Sunday 10th June.
"Good morning, princess," everyone at the table greeted me; for once in my life, I wasn't late for breakfast; I needed a standing ovation.
"Morning all," I responded; Fred and his family were still around; how long were they going to stay before they left? This is a palace, not a refugee camp.
"Your majesty," the royal guard called from a distance. I'm here, and so are my parents. Who else could it... Wait a minute, gran? Is that even possible? What was she doing here?
"My baby," she said as she came closer to me.
"Gran gran" I dropped my cutlery as I went to embrace her with a warm hug.
"To what do we owe this wonderful visit?" Mom said.
"The good old days," gran said as she began to eat her meal, completely ignoring Mom's question.
"Diana, remember today we have to visit the orphanage," Gran reminded me; it was our tradition to do so every 2nd Sunday of the month.
"Yes, ma." It was going to be a stressful day, but mingling with the kids was worth every stress.
"I also heard that you and that your..."
"*Cough," Mom cleared her throat loudly, disrupting Gran Gran's sentence.
"I said, I heard you and your friend aren't friends anymore." I clutched my hands on my dress, and my cheeks lit up with a smile; I was trying so hard to hide it but to no avail.
"That's impossible, she is engaged to Fred," Hajara said angrily; his mom was so frustrating to deal with, didn't she hear me? The other day, was she deaf?
"Wow! I never knew they would come a day when a nonroyal would yell at me," gran remarked.
"Sorry, Your Majesty," Hajara apologized; between her and my mom, I wondered who was more aggressive; at least my mom was the Queen but, she was just an unemployed, lazy, power-hungry woman. I guess they were the same after all.
"I wonder what you all are even doing here," gran added.
"Diana, is the wedding still taking place?" Gran Gran asked me; she already knew it wasn't. I wonder why she decided to ask in public.
"No, it is not." I could hear a loud gasp coming from Fred's family side, None of them dared to speak, but I knew they had a lot to say.
What did they think? I wonder what lies they tell themselves to make them believe I would ever go back on my words.
"Good, I think we should announce that to the press today," Gran said.
"No such thing is happening. The wedding is still going to take place, and that's it," Mom spoke aggressively; it was as if she was fighting with someone.
I could feel their piercing gaze at me, especially from his mom, hajara; with the tension in the room, someone would think I killed a human being.
"No, it is not; the earlier you register that, the better for everyone," I responded to her.
"You whore" Hajara did not spare any sentiments, nor did she think about the consequences before she insulted, "So the news about you following that power-hungry man is true" Talk about projection; isn't she the only power-hungry person here?
"Enough," Dad said as the entire table went silent; he finally spoke up; I wondered when he came back from his journey anyway.
"Is that what you have to say? After hearing what they said about your daughter? I'm disappointed, and you should be punished for insulting the crowned princess." Gran held her ground in full support of me; I wish she had been here the other dinner when Dad wasn't around.
"Apologies to the princess, and let's leave it at that," Dad instructed.
"I am sorry," Hajara said with no remorse whatsoever; she even sounded angry.
"Didn't you hear her? She said she is not going to be part of the wedding, the same wedding I have invested millions of naira in; I am ashamed to call you my daughter," Mom continued to drag the matter.
"If she doesn't want to go on with the wedding, there is nothing we can do," Dad said.
"So you are going to allow her to embarrass me like this?" Mom was furious, and to add to her frustration, it seemed like Daddy was not on her side today.
"Well, she is an adult; allow her," he responded.
"Good, so we can go ahead with the announcement, not then," Gran-Gran said with a smile.
"How dare you?" Mom stood up from her seat. "This conversation is not over," she said as she stormed off to only God knows where.
"What is going to happen to us?" I could hear someone from Fred's family whispering in a sobbing voice that should teach them how not to leach on someone else's wealth.
"That has nothing to do with me" I made sure I responded to whomever made that comment.
"Hi," A text from Winter popped up.
"Hey, any problem?" I asked, this felt weird to me.
"No nothing"
"Good morning, my love; how was your night?" I wasn't expecting anything from him, what could this be?
"I am good, you?" I replied to his message.
"Hey princess, I couldn't stop thinking about you and the time we spent together yesterday. Do you want to grab lunch before I go back to Bayan?" he was traveling already. So soon? Why?
"Why are you leaving so early?" I asked.
"Fred, regarding the contract what was the outcome?" Dad asked as he tried to reduce the tension in the room.
"Well, I was the only one appointed, sir; according to the company rules, I was the only one qualified to work," Fred mumbled, so good things happen to bad people after all.
"What position were you given?" Dad asked as he seemed eager to know.
"The manager of the Loveland branch, thanks to the Queen." I don't think he deserves the position; I guess real talent sits where corruption exists.
"My dad wants me to close a deal for him in another city, and also, Mom's birthday is coming up this weekend," Winter texted back after what felt like an eternity, so family means a lot to him; that's lovely to hear.
"You should be thankful he even gave you that position," Gran chucked, and she was right.
"Thank you, ma," Fred replied; I can't believe this was the same man who yelled at me for giving Grace his laundry and not doing it myself; he should have cut the act now. It is becoming unbearable.
"You should've told me earlier; my day is already packed with activities." I had nothing else to reply to Winter's message with; I guess we wouldn't be seeing each other before he went.
"Well, I am...." Fred continued to mumble some gibberish as I stood up from my chair; I had had enough breakfast and gossip for the day.
"Make sure to be ready by noon, princess," gran said as I began to talk off to my room.
"Yes, ma," I said as I stormed off.