Cast Aside Without a Mate

Chapter 17: A Romantic Set Up?

Chapter 17 Desmond's POV

I groaned when I guessed what my parents were scheming when they placed them at a table with only women from other royal families. Dante must have heard me complain because he walked over leisurely to look at what had displeased me. I watched as Dante circled the table, reading the names of the four women joining us for the garden lunch, which was approaching faster than I liked now that we knew what our special garden surprise would be. If our parents were going to listen to one of us, it would be Dante.

I stared at my brother intensely, hoping he would get that I was trying to scream at him silently. A small smile danced on his face when Dante looked over at me. Still giving him a look to fix this, he turned to our mother, who was arranging some flowers at some of the tables. I watched Dante glide his fingers along the tablecloth as he slowly approached our mother. He slowly and gently placed his hands on each of her shoulders and made petite circular massages on her shoulder blades. His gravel, magnetic voice dripped with charm as he spoke, "Mama, the names on the table seem familiar. Are these names the daughters of the royal families?" Dante's voice gradually got lower as he asked Mama about the meaning of this ploy.

Mama chuckled while Dante continued to massage her shoulders and upper back. "Oh, Dante baby, you and Desmond are intelligent young men. It would be easy to guess why you are seated with the most well-known royal family women who are unmarried and ready to find their mates. Perhaps you should not overthink it. If they are not your mates, your father and I will wait patiently to see if they are your mates next year. There is no rush, but it would be good for everyone if you found your mates tonight, don't you think?" She smiled warmly over her shoulder at me instead as she spoke, because she could not face Dante while he massaged her. She put her hands over Dante's hands to stop the massage and slowly turned around to face him.

As Mama turned around, she lifted her hands to cradle Dante's face gently in her hands. She smiled sweetly at Dante as she replied, "You are not expected to pick one of them. Just get along and be open-minded to the possibility that you may find your mate today." She winked at Dante and turned to me as she let go of his face. "No, Desmond, I know you disliked this last year. That is why we decided to have a backup table for the ladies in case you boys had a problem with it." She gestured to the table on the other side where our parents would be seated. There were no placards on the table for anyone to be seated at that table. "If it is an issue, you boys can move the ladies to that table. We figured you might cause a fuss, so we left it up to you two as a choice." Mama said matter-of-factly as she showed us that they had prepared for us to fuss about trying to be paired with potential women who were not our mates.

No sooner than Mama had spoken, Dante swiftly picked up the placards and read them again: " Lilth Black, Brenda Harris, Alexis Hawlthorn, and Alice Stormfield." He frowned and then scratched his head. "Hey Mama, is Alice the woman supposed to marry Prince Lance of the fairy kingdom?" Dante pursed his lips, and his brows furrowed in thought. Hearing that she was to be married, my eyebrows shot up in shock. "Mama, we cannot have someone else's finances at our table. What about other women? Are they all mated?" I feigned hurt at our parents' choice of pairing us with a soon-to-be wedded woman. Mama rolled her eyes and snatched the placards from Dante's hand, moving them to the other table away from us.

I shot Dante a quick thumbs up and then played innocently as I turned back to our mother, who went back to fluffing the flower arrangements at each table. "At least let us find our mates on our own till we turn into adults before you push random women onto us, Mama," I spoke softly as I was fluffing a few pillows on the giant swing in front of the fire pit. Mama had just finished touching up the arrangements and turned to look at me. "I will always respect your wishes. I want you boys to try to find a mate this time. Please, no running off today in between ceremonies. It would be easier to find your mate if you socialized." My mother was polite, and I could tell she would not push us to mingle with anyone that is not our mate. I sighed and finished fluffing pillows by the fire pit as I reached for my mother's hand. She smiled. I kissed the back of her hand gently and bowed graciously to her. "We will find our mate when it is meant to be," I whispered to her and breathed in her gentle jasmine scent that took me back to my childhood.

I hugged Mama and squeezed her firmly. She laughed and pushed me away gently. "You will both always make me proud." She looked a bit teary-eyed as she smiled from ear to ear. Dante gently cleared his throat, catching our attention. Mama and I looked at Dante to see him opening the boxes he had brought. He pulled out a picture frame decorated in a beautiful pale green and forest green diamond pattern. The metallic finish on the frame reflected beautifully in the garden. It looked like nature underwater, casting waves that crossed over all the foliage and flowers. Dante set the picture on our table. He also took out a small centerpiece that was stunning. The vase was crystal clear, and looked like gold was flowing out of the castle inside the vase. The gold rained down and empowered the people at the bottom. The top was sealed and looked like the pure gold light raging like a storm in the sky above, but the storm was beautiful. Dante placed the centerpiece on our table and plugged it into the outlet. With a click, the centerpiece came to life.

I was stunned at the beauty of the picture of our family and the centerpiece that resembled Xudford's castle. Dante smiled proudly as he returned to the box to fetch more items. He pulled out two garment bags and handed them to Mama as he exclaimed, "Mama, please wear these for tonight. I had them made just for you and Papa." He beamed at her as he reached out to hand over the bags. Mama smiled and took the bag out of his hand. She looked down at the bags, a bitter-sweet smile on her lips. "Are you sure? I love them, but maybe this year we could..." Before she could finish, Dante cut her off. "Of course, please, I insist you wear them for tonight. After all, a request should be granted." He smirked at our mother as he finished. Mama nodded. "Very well, Dante. I will make sure your father gets his." She said and smiled before retreating out of the garden with the bags in hand. As Dante and I sat down, I groaned inwardly and was ready to get this over with. Then, a thought hit me. "Why does Dante insist that his one request always be what clothing his family wears?" I shook my head at the thought that maybe I was overthinking it. I'm talking about my brother, who knows exactly what colors he wants for his wedding, from flower arrangements to centerpieces, all on point with what he imagines his wedding will be like when he finds his mate, our mate.