Jocelyn looked at the hundreds of people at the dance who seemed to be smiling happily-chilling with glasses of wine in their hands. The women wore beautiful gowns with lace and diamond jewelry that seemed to shine every time they were exposed to the chandelier light, while the men wore official suits typical of the government. Classical music was playing softly, filling the crowd among the people who were busy chatting with each other. Politicians talk about the country's political and governmental conditions, while economic elites are busy talking about stock values, the country's GDP, and US monetary inflation, which also influences Spain's financial situation.
On the dance floor, dozens of couples dance to the beat. Not only couples but anyone can dance there, including Lucas Alexandrov Felipe Hernandez-the crown prince of the Monarchy of Spain, her fiancé.
From a distance, he stood out compared to the aristocrats and the country's political and economic elite. Curly brown hair neatly combed, a firm jawline, light brown eyes, and a charming smile is enough to make Lucas categorized as a handsome man. Moreover, his status as the crown prince of Spain. No girl can resist his charms, so from their arrival at the party until now, Lucas looks busy with the women surrounding him. On the other side, Jocelyn, an ordinary woman-is left out, ignored because all attention is only focused on Lucas who is dancing with Caitline-a daughter of a well-known businessman in the country. What a sad comparison between Lucas and her. Even she still remembered their fight when they were on their way to this party.
"What kind of dress are you wearing, Jocelyn?" Lucas' eyes narrowed in surprise when he found Jocelyn getting into the Limousin that would take them to a celebratory party at the house of one of the Spanish parliament councils.
Jocelyn blinked her eyes. She stared at the light brown dress with simple lace accents she wore. "Is there something wrong?" She looked at Lucas, who looked annoyed. She didn't think that her dress would be an issue with her fiancé.
"You think anyone goes to a party like this in a simple dress?" Lucas rubbed her head slowly, "They all dress up as prettily as possible to get my attention, but you just wasted that opportunity!" Lucas hissed as he glared at her.
Jocelyn swallowed hard. "I don't like the dresses sent by the royal dressmaker. The design is too exaggerated. The dress is too heavy if-"
"For God's sake, you don't want to wear a royal dress because it's heavy? What are you? Are you human or not? So weak!" He turned his head angrily.
Jocelyn took a deep breath. Always like this. Whatever she did was never right in Lucas' eyes. She felt like Lucas could always find something to criticize her.
For a moment, Jocelyn was worn out by their political engagement.
"Don't come near me at the party. I'd be embarrassed if anyone saw you-the future queen of Spain in such a ridiculous, cheap dress." Lucas squinted, looking at her with disdain as if he were a pest to be kept away from.
"Lucas, what should I do to get you to stop criticizing me?" Jocelyn muttered softly, "You didn't like my short hair before. Now my hair is long. You also don't like it when it's black. Now I have brown hair. You don't like me wearing flat shoes either. Now I'm used to wearing high heels."
Her lips quivered, somewhat surprised by her courage to speak her entire heart.
"You…" Lucas raised an eyebrow. He also looked surprised. "You started showing your true nature after the whole society recognized you as the crown prince's fiancé." Lucas headed closer to her, whispering softly while giving a terrible smile.
Jocelyn closed her eyes-trying to ignore the fear in her heart.
"Watch your tongue if you still want this engagement to continue, Jocelyn." Lucas smiled again, this time staring at the cell phone in his hand, completely ignoring Jocelyn, who was curled up in fear on the edge of the chair. " I am not the one benefiting from this engagement. Even if our engagement is called off, I will still be the crown prince. But you?" he chuckled as he shook his head. "You are nothing without your status as my fiancé."
Jocelyn exhaled slowly. She still remembers the last words Lucas said. Her status, her position in this royal family. If Lucas is a crown prince, she is nothing. Just look at how enthusiastic the women from the upper class are trying to attract Lucas's attention. They smiled beautifully, and wore beautiful dresses that looked charming.
Once again, Jocelyn had to admit that Lucas was right. She's a nobody. She is just the stepdaughter of a Spanish prime minister who is lucky because the royal family wants a more serious relationship with her family. Until two years ago, a plan was hatched to set her up with the crown prince.
