81. Desperation

**Mariam**

However, she had to admit it. She was nervous. She knew there was a chance that Andrew called her there to apologize for leaving so quickly the day before. But ever since that dance they shared yesterday, there something she was sure of. She loved him. And she was happy, not to mention willing, to spend the rest of her life with him. She was sure of it. He was all Mariam could ever hope for in a guy. Today was the day she would begin the journey of pursuing him, and she hoped that over time he would feel the same way.

A red vehicle turned off from the road and parked on the opposite side of the street in a parking lot. Mariam recognised it immediately. Her fingers went up to her hair shakily combing through her strands.

After the car stopped, the door to the driver's seat swung open. There he was in all his glory. She smiled, not noticing that she had placed both her palms against the glass.

Instead of starting to cross the street, he walked to the other side of his car in a speedy fashion, as if he had something to take care of that couldn't wait. He pulled open the passenger door, and out of it came a girl she had never seen before. Her light blonde hair was held together in a messy ponytail. Her jeans shorts could be seen from where she sat and only covered her thighs and buttocks.

Andrew laughed at something, causing that girl to smack him on the shoulder. After they walked around the car, Mariam could see that their hands were entwined. They were probably just friends, joined hands don't have to mean anything. Drew held her hands a hundred times. He was just friendly like that.

From the way she walked, Mariam could tell she was human. She didn't know how, but she just knew.

They entered the cafe. Mariam smoothed her hair and picked up a cup of mint tea right in front of her that she had ordered earlier.

All she needed to do was breathe and act disinterested. He would find her himself as long as he looked around. In the meantime she was to appear beautiful and mysterious, so satisfied being in her own world that she didn't realize anyone else was there. But on the inside it was the exact opposite. The anxiety rose so high Mariam couldn't help but steal a few glances.

They managed to find her within no time. Mariam smiled up at Andrew as he greeted her and slipped into the chair on the other side of the table. The new girl sat beside him. Mariam noticed that her blue eyes darted everywhere.

"Never expected to see me so soon now, did you?" He jested. Mariam chuckled.

"Well, it's not like we see and talk to each other every day," Mariam responded. Through the corner of her gaze, she could see her pull on the white sleeves covering her arms. "If you don't count yesterday, that is."

Immediately, Andrew's hand moved to the back of his head. "Yeah, about that... I'm sorry for leaving you hanging. It wasn't my intention to. There was something I wanted to do really badly, and in hindsight I could have waited instead of running off."

He apologized, just like she had thought he would.

Mariam swept her hair over her shoulders and grasped his hand between hers. She smiled. The other girl's lip twitched. Did she not feel comfortable with the way Mariam was touching him? But why should it matter? They were the ones getting married in the end. What's wrong with affectionately touching your own fiancee?

"I already forgave you for that. No worries," she said. Andrew sighed, then smiled. "Thank you, Mariam. You're the best and I'll make it up to you."

He got a barista's attention and ordered an expresso for himself and milk tea for his companion. He asked Mariam if she wanted something else to drink but she stated that she was fine with her cup of tea.

"So," she started. "Who is this?"

As Mariam turned her attention to her, the blonde sat up straight, hands on her lap.

Andrew's smile grew.

"This is Donya. She is actually the reason I had to leave yesterday."

"Oh, hi Donya." Donya grinned nervously. "Hi, nice to meet you. Sorry I didn't say anything."

"Please, don't be." She shrugged. "I should have been more interactive and talked to you sooner."

She was kind of cute now that Mariam had a chance to look at her fully. She had clean skin and wide eyes that blended quite well with her slightly round face. There were small lips on her face that formed an adorable heart when she wasn't smiling. And her bust... well... to say she would turn some heads would be an understatement.

"What happened?" The female vampire took another sip of her tea. "Was she in trouble?"

To her surprise, Andrew smirked. "No. I confessed to her."

It was enough to leave her mind blank. "What?"

"Remember that girl I told you I had a crush on?"

Yes, she remembered him mentioning someone he had an interest in, but she thought it was just a crush that wouldn't amount to anything.

"Well," he reached over and held Donya's hand over the table. Donya smiled at him. Mariam could only helplessly watch as their fingers gently caressed the back of the other's hand. "I told her I loved her last night. And she loves me back."

