Chapter 10 — Massaging Romance

Diana's heartbeat was running a marathon. Slowly, she peeked into the bedroom, standing behind Ruyeli.

"What is this girl doing in your room eating my favorite strawberry pancakes?" Ruyeli asked Diana while approaching Rain who was busy eating the pancakes.

Diana heaved a sigh of relief. The happiness she felt was like the time she got into Harvard. Ivan was already out, meaning that there were no intimate 'incidents' happening between him and Rain. It gave her satisfaction and relief knowing this, though she didn't really want to feel it.

Rain was still sitting on the couch, eating, and going through her phone at the same time. Hearing Ruyeli, her gaze fell unto hers with a bored look.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Rain asked with disinterest.

Ruyeli put her hands on her hips. "I should be asking you that question. Who are you and what do you want? Also, what are you doing in Diana and Ivan's room?"

Rain rolled her eyes. She wanted to reply, but Diana interrupted, "She is my bridesmaid, Rain Summers."

Ruyeli burst into a fit of laughter upon hearing the name. "Please, tell me—" she stopped midway realizing that she had to behave royally. Even though her usual self was chirpy, she had to maintain her high standards.

She cleared her throat. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Summers, I am Ms. Ruyeli Stainer." She extended a hand to shake it. Rain didn't stand up, much to her dismay.

Rain shook her hand in return. "Nice to meet you too, Ru—"

"Ms. Stainer," she corrected Rain. She already disliked her. "Now I realize why Suzanne hates her," she mumbled quietly, but it didn't go unheard by Diana.

Diana glared at Rain who continued eating. I really need to teach her the basics first. She doesn't have the least amount of common sense. She frowned at the thought.

"Ms. Summers, you have to get out. I will train Diana now."

Rain glared at her. "Who are you to tell me that?"

"I can get the queen if you are in a mood to meddle your nose in my work." Rain jumped up from the couch when she heard Ruyeli's threat. She mumbled a 'sorry' and dashed away.

Ruyeli turned to give a disappointed look to Diana. "Your second lesson will be learning how to be strict with people. Don't let them be sluggish with or near you. Nor let them slack with people around you, especially the people you love."

Diana noticed the emphasis she put on the word 'love.' "Okay, I will keep that in mind." She called on one of the servants to take the trolley filled with food away. She noticed the plate she served for Ivan was empty. He ate his breakfast before leaving. Good to know. Diana smiled.

Ruyeli scanned the entire room. She seemed happy with the way Diana settled in, so she took a seat on one of the sofas. "Everything is good here. I don't have to correct you regarding manners," she continued, "I really wish to slap some manners to your bridesmaid. No offense, but she is really rude and not even fit to attend a royal wedding. Don't you have any other friends?"

Diana narrowed her eyes while plopping next to her. "She is my friend, and I assure you, she will make herself perfect for a royal wedding."

"Anyways, dropping her as a side-dish as of now, tell me about you and Ivan. I want to know everything from the beginning. How about we begin on how he proposed to you about becoming his girlfriend and all?"

Diana didn't know how to answer Ruyeli's question. She could tell how everything began and ended with her being royally chosen. How would she answer her about the way Ivan proposed to her? It was something the supposed-to-be-couple never discussed.

"Well, when I went to the United States, we started face-timing each other. Suddenly, while talking about random things, he said, 'I really like you, Diana'. I said that I liked him too and that's how our love story began," she narrated the entire story from start to finish, changing their 'best friends' story into a 'love' story. She realized that, apart from the 'I like you' part which never happened in the first place, everything else was true.

"So, he arranged his time just to talk to you personally?" she asked Diana in excitement. Seeing her nod, Ruyeli beamed in excitement. "Oh my God! That is so romantic."

"Yup. Seems like it."

"Alright! Since Ivan is stressed about the meetings he must attend in order to form a new organization, your real task for today is to give him a massage and talk about how his day went." Ruyeli looked at her phone. "You really have a nice Instagram feed."

"Why do I have to give him a massage? I can call someone who's extremely good at it. He will genuinely feel better." Diana didn't want to get closer to Ivan. If she started giving him massages, they would start talking more and her crush may develop into like. I like Aiden, she tried to assure herself.

Ruyeli laughed. "Silly girl! To be a perfect queen, you must show your full love to the king. Look at Suzanne. Even with the way she really is, she always takes time to listen to the king because she loves him from the bottom of her heart. Similarly, you must be close to Ivan all the time. It's all about being romantic!"

How will it be romantic when there is no love? Diana let out an exasperated sigh. "What if he doesn't want one?"

"He loves you. So, there is no way he can deny you, is there?" Ruyeli arched an eyebrow.

Diana shook her head. "I guess there is none after all." She continued listening to her trainer, but her mind wandered to Ivan. He doesn't love me. How should I do this task? I should call Rain and make her do it.

It was a long period before Ruyeli stood up to leave. She reasoned it as Ivan entering the room within minutes, letting out, "I don't want to be a thorn between your budding romances, so I will be going now."

"Okay. It was nice talking to you, Ruyeli. You're a good person. I am looking forward to getting trained under you."

Ruyeli smiled. She had a nice time with Diana too. She made her save all the important numbers including everyone in the Royal family on her phone. "You better be, cause I am not temporary! Oh, and don't forget to send me a picture!"

Before Diana could digest her words, her trainer ran away. "I have to send her a picture after I massage him? I thought I could make Rain do it. Fuck!"

