The Man I Was Not Supposed to Love

It Must be Fate

“Where have you been?” my mother asked. She looked at me from head to foot as if examining every part of me as she always did in the past. Her eyes stopped at the hem of my dress. Her eyes enlarged in size as she gritted her teeth and looked at my eyes.

“You came from the palace garden again, didn’t you?” she hissed in my right ear as she came closer to my face. "What do you always find in gardens that you can't stay away from?"

Even without looking, I knew from the tone of her voice that she is angry again. Of course, that’s not new. I remained silent, knowing that one word alone could make her blow her top. After all, mom cannot control her anger whenever she feels that I am out of her control.

“How many times have I told you that you are not made for the gardens? Don’t your allergic reactions even teach you some lessons? Besides, how can you see the daughter of the most respected Marquess and Marquesse in the entire Ekron Kingdom in the gardens? Consider your father’s rank and your mother’s honor, will you?”

I just stood listening to her sermon as I always do. Since young, I’ve been subjected to these kinds of lengthy sermons from my mother, and I have to say that I am already used to this – to her rules as regards the things that I can’t do and the things that I can’t have. All my life with them was full of limitations. I have never really lived to show the world who I really am. I’ve been living a life dictated by my parents and bound by the rules they set for me.

“Listen to me, young lady!” mom said when she saw that I was just listening to what she is saying without any reaction at all. “You are here to meet young men who could potentially marry you for the sake of your land. Bear that in mind. You are not here to hide in that filthy garden you always loved to bury yourself in. Do you understand?”

She looked at me with sharp eyes so that I was unable to say anything anymore. In the end, I ended up nodding my head in agreement with what she wanted to happen. My heart was petitioning inside me, but what could I do? This is my destiny – to follow whatever my parents decide for me and live for the people of Adarna. In short, I have no right to decide regarding my future because it has all been planned out for me.

My mother stomped her feet and turned her back away. She looked at Lanie and then ordered her as if she was her personal servant.

“Make sure that your Lady Irene does not embarrass me. Take her to the room assigned to us in the palace and change her dress before the party starts. She looks like a farmgirl and smells like one.”

With that, mom walked away. I did not follow her direction. There is no point in doing that. Also, I have no plans to socialize with the nobles at this party tonight. All they do is brag about things they have accomplished and compare their performance with one another indirectly. I am not made for that. I prefer hiding in a corner and not mingling with other people. I am not really a people person like my parents. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why mom hates me like this. I was never half of the woman she is.

I walked towards the direction of the room assigned to us without waiting for Lanie. I was so engrossed in thought that I never realized that I was meeting a person from the opposite side.

“Ah!”

It was too late to realize what was happening. I was already at the point of falling on the cold floor if not for the strong arms of the man holding my waist to support me from falling and, at the same time, to balance his stance. I froze the moment I realized that the other person so close to my body was a man. Slowly, I lifted up my head to look at him. The moment I did, my jaw dropped. Crystal-clear green eyes met my brown ones.

“I-it’s you!” I cried in horror.

He frowned then smiled, shaking his head while not cutting his deep stares from me.

“Then why sound like you have seen a ghost?” he said in a light tone. “Are you afraid of me or something?”

I shook my head vehemently. Of course not! That was far from how I really feel. I am not scared of him at all. The thing is, I can’t control my heart from beating so fast every time our eyes meet like that. I cannot even understand why my brain seems paralyzed at the mere sight of him, not to mention feeling nervous all of a sudden.

“It must be fate,” he whispered softly.

I frowned. What did he just say?

“I said it must be fate that keeps on making us meet in any area of this wide palace. I mean we met in the garden of all places then here. Who would have thought that, of all places, we keep on choosing the same places to go at certain times?”

I didn’t know what to say. Do I respond to this kind of belief? I never believed in fate in the first place. I was not raised like that. My parents raised me to work for something before doing it. This concept of “fate” introduced by this mysterious angelic man is so new to me.

“I bet you really tend not to easily share something with strangers. Do I scare you for any reason?” he asked the moment he did not get any verbal response from me.

I shook my head again, but I didn’t say anything. In the end, he seemed to give up and he released his tight grasp on my waist.

“Would you like to have a walk with me in this long aisle?” he asked.

I nodded.

“S-sure…”

He smiled and cut his gaze at me. I felt as if I could breathe the moment he did.