Page 54 of His Princess Brat
Chapter Fifteen
Pita
Dealing with rejection and a broken heart while being able to move on enough to find a suitable husband who didn’t mind the fact that I was now damaged goods would have been much easier to deal with if Azid had left Osei.
He hadn’t, and of course, I saw him everywhere I went, usually head to head with Mazi like they were planning something. Every time he saw me, regret filled his gaze and then he’d look away, breaking my heart anew.
Love sucked.
And now, instead of going home to privately nurse a broken heart like most would in a situation such as this, I had to stay here, with a fake-ass smile plastered on my face, and try to pick up the pieces while searching for a suitable husband.
At this point, I felt that anyone who would still have me would do. What wouldn’t do was returning to Bahar, broken and without a suitable mate. I was far too stubborn to admit defeat, no matter how badly I wanted to whenever I caught a glimpse of the man who had stolen my heart.
And so, I had to fake it. Day after day, event after boring, obnoxious event, I put on the dress, the shoes, the makeup, the hairdo, and the fake-ass smile and I grinned until it hurt.
The first week of this was especially hard. Aside from Jax and Ayo, everyone gave me a wide berth, and other than a few nasty whispers from Bethany every time she found an excuse to pass by me, I had no real human interaction. Stubbornly, I persisted, and eventually the whispers began to die down. Now instead of spreading the gossip, people seemed content to just ignore me. It was progress.
For whatever reason, tonight, that changed. Tonight, Mswati and Tamar both drummed up the courage to engage me in polite conversation, but this time their interest had seemed dull and forced on both sides, as opposed to just on mine. To make matters worse, Azid hadn’t been more than thirty feet from me all night, standing with Mazi, just out of reach, their heads together like a football team in a game huddle.
I was seriously considering calling it a night just to escape the pain of being so near to him when I spotted my new target, approaching me with deliberate steps and a laser-focused gaze.
He was devilishly handsome in a dark and sinister way, and had a reputation for a take no prisoners approach to life that might be attractive in the bedroom, but I wasn’t so sure if I could stomach seeing it perched on a throne next to me. Still, as he got closer, I observed him with interest. His dark hair was set in tight curls that just missed falling in his eyes. His cocoa skin was so perfect and porcelain, I just knew he had to have a better skin care routine than I did. His full, plump lips could have tempted a kiss from the devil himself.
By the time he stopped dead in front of me, I knew this was it. My second choice, the man I wanted to take home to Mother.
Prince Osiris of Egypt.
With the shame I had brought upon my family, there was only one way to make up for it. A political match rather than a love match.
Prince Osiris was easy enough on the eyes, but his true value lay in the happiness that he would bring to my mother and the peace a union between us would bring to both our countries.
“Hello, Princess.” He greeted me with an obligatory bow, and I granted him the same courtesy.
“Hello, Prince Osiris. Lovely evening we are having, isn’t it?” I started with a charming smile and boring small talk, because I had nowhere else to start. This wasn’t a book; there was no proper meet-cute, not like I’d had with Azid. Instead, I had an awkward, stuffy court event and I was determined to make the most of it.
“It certainly is. I was going to ask you to take a stroll around the gardens with me, but the wind has picked up, and the forecast is calling for a bit of spring drizzle. I’d hate for your pretty dress to be ruined.”
I had to bite my tongue to keep from rolling my eyes. This was certainly an instance where my reputation had not preceded me. Apparently Prince Osiris’s arrival had been after my waterlogged dash through the ballroom on the night of Azid’s ‘welcome to Osei’ dinner.
The fact that he was oblivious to that, though, gave me a sliver of hope. If he hadn’t heard about that, then there was a chance, however slim, that he hadn’t heard about my shameful misconduct in the stable too. That would be another pleasant check for Prince Osiris’s plus column, which was growing longer by the minute.
A few minutes alone with him were just what I needed to begin sealing the deal, but I wasn’t willing to risk another drowned rat in a monsoon debacle.
“Maybe I can get a raincheck on the stroll through the garden, and instead we could just take a walk over to the bar?” I asked, overdoing it on the feminine giggle I added to the end of my question.
“As you wish.” His eyes twinkled as he held out his elbow for me to hook my arm through, and I couldn’t help but wonder if The Princess Bride movie reference had been deliberate or some overdone misguided attempt at smoothness on his part. The movie reference would have been a hard plus, but the alternative was worth at least two minuses.
Not that the elaborate system of checks and minuses I was currently calculating in my head was worth much. I’d already decided that Prince Osiris was my future husband, if he would have me.
I wasn’t sure how exactly one began a marriage proposal for the sake of business. Was it still necessary to flirt and preen, or bat one’s eyelashes? Did I have to put up the pretense of romantic interest for the sake of his ego, or could I just jump in with both feet and eyes wide open? I was still debating the etiquette of this when Prince Osiris made the decision for me.
“I’m sure you’re aware, Princess, that the rivalry between Egypt and Bahar goes back centuries.”
“Indeed,” I agreed. Though no one seemed to know exactly when or how it had started, it had continued, with multiple events being serious enough to be recorded in the history books and school curriculums of both countries.
“In recent years,” he said, “relations have begun to improve. Our parents, and their parents before them, have made great strides toward establishing civil and diplomatic communication between our people.”
His speech was stiff and rigid, a definite check for the minus column, but I could see where this was going and I liked it. We were on the same page.
