Their Unexpected Fate (BOOK 3 of His Unexpected Mate)

CHAPTER 8

LOGAN'S POV

    My heart begins to beat so fast as if it will pop out of my chest the moment the Triton Moon's packhouse comes into view. But I did not stop this time and bravely continued to drive towards it.

    I'm getting more anxious the more I get closer to the house. What will I do in a forty-minute ride to my home with just Lia and me in the car? I wish I could bring Bayron with us, but father's intention was clear. He did this so Lia and I could spend time together even if it's against my will.

    "Why can't I just find a chosen mate on my own?!" I indignantly tell myself out loud.

    I release an old man sigh the moment I pull over in front of Lia's house. Then I look at myself in the rearview mirror.

    "Just relax, Logan. Don't show Lia your frustration. She's also a victim like you." I advise myself. I need to do this, or else I might vent my bitterness on the situation to Lia.

    I drag myself out of the car; yes, I have to drag myself since I'm reluctant to do this, and as I stand in front of Triton Moon's main door, I take in a deep breath to gather all the courage I can get just to bring my finger near to the freakin doorbell.

LIA'S POV

    "Are you serious? Logan?" I ask to verify that the name she mentioned was really Logan.

    "Yes, Lia. It's Logan. Prince Logan Baines." mom confirms, which makes my heart jump up and down from the euphoria this news brings.

    I don't know what had gotten into me, but I always miss him terribly since he stopped coming here, and I feel something is missing in my life.

    But the happiness didn't last long when I suddenly realized something.

    "Does Logan know?" If mom will say yes, I'm doomed.

    "As per George, he already informed Logan, and he's fine with it," mom says merrily.

    I highly doubt he's okay with it. If my theory is correct, it's the reason why Logan started to act differently towards me.

    "How about you, sweetheart? Are you okay with marrying Logan?" mom adds, and I almost choke with my saliva when I hear the words "marrying Logan."

    "I'm sorry, what?" I croak. This is bigger than I thought. Why is mom mentioning marriage this early?

    "I said, do you want to be with Logan? As husband and wife?" Oh, my goddess! I feel like I'm drowning right now. I don't know what to say, but deep inside me, I know what I want. I would love to marry Logan. 

    I can feel the heat creeping from my neck up to my face as I imagined Logan and me in front of the King, exchanging vows.

    Mom gives me the widest grin she could offer. "I guess I know the answer already." she happily says and gives me a warm hug. "Logan is a good man, and I'm glad to know that you are okay with it. I don't need to feel guilty for my decision.

    I hugged mom back. "I will never blame you for anything because I know you only want what is best for me. I love you so much, mom—you and dad."

    "I love you too, Lia," mom uttered softly against my ear. Then I see Tyler waving at me at the door. Geez! Mom forgot to close it.

    "I hope I'm not interrupting your mother and daughter moment." Tyler smiles.

    "No at all." Mom releases me and turns to Tyler.

    "Logan is waiting in the entertainment room. He said he's here to pick up Lia." My heart starts to beat rapidly from Tyler's announcement. I've never been this excited in my life and never been this anxious too.

    "I'll be there," I say.

    I kiss my mom on the cheek and grab my luggage. I rush downstairs, dragging my trolley, making a loud thud sound while its wheels land on every flight of the stairs.

    A smile danced on my lips the minute my eyes found Logan sitting on the couch.

    Logan quickly stands up when he sees me and walks in my direction.

    He smiles at me. "Hi, Lia. Ready to go?" Logan asks in a friendly manner.

    I point at my luggage. "Yep! Everything is in here." I say, then mom's voice erupts out of nowhere.

    "Not all, Lia. You forgot this." Mom lifts the box of my gown in front of me as I spin to her location.

    "Oh my gosh!" I gasp.

    "Hi, aunt Cai. Let me take that." Logan offers and gets the box from my mom's hands. What a fine gentleman he is.

    "Take care of my daughter Logan. When I was living my life as a human, we had this belief that people who are about to celebrate their birthday are prone to accidents," mom explains.

    "Don't worry, Aunt Cai; Lia is in good hands," Logan reassures.

    "I know." Mom giggles. I glare at mom for doing that. That's so embarrassing!

    "We have to go now, mom. I'll see you all tomorrow." I give mom another kiss on the cheek before I turn to Logan.

    "Let's go."

LOGAN'S POV

    The environment in the car is suffocating. None of us open our mouths to say a single word from the moment we get in the car and depart from her house.

    I don't know where I should start, and I wonder if she already knows about our parents' plans for the two of us.

    I keep my eyes on the road, with my lips tightly pressed together, and I can feel a droplet of sweat sliding down on my temple.

    "Are you hot?" Lia's question makes me feel more uneasy, and I see her face as red as tomatoes when I glance at her.

    "I... I mean... Are you feeling hot? You are sweating." she stammers, and I can sense the anxiety from her voice. Damn! I'm such a d**k! Lia is uncomfortable as I am. Now I'm positive that she already knew about the marriage.

    "Lia..."

    "If you don't want to marry me, it's fine." I shift my focus on her after she interrupts me with her surprising statement.

    Luckily we are near the palace, so I decided to pull over on the side of the road in front of the palace gated wall.

    I unfasten my seat belt and stir to Lia's side, and I feel a twitch of guilt in my guts from the view of Lia's flush cheeks, biting her lip. And I feel more guilty when she looks at me with tears brimming and a pained look on her face. I feel horrible.

    Lia blinks the tears away and starts to speak.

    "My mom told me about it this morning. Was that the reason why you suddenly changed? Is that the reason why you stopped coming to our house and the reason why you're avoiding me?" She says, and the way she pronounces the last two words presents indignation, but she's holding it back. I'm totally f****d! How could I be so mean?

    "I'm really sorry, Lia. I didn't mean to offend you. I wasn't thinking clearly when I did that," I explained.

    "But it's clear what it implies. You disagree with it. What you did is so unfair! And mean!" Tears begin to roll down Lia's cheeks. "I have no idea what was going on. Only today, I knew about it. How could you be so mean, Logan? We grew up together and..."

    "That's the problem, Lia. We grew up together, and I see you as my sister." I cut her off, and I'm trying my best to hold myself not to snap at her from the anger this arrangement inflicts on me.

    "But I'm not your sister!" l Lia blurts out.

    We both slump silent after that, and I can feel the tension in the air.

    I shift my focus back on the road and remain still as I listen to Lia's sniffles.

    I feel like an asshole for bringing tears to Lia's eyes. I should be better than this. But then I remember what Luca told me, "open your heart." Since there is no way to escape this, I should just open my heart and give us a chance, plus Lia is right. She's not my sister and will never be.

    I opened my mouth to say something, but Lia beat me to it.

    "Tomorrow, after the party, I will tell the King that I don't want this marriage to happen. This will make things easier for you." I look at her, and she's now showing a straight face.

    "Lia..."

    "Just drive us inside your home, and let's get things done whatever is needed to be done," she firmly says, and I did exactly what she said without any intentions of stopping her from what she's planning to do. 

    This is great, right? This is good news; supposed to be a piece of good news, and I should feel relieved and happy, but why do I feel awful? 

    Is it from guilt, or is it something else?