The Royal Contract

Chapter 928: Pulling the plug

“Sir, Lance. Your fiance is here to see you.” A professionally dressed woman entered his office, interrupting his meeting with Lord Fordshire.

He looked away from the Kingdom official in charge of their treasury and the north portion of their land. Then, he focused his eyes on the distraction by the door.

“Tell her that I am in a meeting.” He told his secretary irritatedly as he continued his discussion about their Kingdom’s finances, dismissing her.

As the upcoming King, he was slowly getting acquainted with the current issues he had to deal with once he sat on the throne. Fortunately, King Edward managed the Kingdom well during his reign.

He did not see a significant problem he had to inherit with the crown. He was lucky that King Edward and his brother, Duke Frederick, had ruled with the people in mind and not their interests.

“But...” His secretary continued without moving from her spot, but she stopped when she saw his annoyed expression.

The last thing he needed at the moment was to meet with his fiance and talk about the wedding. He had left all the decisions for the ceremony to the coordinators. He did not want to bother himself with the details, believing it would be wasting his time.

.....

“Tell her to make an appointment with you when I have an available time.” With the King pressuring him to get married soon and take over the throne, he had little time to go over all the details of his responsibilities.

Unlike Prince Edward and Prince Alex, he had not undergone the extensive training of taking over the crown as his cousins did. After all, he was the unlikely candidate to sit on the throne.

But before his secretary could say anything else, the woman in question appeared at his door and marched inside. His secretary tried to stop her, but his unwanted guest continued until she stood before him and his guest.

“You have to stop avoiding me,” Camille spoke in a barely controlled voice, demanding his time, but she was ready to explode. “We could not keep delaying the wedding.”

She had become the laughing stock among her friends and their society when her supposed wedding date kept moving around. She could still hear one of the questions asked by a reporter.

“Is the wedding still on?” The media man with his camera ambushed her that morning. Of course, she smiled and answered that it was. She had no choice but to make a silly excuse about a delay in some of the preparations.

But it was a degrading experience since she did not come up with the decision to tie the knot with him. She might have agreed with the arranged marriage, but not to the humiliation.

If he could not honor their agreement, maybe it was better to get out of this arrangement while she still could. She knew marrying him should be a great honor to their family, but to what extent? But could she back out of it?

“Hi, Camille. Can we do this another time? As you can see, I am in the middle of something.” Lance barely glanced up at her before he continued to read the chart on his table.

He knew he was trying hard to be harsh to her. She did not deserve it, but he did not like to make a wrong impression. He did not want her to fall for him and expect that he would also love her.

“No, Lance.” She finally lost it. “We are talking about this now.” She did not care if there were other people in the room. She would allow him to ignore her this time.

She moved closer to the table where Lance was sitting and stood straight with her hands on her waist. She was not leaving until they had dealt with the problem he kept avoiding.

“I think I better reschedule our meeting later, Prince Lance.” Lord Fordshire felt that his presence was unnecessary in this discussion. “It is nice seeing you, Ms. McKinley.”

The Lord stood up from his seat and quickly gathered his things. He could see that it was a conversation that needed a little privacy. He did not want to get stuck in the middle of a pending fight.

“I am sorry about this, Lord Fordshire. I will have my secretary call you for a better time.” Lance stood from his seat and assisted the older nobleman outside his office doors.

Then, he turned around to face his fuming fiance. But he was also annoyed due to her lack of respect for his time. Not because he was marrying her, she should use it to barge into his office without his permission.

He had to point to her that she could not act like a spoilt brat, especially when she was about to become his Queen. She had better learned her limitations, especially when he became King.

“Can we now talk?” Camille sat on one of the chairs as she tried to calm herself down.

She knew it was wrong to march into his office like that. But she had enough of him brushing her off as if her concerns were insignificant. Admittedly, she was doing this because of what it would bring to her family.

But she was not a terrible person for forcing Lance to marry her. She was following her obligation to her parents. As much as she wanted to lead her life the way she wanted it. She could not. It was not an option for her.

So, as much as she wanted to get out of this marriage, that was not possible. Her father pressured her to demand the soonest possible date for the ceremony.

“Do I have a choice?” Lance answered her sarcastically as he moved to the side of the bar to pour himself a glass of strong scotch.

He did not usually drink in the morning since he always wanted his mind clear when working and driving. But lately, a bottle of scotch seemed to be his only friend.

It was the only way he could go through the day without losing his mind. He was not yet an alcoholic, but at the moment, he needed it more and more, especially as the wedding and the coronation came closer.

“Well, you can end this marriage if you found me so abhorring,” Camille shouted, not liking his words and tone of voice.

She knew she should not dare him to back out of the wedding. Her father would disapprove of her actions. But she had enough of him being so mean all the time.

“You know what. Let me save you the trouble. I will tell my father to end this charade and to tell your father to find another woman who would put up with you.” She stood up from her seat and turned around.

She was ready to walk out of there and be done with it. She believed it would be better to deal with her father’s wrath than spend eternal suffering married to this man under his roof.

Then, she moved toward the door.

“Stop!” Lance did not shout, but his voice had an authoritative quality that made her halt in her tracks. “Camille. I am sorry. You are right. We should talk.” Then, his voice shifted to a lighter tone.

She wondered what had changed his mind, but she was glad. Despite her resolve, she was still afraid of what her father would do to her if the wedding did not push through.

She knew her father would not take it well, and he would put all the blame on her. She doubted if she could take another of her father’s punishments. She wished her mother was still alive, but all she had now was her ambitious stepmother, who could care less about her.

To her father and stepmother, she was a commodity they could sell to the highest bidder. But, of course, they hid it in the guise of an obligation to the family. After all, she still had younger siblings to think of since this was not just about her.

“‘So, what is the problem?” He had to ask since he had no idea what was happening with the wedding.

He knew he should be happy that she was backing out, but it would be short-lived. Soon, his father would have someone else lined up to take her place. Would it be better or worse? He had no idea.

But Camille seemed to be a good person. Maybe he was better dealing with her than another girl he did not know. So, he had better fixed his act and worked on making this work, even civilly, if he had to because the other option seemed worse.

“We still need a date. You have to sit down with me and discuss when our wedding will be.” Camille pointed out the issue.

They could keep planning and organizing, but without a definite number in the calendar. It would remain an imaginary wedding.

She sat down with him and waited. She noticed that he was contemplating the issue but did not respond immediately. However, she was not leaving without his answer, or else she was pulling the plug.

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