Chapter 4 Not In Love

Chapter 4: Not In Love

"How does it feel being royally chosen?" one of the reporters asked.

"Your Royal Highness, is she your girlfriend? Do you love each other?"

"How did your love story begin?"

Ivan wanted his soul to leave his body. He didn't know how to respond to the questions being hurled at them. Meanwhile, Diana just gave the journalists a fake smile. She knew they were the hot topic of the country now.

When she looked at Ivan's expression, she rubbed his arm with her hand. She leaned closer and whispered, "Smile, Prince. You don't want to see the headline 'Constipated Prince' tomorrow, do you?"

Realizing her words, Ivan tried to pull off a fake smile too. "I suck at this. How can one give a fake smile?"

"Do you think I am smiling out of happiness?" Diana retorted. "Just pretend to smile and walk towards the car. I'm sure your parents and the guards are there. It's just a test. They want to know how I handle the public."

"Let's just go then."

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. When Ivan grabbed her hand and tried to pull her away, she remained glued to her position.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible.

Diana smirked. "It's a test. How about I ruin it? It will make the king and the queen hate me."

"What do you have in m-" before he could finish speaking, Diana dug in her shoes into the gravel and broke her heel on purpose.

Immediately, gravity shifted and made her fall backward. But just as she could fall flatly on the ground and create an embarrassing accident, a heavy hand grabbed her waist.

Diana opened her eyes, only to find a pair of green eyes looking into her brown ones.

"Aww..." a lady reporter let out. Soon, everyone started to admire the couple's cuteness.

The king and the queen, along with Merida, were watching them. Suzanne smiled. "She knows how to handle the public. Perfect!"

"I knew I raised my daughter perfectly," Merida said proudly.

How did a commoner do that? This is unusual. I am happy that we reached her before it was too late, the king thought.

Diana tried to stand up. She grumbled, "Why did you save me, you dimwit?"

"You were about to fall so-wait. It was the plan?" Ivan took a minute to realize.

She rolled her eyes. "How can I forget that you always realize everything late? Ugh."

"What kind of woman breaks her heel on purpose?"

"Well, now what? You ruined my plan. What will we do?" she asked.

"As you cannot walk now, I have to do this," he mumbled. Before Diana could ask what he had to do, he carried her up in his arms, her knees held up by Ivan's hands.

The crowd was filled with awws as Ivan walked towards the car, carrying Diana along the way. The paparazzi followed them, continuously clicking pictures of them.

Diana wrapped her hands around his neck. "Wrong move, dude. That was a very wrong move."

"Well, I had to help you. We can make them hate us later."

As soon as they reached the parking lot, Merida and Diana got into their car.

"We will send a car tomorrow. Be ready to come to the palace and meet others," Suzanne said to Diana.

Diana smiled and nodded. Diana had a habit of smiling; in fact, it was always hard to tell whether it was real or fake. Each time she smiled, her dimples popped out, making her look the cutest of them all.

Sparing one last glance at Ivan, Diana held his gaze before breaking the contact and started driving towards her house. Her phone chimed, and she knew it was Aiden. Diana decided to ignore it and call him later. She wanted to tell her mother everything about Aiden, but she had to discuss everything with Ivan first. After all, they had to stick together through this tough phase. That was one benefit of being such close friends; they understood each other perfectly.

###

Ivan stepped inside the queen's chamber to talk to her. Suzanne was doing her pedicure, sitting on her easy chair.

"Do you want something, son? If you are here to thank me, then there is no need. I am your mother and I am proud of your choice."

"Mom, I need to talk to you alone."

She nodded and looked at her maid. The maid scooted out of the room; Suzanne stood up. "What is it, Ivan?"

"Mom, Diana is not my girlfriend. She is my best friend. You misinterpreted everything." Suzanne waited for him to continue and he did, saying, "I talked to her at night because of our time difference. When I call her, it's seven P.M. in the United States. She is usually free at that time, thus, we talk over the phone. She really is just my best friend. I cannot marry her."

"If she is your best friend, then does it mean that you don't have a girlfriend?"

