If this man wasn’t born the crown prince and wasn’t next in line to the throne, I doubted that I would have let him live as long as he has. “We will not be attending the dinner,” I declared boldly. “Says who? You or Dahlia?” the prince asked carefreely. My eyes narrowed when I realized that he couldn't care less what I thought. In fact, had Diana not been married to Anthony, the prince probably would have addressed his invitation to only Diana and end up inviting only Dahlia to the palace. “Why are you so persistent about seeing her?” I asked as I tried to suppress my frustration. “Why can’t I see her?” he asked immediately in return.“Why must you see her?” I repeated my question again. There was a moment of silence from the other end of the line as if the prince was deciding whether or not to tell me a secret of his. “I miss her…” Desmond replied softly after a pause. “You…miss her?” I repeated his words questioningly while wondering if I had simply misheard what he said. A
Feelings of sorrow and regret filled my chest when I realized that I shouldn’t have harbored any hope that I could get away and meet the prince. I hoped that he knew that I did everything that I could to try to be there. Hopefully, the prince wouldn’t take this the wrong way because that might spell demise for my plan even before it had even taken shape. Suddenly, I heard sounds of men shouting and then there were lights in the near distant from the direction of the inner gates. My eyes widened in slight excitement when I thought that perhaps it was Bradon who had finally come home. Maybe he had changed his mind and was going to take me to the palace. “Wait here please, Diana,” Bella said sternly as she motioned with her hand for me to stay back. “What is going on over there?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes. It felt like something abnormal was happening and the way that Bella seemed alert and on edge was the confirmation I needed to know that what I thought was correct. There was t
His smile felt even more lively and attractive than I remembered. Tall, dark brown hair that appeared almost black with pale gray eyes, the crown prince truly lived up to the fairytale image of a prince. The gray suit that he had on matched the shade of his eyes and I was reminded once again why this man had long been one of the most desirable bachelors in the country. I hoped that it would remain that way and that he wouldn't end up getting himself killed. “You can’t hurt him. No one can hurt him! No matter what, you all can’t shoot Prince Desmond!” I yelled again while praying that Zain would listen to me. Zain didn’t shoot the prince but he didn’t make a move to lower his gun either. There was so much tension in the air and I was at a loss as to what I should do. These were Bradon’s men so they wouldn’t take commands from me that went against any of Bradon’s existing orders and rules. “Actually, I can…” an icy voice said. The sound of the car door slamming closed sounded so lo
Did he think that Bradon wouldn’t have the balls to shoot him?I wished that I had the luxury to think the same. While suppressing the burning urge to curse everything and everyone to hell, I continued appealing to Bradon with my eyes. “We won’t have dinner. Please let us talk for a while. That’s it. That’s all that I’m asking for…” I continued negotiating with him.I would continue negotiating and backing down step by step until I could make him agree. If he wouldn’t allow me to have an entire dinner with the prince, then I would just keep it to a short conversation. If he doesn't want me to leave the mansion, then I will beg the prince to talk to me in the mansion. Bradon remained silent but I could tell that he was considering my proposal. “I don’t need to go to the palace. We can talk here, if you’ll allow it,” I resumed my negotiation by taking even another step back. The prince smirked at me and I shook my head at him softly as I begged for him to remain silent and let me ha
I’ve waited far too long for this…The door closed behind us and then I heard the sound of the door knob locking. The room felt cozy enough and felt very suitable for a meeting that didn’t involve many people. Prince Desmond gestured with his hand for me to take a seat on the sofa. I didn’t think that I would feel this nervous in his presence but the way that my heart was racing in my chest told me that I was wrong. Although the prince’s presence wasn’t at all as intimidating as Bradon’s, his presence was commanding and that reminded me that despite the informal setting of our meeting, I was in the presence of royalty. “You don’t have to look so nervous,” the prince said to break the silence hanging in between us. I wished that it would be that easy. He offered me a smile that I felt looked very genuine and I ended up smiling in return. “I am nervous…” I replied honestly. “Is it because it’s been many years since we’ve met?” he asked before he smiled at me again. “Yes. Thank you
Celebrating the prince’s birthday was just used as another excuse for noble families and prominent businessmen to be in the presence of the king and the royal family. The crown prince is a few years older than Anthony but he was still not engaged. The other nobles in attendance made sure to stand close enough to my sister and me as they whispered their malicious gossip about us just loud enough to make sure that we could hear. “It’s a shame they had to get their daughter engaged to the son of the Vulkan family. I’m sure if she wasn’t engaged, she would be going after the crown prince right now.”“What are you talking about? There’s no way that the king will allow his son to marry a daughter from a simple noble family.”“That might be true. It’s too late now anyways because all they have left is that second daughter…”That second daughter…I guess that nobles were still kind in their choice of words because I had clearly been given worse nicknames than that. The whole political acts t