Jocelyn didn't know how the arranged marriage started. She also didn't know what the plans of the Monarchy of Spain were behind the arranged marriage, but what she knew, her stepfather-the prime minister, had big ambitions to gain power in the kingdom.
Then here she is. Sitting alone with the crown prince's fiancé status. Abandoned fiancé.
Therefore, instead of showing fake smiles and lonely faces in the middle of the dance floor, Jocelyn prefers to sit alone at the end of the luxurious mansion belonging to the parliamentary council which is holding a party.
"I've never been suited for this kind of royal party. But I didn't expect you to dislike party crowds either."
A man's voice interrupted Jocelyn's reverie.
She turned her head, then frowned when she saw a tall, mature man with curly hair and an aquiline nose smiling at her. Handsome. He was very handsome. Even more gorgeous than Lucas.
Her eyes widened slowly, then blinked in confusion, "Liam! Oh God!" She squealed, reaching out to hug him with a happy smile.
Liam laughed, then wrapped his arms around Jocelyn's waist and made her spin in the air for a few seconds.
"You're still the same as ever, Jocelyn!" He muttered as he kissed her on the cheek, then lowered it slowly when he realized they were the center of attention at the party.
Jocelyn took a step back. She stared at him closely and then chuckled lightly. While all the men who came were wearing official government attire, Liam just wore a black shirt that looked relaxed. Far from being formal, who usually displayed by nobles, as well as political workers and the economic elite who attend such parties.
"Why hide here? You didn't dance with Lucas?" Liam raises an eyebrow mockingly.
Jocelyn immediately walked forward to hit the man's arm in annoyance.
"You want to make fun of me, huh?" She squinted, then shrugged lightly, "I don't think I've ever been accepted at a party like this." Her face turned sad down.
"Why? Aren't you the future queen of Spain?"
Jocelyn smiled sadly. Recently her heart throbbed with pain when she heard her title in the future. The future Queen of Spain, huh?
"All this doesn't suit me." Jocelyn lowered her head with a sad expression. Then a few seconds, her sad expression changed quickly. She had started to learn many royal protocols and rules since she first received a proposal from Lucas. One of them is not showing her sadness in public-Royal reputation comes first.
"Lucas is doing something bad again?" Liam took her hand, leading her down the long hall to a quieter room. They kept walking until they finally stopped at an open garden between the two pavilions of the mansion.
Jocelyn chuckled softly-amazed by the size of the parliamentary council house that was having a party tonight. She turned slowly, admiring the vast flower garden with twinkling lights illuminating every corner.
"It's better if we talk here. I don't want you to be the talk of the people there." Liam rolled his eyes and took a cigarette from his shirt pocket.
Jocelyn squinted, then grabbed the cigarette in Liam's hand. "Did you forget? I don't like cigarette smoke! Your woman in London must have made you forget about me!"
Liam chuckled softly. He glanced briefly at his cigarette, which Jocelyn was stepping on. Not a single protest came out of his lips even though Jocelyn had seen him staring intently at the cigarette.
"Recently, I've noticed that you're often caught by paparazzi when you're with Lucas. I thought you were used to royal life by now, but you haven't?"
"What else can we do? I have a long line of schedules where I have to appear in public with Lucas and do silly things to show that we are a happy couple who love each other." She shrugged her shoulders slowly.
"Then you should start preparing, Jocelyn," Liam muttered under his breath.
"Prepare for what?" She raised an eyebrow.
Liam took a deep breath, and gave the code through his eyes-asking Jocelyn to turn around.
Jocelyn felt her heart almost stop beating when she saw Lucas standing in the doorway that connected the alley to the garden. He stared at her angrily, his fists clenched tightly and his eyes were darting. Unfortunately, it wasn't just Lucas who was standing there, but also several people Jocelyn knew who were members of the Spanish royal parliament.
Jocelyn closed her eyes slowly-glaring at Liam with a frightened expression.
She cursed softly when she realized their position was like two people having an affair.
"Jocelyn, I was looking for you a long time ago." Lucas said quietly, "let's go home."
Oh, God. She will be in big trouble.
