“That’s...” I muttered but felt too tired to go on.
He was right in the strictest sense that I wasn’t married, yet it didn’t feel like he was right. I never thought that the prince would demand sothing like this from .
“I’m sorry but I don’t think I can go through with this. I might not be married but I’ve taken my sister’s place in her marriage,” I reminded him.
“I don’t see how that is an issue. I’m asking you to play my girlfriend as Dahlia and not as Diana,” he replied with a careless shrug of his shoulders.
It just didn’t make sense. Back then, the prince asked to date him so that he could get out of his impending engagent with a few potential marriage candidates. I could understand him back then, he was young and had absolutely no interest in marriage. However, directly turning down the various requests for a politically arranged marriage wasn’t possible.
Being in a relationship also wasn’t enough to stop the engagent talks from going forward because everyone would assu that his relationship with any girl would not last and would not pose a problem to the engagent and marriage to be held in the future. To solve his problem back then, the prince had to find a way to make the other party withdraw their marriage offers and I happened to be the solution that the prince had co up with.
“Things are different now. Are you sure that you’re not making a mistake about all this? Back then, it made sense for you to go out with to cause a scandal that would turn off all your potential brides but if you make the sa move now just when you’re about to beco the next king, things might not work in your favor. Please reconsider...” I pleaded with him.
“My father is going to die soon. Things won’t turn out how it did back then, Dahlia,” Desmond said solemnly before he smiled a little my way.
The king is going to pass away soon?
I was rendered speechless with this new piece of information. Without any updates from the palace in the news, I had just assud that the king’s condition had stabilized. Apparently, I was wrong and had no choice but to take the prince’s word for it. Not surprisingly, Desmond didn’t seem emotional about his father’s impending passing. I was reminded of how complicated his relationship with his father was.
“He’s not in the condition or position to devise another plan to deal with you,” Desmond told bluntly.
“But Dahlia can’t co back here. I’m not supposed to be back here,” I continued arguing.
“But you’re back here. You’re already back here. This ti won’t be like last ti, Dahlia, please trust . I’ll make sure to protect you properly,” Desmond said in an almost pleading tone.
I wasn’t sure why Desmond had suddenly started getting so emotional about this when our negotiation was supposed to be transactional and based on our mutual benefits. If the terms made sense to both of us, then we would have a deal. That was how it was supposed to be back then as well, although, if I had to be honest, there was a part of that sympathized with Desmond and wanted to help him.
“It was the king that chose to banish . Even if everyone tried to disguise it as sothing else by trying to tell that it was better for and that I had a choice...I knew what it really was...” I said softly as I tried to keep my voice from breaking.
In the end, even the king chose to put the bla on and deed that I was more trouble than I was worth. Although I felt that it was unfair, I couldn’t quite bring myself to get mad at the king for what he did. I felt disappointed but that was pretty much it. I could understand that the king had no choice but to put the future of the royal family and his son first. Viewing it from that point of view, after all was said and done, sending off to another country on a one way trip with no return must have been the easiest way out for everyone. I smiled a little to myself while thinking that I did learn many valuable lessons from my past.
“If it brings you any peace or reassurance, the king that you’re talking about is barely conscious anymore. He’s slipping in and out of consciousness and probably no longer knows who he is anymore. I’ve been filling in his shoes for a while now. I’m like the king now, and soon, it will be made official when my father passes away,” Desmond tried desperately to explain.
“That’s not the issue...” I muttered while wondering why he was being so adamant about this.
“I’ll bring you back. You can co back as Dahlia. You can get your life back,” the prince said as he reached across the table for my hand.
I don’t want to do this...
I pulled my hands away before he could touch it. Even though I felt very confused about what he really wanted and why he was suddenly making these demands, I wasn’t at all confused about my feelings. Most of all, the thought of getting my old life back never crossed my mind. I wasn’t sure if that was because I had always thought that it was impossible so I never really thought about it or if it was because I truly didn’t want to get my life as Dahlia Alnault back.
“You can use soone else, Your Highness. It’s just as I told you before. Using will only cause you more trouble and damage your reputation. I’m sure that there are so many qualified ladies out there that are more than willing to take my place,” I said firmly.
We locked eyes and I could tell that he was far from being convinced. I couldn’t understand him and I began to feel so frustrated
“You might be right, but what about you? Let’s assu that you’re not willing to help out and I choose another woman instead of you, what will happen to your plan? Can you use soone else for your plan instead of ?” he asked before grinning wryly at .
–To be continued...
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