chauffeur starts to make his way towards us with a small smile on his face. He appears to be around his forties but still manage to look young. Within seconds, he has already grabbed both of our bags before placing them in the trunk and opening the door for us.

''I'm sorry but as my mother informed, we're getting a cab.'' I say, trying to make sure that he's not picking up the wrong person or anything because that's far from what I want at the moment. We're in a foreign country and we've hardly been to England before except for dad, he was born here. 

He furrows his eyebrows, ''I'm sorry miss but I was tasked to come and pick you and Mrs. Parker at the airport—as requested by the queen.'' He replies.

My mother smiles, ''Alright then, come on in, Emma.'' She says, getting inside the car while I stand still, watching her getting comfortable. With a sigh, I start to step inside—seconds before the chauffeur starts to close the door. 

I glance once more at my mother, seeing that she's eyeing the sparkling water, ''I can guess that you don't know about this but I could be wrong.'' I say, breaking the silence and earning myself a sigh from her. 

''Emma, I only arranged for our flight and our transportation which is clearly not this limousine. As far as I'm excited to meet the queen or my future son-in-law, I'm not as cruel as you think.'' She responds, choosing the mineral water instead before taking a sip.

I let out a deep sigh as I turn to look out through the window and realise that we're on our way to meet the queen and even the prince—my fiancé, that's what they call him. The whole ride is awkwardly quiet, I wouldn't dare to make a conversation with mother, who'll know what she will say. She's quite excited, I can see that and truth be told, I don't know what I should be feeling.

Excited or casual? 

Deep inside, I don't feel a thing except for this curiosity of how he looks like. He might be curious about how I look like too if he haven't seen any of my pictures but you can never trust a royal family when it comes to matchmaking, they have every information that's possible. I guess they're lucky in some ways. 

My eyes wander around the city of London and it somehow surprises me at the sight. I can't deny that this country is a beautiful country—it's also the place where mum and dad met during their first year of university. I consider London as their spot of love because this place has brought them together while New York has been a place that teared them apart. 

''Don't you miss this place?'' I ask her. 

I can feel her looking at me before I start to turn and see the emotions in her eyes, ''There are a lot of memories here in England and London is the very one of them. Your father and I met here, we spent our time here and we even declared our love here. You can pretty say that it sums everything. Emma, you should know that I still love your father but sometimes, it doesn't last forever.'' She replies. 

''Don't be like me. I let the man that I love go. I want yours to last with happiness and love—no pretending needed. If things don't work out the way you have in mind or planned, just tell me and I'll get you of here as soon as possible.'' She adds, pulling me in to snuggle and I quickly respond by kissing her cheek. 

I'm lucky to have a mother like her. This agreement has nothing to do with her, she doesn't force me into this. She may seem like she's choosing what's best for me and I guess that she wants me to try it out—probably I'll find love here and won't even seek for a new one back in New York. 

Ever since my heart was broken terribly, I had no desire in dating. I want a love that lasts till the end of my breath instead of a love that can hardly make it through the first stage. I don't want a love where it's filled with lusts but a love where it's filled with specialities. Honestly, I may not be an expert in love but I have my own concept. 

''We'll see soon enough,'' I mutter under my breath.

If only I have a sibling to pour my worries and sorrow, that would've been much better. Being the only child, it's not much of a joy sometimes. Yes, I can get anything I want because my parents love me very much that they'd risk everything but they also hope for everything when it comes to me. They have no other child to hope for. 

As soon as I see a glimpse of the castle, I immediately feel attracted to it. The way it beholds its beauty from afar, it's quite mesmerising—truthfully, it feels like a fairytale but everything feels real and the world is not only filled with happiness and happily ever after. There are endings, pains, sorrows and problems that only the strongest one can overcome. 

The car comes to a stop at the entrance of the castle before the royal chauffeur steps out, opening the door for mother and I. We both step out of the car, taking in the sight we both see with awe and respect. My eyes immediately focus on a woman with dark brown hair as she steps down from the stairs, a wide smile plastered on her face.

''Welcome, it's very lovely to finally meet you two.'' She says in her accent but by the way she talks and moves, it is full of poise. Then, her hazel eyes meet mine instantly, showing some sort of awe in them, ''Oh dear, you are a very beautiful young lady.'' She adds, grabbing onto my hand. 

I smile back at her, feeling my cheeks heat up within seconds. Mother stands beside me as she looks at me with a smile—then we were both invited to step inside the castle, making us take the view much more further and deeper. As soon as we stepped inside the castle, we were speechless. Everything seemed beautifully arranged and expensive. 

Now, we're in one of the rooms, where we're just standing in the middle. 