He sighed. It was time for him to tell the truth. He couldn't destroy four lives due to a misunderstanding. "I do. Rain Summers is my actual girlfriend, Mom. I love her. I want to marry her."

Suzanne frowned. She hated Rain. Rain didn't deserve to be the next queen. She couldn't be a part of the royal family.

"For how many years have you been in a relationship with her?" she inquired.

"Three. I liked her but never got the courage to confess. Three years ago, with Diana's advice, I expressed my feelings to Rain."

Suzanne sat on the bed and made Ivan sit next to her. "Does Rain know you're a prince?"

He shook his head. "No. As we always went to the same school and college, she thinks my real name is Ivan Cands."

Everyone thought his real name was Ivan Cands. It was used so that he could blend in with everyone. However, while receiving report cards or certificates, his real name was used, which only the principal knew.

The queen chuckled. "If you really loved Rain, you would've told her the truth, Ivan."

"I really love her. I was just scared. Please, don't confirm our wedding. We don't want our friendship ruined. She is my only best friend."

The queen could hear the desperation in Ivan's tone. She let out, "There is no way now. I like Diana and so does your dad. She is chosen by us. Look at the news. The reporters also loved her. If she meets the others tomorrow, they will love her too. She has a strong ability that impresses everyone. This is what our palace needs now. We will retire from the post after your marriage, and you will be crowned as the king. Diana Stevens will be the next queen."

"But -"

"No ifs and buts. The decision has been made. If you decide to go against it and marry Rain, I will make sure she and her family will never get happiness. This is a promise from the Queen of England."

Leaving Ivan speechless, Suzanne called her maid inside and sat back on the easy chair. "You may go now. Goodnight."

Ivan clenched his fist as he got out of the chamber. He felt helpless. He knew that four lives would get ruined because of his silly mistake. If only he told his father about Rain before everything happened, none of this would have happened. The king could have convinced the queen, but it was too late now. Even the king liked Diana.

When he got into his room, he saw ten missed calls from Rain. He wasn't in the mood to talk with her so he decided to face-time his best friend-now his fiancée-instead.

"Ivan, did the queen agree to stop our so-called approved relationship?" As soon as she picked up the call, an excited Diana grinned in eagerness through the screen. Her eyes were filled with hope.

Ivan didn't know how to answer her question. Having no other choice, Ivan sighed in disappointment. Seeing his look, Diana knew the answer. She felt doom thundering over her head.

"It can't be... we cannot ever get married. We are best friends!" she let out. "What will I tell Aiden? He has been calling me non stop!"

"I really don't know, Diana, I am sorry. I tried but my mom was persistent. She threatened to destroy Rain and her family if I tried to do anything. It's entirely my fault."

Diana took a deep breath and sat near her window. The stars were shining brightly in the sky. "It's not your fault, so why are you apologizing? In this tough time, we've got to stick together. And by 'we', I meant you, me, Aiden, and Rain."

He arched an eyebrow in confusion. "What's going on in that mind of yours?"

"We have to do a video call, the four of us. We gotta plan everything together. The wedding of the prince will happen, but not with me. The only person who deserves to be with you is Rain," Diana said, her fingers trembling as she added Aiden and Rain to their video call.

Immediately, their lovers' faces popped in.

Rain looked stricken as she peered at the prince, her usually jolly attitude disappearing. "Ivan, are you really the prince?" She slapped a palm against her forehead. "Of course you are!"

"Diana, how the fuck did you become royally chosen? Weren't you going for an emergency? Is that what the emergency was?!" Aiden spat.

Rain and Aiden were beyond angry. They needed answers to their many questions.

"It's a misunderstanding, Aiden. Diana didn't know anything about it. She was dragged into this. I didn't know anything about this either," Ivan answered. He was slightly annoyed with the way Aiden insulted his best friend. No one should treat his friend badly.

"Okay, guys," Diana broke in. "There has been a major problem. Just hear me out."

She started narrating everything. When the others tried to interrupt, Diana stopped them with a glare. She hated it when she was cut off in between.

"So, that's the story. We are officially stuck," she ended the story at last.

"I pity you guys. This is such a big misunderstanding! This reminds me, I can't believe you hid such a big truth from me, Ivan. Why would you do that?" Rain once more asked.

