Chapter 313: Picking fights (3)
Outside the palace gates, Amelia sat in a carriage with her family. They hadn’t made it far inside the palace and were returning home with nothing to show for their time there.
"Watch you gaze, child. I am not afraid to strike you," Ronan said, annoyed by Amelia’s pitiful face.
Amelia sat in the carriage with her father and mother. It wasn’t the happy ending she had envisioned, and she had every right to be upset with her father.
"I was so close, and you stole this moment from me. Surely, I will not be invited back to the palace after what happened today. All my efforts have been for nothing because of what you did today," Amelia said, her eyes on the brink of tears.
Ronan raised his hand, but Jade touched his leg to stop him.
"You mustn’t hit our daughter. I will not allow you to leave a bruise, which will only ruin her chances this season. How are you not ashamed of how you acted before the prince? She has made it so, yet you took the moment to make it about you," said Jade.
Jade wished to strangle Ronan. It was only due to their being in the palace and Amelia standing before them that she held back.
Julie continued, "I have put up with quite a lot, but this I cannot stand for. Our daughter could have been queen."
Ronan didn’t find fault in his actions. "I told you of my plans to speak with the prince. I will not be cast to the side, and you know it."
"You bastard!" Jade snapped. She could not let Ronan go on thinking this was acceptable.
Ronan was at a loss for words. Jade had always been so quiet and sided with him.
"You!" Ronan pointed at Jade. "You have left your manners back in the palace."
Amelia was surprised by her mother’s outburst, but she supported it.
"We have given it our all to prepare Amelia for this moment, and you ruin it. Do you not wish for her to be queen, all because your friends from the palace are no longer there? You can make more friends. Men will flock to you if she sits on the throne!" Jade yelled, frustrated.
Ronan went on about the palace only to act like a fool when he got there.
"It is not because those men are gone. I have paid attention just as you have, and Amelia will not succeed in marrying the prince. It was good while it lasted, but we must give up and marry her off to someone else," Ronan said, avoiding eye contact with Jade.
"You already picked a husband for her, didn’t you? You bastard," Jade said, angry with herself for not realising it. "Did you pick a man who offered what you wanted? How much did you sell her for?"
"We must take the offers while they are good. I have found you a good match. He was married before, but he doesn’t have any children, and he is only seven years older. He was bewitched by you when he laid eyes on you at a ball," Ronan said, eager to speak of the gentleman.
"Mother," Amelia whined, turning to her mother for help.
"Hush!" Ronan silenced Amelia. "I have given you plenty of time to get the prince to propose to you. There is a gentleman of good age, like you wanted, who offers me plenty for your hand. He is desperate to have his heirs, and as long as you provide him with a few, he shall spoil you."
"You led me to believe that you were in support of the prince courting me. You acted like you would help me get close to the prince, whilst you went behind my back all this time. I will never forgive you for this, father," Amelia said, a tear slipping from her eyes.
Why had he let her go on and on to her peers about how she might marry the prince?
How was she to turn around all that she said and tell the others that she was now engaged to another man?
"You do not need to forgive me. You need to repay me for all that I have done for you. I have spoiled you since the moment you were born. I have offered you the best, which has allowed you to be so prideful around your peers. It is time you take care of me," Ronan demanded.
Ronan had to make use of Amelia, and he found a way to do so.
"You spoiled me because you wanted to. If I had married the prince, then I would have repaid you for all that you gave me and be done with you. I have only asked to be queen, and you ruined it for me. I will not marry a man of your choosing," Amelia declared.
"Stop the carriage!" Ronan yelled, banging his hand on the door beside him. "If you will not do as I say, then you cannot return to our home. Live like the commoners since you refuse to follow my command. Go!"
Amelia looked to her mother for help. "Mother," she pleaded.
"Let the carriage go, Ronan. She feels heartbroken now, but she will follow what you wish-"
"Mother," Amelia gasped.
For this, Amelia expected to have her mother on her side.
"Hush, Amelia. All will be well, but you must listen now," Jade advised Amelia. "Think of tomorrow. You will not last on the streets of this town."
Amelia couldn’t believe her mother didn’t help her any further. She looked out the carriage window at the homes. She didn’t have anywhere to go.
To be without a home would bring far worse gossip than losing the prince to one of her peers.
It pained Amelia to have to give in to her father’s wishes.
"She will stay, so let the carriage move on. It is not safe for us to be here for too long," said Jade.
Ronan stared at Amelia, trying to decide if she would lash out again. Trusting Jade to keep Amelia in line, Ronan tapped the carriage.
Jade stared at Amelia, noticing the tears that fell. She understood the position Amelia was in all too well. It was not easy to lose a prince because of your father’s doing.
Jade also wished for Amelia to have great things. For Amelia to marry a powerful man who wasn’t anything like her father, and she was almost there. She would have secured the prince if not for Ronan.
Jade glanced at her husband. ’I’ve had enough of him,’ she thought.
All Ronan did these days was ruin plans, and Jade couldn’t take any more of it.
Jade looked back at Amelia after hearing her weep. "Calm yourself, child. All will be well soon. You shall have the life we planned for you in due time. I urge you to be patient and trust in me."