Chapter 10
**Petty decisions**
Marcus paced back and forth jamming his knuckles together as he pondered over how he was going to convince his daughter to marry a man she obviously hated, Megan walked into the study minutes later and placed a supportive hand on his shoulder before urging him to take the cup of coffee in her hands. He placed a kiss on her cheek and released a sigh of relief as the hot liquid coursed through his veins.
‘You should've never taken that deal'.
‘I know'.
‘She'll come around. They will both come around'.
He shook his head, ‘I know Liliana. She's as hardheaded as a damned rock, she'll never agree to marrying the—'
‘We could set them up again', Megan cut him off, ‘Let them talk one-on-one and get to know each other better. I'm sure they'll fall in love before you know it'.
Unbeknownst to both of them, Liliana was by the doorway eavesdropping on the conversation her parents were having—so this was her fate, she thought to herself, there was no escaping the house talk less of escaping the country, she was going to marry the one person she hated the most and there was nothing she could do about it, except—bingo! the solution finally popped into her head, she was going to make their lives a living hell until they have no other choice than to cut off the contract themselves on both sides.
‘Fine then', she muttered as she walked into the room, startling her parents who were shocked to see her, ‘I'll have a meeting with the prince and I'll get to know more about him....who knows we might even fall head over heels in love with each other'.
Marcus wasn't buying her compliance for a moment', ’Are you serious?? you'll have a private meeting with the prince?'.
‘If it means performing my duty as your daughter then yeah, I'll meet up with the prince—Goodnight'. She folded her arms and turned around, hiding the smug on her face as she made for her room. It was a petty decision she was making, one that would save her from marrying Adonis.
*******
‘You're lying'.
‘No I'm not your highness'.
‘She didn't agree to that'.
The butler sighed deeply, ‘Your father just received a call from Mr Brynn, saying that his daughter Miss Brynn would love to have private meeting with you. His Majesty, the king, has high hopes for this meeting as he thinks it'll bring you and your betrothed together for the sake of—'
‘That is common nonsense', Adonis interrupted with a scoff, ‘There is no way Liliana Brynn agreed to setting up a private meeting with me. It's not like her!'.
He dismissed the annoying staff before another word could come out of his mouth and slouched on the chair at a loss of what to do. Liliana was playing a game, a petty one at that, one that he couldn't lose no matter what. If a meeting was what she wanted then that was what she was going to get, he rose from his chair and left the room.
King Gerard was on the phone when his son walked into the study with a plastered scowl on his face. He hung up immediately and focused on Adonis who sat at the adjacent of his desk, tapping his feet impatiently on the ground which made Gerard's face loom with annoyance, ‘Is there something you—'
‘I agree to meet Liliana on one condition'. Adonis interrupted rudely.
The king didn't appreciate being cut off in such an impetuous manner, but he was willing to give his son a listening ear, ‘What condition?'.
‘You uplift the—'
‘If you think you're going to trick me into lifting up the travel ban on you then you must think I'm weak Adonis, I'm your father and I know how manipulative you can be', he chuckled, ‘You're not as smart as you think you are dear boy'.
Adonis frowned deeply as his father's chuckle turned into a full blown laugh of mockery. Another plan falling flat on his face all over again, he fumed as he stormed out of the study raking his hands through his curly hair and plopped down on his bed—the flashing image of Liliana's dress went through his head again, he tried to shake it off but it was already implanted so hard, so hard that it almost made him smile.
He hated her, hated her with every bone of his being but he couldn't deny that she had a face enough to make a man melt and she made many married man fawn tonight. He made a grunting sound as he turned on his side, trying his best to erase the image of his so called betrothed but it was all to no avail—she was a permanent pest in his head....a part of him liked it.
*********
She woke up an early bird and had breakfast before her parents could come down, took a clean shower and brought out one of her nicest dresses. She let her hair fall to her waist, it was in dire need of trimming but that wasn't the point at the moment—An hour later and she walked down the stairs clad in a black suede dress perfect for seduction, Marcus's brows puckered in surprise as his daughter was dressed like she was going out for dinner.
‘I thought you're meeting with the—'
‘I can't wait to get it over and done with Dad', she placed a kiss on his cheek and left hiding a smile. There was something really off about her and Marcus couldn't put his finger on it, still he signaled her personal bodyguard to tail her as she was a woman who was reckless beyond control...just like he once was in his early twenties.
Liliana rolled her eyes as her personal bodyguard tagged along a few feet behind before she went into the car. Her meeting with Prince Adonis was set for ten in the morning but she wanted to arrive an hour early, unfortunately she spotted a luxurious black car outside the Federal Palace hotel which looked like the exact same car she spotted when she was kicked outside the restaurant.
Adonis almost choked on his drink when she walked into the bar, he would rather die than let her see how bewildered he was over her beauty. So he scowled in the most displeasing way possible, a look that irritated Liliana on the spot as she sat next to him on the barstool, ordered a margarita for herself and ignoring him for the first thirty seconds.
‘You wanted to see me'.
‘Mmmh'.
‘Why??'.
‘Cause I wanted to', she shrugged, ‘Is it so bad to see the face of the man I want to marry?'.
She was taunting him in ways he didn't like, ‘Stop the games'.
‘What games your highness? our parents arranged a marriage and we clearly loathe each other', she muttered as she took a quick sip, ‘I just came here to let you know that I would make your life a living hell. Let's say I'm avenging the hearts of the women you broke without remorse....Brenda included'.
She was daring with a loud mouth, two qualities he hated in a woman but endeared to her somehow—now she was threatening him, in ways he wouldn't tolerate......so he made the petty decision to teach her a lesson, one that would make her regret talking to him in an impulsive manner.
‘I can have any woman that I want', He walks close to Liliana and whispered into her ear, ‘What makes you so special?'.
‘The fact that you can't have me'. Liliana responded and spat into his glass of champagne. Prince Adonis smirked and placed the glass on the waiter's tray....his decision was finally made, he was going to marry her.