Her Mischievous Prince (Book 3)

Two

Riley

“I’m sorry, you did what?!” I screamed over the phone taken by several emotions. The first is obviously surprise, then denial, and then anger. Okay, I admit, anger is such a strong word, so annoyed perhaps. I honestly, for the life of me, can’t believe that my mother would just do something so juvenile and out of character. “What? I’m not allowed to fall in love? To get married again and be happy?” My mother retorted like a teenager being caught red-handed. It wasn’t so much about not being allowed, but it was about keeping it a secret and rushing into it. Seriously, for crying out loud! She’s 45 and she suddenly gets married in Vegas. I didn’t even know she was seeing her boss. “You know very well that’s not what I mean mom. How am I supposed to react? You got married in secret and you never even told me you were dating someone. No scratch that, you never told me that you’re dating not just anyone, but your freaking boss!” I exclaimed, becoming more and more agitated the longer we continue to discuss things.

You see, I’m normally a calm person, but this news is hitting me like a tidal wave. To me, this is completely insane. I know, I know. I’m supposed to be happy for her, but you don’t hide this kind of information from your daughter. Otherwise, it just makes the action suspicious, at least for me. “Well, we agreed to keep things private and now we’re married, so get on with the program. What’s done is done. I only called to tell you about the good news and that Xavier wants you to spend time with us at their lake house and I’m not taking no for an answer. His sons are coming despite their very busy schedules, so I’m expecting you can do the same. If you don’t want to catch a ride with us, then meet us there tomorrow. I’m sending you the location later. This isn’t a request. Do you hear me, Riley Emelie Thompson?” Great! now I’m just supposed to agree because apparently I don’t have a choice and on top of that, I’m suddenly supposed to act like I’m perfectly at ease with the whole situation. Like spending time with her new husband, whom I’ve seen only about three times in the last something years, or the fact that his sons are also going to be there which I haven’t met personally, by the way, isn’t awkward at all. Nope, not awkward at all... Yeah right! I seriously think my mother has gone mad. No, I think she’s aging backward.

I could defy her if I really wanted to, but a huge part of me felt that this was the least I can do for her. I don’t like it one bit, but I feel obligated to do this for her. I mean the woman’s a legend. She raised me all on her own when my dad died. I was about five then and after that, my mom has been working day in and day out on different jobs just so I could live a somewhat normal life. It was only when she became an executive assistant when things started getting a bit better for the both of us, so with that said, there’s really no point in arguing and resisting any longer. “Loud and clear,” I reluctantly answered. “Good,” she triumphantly purred before hanging up.

I pinched the bridge of my nose counting from one to ten while breathing in and out slowly and when I felt that I’m no longer as pissed as I was earlier, I decided to head to my room so that I could rummage through my closet for clothes to pack. We’re staying at a house by the lake so that could mean plenty of swimming and sun... or not. I have no clue. I should’ve asked, but I was too pissed to even think of that, and asking would simply imply that I’m excited or looking forward to it even though I’m truly dreading it.

You see, I’m a very organized person. I don’t like surprises especially when it disrupts my routine, schedules, or plans. Everything has to be written down on my planner. If it’s not there, it’s not happening. In other words, I’m not very spontaneous. I don’t like it when things are being thrown my way without at least a few days’ notice. That kind of thing disorients me. I like order, to-do lists, and following all sorts of rules because it gives me a sense of control over my life, not that it’s out of control. Am I uptight though? That depends on the situation and the person I’m dealing with. I don’t feel comfortable socializing based on leisure. Sure, I have friends, but not a lot. I like to keep to myself. The only time I socialize is when I have to speak to my clients and not to be boastful or anything, but I’m damn good at that. In simpler terms, I’m an introvert, but I love working.

I swung my closet doors open and paced back and forth in front of it like I was waiting for an important announcement to happen. “What do I need? What do I need?” I kept asking myself loudly while tapping my fingers on my chin. It’s not like I have hundreds of clothes in there, in fact, most of the clothes I have are the ones that I use for client meetings or the ones I use for site visits which now explains my lack of casual clothes. Again, introvert. Hence, not many weekend getaways, picnics, nor party clothes. “My god, Riley. You need to buy yourself something nice for once.” I chastised myself as I sighed. I know that it’s weird that I’m talking to myself out loud like this, but I normally do this when I’m in the process of making different decisions no matter how small they are. It’s like my very own pep talk. Something I like to do to either calm my nerves, or psych myself whenever I’m nervous or uncomfortable.

I finally stopped pacing and brought out several things such as two summer dresses, three pairs of shorts, seven tank tops, a few bathing suits, five shirts, two decent jeans, and a few other things to choose from, but in the end, I threw in all sorts of clothes and stuff - for just in cases. There... I thought to myself clapping my hands together as if this was the biggest accomplishment I’ve had in my life. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and set the alarm before heading to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

As I was rinsing off the body wash, I thought about my mother’s new husband. I honestly don’t know anything about him except that he owns huge hotel and real estate companies and that he’s a big shot billionaire as in the real deal. Now, I don’t frown upon the rich nor the famous. I don’t have this prejudice about them that they’re supposed to be mean just cause they can buy whatever the hell they want. It’s not their fault that they’ve got tons of money to spend, but I just didn’t get it. Why marry my mom exactly? Not that my mother isn’t a catch or anything. My mom’s gorgeous and she’s intelligent, but still, why her when he could’ve chosen any woman? You know, someone from the elite class as well.

So, really my mom getting married to a man like him is just puzzling. She’s not the materialistic type as far as I know, so could this be real love? I have no freaking idea. If this really was love then I’ll be happy for them, but if it’s something else... sheesh! Hopefully, after this ridiculous vacation, I’ll finally be able to have answers.