But how? Why? It was supposed to be her and him against the world. Now he was here, staring at his lover as if she were the only one in the world. She felt like an outsider looking in on someone else's love affair. But why? She was the one that was chosen for him. They were about to get married in two months. They both occupied high stations closest to the royal family, with Mariam's father in charge of finances and taxes collected from their people.

Does she have, that can be compared with her?

Did this Donya girl even love Drew, or did she only love her status?

"That's something out of the blue. I'm happy for you guys, Drew, truly."

"There's another reason I called you out here to meet her. Donya knows about our engagement."

As she should.

"I wanted to keep her mind at ease and meet you so that she knows we don't have any interest in each other, so she has nothing to worry about. Seeing as we have our own goals and dreams, it won't be a problem to talk to our parents and break off the engagement."

Mariam felt as if her heart fell to the floor. Break it off? Was he really planning to abandon her for a human?

The lady proceeded to drain the last of the contents from her cup. They were interrupted by a barista bringing Drew's and Donya's beverages. Mariam watched him make fun of his girlfriend's drink, all while she pretended to be offended. After minutes of observing the pair, Mariam had come to her decision.

"As Drew said, we're not in love, nor was this our choice to begin with."

Andrew smiled.

"But despite that, he and I are still getting married."

If it wasn't for the chatter of other customers and the sound of footsteps, the cafe would have been completely silent.

"What do you mean, Mariam?"

"Think about it, Andrew. How can we disobey our parents' wishes? The only reason why they made this arrangement was for our best interest."

"You sound like my mother."

"She will be my mother too, soon, so that's not all bad."

"Mariam, I don't get it." Andrew leaned back and folded his arms. "You said you didn't want this. Are you afraid of their reactions?"

"That's not the only reason why," Mariam looked directly at Donya. "Andrew, my dear Andrew, how long do you think this relationship will last? She can leave you at any time and leave you with nothing."

"I would never do that!" Donya yelled. Mariam rested her chin on her hands.

"Maybe, but we don't know that, do we?" She turned her gaze back to Andrew, who had his brows scrunched up in confusion. "The whole point to begin with was to join our influential families together. It was your father's idea."

A sigh passed through his lips. "Leo will be fine on his own."

"If you truly thought that you wouldn't have went along with Mr. Lyon's proposal." She joined her slender fingers, bending them inwards. "I haven't known Prince Leo longer than you have. In fact, before becoming close with you, I'd only heard about him from rumors. Meeting him led me to acknowledge that he's not a lazy guy or as incompetent as some people would be led to believe. However, individual strength is not enough to secure the obedience of elite aristocrats. But imagine that he had close ties to the richest vamp in the kingdom. Don't you want that for him?"

Mariam smiled. Surely he would put his best friend over some girl that couldn't do anything for him.

Andrew's lips were sealed. He said nothing even when Donya and Mariam were staring each other down. Finally, he replied, grabbing both their attention.

"Leo isn't perfect," Andrew shrugged. "Nor is he trying to be. But if there's one thing that he is, it's being a darn good friend. He would never want me to marry someone I didn't love because of him. And if he had any idea what the wedding was truly about, he would be pissed."

Donya smiled as her boyfriend pushed back his chair. He stood up, motioning for her to stand up as well. She watched as her focus switched between the two lovers.

"We're not getting married, Mariam." His words hit her like a bunch of bricks. "I'll take any blame for canceling the wedding. My mind is made up. No matter what happens, I'll deal with it, so you won't have to face any of-"

"I don't care about them, I don't!" Mariam yelled at the top of her lungs, frightening everyone on the inside. She stood up, hands planted firmly on the table. "I only want..." Her gaze shot towards Andrew, then she looked away. Upon catching a glimpse of the look in her violet eyes, he had a feeling he knew why she was acting like that.

Yet, there was nothing he could do about it that would make the situation better.

"I have to go, talk to you later. Be sure to tell your parents so they won't be blindsided when I go to visit them next week. Come on, Don. Let's go."

They made it all the way past the door when Andrew felt something pulling on his arm. Mariam tugged him back, eyes so shiny they resembled diamonds. "Drew, please don't go. Don't do this. Rethink the marriage. It won't be bad, trust me!"

He turned his head away as if he couldn't bear the helpless expression in her face.

"I made my choice, Mariam. Goodbye."