CHAPTER SIX

CAMILLA

I blinked my eyes as I looked at the prince in shock. Did he just ask me to get married to him? 

"Are you ....drunk your Highness?" I asked him. That was the only explanation I could think of for this. He had to be drunk. 

Adrian looked at me like I was crazy. 

"What?!" He asked me. 

"I think you may be drunk Your Highness. It's late and I think you should go to bed.... tomorrow....you'll realize that you just made a mistake" I said. 

He shook his head. "Why would you think I am drunk?" He asked me. 

"You just asked me to marry you? I am just Isabella's tutor....." I didn't finish what I was saying before he interrupted me. 

"I know you're her tutor. And she's attached to you. She even calls you her mother. She has never been so close to any other female before. You're the first. So it won't be a bad thing for us to get married. You can be her real mother then" Adrian said. 

I frowned. So he was offering to marry me just for his daughter's sake? I could not help but feel offended...I was not a toy that he could buy for his daughter whenever she wanted. 

I liked Isabella too and I liked taking care of her but that did not mean that I wanted to take such a big leap like getting married just because he asked me to. I just found it disrespectful. 

"So you are asking me to get married to you just for Isabella's sake? I am sorry Your Highness but I can't do it!" I said. 

No matter what, I still have my pride and dignity. I wasn't going to throw that away for anything in this world. 

Adrian frowned and looked at me like I had committed a crime. For a second, I thought he was going to have me arrested for daring to turn him down at all. 

"Why?" He asked me

"Why?! Of course, it's because we are not in love! You don't love me and I.....I don't love you either. If I am getting married, I want it to be because I am in love with the other party. You and I can't get married just because your daughter is attached to me. I can work as her nanny for as long as you want but I won't be getting married to you" I said. This was the most compromise I could make. 

Adrian sighed frustratedly. He looked away from me for a few seconds, probably to try and calm himself down. 

"It's not just because of Isabella" he finally said after a long five minutes. 

I blinked my eyes. "What does that mean?" I asked. 

"As you know, my father, the king had recently passed away. As the crown prince, I have a lot of responsibilities to pick up. However, the Elders have told me that I have to take a wife first if I want to become the King. it's a requirement for any potential king to get a wife if he wants to be a King. If I don't do it, there are a lot of other people who are waiting to be the King. I can't allow them to take away my father's legacy" he told me. 

I went silent when he told me this. I didn't know how the palace worked but in the few weeks I have been here, I had been able to observe that some internal fights were going on in the palace for the crown. 

I could understand why he felt like he had to get married to someone quickly to secure his position but why does that person have to be me? 

He's Adrian, and as long as he wants, he can get any kind of woman. His daughter makes it even easier for him to get women. So why did he have to come to me? Just because his daughter liked me? It did not make sense to me. 

If he wanted to get a wife just to please the elders, he'd choose a more popular woman, a woman that they'd approve of. 

I could guess that they would not like a commoner who used to be a maid for his daughter. 

"If you wanted, you can get any kind of woman to marry you, Your Highness. I can't help but wonder why you picked me. Why didn't you go for someone who would be more popular with the Elders?" I asked. 

I did not think that I had what it took to be involved in the palace issues. I did not have what it takes to be Queen. 

Adrian smiled at me. "believe it or not, I picked you because my daughter said so!" He said to me. 

"Excuse me?" 

"The Elders are trying to pick a wife for me. I'd rather die than get married to that bitch. Anyone else, and I mean anyone, is better than her. Isabela suggested that I get married to you. I thought about it and decided that it was not a bad idea. They just asked me to get married. They did not tell me who I was supposed to get married to. They can't stop it!" Adrian said. 

There was a calculating smile on his face and I felt as if he also picked me as his way of saying "fuck you" to the Elders. 

"But....it won't be a marriage of love....".I said. 

I had always dreamt of getting married to someone that I loved. To someone that I had promised to spend the rest of my life with. 

Getting married to him because he needs a wife as the King.....

Adrian laughed. 

"Of course, it won't be because of love. Don't worry. You don't have to stay married to me forever. I just need you to be my wife for two years. After two years, we'll get a divorce and you can do whatever you want" I said.