Ivan started explaining to Rain, while Diana exchanged a look with Aiden. They muted the audio of the other couple and earned some privacy.

"I really wish I didn't come back, Aiden. This is a nightmare."

Aiden bit his lips. "I don't know what to say. Talking with a guy doesn't mean that the girl loves him. Why can't anyone understand that?"

"I know, right? We're all over the news. I have to go to the palace tomorrow to meet others. I swear I will try my best to screw up everything."

He laughed at Diana's words. "Babe, we both know that you love perfection. You hate screwing things up."

"I am trying to learn that now. I never thought I would have to learn how to screw up."

"It's okay. I know you will solve everything. I trust you." He shot her a million-dollar smile. "Love you. Everything will be okay." When Aiden cut the call, she had to do the same.

She looked at the dark sky. The stars and the moon were trying to keep the darkness away. Her eyes started to become watery. She wanted to break down in tears and cry in Aiden's arms. How could someone like him love her so much? Why did fate have to play such a cruel game?

"Why did I even return when my mom said it was an emergency? Why did I listen to her?" Diana asked herself. Tears started forming in her eyes, but since she knew that she was wasting her time crying, Diana wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She went to the desk and pulled out her notebook, taking a pen and starting to scribble down possible ways to escape fate.

She noted five solutions, but none of them would turn out to be useful. They were all just silly plans.

"How will I escape?" she groaned. However, something ignited in her brain from the word escape. "Wait. What if...what if I escape from the wedding?"

That idea seemed to be the best solution. Without checking the time-which was two in the morning-she dialed the three of them.

"What?" Ivan asked.

Rain butt in. "This better be good!"

"I was about to go out, but never mind," Aiden stated.

"Guys, I have a plan!" Diana chirped.

"And that would be?" Ivan asked curiously.

"I will escape on the wedding day. That is the only option. As we cannot stop the wedding, I will escape and run back to the United States."

"Then what about the reputation of my family?"

Ivan frowned.

"Ivan, you don't have to worry. Rain will be a good person and step in. She will say that she will marry you and Ta-da! You two become a happy couple while I move in with Aiden in the United States."

Aiden twitched his lips. "That's actually a good idea. Ivan is the first child so he will definitely be crowned as the king after his marriage which in turn will make Rain, the queen. The queen won't be able to hurt her or her family then."

"Wow! I love this idea. We should really go for it. Will you really do this for us, Diana?" Rain asked in excitement. She couldn't believe that a girl would decide to ruin her image in front of the entire country just for saving four lives.

"Of course! We need to stay happy in our lives." Her reply made Rain love Diana more. Even though they weren't that close, they were friends. Rain would take advice from Diana every time she had a problem. "So, what do you say, Prince?"

Ivan noticed that Diana was calling him 'Prince'. He knew it was a way to show him that Diana was really pissed for hiding his real identity. Diana was not the type of person who would express anger openly.

"I think the plan will work. It sounds good."

"Excellent! Now, bye-bye." Diana ended the call. She pulled her emoticon pillow to her chest after lying on the bed. She could finally have a nice sleep after a busy day. Most importantly, she could sleep in peace as she now had a plan. Nothing would go wrong as long as she stayed away from everything.

After the wedding date was planned the following day, she would make sure to distance herself from the royal family, and most importantly, she had to maintain her distance with Ivan Candelstone. No one knew this, but Ivan became her crush ever since she saw him in a café eight years ago. He was like her celebrity crush, whose handsome face she would always admire but knew she could never get.

Diana never believed in love. She had never been able to say 'I love you' to Aiden. She knew these three words-which Aiden was dying to hear-would never be able to come out of her mouth. Love was not something she believed she fell into, but she respected everyone who fell in love. It was the first reason she accepted Aiden. She only liked him.

However, Diana didn't want to separate two lovers at any cost, especially since it is her best friend's love. She'd have to ruin her image and escape the wedding. She knew Ivan would kill himself if he got separated by Rain. He loved Rain too much.

Everyone knew that destiny never played fair. It was always cruel, especially to people who try to run away from it. And now, it was Diana's turn.