Chapter 4 The Futile Effort

• Chapter 4: The Futile Effort
• Diana barely managed to control herself; it would have been embarrassing if she choked in front of the royal family. "I’d been noticing these past few days that my son had been talking and laughing with someone at night. When I did some research, I found it was Diana. You make Ivan really happy."
• "Suzanne told me about you and we arranged a meeting. I wanted to see if you are a fit for the royal family. But as you easily impressed the queen, I don't think I have to check anything," said Devin, the king. He wanted to say something else but he had to check the wits and intelligence of the girl before continuing.
• Diana replied, "No, Your Majesty. This is not true. I and Ivan, we are not in a relationship. We are just friends. This is all a misunderstanding."
• "The queen can never make mistakes, Diana," Merida, her mother said with a smile. "It’s okay, dear. You don’t have to hide it anymore."
• Diana leaned towards her mother and whispered, "Mom, this is all a misunderstanding. Also, they cannot like me just because of my picture. I am not perfect for a royal family." She was trying to reason out the facts, which was heard by Suzanne.
• Sharing an already impressed look with the king, Queen Suzanne said, "It’s okay. None of us are perfect. We portray our lives as perfect and gradually, it really runs perfectly. You have the same potential as us. And we will appoint a trainer for you who will teach you everything about being a royal." Then Suzanne glanced at her son and let out proudly, "You made an awesome choice. I love her. This is the girl I was looking for. I approve of your relationship."
• "I have no problems either; she seems good. She's now royally chosen. There's no turning back." Devin smiled warmly at the couple.
• "I also don't have a problem." Merida admired the two sitting next to her. "I cannot believe my daughter found the perfect guy."
• "What relationship? We are just best friends. Tell them, Prince," Diana whispered.
• Ivan groaned. "How am I supposed to tell them? You told them and they didn’t trust you. You're now royally chosen. We can't back out anymore."
• "Great. So now we're stuck together because I am royally chosen?"
• They both exhaled a gust of air, their eyes locking together as they shook their heads. This set up shouldn't be happening at all. It was merely a misunderstanding.
• "We will discuss the wedding date later on. Let's enjoy this moment now," Suzanne said and everyone continued eating lunch.
• Ivan and Diana didn't say a word, silently clicking their forks. The news had hit them hard. What were they supposed to do now?
• The chatter of their parents and clinking of utensils served as Diana and Ivan's excuse to stay quiet all throughout the meeting. They remained this way till the king said, "Everyone is going crazy finding out who the lucky girl is. We should reveal it to them."
• "No!" Diana blurted out before the word registered. If everyone got to know, the news would also reach her boyfriend, Aiden. What would she tell him?
• "Why not?" Suzanne glanced at her suspiciously.
• "I will talk to her privately. She seems shocked by the sudden surprise," Ivan announced, grabbing Diana's hand and pulling her into a corner away from prying eyes.
• "Calm down," Ivan scolded. "I will tell my mother the truth after I reach home. There has to be some way out of this setup."
• "If the news spreads, what will I say to Aiden? What will you say to Rain?" Diana spread her arms in panic. "They will hate us forever.We can’t let this be happening to us. Our lives will be completely ruined. Why the hell did you not tell me you were the prince?"
• "Look, Diana, I didn't want to lose my only friend. I am sorry for hiding the truth. Don't worry. It's my mistake, and I will solve it."
• "What if I say that I am not ready for this wedding? They will respect that, won't they?"
• Ivan sighed. "I wish it worked that way. Once you are chosen by the king and the queen, you have to abide by them. You can't say no."
• Diana felt like crying at that moment. "What if you say no? You can do that. You're the prince!"
• "I will talk to my mom. We cannot get married."
• Diana took a deep breath and nodded, sniffing to control her tears. They returned to their table, but it was empty.
• "Your Royal Highness," the waiter cleaning the table greeted. "His and Her Majesty are outside, along with their guest."
• Ivan and Diana went outside. Mentally, they were praying for everything to turn okay. They never thought their friendship would be converted into something like an arranged relationship.
• "The queen should have talked to you first," Diana mumbled to Ivan as they headed outside. "If my mother told me the reason, I would have flown back to the United States and stayed there forever."
• "Mom told me she wanted to give me a surprise," Ivan admitted. "Trust me; it's worse than getting electrocuted."
• "Same. My mom said it was an emergency, so it made me run back as soon as possible. Now I regret it."
• "No wonder you came back. It was their plan," he murmured.
• As soon as they threw back the doors, flashing cameras blinded and blinked over them. Thousands of clicking was heard all throughout the driveway and streets. The paparazzi surrounded them.
• "Is it her? The royally chosen Princess?"
• "Your Highness! Is she the one?"
• "Move! I can't see—Prince Ivan—!"
• "Shit," Ivan hissed.
• Their worst fear came true. They were being streamed live on the television together, something they wanted to avoid. Diana tried to put on a fake smile in front of the reporters and the paparazzi as cameras were directed towards them, mumbling, "Double shit."