The Royal Alpha's Destined Bride

Chapter 10

After wrapping the scarf around my neck, Ira brought his hands down to hold my arms.

"My offer still stands, Odette. I'm willing to marry you-"

"No!" I raised my voice because I already knew where that conversation was headed and I wanted him stop. I had heard that from him many times before from the time when he was Ven's love rival to this day. Everytime I saw him, Ira would propose to me whenever he found the chance to talk to me in private. Even when I knew it was coming, I didn't refuse to meet up with him in private for a reason even I was not sure of yet.

"You're engaged, Ira. We both are. I love Ven and I would never leave him for someone else," I said, inwardly questioning my own words. After what I witnessed, could I still say that? I really did love Ven but I was starting to reconsider my love for him.

"That's what you think but does the same apply for Ven?" Ira asked, a question that made my heart skip a painful beat. My face became stiff and I looked up at him with shaky eyes. His expression was stern and he stared deeply into my gray eyes with his black ones.

"You ran away for a reason, didn't you? And I know why. I'm familiar with the lover he had before you. I saw her in the castle earlier," he said, his grip on my arms tightening. The painful feeling in my chest increased and the tears welled up in my eyes again. My vision became blurry but I still maintained eye contact with him.

"T-They were standing so close... He was smiling... a-and touching her..." I couldn't stop myself from stuttering as I let out the words that were lingering in my mind. As the only person who could console me, I wanted to let him know how I felt. I could see his expression changing to that of a scowl. He was infuriated because he couldn't believe that Ven, his close friend who had won the heart of the woman he loved, had betrayed me when he hadn't even married me yet; simply because his seductress of an ex-girlfriend had come to pay him a visit.

"But I still love him. I know he wouldn't betray my love for him-" my words were cut short when Ira leaned in to my face. Before I could object to it, he pressed his cold lips against mine. I was stunned for a moment before I moved away from him. Without thinking, I raised my hand and slapped him across his face, leaving a feint, red print of my small hand on his face.

"Did you not hear what I just said? I said I love Ven!" I was angry but somewhat relieved at the same time, thought I didn't want to admit the former. Ira sighed heavily and turned around to face the chapel's entrance.

"I love you, Odette. Even if I'm engaged to someone else, it's just an arranged marriage to bring two kingdoms together. My heart belongs to you and only you," he spoke with a soft tone. I heard his words loud and clear and just as I did many times before, I listened attentively and took his words to heart. There was no doubt that he really did love me. His engagement to the foreign princess was meant to bring NotenIsle and her kingdom together and to restore peace between them, the same thing that Ven was aiming for by marrying me.

However, Ven was in love with the woman he would marry and Ira wasn't. He wasn't certain if he actually would go through through the wedding but if I were to accept his love, he would break off the engagement to be with me. His parents, the current king and queen who were ready to retire their positions to the next generation were fond of me, or so Ira told me. I had never met them before but they apparently had no grudges against humans and would have welcomed me into their home and as their new daughter-in-law, unlike Iris and Maribel.

Frankly speaking, Ira and his family were more accommodating of me than Ven's family was. It made sense that I should've been with him instead, but it didn't to me because I was in love with Ven. But there was a chance that Ven was still in love with his former lover.

"I'll give you some time to think about it before you get married. There's only so much time left..." Ira said next, walking towards the door without saying another word to me. I stubbornly kept on believing in the love I felt towards Ven. I wanted to consider Ira's love and the life I would have if I were with him and I felt tempted to stop him from leaving me alone in the chapel. I watched his back as he opened the door and walked out. When the door was closed, I looked down at my right hand and pulled down the sleeve.

"Why is this happening? What am I supposed to do?" I asked myself, holding on to the cuff of the sleeve and using it to wipe away at my face to get rid of any tear stains that were left. I thought I did a good job at hiding the fact that I was crying before but my tears persisted and my sleeve became wet instead. I started to feel weak and moved to the side of a pew so that I could sit down but before I did, a pale hand came into my field of vision and grabbed mine befor I could sit down.

I looked up for a brief moment to see Ven before he pulled me in to his chest. He wrapped his arms around my small body and held tightly on to me as though I would try to escape and he would lose me for good. He didn't want to let me go and now that I had experienced the warmth of being so close to him, I didn't want to move away either. I pressed the side of my face against his chest, my tears wetting his top.

"I'm glad you're safe. I thought something terrible had happened to you," he spoke softly, running his hands through my hair at the back of my head. I sniffed, failing to hold back the tears. I was upset and was struggling to sort out the conflicting feelings I had at the moment.

"Hasn't it?" I asked just loud enough for me to hear him. I felt his fingers grab on to a strand of my hair. He rested his chin on top of my head.

"It's a misunderstanding, Odette. Don't think so little of me. I know you trust me," he said but I pulled my head away from his chest. I tried to move away from his body but he kept a firm hold on my waist.

"You were standing so close to her and smiling at her! You obviously love her-"

"The only one I love is you!" He didn't meant to raise his voice at me but if he hadn't, I wouldn't have stopped shouting to listen to what he had to say. He knew from the very start that he should not have allowed Fleur to walk into the palace because she came there to do nothing but cause trouble. Now, it was already too late and he couldn't very well ask her to leave the palace with a broken ankle. She had twisted it badly as she had on high heels and she wouldn't have broken it had he not pushed her away from him.

"I'll be honest with you... I did love Fleur at some point and she was the one I wanted to marry," his words hurt and my heartbeat increased with each passing second. I felt betrayed especially by the fact that he was willing to admit the things he was saying.

"But she's not the one for me. What I feel for you is far greater and different than what I felt for her. I would never choose her or anyone else even if my life depended on it," he said. He rested his fingers under my chin and tilted my head up so that I was looking into his eyes; the same eyes that I fell madly in love with. The warm smile playing on his lips warmed my body and heart, and his words contributed to the flame. I could tell that he wasn't lying. What he felt for me was genuine love, however, I couldn't tell if he felt something for Fleur or not.

"What if my life was at stake?" I asked and his smile dropped. I didn't register my own thoughts before I said them out loud and when I did realize what I said, I quickly shook my head.

Don't answer that! I didn't mean to ask. I know you love me and you can't bare to be with anyone else-" He silenced me by taking my lips in a kiss. His lips were warm, completely different to how Ira's felt. I mentally scolded myself for thinking about Ven's love rival during our intimate moment so that I could enjoy the kiss to its fullest. He moved away a few seconds later.

"If your life was at stake, I would do anything to save you... even if it means we can't be together. I would rather have you alive and somewhere else than for me to no longer be able to see you... talk to you, forever." Apart from the words he said to me when he proposed to me, that was the most romantic thing he had ever said to me, although it was somewhat ironic. There was passion in those words, his eyes and his kiss; the reasons why I was still in love with him.

I did take Ira's words into consideration but my heart was set on Ven. Logically speaking, I would have been happier with Ira, but the suffering I was going through thanks to Iris and Mari would only last a few more days. Afterwards, I would be the queen and nothing would interfere between Ven and I, and our love for each other. I would just be him and I.