Emery: A Prince's Adventure novel Chapter 4

Emma

As I enter the dining room, I immediately see Emery talking to his mother but within seconds, he turns to look at me before eyeing my dress and my face; causing my cheeks to slightly flush pink. Without further ado, I continue to make my way towards them and joining the small crowd.

''I'm sorry but the king won't be joining us today,'' One of the guards say, breaking the silence.

Emery glances at his mother for a few seconds before pointing at one of the seats near me as a gesture for me to sit down. He pulls the chair to the back, letting me sit in my own comfort and to my surprise, he leans in near my ear, ''You look stunning.'' He whispers.

Then, he starts to make his way towards his own seat while I continue to keep my calm high instead of getting all excited over a compliment. The truth is, I feel like jumping up and down due to his compliment; I've never been complimented by a prince before and I'm sure it'll cause anyone to react in a crazy own way.

My mother sits beside me in her dress that I've come to notice, fits her perfectly which define her natural curves. I hold onto her hand, ''You look nice, mum.'' I say with a smile and she chuckles; lightly caressing my cheek.

The queen has finally seated down next to Emery and she turns to look at me immediately, ''Emma, you look absolutely beautiful and I'm glad that the dress fits you very well. Red is definitely your colour, dear.'' She says and I nod with a smile plastered on my face as a thank you.

Within seconds, I start to see other people coming in. The amount of people in this dining room are around ten—I heard the queen only invited her closes friend as she does not want mum and I to feel a little bit pushed by her welcoming. Almost all of them has their eyes glued to me but I pretend not to notice because I'll end up embarrassing myself without noticing.

I look up to see Emery focused on the food in front of him without glancing elsewhere. My mind seem to have forgotten that it's very impolite to stare as I continue to look at him and see the way he frowns just by looking at his food which makes me chuckle lightly. Honestly, he looks unknowingly adorable in his own ways.

All of a sudden, he starts to look up at me, causing my eyes to widen immediately. Our eyes meet and they start to look deeply into one another as if we can go through each other's soul. I break the eye contact, trying to cover up the embarrassment I've earned.

''I saw that,'' My mother says beside me in a low tone.

''What?'' I raise an eyebrow, gazing at her.

She raises the glass of water before taking a sip, ''The whole romantic stare, I saw it all. Don't need to be shy or hide those things away from me, it's normal for you to develop feelings—even without knowing each other yet,'' She replies.

''That's very impossible, mum. This is the twenty-first century, there's no such things as developing feelings without knowing one another; there's also no such things as love at first sight because it does not exist. Humans are attracted to attractive people and love at first sight may only be possible if the person is undeniably beautiful.'' I state, causing her to look at me with disbelief before smiling, half-agreeing.

''Suit yourself, Emma. A mother knows best,'' She says.

During the whole dinner, I was trying my best to not spare a single glance towards Emery because I know that we might end up in another awkward situation which I highly want to avoid. Even though I felt him looking at me for a few times but I managed to stay still and pushed away the temptation to look at him too.

Right now, I'm just walking down the hallway as I excused myself earlier. I can't get my thoughts straight with being near all those people—they looked at me and they started to talk but I hardly pay any attention. It's probably because they know that I'll be marrying the Prince of Cambridge.

I immediately stop my steps once I see Emery walking in a hurry towards the king's chamber. I furrow my eyebrows at the sight of him—catching a glimpse of his eyebrows frowning in worry but I stay still, taking a few steps further away, scared if I might get caught for invading someone's privacy.

When I turn around, I see a man standing quite near me with a smile plastered on his face. My eyes widen instantly, surprised at his figure. Then, he chuckles, ''I'm sorry to scare you but you look like you're troubled.'' He says in his thick accent and I just curve up my lips in an awkward smile.

''I'm fine,'' I reply.

After taking a closer look at him, it appears that he's around his thirties, probably yet his blue eyes are the only feature that's appealing enough to attract someone. He looks deeply into my eyes but I find it slightly uncomfortable, ''I've learned from experience that when a woman says that she's fine, she's actually not. I don't know whether I should say the same for you.'' He says.

We both end up staring at each other but my stare is a little bit more confused.

''I'm really fine, actually. There's nothing that is bothering me or anything and I appreciate your concern but I don't need it at the moment or any other moment, to be honest. I'm good,'' I speak, taking a few steps further away because he seems a little bit mysterious in a way that I don't prefer.

''Alright, that's good to hear.'' He replies before smiling once more. Then, he continues to walk down the hall, leaving me here all by myself—just how I want.

When I start to hear familiar voices, I turn towards the king's chamber, seeing Emery and the queen stepping out but what surprises me most is the look on Emery's face. It shows how he's worried and troubled which confuses me slightly. As for the queen, she starts to sigh deeply, holding onto her son's arm, ''Emery, there's no other choice. You know that too,'' She says.

''There has got to be a choice, mother. The agreement cannot determine my life as I do have a choice to my own life and you know that better than anyone else including father. He's too caught up with the promise he made with his father years ago and I don't blame him at all but I'm not letting the agreement ruin my future,'' He replies, looking straight at his mother.