Emery: A Prince's Adventure novel Chapter 5

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.