An Impossible Situation
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine. I’m just borrowing them for a little while and will return them when I am finished.
Author’s Notes- This is set near the end of The Royal Romance Book 2, Chapter One and is basically inspired by the fact that the plot is still forcing the MC to encourage Liam, even if she doesn’t want too. This features my Drake-loving MC, Amelia Grant, though it’s not really Drake/MC.
Rating- PG
Summary- Amelia deals with her mixed feelings as the engagement tour begins and the fact that there doesn’t seem to be any solution in sight.
Words- 703
I don’t want to do this, was all I could think as I let Liam into my room.
I’d thought I’d managed to put this moment off a little bit longer. Last night, I’d been relieved when Maxwell immediately raised objections to me meeting Liam on the balcony because it was the last thing I wanted to do.
It wasn’t that I was worried about Liam’s reaction. Or at least not in the way I should have been. I knew he wasn’t going to be angry at me, that he would know there was more to the story than the photos made it seem. I knew he’d be kind and that he’d have some reasonable excuse for choosing Madeleine and I just wasn’t ready for that…
I wasn’t ready to hear him tell me it would be ok, because I still hadn’t figured out how I was going to get myself out of this mess. Not the photos, I was reasonably confident that we would find whoever set me up and expose them because Bertrand was a force to be reckoned with. No, the mess I was referring to had started months earlier when I’d stupidly decided to come to Cordonia in the first place and ended up in a situation that I had no idea how to get out of.
This whole thing was supposed to be a fun adventure, a kick-start to my European backpacking trip. I never expected anyone to take me seriously as a candidate, especially not Liam and by the time I realized he was in love with me, it was too late. I didn’t know how to tell him I didn’t want to marry him, because hadn’t I already agreed to that just by participating in the social season? I had no one to blame but by myself and if I backed out, I would hurt and humiliate one of the kindest men I had ever met and I would also be letting my friends down.
But if I went through with it… Well, I didn’t see it working out because I was not Queen material and Liam deserved a wife that loved him like I never would. It seemed hopeless and then… Then suddenly the decision was taken out of my hands.
The scandal was almost a relief. He had chosen someone else, I was off-the-hook. At least in theory. I knew the truth was so more complicated than that.
And that was why I hadn’t wanted to see Liam last night now, why the sight of him standing in front of me filled me with dread. I listened to him explain, to assure me that he was only ever thinking of me and my safety and I thought again what a wonderful man he was. He just… He wasn’t the man I loved.
I tried to stay as neutral as possible as I responded to him, but I think he took my reluctance as hurt because he just promised me that he’d fix everything. I knew my worst fear was right: Liam still intended to marry me.
“I guess I should go,” he said reluctantly, looking at me carefully. I wonder if he expected me to kiss him or say something romantic, but I couldn’t even bring myself to form words, I just nodded.
“It will be ok, Amelia,” he promised, reaching out to squeeze my hand.
I almost flinched at his touch, but I forced myself not to because he didn’t deserve that. He was a good man, a wonderful man, and I hated to see him hurting like this. I hated knowing that I was going to hurt him even more.
I wanted to pour it all out, to tell him that I didn’t love him, that I didn’t want to be with him, but… I knew it wasn’t the right time. He had enough to deal with, someone was actively trying to force his hand and that was what he needed to be focusing on.
So I stayed silent and watched him slip out of my room, wondering how I was going to survive this engagement tour. Especially since the one person I wanted by my side was nowhere to be seen.
- End