''It's very rude of me not to introduce myself, I'm Queen Genevieve but you can just call me Genevieve. Apparently, my son is quite late than usual—it's very rare of him to act this way, my apologies.'' She speaks which I respond with a smile; not really knowing how I should react with a royalty but to only keep my manners well. 

''I'm Julia and this is my daughter, Emma.'' My mother replies. 

''Of course, I've known her existence ever since she was born.'' The queen—Genevieve says before she starts to look up at the door but I stay still, not really wanting to turn around and see if it's her son.

The sound of the two doors opening start to bother my heartbeat, making it faster than usual. I immediately look down at the ground, playing with my fingers as I do so, wanting to make it seem less awkward than it already is, ''Emery, you're late.'' She says, showing an unpleasant look on her face as the footsteps get closer. 

''I'm sorry mother, I was out.'' He responds. 

At the sound of his voice, it's deep and husky which can be listed in one of the attractiveness in men article I read a few months ago. Genevieve smiles as she looks at me, ''Emery, this is Emma.'' She says, gesturing for me to turn around but my skin goes ice cold—showing how nervous I am. It's not the fact that I'm scared if he won't like me but I'm scared of the sight I will see. 

With full courage, I turn around, meeting a pair of light brown eyes looking back at me as he eyes my face. I manage to take a better look at his six foot two height and his well-built body because he seems to do the same but with a slight of respect. One word, gorgeous. That's all I can say at the sight of him. 

Well, there's more. He's beautiful, gorgeous, handsome and very good-looking. I think all of those are categorised in the same way but I can't help it. Maybe Jace was right, coming here isn't a bad choice—I can actually meet the prince up close and take in his beauty. It might be weird for me to drool or stare at his face so I look down, breaking the eye contact. 

''It's nice to meet you, Emma.'' He says with a small smile on his face. When he spoke my name, it felt like my whole body was being burned in fire. It glided off nice and I never seemed to have this much of an effect when it comes to people saying my name.

''Likewise.'' I reply.

The queen chuckles from behind, ''Now that's settled. Emery, would you care to show Emma around while Mrs. Parker and I have a little talk, getting to know each other.'' She says and I immediately look up at Emery—who seems to clench his jaw and fake a smile that I can very much notice. 

''As you say, mother.'' 

I turn to look behind and see my mother and the queen has made their way towards the other door, leaving the room as they are having their conversation. Now, it's only Emery and I; the both of us are drowning in the ocean of awkwardness. He looks down at my five foot five height, ''Shall we?'' He says, pointing at the door. 

I respond with a smile and we start to make our ways out, just walking down the big hallway. My eyes can never seem to look at him because I fear of getting caught; that would be very awkward. Even though we're walking side by side without uttering a single word, it feels like we're saying everything. 

''I just came back from Melbourne a few days ago, I'm sorry if I'm a little bit off.'' He breaks the silence. 

''It's alright. I have the same effect sometimes,'' I reply, glancing at his direction. 

We continue to walk in silence once more until we enter a different room where there are paintings hung on the wall. It doesn't take me long to notice a painting of Emery—he seems slightly different but even in the painting, everyone can tell how attractive and ravishing he looks, ''That's you.'' I say.

He turns to look at his own painting, ''That's me, a couple of years ago.'' He replies.

I nod, only looking around the room without uttering anything. When I turn to look at Emery, I see him looking at the painting beside his but I keep quiet, not wanting to invade his privacy—it might make him dislike me more if he already has. 

Surprisingly, our eyes meet once more but this time, I don't find the need to look away. We are staring into each other's eyes with thoughts in our head yet I can't really comprehend what those thoughts are. Even though my eyes are brown, yet I find his very warm and beautiful than any other brown eyes I've seen; including mine. 

''I—'' We both say at the same time which causes both of us to keep quiet afterwards. 

His lips are curved into a small smile, ''You first,'' He says.

''Well, just so you know, I was thinking really hard before I came here. If you think that I shouldn't be here, say it so I can leave. It wouldn't be much if I leave now because things won't be too complicated.'' I say and all he does is just looking at my face without saying anything for a few seconds.

''Your turn,'' I mutter after realising that he has not spoken a word. 

''That's far from what I want to say.'' He replies, slightly smirking as I watch him taking a few steps towards the side—providing distance between us, ''I heard that you own a restaurant.'' He adds.

My eyes widen before chuckling which earns his attention at the sound of my laughter, ''Yeah I do in New York and it originally belongs to my dad but he gave it to me—so I run it now,'' I answer, eyeing his every movement, ''What about you?'' 

''I'm sorry to say that I'm not that kind of guy but I own the country if that impresses you.'' He smiles, making me chuckle once more. Honestly, I wouldn't think of being very casual with him—we're actually chatting like normal people and I seem to forget that he's royalty. 