Even though the prince had addressed me informally, that didn’t mean that I had the right to speak with him informally as well. I became increasingly aware that I was alone in a room with the prince and that could lead to a troublesome situation, a scandal, and other issues that would require me to justify my actions or my lack of it. “We should head back, Your Highness. I was actually on my way back to the ballroom,” I suggested while trying to sound polite. “Why should we head back? Isn’t it boring there?” he asked bluntly. It is…but…“Of course not, Your Highness. It’s your birthday celebration so I think that you should head back…” I said before smiling brightly at him. “You looked so bored before while you were inside. I honestly thought that you wished to be somewhere else entirely,” the prince said before he smiled charmingly at me. I smiled back when I realized that he had just called me out for that sour look that I had on my face during his party. This was probably why
I had no idea why he felt that it was necessary to force my hand to that extent. What he did reminded me of why I hated royalty so much. Acting arrogant and doing whatever they pleased because they had the luck to be born into the royal family. Although they haven’t done anything to deserve such praise, they were comfortable living off the wealth and goodwill that their ancestors left behind. I stared silently at the very handsome man standing in front of me as I wondered just how spoilt and rotten he was. An exasperated sigh left my lips when I realized that it didn’t matter whether I liked the royal family or not because it wasn’t going to change the fact that Prince Desmond is the prince of this country. Whatever options I chose would favor him because naturally that was how the options had been designed. “Before I make my decision. I have a few questions for Your Highness,” I said. “Ask away,” he replied without pausing to think. “Why would Your Highness want to be involved in
I needed to leave him and as soon as possible, but I didn't know how I could achieve that. My past experiences have taught me quite directly that I couldn't truly run away from Bradon. Escaping from the mansion was unquestionably impossible. I could not run away, so that meant that I needed to get Bradon to agree to let me leave. My legs already felt weak, and I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and shut my eyes to escape reality. I knew that I needed to talk to Bradon about ending our fake marriage as soon as possible, although I had no idea how to bring up the topic. Something told me that it might prove to be difficult to get Bradon to agree, and there was always a risk that he might react unpredictably.However, if everything he did was simply him just acting out his role and his feelings for me didn't truly exist, then that might be the solution to all of my problems. If he felt no attachment to me, then he should have no problem letting me go just as planned. After all
The party ended early, yet it was quite eventful, at least for Bradon and myself. I felt like there was a storm raging inside of me all the while that we rode back to his mansion. It felt like there was something right at the tip of my tongue that I wanted to say, but yet I couldn't bring myself to say it. There were times when I thought that I fully understood myself and what I wanted, and yet at the very same time, I felt so confused and lost. The feelings that were struggling to take dominance inside of me did not make sense, and it made me feel as if my thoughts and my feelings were heading in the direct opposite direction of one another.Bradon's words of defiance as he confronted my father came back to me loud and clear:"Dahlia is not your daughter anymore, and neither am I one of the Vulkans. I will never let you take my wife..."I should have known that entering into this contract marriage with Bradon, while taking my sister's place, would somehow lead to blurring the line be
"But..." I mumbled, but I could not bring myself to say anything else when my eyes met his. His beautiful lips curved into a teasing smile, and there was a certain sparkle in the depths of his eyes that captivated my attention. That was when I knew that although he probably disapproved of what I had just done, there was a part of him that was actually quite pleased. I found myself smiling sweetly back at him like I was some fool."You hit me? You vile bitch! I'm your father. I raised you!" my father screamed at me at the top of his lungs. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who had forgotten where we were and the fact that we were surrounded by other high-profile guests who were attending the party."Dahlia, how could you do something like that? How could you hurt your father? We never raised you to become like this," my mother said, with clear disappointment and shock on her facial features."Really? Because here I honestly thought that I was already disowned. Well, to be more accurate
