Undercover Princess Mia | ✔

Undercover Princess Mia : Chapter Thirty Six

"Dad, listen . . . Please don't publicize my engagement with Zen. I don't wish to be with him, I love Noah." I held my dad's arm and begged. He stared at me as if in deep thought. My eyes turned watery when dad told me that it was time to make my engagement public. This was all because of my stupid fiancé.

"Does that boy has knowledge about what's going on here?" he asked and I pretended to be confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked, although I knew exactly what he meant. I quietly let go his arm. "But I love Noah and does love me too. Just postpone the announcement of this engagement please . . . "

"What if Noah comes to know everything? He'll let go of you, Mia. You were lying to him all this time," he pointed out and sudden anger seeped within me. Dad was the one who sent me close towards Noah. He was the one who gave the job to Uncle John, not me.

"Don't blame me for all this dad! It's not entirely my fault! Besides, I'll tell Noah everything and that too now!" I yelled as I stormed outside the study room and from the corner of my eye, I saw my dad rubbing his temples.

The moment I was out, I leaned on the wall and exhaled audibly. I saw Emma approaching me in her wheelchair as she half-smiled at me. She then disappeared into the study room without saying anything. I heard low, soft voices coming from the room so I pressed my ear and heard carefully,

"Daddy, we should break this engagement. If Mia marries Zen then Ethan'll have a major ego issue. He would then want to destroy Mia, even more," I heard my sister say.

"But dear--- "

"I know Ethan very well, father," she said more firmly and I smiled, regaining my posture. I was extremely grateful that Emma was supporting me. Suddenly, I noticed a tall figure looming behind me. I turned around and looked only to see Noah walking with a paint set in his hand. He seemed calm so I knew that this was the right time to confess.

"Noah, wait . . . Listen, I want to talk to you." I ran after him and grabbed his arm. He looked down at me and I clinged on his arm like a bug.

"Noah, listen to me--- "

"Are you inviting me to your engagement, now? Heard that you're announcing it tonight," he spat out, gritting his teeth. My grip on his arm tightened.

"I don't--- "

"Don't freaking give me that crap, that you don't know anything! For once, stop lying!" He raised his voice and I flinched when he jerked his arm away from my hold and stalked ahead. His hands were balled into fists and without wasting another moment, I ran after him again. I wouldn't give up on my love so easily, I wanted to tell him everything. He deserved to know why I was being evasive earlier.

Noah had already arrived till his room and before he could slam it shut, I held the door open with all my strength.

"Noah, please. Let me tell you--- "

He scoffed and slammed the door shut. I quickly banged on the door and shouted, "JB, JB!"

I heard some shuffling sound coming from inside and the door slowly creaked open. Noah peeked through the door gingerly and bellowed, "What did you call me?"

"JB, Junior Bruce Lee. Uncle John used to call you this when you were little, didn't he?" I said and he looked bewildered. Uncle John used to tell me the tales of Noah and never once did he call his son by his name. He always referred to him as JB and therefore I was clueless when I first met Noah. Hearing the tales of Noah from his father during my preteen years, somewhere in my mind, I already liked Noah before I even met him.

"I'll tell you everything, Noah. Just come with me," I pleaded and he grudgingly followed me. "I'm being forced into this marriage with Zen, it's not my choice. Our engagement was marked right from our birth itself. Similarly, Emma and Ethan's engagement was also fixed right from the day they were born."

Noah gave me a perplexed look and I bit my bottom lip and continued, "Ethan's a year older than Emma and right from childhood they both loved each other dearly unlike Zen and me. However, Zen gained importance in his dad's business and although being the younger brother, Zen was always smart and witty in business. He was the decision-maker of the family and that's why Ethan was highly envious of Zen. Ethan believed that as the older son, he deserved to have an upper hand in the business, but he was rejected. After some years, Ethan decided to build his own Empire which he wanted to be more successful than Zen's."

Noah and I now strolled in the garden. Fortunately, he didn't say anything and only listened intently, nodding occasionally for me to continue talking.

"On the way in doing all this, Ethan got into the Mafia, drug dealing and in all the unethical things because it isn't easy to claw your way up in business. Ethan still loved my sister, but once our family got to know everything about Ethan, they kept Emma away from him. Emma loved Ethan too, but she obediently agreed to be away from him when my parents told her so. She knew that Ethan's world had become dangerous and this made Ethan furious. He started threatening Emma and all of us with dire consequences. Emma started getting abduction threats from Ethan and those days were really harrowing for all of us."

I didn't realize that I had started crying again until I felt Noah's hand on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around him and cried. My cheeks were pressed against his chest as fresh tears soaked his t-shirt. He rubbed my back soothingly and I sniffed.

This was going to be the last time I would ever be able to hug Noah because after knowing the truth, Noah would leave me.

I pulled away and Noah held my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine. I ushered him towards the parking lot and unlocked one out of the five spare cars parked. The driver came rushing to me, but I dismissed him since I wanted to be with Noah alone.

"We're going somewhere where you'll understand better, Noah. I'll tell you the rest of the story on the way and please try to forgive me if you can," I said as I sat on the driver's seat and buckled my seat belt.

Noah softly placed his hand on my thigh and whispered, "This wouldn't be that bad."

"Hopefully," I mumbled and took a deep breath. I tied my hair into a ponytail and glanced at the mirror. My face was messed up with tear stains and my cheeks flushed. I wiped my cheeks and placed my hand on the steering wheel, tapping my thumb on it softly as I waited for the gate to open. 

"So this is what happened, six months ago . . . "