Chapter 26

Alyssa and Luther were in the middle of following through with their plan. They were making their way through the reception trying to blend in and not draw any unwanted attention. Despite putting on her best smiles and trying to hold herself up to the standards expected of her, Alyssa couldn’t help but feel a little bit apprehensive about the situation. She knew that anything that could go wrong would, and the consequences wouldn’t be pretty. She wasn’t willing to go back to her old life, and not taking this opportunity to escape from it would be risking everything.

As Luther led her to the dance floor, Alyssa couldn’t help but feel a little bit uneasy about it. She wasn’t the type of person to enjoy dancing, and the last thing she needed was to draw any attention to herself with her poor dancing skills. “Do we really have to go through all this?” she questioned. She didn’t understand why they had to have an engagement ceremony when they were already betrothed to each other. She wished they could simply just skip over this process.

“It’s a procedure we must follow,” Luther replied as he pulled her into his arms. Alyssa couldn’t help but feel a little bit too close to him; she could smell his cologne, and it smelled heavenly. She wasn’t sure whether it was a good or bad thing that they had to be this close to each other for the plan to work. She began to move in his arms, and as they danced, she couldn’t help but feel grateful that her friends and family weren’t there to witness this. She knew that they would be jealous to see her in the arms of such a handsome king.

Luther interrupted her thoughts, “Care to share the joke?”

Alyssa couldn’t help but sigh, “It’s nothing.”

“It must be something for it to have made you smile like that. Ever since we made that deal, you barely smiled,” Luther said, looking worried.

Alyssa felt surprised by his statement; was he worried about her? She tried to keep her composure as she replied, “why would you say that I barely smiled? I did smile, and besides, how did you see me? We weren’t allowed to see each other until today. Last time we saw each other was three days ago”.

“I have my ways,” Luther replied with a smile.

“God, have you been spying on me?” Alyssa asked, her eyes widening with both shock and suspicion.

Luther chuckled, “you look scary when you widen your eyes like that.”

Rather than be offended, Alyssa felt relieved that he wasn’t serious about spying on her. “Stop teasing me,” she replied as she tried to regain control of her emotions.

As they danced, she couldn’t help but wonder why she felt that way when she saw him smile. There was a sense of familiarity that she just couldn’t shake off. Something about him made her feel like she was home. Her thoughts were interrupted by the music coming to an end, and they walked back to their seats.

Mitchell’s mom greeted them as they sat down, “You two make such a cute couple”.

They glanced at each other with a smile before they sat down and the Prime Minister began his speech. Everyone expected it to be quite boring and long so the people at her table tuned out his voice and continued conversing, albeit very quietly. They picked at the finger foods and gushed at the couple, showering them with compliments and praise.

“Darling, here”, Her mother said, taking a plate off the tray of a passing waiter. “You haven’t eaten all day. You should put something in your stomach before you get sick. These are your favorites, you can have little”.

Alyssa smiled at the older lady but her smile froze when she saw that the plate before her was filled with freeze-dried seafood. Her heart beat faster and she wanted to cry because everyone was staring at her expectantly, since she was supposed to be elated at the sight of her favorite foods but she was allergic to seafood. Just a bite of it and she would have an intense allergic reaction. She didn’t even know if they had EpiPens over here.

She couldn’t help but feel a wave of anxiety wash over her as Mitchell’s mother served them crab and oysters. She was incredibly allergic to both, and the very thought of having to eat it made her nauseous. Alyssa knew that if she didn’t eat it, they would definitely notice that something was up, and that was the last thing she wanted. Luis mustn’t be disappointed, she thought as she picked up the crab and was about to take a bite when Luis spoke up.

“Even if it’s freeze-dried, the smell could still longer. You don’t have to eat it if you would feel self conscious later,” Luther said as he took the crab from her.

Alyssa looked at him in surprise, he had noticed? Luther had been talking to the head of finance seated beside him, she hadn’t expected him to notice her distress. He gave her a gentle smile before muttering, “Don’t eat it.”

Alyssa couldn’t help but smile back at him, he had seen her distress and helped her. She was grateful for his kindness and his ability to read her. It was nice to have someone who cared, even if it was only for show.

Her mother gasped. “Oh, dear. I’m so sorry. I completely wasn’t thinking”

Alyssa mustered a smile. “Its fine, mum. I can just have it later”.

As they continued with the reception, the announcer’s voice boomed through the speakers, “We will now move to the next section. The exchange of engagement rings and proposals”.

Luther stood up and held out his hand for Alyssa, she took it, and they both walked to the front where they would be the center of attention. Alyssa couldn’t help but feel a little bit anxious. She had known this was part of their plan, but it was still nerve-wracking.

“I’m not really good at proposing,” Luther whispered.

“I’m not the one you love, so don’t make it special. Just do what you have to do,” Alyssa whispered back.

“Fine,” he said, suddenly becoming serious.

“Mitchell, I know that we’ve known each other for a long time now, but I never really cherished that. I made fun of the love you felt for me, I tried to push you away, but you never left. You never gave up on me, and that is something I will hold till my dying days,” Luther said, looking sincere and sweet.

Alyssa found herself staring at him, caught up in the moment. She must have taken a while to answer because a guest from the party yelled that she should just accept. “Yes, I will marry you,” Alyssa replied, her heart racing.

Luther took the ring given to him by one of his escorts and slipped it onto her finger. Alyssa couldn’t help but feel like all of this was real. Why did it feel so right, and why was her heart beating so fast? Could it be because of Luther?

This shouldn’t be happening! It shouldn’t! Alyssa thought as she stared into Luis’s eyes, feeling a sense of confusion and longing.