Chapter 16 — Protesting Wrong

The queen was relishing her morning tea, sitting on the throne of her chamber. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Frowning upon the interruption, Suzanne ordered, "State your name and purpose of visit."

"It's Jasper. I've something to talk to you about." Suzanne wondered what business her younger son could have with her this early in the morning.

"Come in," she said, and the royal guards opened the door for Jasper. "What do you want to talk about?" She started checking the updates of her state affairs through a black file, not paying too much mind to him.

"Stop this game of yours, Mom. You're playing it wrong," he uttered coldly. Suzanne was surprised at how rude Jasper sounded.

"Just what do you mean?" Suzanne arched an eyebrow.

"You're playing with many lives, Mom. You've already messed up Diana's life. Please, no more. Stop this wedding game of yours. Otherwise, you will end up hurting everyo—"

"Are you breaking my trust again, Jasper? I will not forgive you if you do so," the queen's voice was firm and cold, sending shivers down his spine. But today, he didn't intend to back down.

"That is not the point. Don't you realize you're hurting your own son? You're hurting Diana and Rain too. Rain loves Ivan—"

"I see. That is the reason," Suzanne snarled. "Don't tell me you're starting to fall for Rain," she mocked, taking a sip of her tea elegantly. Suzanne didn't want it to be true. She wanted him to deny it.

"What if I say I am?" Jasper responded.

Suzanne's eyes widened. She placed her cup of tea on the plate and firmly said, "Get out." Her eyes were sharp and filled with malice.

He glanced at his mother and sighed. With the look his mother gave, Jasper knew that there would be no point talking sense into her. She was the queen, and no one could defy her orders, not even a prince. So, he got out of the chamber, leaving her alone.

Suzanne rested her back on the chair and rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Why doesn't he understand me?"

Even though she was playing wrong, Suzanne believed that somehow, everything would grow into something right. It had to. She could never make the wrong decision. Jasper is merely virtuous; thus, he's not seeing through Rain's charisma. That girl is such a fraud, she thought.

On the other hand, Diana was getting ready for her training with Ruyeli when Ivan walked into the room.

"Where were you?" Diana questioned. Last night, Ivan didn't come back to their room after his conversation with Rain. Diana was so tense. She was onto her last string of patience. She almost called him; she had to turn her phone off to control herself.

"Did you tell me where you were the last time you ran away? No, right? So, you don't get to ask me anything," Ivan replied coldly and went into the closet room to take his clothes out for a shower.

He must have spent the night with Rain, Diana thought and continued brushing her hair even though she felt a tinge of jealousy tugging at her heart.

After Ivan came out with his clothes in his hand, Diana said out of nowhere, "You know, you shouldn't give a present like that to your best friend." Diana found it weird yet pleasing that Ivan brought a pendant for her. She needed to know why he gave it to her.

"Then who should I give it to?" Ivan stood behind her. She could see his frustrated expression reflecting on the mirror of the dressing table.

She hated seeing him like that. Heaving a sigh, she approached him. Then placing her hand on his cheek, she gently stroked his face. "What's wrong, Ivan?"

Instantly, he melted at her touch. When his green irises met her brown ones, Ivan felt as if he was floating in them. He realized that Diana was the only girl he ever wanted in his life, not Rain or any other girl.

Remembering the conversation they were having, he dragged himself back to his previous posture and pushed her hand away, coldly asking once again, "Then who should I give it to?"

Diana averted her gaze. "To your girlfriend, Rain. I suggest you give this to her—" she was harshly cut off when Ivan pulled her back by her arm. Her back collided with his chest.

"Can't you say anything other than Rain this, Rain that? And if you don't like the pendant, just throw the damn thing away. Don't force your opinions on me."

Ivan was tired of decisions being forced upon him. If the king and the queen hadn’t decided to make Diana a royally chosen princess, then he wouldn't have fallen for her, as he knew he had no chance of getting her.

"I'm not forcing anything on you. I was just... I found it weird for you to give it to me. I think Rain would be a better choice for it," Diana suggested meekly, slightly afraid of what Ivan's reaction would be.

"Again, with Rain..." Ivan huffed. "Diana, I bought it for you. It's meant for you. Wear it or throw it away." His voice was cold as ice and firm as a rock. With that, Ivan left her before shutting the door of the bathroom with a bang.

He was pissed off because he was now stuck with Rain forever. He was the eldest prince and the future king; he couldn't back out from marrying Rain anymore. He promised to marry her. The thought of not being able to be with Diana anymore was more vexing than anything else.

Diana was dumbstruck. All she did was try and talk to him normally, however, he ended up venting his anger on her for nothing.

What the heck just happened? Why is he behaving like this? Diana fumed and walked out of their room, beyond annoyed. She blinked furiously, pushing back the tears that threatened to pool out of her eyes. She was starting to get irritated at how much Ivan was affecting her nowadays.

As she was walking in the hallways, she noticed Jasper wandering mindlessly. "Good morning, Jasper," she greeted, trying to pull a smile on her face.

Jasper came back to reality. He blinked a few times before regaining his composure. "Oh, morning."

"You seem upset," Diana commented.

He let out, "So do you."

She was caught off guard at how Jasper noticed her façade even though she was smiling like always. "How did you know?"

"I saw you crying last night."

Diana averted eyes out of embarrassment. She didn't like it when others saw her shed tears; she didn't like anyone seeing her weak side.

"Oh." She decided to avoid Jasper. "Um, I'm going out for a morning walk in the garden. See you later."

"Same; I'll go with you." Jasper casually started trailing behind her with his hands in his pockets as Diana bashfully made her way towards the backyard.

What's with Jasper? He seems out of it for some reason, she informed herself.

"You..." Jasper trailed off, thinking of whether he should or shouldn't say it. Diana looked at him sideways. "You love Ivan," he let out at last. It wasn't a question, but a statement.

Diana was shocked. She thought no one else was aware of her feelings except Ivan. She remained silent and kept walking. She didn't know what to answer.

"I'm sorry," Jasper apologized out of nowhere. Diana halted and stared at him in astonishment.

"Why are you apologizing to me?"

"Everything is happening because of my mother. You also cried because of her. Wait, no. I can't completely blame her either. I'm at fault just as much as she is," he muttered under his breath.

"I don't understand."

"I was assigned to keep Rain out of your and Ivan's way. But I failed. It was the reason why this happened. Rain was brought here to prove your worth, to prove that you're more desirable to become the queen than her even though it was already clear as water." He chuckled remorsefully. He was solving the puzzle—at least that's what he thought before.

"Why?" Diana asked.

"You know, I was very happy when Mom assigned me a job again. I was on cloud nine." Jasper snickered as he saw that Diana was getting confused with each word he spat out. "Mom started trusting me again."

The only question Diana could think of at that moment, was, "Didn't she trust you before?" He shook his head in reply, which made her ask, "Why?"

Jasper peered at her with tears brimming in his eyes. As he spoke the next few words, his tone was cold and regretful.

"Because I fell in love with a maid."