Chapter Fifty-One: What did he offer?

Monday, March 23, 20XX

Anna looked at the time on her watch and waited patiently.

"Mom, this is boring…" Her son pouted.

Being the impatient little kid he is Anna expected this. "Your sister will be here to take you home soon. Just wait a little longer." She patted his head with a smile.

She had brought him because she was going to drop him off at a daycare but it was closed at the last minute and she had to ask Annie her adopted daughter to babysit him. She had some things to take care of too but they had to do something to work it out.

Even though they came for a short vacation their companies have branches here and they still needed to be responsible for them.

Her son sighed and leaned his head on her shoulder.

A few minutes later a tall woman entered the cafe with a black hood covering her face. She talked to the waiter and he led her to the third floor where her mother and her little brother were.

"Teenagers these days." Someone mumbled as she passed by their table.

Her clothing was considered 'rude' in such a place. She smiled brightly and held back the urge to roll her eyes.

"Mom!"

"Sis!" Her little brother ran into her arms even before her mother could.

The little cinnamon roll is so attached to her, not that she's complaining.

"Is Damon outside?" Anna asked.

"Yup, let's go back kiddo." Annie picked him up and waved goodbye at her mother.

As Annie carried him out of the cafe Clair was also coming inside.

"Auntie…" The little kid grinned at her.

Aww…..her poor heart was overwhelmed with cuteness. Clair's weakness is cute little children.

The only time she doesn't like them is when they are crying and whining. Thankfully, she's blessed with well-behaved kids around her.

Yaci's daughter, Anna's son, and the kids at the orphanage are all angels. They might misbehave sometimes but she still loves them.

"How are you?" She asked Annie after giving the little cutie a hug and a rain of kisses.

"I'm doing well, excited for the trip. And you?"

"I'm doing well too, can't say the same about the trip though." Clair laughed.

"It's not a surprise." Annie smiled and took the kid back.

"Alright, I'll see you later. Enjoy your stay here." Clair bid her goodbye and headed to the third floor where Anna was waiting for her.

"Hey! You are finally here." They hugged and greeted each other. Clair waited until they had both orderer their breakfast to explain why exactly she called her here.

She had not eaten breakfast with James for this reason. She hadn't had a meal with a friend in a while.

"You made me wait so long, I was starting to get anxious." She drank her coffee with a smile."Stop exaggerating, I'm only 5 minutes late." Clair smiled.

"Still….anyways tell me. What can I do for you?" She asked.

"Okay, so the first part is less shocking than the second part. So... I got married." Instead of the shocked expression she was expecting Anna gave her an angry, disappointed, and also hurt expression. It was all a mixture of one.

"And you didn't invite me?" She pouted.

"No what? No, I didn't hold a celebration. I got married on paper last week but it's nothing like what you are thinking!"

"So you didn't elope? Oh…"

"Elope? Why would I ever?" Clair facepalmed.

Right…

A few months ago she had mentioned to her that her father had been urging her to marry. She joked about how she would pick a random man, elope, and not tell anyone about it. Anna had insisted that if she did elope she should be invited to the secret wedding.

It seems she misunderstood…

"No, actually…..My father wanted me to marry this person and for the safety of my family, I accepted. We both agreed to have a friendly, not a contractual relationship but umm… something similar. What I mean is, we both have our own reasons and things we want from each other. We worked it out and our official engagement ceremony will be soon." She explained.

Anna silently listening to her explanation.

"Who is this person?" She asked more calmly.

Clair took a deep breath and smiled. "The crown prince...of this country…." She mumbled quietly.

"WHO?! Are you insane?" Her law dropped and she stared at her in disbelief. Marriage was suppressing but this was another level of shocking.

"Clair do you even know what you are doing?"

"I know it's risky. Don't worry let me explain it to you…."

...

After, explaining the situation to Anna carefully, they both stayed in silence.

Anna who usually is more carefree and cheerful around her had a very serious expression on her face. Her real character was coming out. She glared at the cup of coffee, a wave of coldness came from her.

Clair pursed her lips.

"So, you have been avoiding anything to do with the royal family for so long….for basically nothing." Anna took a sip and raised an eyebrow.

"Honestly, I thought the same at first. Can I really truly avoid them though? My father is the head of one of their noble houses...their greatest one at that. At some point, I would have gotten involved. Anyway, if I can be of help to my father I don't mind. I owe him a lot and marrying this guy is a piece of cake."

Anna sighed and put the cup down. She looked straight into her eyes and took a deep breath. "See, I know you well. You tend to dismiss the facts that you know are important but also displeasing. You do this as a defense mechanism. You convince yourself that if you do one something about it the other thing will not bother you anymore. Clair...it won't work always. This is one of those times." Clair furrowed her eyebrows at her words.

"He's crowned prince Clair. Which means you automatically become crown princess and later a Queen. I know your leadership skills and your capabilities so I'm not bothered about that. What I am bothered about is your past identity. I understand that your new husband and his family don't mind it but think about the other noble houses and their advisors?"

"Did you give it a thought? You will move into their palace, you will face new responsibilities, and keeping a low profile will be almost impossible." She continued, genuinely worried about her.

Clair was a bit startled. Like cold ice-cold water dropped on her head she came into a difficult realization.

"Tell me, what's your plan to get out of this situation?"

"Killing him." She responded.

"Awesome, I would completely agree. That bastard doesn't deserve you. BUT it's him after all. Let's say you manage to kill him. His father, his mother, his family, the whole country would be looking into it. I heard their second son was going to be the crown prince but he isn't fit for the position. The younger brother threatened to end his life if they crowned him. He knows he will fail the country if he's crowned." She paused and looked at Clair's expression.

"If you do kill the current crown prince, the country would get the second prince. I can't guarantee...no one can guarantee that things will go well after that. I heard the second branch of their family is also aiming at the throne. They are corrupt and you would just be helping them ruin this country."

Clair gripped on the cup. She felt ashamed and angry at herself.

"I was so selfish… I didn't even think about that."

Anna smiled. "Did he offer you something? What exactly did he tell you?"