''That's the first,'' I mutter, realising that I'm actually speaking as if I've been with a lot of guys so I quickly look up at him—clearing my throat. It wasn't supposed to come out that way. 

His brown eyes are staring into mine, ''Do I have to worry about other men courting you?'' He asks, lessening the distance between us by taking a few steps forward. Due to our heights, he is currently looking down at me but for some reason, our heights are more likely perfect. 

We both end up staring at one another and I don't seem to mind either. Why would anyone mind if a charmingly beautiful prince stares at you for quite a long duration of time but you want to stare at him too and the best way is to just stare at each other? True. That's quite a statement. I thought.

''Do you intend on courting me?'' I ask.

''It won't take long,'' He replies. 

Within seconds, the two doors are opened from the other side, causing both of us to turn and look—seeing a man in his suit stepping in, probably one of the guards, ''My apologies, Your Highness but the king requests for your presence.'' He says, earning a nod from Emery before stepping out. 

Emery turns towards me once more, ''I'll see you around.'' He says and I reply with a nod as he starts to make his way towards the door, pulling it open before closing it behind him. I am left here standing all by myself until I decide to make my way towards the garden, unintentionally finding my way without trouble. 

Once I reach there, my eyes widen immediately, surprised to see my mother standing near the door and has a playful smile on her face. I place a hand on my chest as a reaction, ''Oh shit, you scared me.'' I mutter in a hurry. 

She laughs, ''You aren't easily scared, what's in your mind? How was he?'' She asks, pulling me close before closing the door and sitting on the nearest bench. We are both just looking at each other but from the look on her face, it shows that she had quite a pleasant conversation with the queen probably talking about an engagement or even marriage. That's just a wild guess. 

''How was who?'' I raise an eyebrow, trying to cover up the sudden nervousness. 

''Don't fool me, Emma. He must be very charming to have this kind of effect on you.'' She chuckles and I immediately feel my cheeks heat up in embarrassment—it's not due to Emery but being around Emery, it feels different. I'm not sure whether it's a good different or not and I can't seem to realise that. Staring into his brown eyes manage to make me feel lost because they are somehow filled with emotions and something else; something I can't comprehend. 

When we were talking, I can't help but feel nervous around him even though I might seem like I'm alright. His presence brought feelings that I haven't felt for awhile; the last time I felt it was in high school with some guy, should've known he was a waste of time and tears. 

Emery talked about courting and I can't be sure if he was serious or not because men tend to fool us around but instead of pushing me away or trying to take advantage, he actually said courting—which made me feel like I'm not even living in the twenty-first century.

''He's alright,'' I reply after minutes of being quiet. 

''Just alright?'' 

I turn to look at my mother, ''Well, he's a prince so you can guess what he is like. He's charming but I'm just guessing that being charming is in his nature, he was raised that way. A royalty is always raised to be charming and respectful. He was like that when we talked,'' I say. 

''That's quite true. We can hardly know if that was the true him or he was only pretending for the sake of his reputation.'' She agrees, looking at the fountain up front before letting out a deep sigh. 

''Exactly.'' I mutter under my breath, ''How was your talk with the queen?'' 

''We talked about your engagement with Emery and how to make it public. It's going to be one hell of an engagement, Emma. You can actually kiss your privacy goodbye because it's a dangerous world with the press and all, trying to get a bad side of you and she also told me that everything goes on well, the wedding won't take long to happen.'' She replies.

I let out a humourless chuckle, ''We arrived for a few hours and she already talked about the engagement. That's quite blunt,'' I say. 

''There will be a welcoming dinner tonight where the queen will invite a few of her friends including us. We're requested to come so that you can be seen with Emery—I can't say I agree but there's not much of an option.'' She breathes out, ''We're here now, might as well enjoy it before you make up your mind and start to run off.'' As she stands up, she starts to look down at me with teary eyes. 

''Mum, why are you crying?'' I stand up, pulling her close.

''Please don't run off, Emma. Even if you don't want this engagement or wedding to happen, tell me so that we can leave as soon as possible but don't walk away and never see me again—that's not what I want. I don't force you to stay and fulfil what has been destined for you because I'm giving you a choice, you deserve to choose your own life. If you also think that this kind of life doesn't suit you and that you want to find your own kind of man to marry, I'm always here to support you.'' She looks into my eyes and I can't help but pull her for a hug. 

''I'm not going anywhere,'' I whisper into her ear.

Once we head up to our rooms, I am surprised to see a big beige coloured box on the bed so I immediately make my way towards it before opening the box, seeing a dark red dress nicely placed in the middle with another small beige box and surprisingly, there are a set of earrings and a necklace—made from diamonds. 

My lips curve up into a small smile, knowing the fact that red is definitely my colour.