I was certain that just as many people hated her and blamed her for going against societal norms, there were probably just as many people who admired her, either openly or secretly as her fans. Perhaps to them, our sisterly duo act was the spice they needed in their endlessly boring lives."Don't you feel better from just seeing how everyone is welcoming us with open arms?" Diana continued before she raised her hand to wave at someone that she knew."Fine. I admit that you got your point across," I said as my eyes scanned the crowd that had gathered for the party. I could feel Bradon tensing at my side, and I knew that he had just spotted the two people that I least wanted to see at that moment. "Did you know about this?" I turned to ask Diana without hiding my shock."That they'll be here? I guess not, but why does it matter? You'd have run into them sooner or later. If you ask me, the sooner the better," Diana said with a careless shrug of her shoulders.I narrowed my eyes as I gla
"You should go to bed," Bradon told me the moment that we stepped into the mansion. I knew that his suggestion was spot on because sleep was exactly what I needed to deal with what was to come. The media and everyone had undoubtedly gone wild as they both communicated and speculated on what was the truth and what were twisted lies from all the events that happened in the past that I shared with my sister.I switched off my phone when it wouldn't stop vibrating, without bothering to read the caller ID on the screen. I could already guess who would be calling me and also exactly what they had to say."It feels like my head is ready to explode," I confessed before smiling weakly at Bradon."Which is precisely why you should stop thinking or caring about anyone else and just get some shut-eye," Bradon said as he peeled away the mobile phone that I held in my hand. I let him do so without putting up any resistance because all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and hide under the sheets wit
"My name is Diana, which can only mean that the Diana standing over there is, in fact, my twin sister, Dahlia. In fact, for the past months, I wasn't present, and the Diana that you knew had always been my sister acting out in my place," Diana explained as if it was something to be proud of.The crowd went wild, but I decided to focus my attention on the two figures that seemed so intent on ruining my life along with my sister’s. Our father had officially become our enemy, and at that moment, he looked like he might have started to regret pushing both of us over the edge. Mr. Malton, who, after all this time, clearly never regretted his actions and never realized that he should have been man enough to take responsibility. I was certain that even now, he was willing to destroy our reputation and our future—all for the sake of the money undoubtedly promised to him by our father. Desperate times truly call for desperate measures; that applied to our father but also to us as well.I could
I found myself praying silently that Desmond could bring everything under control, but my prayers probably fell on deafened ears. Instead of Desmond stepping up to the podium, it was my sister who approached it instead."What is she doing?" I asked in a shaky whisper as I felt myself breaking into a cold sweat. It felt like my eyes were about to pop out of their sockets as I continued staring in bewilderment and disbelief at my sister, who stood with a beautiful smile behind the podium, the microphone very close to her lips. I turned to stare at Desmond and managed to lock gazes with him. I could tell that he was staring right back at me, and the way he nodded his head reassuringly was supposed to bring me some relief and keep me at ease, but it only made me even more nervous.I could tell that everyone in the crowd was staring daggers at my sister, even from where I was standing. It wasn't surprising, considering that everyone thought Diana was me. It felt like tight knots had formed
Back to the present"Homewrecker! Homewrecker! Homewrecker!"The violent chanting continued and began seeping into my consciousness, dragging me back to the present. Disaster seemed to be staring me right in the face."Leya..." Bradon whispered my name right beside my ear.His presence close to me reminded me that, unlike that day back then, I wasn't alone. I had Bradon by my side, and, on top of that, everyone was here with me: Desmond and my sister. I suddenly felt a surge of confidence that made me believe that there could be a way out, one that would save us all from this dire situation my father had plotted against us.I had to admit that after leaving the country, I hadn't spared much thought for what would unfold after my departure. I never took care to follow up on any news-not that they would be made public-related to Mr. Malton's wife and child. I had no idea what happened to him or his family after that incident. My parents completely cut me off, and there was frankly no on
"What have you done? Have you completely lost your mind?" my father yelled at me immediately when our family was gathered in private. His face was completely red with anger as his voice echoed in the room. My mother looked like she was on the verge of tears, and I could tell that she was more worried about our family rather than her own daughter. "News of your ridiculous and scandalous behavior is now all over the place!" my father continued yelling. As if to drive his message home, his mobile phone began ringing non-stop. One glance at the name displayed on the screen drove my father to the brink before he switched off the phone and threw it onto the floor. My mother let out a scream at my father's sudden violent outburst before sinking down onto the sofa as if she had lost all strength in her body.I took the opportunity to slowly take a seat, and Diana was by my side in an instant. I knew that the best way to brave out this storm was to keep quiet and not let his words get to me.