"Who are you talking about?" Ivan turned up inside the room. He looked very tired. His facial expression screamed fatigue. He teased, "Me?"

Diana narrowed her eyes. "I have better things to do in my life."

"Oh, like what? Reading stories on Wattpad or wearing stylish clothes and giving fashion tips?" he mocked as he went to freshen up.

Diana wanted to respond something insulting to him, but a smile immediately crept on her lips after he was out of her sight. "His teasing nature is back. He used to tease me when we used to chat or talk. It seems as if he's getting back to his real nature again and is becoming comfortable staying with me."

She turned the television on and took a sip of her coffee. She and Ivan were still on the news. A picture of them that was taken when Ivan picked her up in his arms was being shown by the reporters.

"The picture is not bad. We look cute," Diana murmured. Then she slapped her forehead. "Stop it, Diana!"

Her phone chimed. She saw that it was a text from Rain.

Rain_Summers: Can't come tonight as well. Jasper is annoying the FUCK outta me! I will KILL him.

"Why is Jasper doing this?" Diana asked no one in particular.

"Doing what?"

She immediately placed a hand on her heart at the sudden sound. "Geez! You scared me."

Ivan grinned. "I had no intention to do so, but it's fine." He plopped next to her.

"Coffee?"

Diana offered a cup of coffee, which he gladly took. "Thank you."

"Jasper is not letting Rain come to our room. He's preventing you from meeting your girlfriend. You should do something." She showed him the text Rain sent.

Ivan shrugged. "Jasper is always like that. He loves to annoy people. Nothing new." He didn't seem to show even a little bit of concern, it was as if the thought of not meeting his girlfriend didn't bother him at all.

"How can you say that, Ivan? Rain is already upset that she is not getting enough time to spend with you. I thought she should come tonight and give you a massage, but Jasper is stopping her!" She pouted cutely, using her whiny nature to win him over.

Seeing Diana pout made Ivan want to kiss her. But he slapped some sense to his brain. She is my best friend! Just a friend!

"Massage? Why would I need that?"

She gazed at him. "Ruyeli told me to give you a massage because you seem so tired and stressed, which is true, anyway."

"Ruyeli? Aunt let you call her by her name?" He couldn't believe her words, thus he asked to confirm. Seeing her nod, he knew that she even impressed his Aunt Ruyeli. Ruyeli was an extrovert, but it wasn't easy to impress her unless she was really interested. She barely let anyone call her by her first name, she preferred Ms. Stainer.

"Speaking of which, why didn't you tell me she was your aunt? I only found out when I was gossiping with your mom." Diana placed the cup on the table and got up, standing behind the sofa Ivan was sitting on. She crossed her arms and leaned them on the backrest.

"You had time to gossip with my mom?" Ivan couldn't believe anything that just came out of his best friend's mouth. He felt as if he had become Rip Van Winkle, waking up after a long period of time, only to find everything changed.

"Yes, she's very friendly. I really enjoyed her company. From now on, when I am bored, I'll go to her. She even liked that idea." Diana ran her fingers through Ivan's soft brown hair.

He was about to take another sip of his drink but stopped as a shiver ran down through his spine. He was shocked, he wanted her to do it again.

She leaned in to whisper into his ear, "I am not an expert, but I have to follow Ruyeli's order. Rain will not come as well, so you're stuck with me. I hope you don't mind. But even if you do, I cannot help it. I have to."

Running her fingers through his soft-silky dark brown hair, she began kneading her fingers across his forehead.

Ivan slid the cup on the table and leaned back on the sofa, shuffling to make himself more comfortable than before. He closed his eyes, letting her massage his head properly. He was extremely tired after all, and he wanted to rest his eyes. Who said that the prince's job was to sit idle until he could sit on the throne?

He was a hardworking person and loved working for the welfare of the people.

"Am I doing this right?" she asked him, getting a hum from him in response. Diana was confused but continued doing it.

Ivan was enjoying it a lot. The stress he was going through vanished in a flash. She definitely has magic in her hands, he thought.

"Do you have to go out tomorrow as well?" She was trying to make a conversation because it was turning awkward for her. She didn't want to get the feeling she was getting. It was unusual.

"Yeah, the signing is tomorrow. After that, I can sleep peacefully," he muttered.

Diana continued massaging his head until he drifted into a deep slumber. It was only a few seconds before he fell asleep on the couch.

The screen of her phone illuminated.

Ruyeli: Did you give him a massage?

Diana sighed. She took a picture of the sleeping man who was looking extremely cute and sent it to Ruyeli.

Ruyeli: You must have given him a good one, he's sleeping so peacefully. Great job!

She didn't respond to her trainer's text. Rather, she padded towards the bed and took a blanket. Diana draped the blanket over Ivan. Then she grabbed a pillow and placed it under his head.

She glanced at the empty bed. "I better freshen up and sleep as well."

Diana freshened up and took her pillow and blanket. She laid on another couch and let sleep take over her.

***

Ruyeli showed the picture to Suzanne. "Look! I told you this girl has magical powers! She is perfect, and I am already bringing them close."

A chuckle left Suzanne's lips. "Continue carrying out your work. It's not only destiny bringing them together. I joined hands with their fate; so did you and Jasper."

"Diana handled everything smartly when I asked how Ivan proposed. I will make sure they end up being crazy—" the queen interrupted Ruyeli.

"Crazy in love."

Ruyeli smirked. "Indeed."