Anything Could Happen

Chapter Eight: Explanations

Stepping out into the palace gardens, Lionel smiled looking to Briana keeping her close to him; he could only hope that no one was going to interrupt them, he shrugged off his suit jacket and handed it to her. 

The gardens were beautiful this time of year and despite the cold, Lionel couldn't help but think that this was the perfect place to tell Briana about what had happened. 

"Your parents must miss you," Lionel murmured wondering what his new in-laws would be like, he hoped they would like him and he was sure that it would take some time for them to adjust to the news. 

Briana peeked at him, she had no idea why he was so insistent on spending time with her; she was no one and yet he made her feel like the most important person in the room. 

"My madre passed away a few years ago," Briana explained carefully, she looked down at her feet wondering what her mother would think about how her life had turned out; she would probably be so disappointed with everything. 

Lionel swallowed feeling bad about asking, they walked in silence for a moment and he knew that he would have to make an extra good impression on her father. 

"And your padre?" Lionel asked softly, he stayed close to Briana as they walked enjoying the fact that they were away from prying eyes; everyone would probably be awaiting his proposal news. 

Briana just shrugged her shoulders, she knew the deal and she wasn't allowed to tell anyone that Carlos was her father; his reputation here was important and she didn't want to cause any trouble. 

Sighing at the fact that she hadn't said anything about her father, Lionel couldn't help but wonder what had happened to make her so silent and he had a feeling that Christina was the main cause of her nervousness around him. 

Leading Briana over to the benches that sat by the fountains, Lionel took a deep breath feeling the weight that sat in his pocket; he'd been carrying it round all evening and he couldn't wait to give it to Briana.

Taking a seat, Briana watched Lionel wondering why he was suddenly looking so nervous and she hoped that this wasn't some sort of practical joke; it had happened before with her date at prom. 

The guy had only asked her as a dare from his friends and Briana was almost glad that she had never seen him again when she had found out that Bethany had been in on it. 

"Briana. You are my mate," Lionel revealed watching Briana closely, he sat down next to her on the bench not sure how she was going to take the news; he gently reached out to take her hand in comfort. 

It was silent for a moment as Briana stared at Lionel, her mind racing at his words and she almost hoped that he was joking; she couldn't imagine what was going to happen if he wasn't. 

Briana's brown eyes searched his face, her stomach dropped when she realised that he wasn't joking about this and it was only going to end in tears. 

"Oh my God. Christina's going to kill me," Briana whispered pulling away from Lionel, she got to her feet not knowing what to do and she wondered if anyone else knew about this. 

There was no doubt that Ariana had known and it would explain why she had wanted to play dress up with her; Briana was suddenly frightened what this would mean for her. 

"You were meant to pick Bethany," Briana said shaking her head and looking to Lionel, Christina was going to strangle her when she worked out what had happened. 

Bethany was the one that they were expecting to marry the prince, she was the daughter of an ambassador and had been raised to marry someone like Lionel.

"Why was I meant to pick her?" Lionel asked confused, he didn't understand why she was so worried about what anyone else would think; his family were thrilled for them and he was excited about what came next. 

Of course Lionel understood that it was going to be a large change for Briana, she'd obviously never had people watching her every move but he would be there for her. 

"Because she's Bethany," Briana replied bitterly, she tried to calm herself down knowing that she was probably upsetting him with her actions but she couldn't help it; she was scared of what came next. 

There was no way that Christina would allow them to take this further, she would ruin Briana's life to ensure that Bethany got what she deserved. 

"I don't want her... I want you," Lionel reassured getting to his feet, he could see that Briana was getting upset and he wished he knew why; he gently reached out for her only for her to take a step back. 

Briana tried to swallow the lump that was forming in her throat, she didn't want to cry and she wished Lionel would stop being so sweet. 

"How could you ever want me?" Briana sniffled as her emotions got the better of her, she just wanted to go home and cry; she was already dreading what would happen when Christina got a hold of her. 

Lionel was amazing and Briana was sure he could easily find someone that suited him much better than her; someone who wouldn't be a complete disappointment to him. 

"I'm the bastard that Carlos never wanted," Briana whispered as tears finally started to leak, she couldn't bring herself to look at him now that she had revealed the truth. 

It all finally making sense and Briana knew that it would change everything now he knew, there was no way the royal family would want a bastard marrying into them. 

"Don't ever call yourself that..." Lionel spat grabbing Briana's arm and turning her to face him, he was angry at the horrid word that she had called herself. 

Everything finally made sense to him and he couldn't help but feel angrier at the fact that Carlos had failed Briana in such a way; she was his daughter and deserved more than what she had.

Brushing away her tears, Lionel searched her face thanking his prayers that he had been gifted with an extra special mate; he wasn't going to abandon her to whatever she was clearly afraid of. 

"Briana. It is you that I want," Lionel murmured slowly pulling out the box from his pocket, he peeked at her warily not sure how she would take this before he slowly opened the box to reveal the silver diamond sapphire engagement bracelet that had belonged to his great-grandmother. 

It had been hand-crafted by his great-grandfather and had been passed down to Lionel when he had come of age to give to his own mate when the time came for it. 

"We'll do this any way you want Briana... but I'm not going to let you go now that I have found you," Lionel mumbled shaking his head, he carefully removed the bracelet from the box and gently took her left hand before placing the bracelet on her wrist. 

Briana could only stand speechlessly for a moment, she stared at Lionel having no idea what to say to him; she didn't think anyone would react well to the news that she was born out of wedlock. 

Brushing his fingers against her arm, Lionel watched her face not sure how she was going to react; he stepped a little closer to her, knowing that he had to know what she was thinking. 

"Mine?" Lionel murmured ducking forward to brush his lips against Briana's, he rested his hands on her hips knowing that he would do anything to make it so. 

Searching his face for a moment, Briana remembered all the dreams that she'd had of him; she swallowed knowing that this was all happening for a reason. 

"Yours," Briana agreed before Lionel kissed her, she just hoped that she was making the right decision about all of this.