The Blackmail® [Complete]

Chapter Four

"Rise and shine! We are going shopping!"

I groaned and buried my head deeper into my pillow. Taylor then proceeded to jump into my bed.

"Get up lazy head!" She grabbed my pillow from under my head.

"Don't you ever sleep?" I groaned again as I got up and went into my tiny bathroom.

"I couldn't sleep. I was too excited about shopping today. We have ten thousand dollars to spend!" She whispered loudly.

"Who said we are spending everything?" I asked as I brushed my teeth.

Taylor stopped. "Yeah right. We are not spending all. But we are definitely stocking on food."

"We should first sit down and calculate all our debts and priotize what we need. As much as that money is I don't think it will be enough to cover all."

"Well, we can do that later. I've been waiting for three whole days so you could come with me. Right now I'm going shopping with or without you." She pouted.

I laughed. "Alright. Go get ready while I find something to wear."

She sighed in relief and left my room.

Twenty minutes later, we are on our way to the groceries store. I was wearing gray joggers with a black tight T-shirt labelled, Take Me. Corny, I know but I was a sucker for labelled Tees. Taylor on the other hand could not simply hold on to her excitement. I was happy she was happy. She has gone through so much in life and if for a few days, she could be happy then, so be it.

Being a girl child in the Republic was hard. There was nothing wrong with getting married but I felt there was more to life than that. Why didn't they give girls the choice to go further in education? Why didn't the government give us the choice of the man and when we want it? Questions I may never get answers to. Sometimes, I wished I was born into nobility or privileged, so I could challenge the government into making better policies and laws that favored the girl child more.

If wishes were horses...

Soon, we were in the store. Taylor had picked up a trolley and was dancing to a song on her phone through her earpiece. I smiled again and just went along with her. I wasn't watching where I was going when I stumbled on to someone.

"I'm sorry," I was saying as I looked up into ocean blue eyes. He recovered quickly, holding on to my arm, trying to steady me.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't my good Samaritan, Percy or should I say Prince Ovian Lancaster." I said sarcastically. I had not thought in my wildest dreams that I would see him again.

"Miss Gregory." The prince responded with a grimace as he removed his hands from my arm. "I can see you are back to a perfect health."

"Yes I am, no thanks to you. " I said pushing my hands into the pockets of my joggers.

"Yes I see," he said staring at the words on my Tee. They were written right across my breast area. Suddenly, I felt self conscious and folded my arms across my chest instead.

"So what brings the prince to the unlawful county?" I asked.

His eyes became hard and moved away from me to settled on someone or something past my shoulder. "That is the reason I find myself here." He said somewhat irritated.

I turned around to find the young prince that knocked me down a few days ago. He was talking to a pretty girl in braids. They looked cozy.

His girlfriend? I wondered and turned back to him. "You sound irritated."

He grunted and muttered something about foolish love.

I rolled my eyes and pursed my lips. "You are one of those who don't believe in love."

He grunted.

A man of few words, I see. I glanced at the teenagers again and understanding dawned on me. Of course, just like everyone else, he doesn't think the girls here are marriage able or 'good' girls. It is a general belief that the girls who run away to the county, are no longer suitable for marriage. Because at some point they lose their virginity and morals.

"But do you know that it's not all the girls that are here that are bad. Some girls are still decent." Why I was trying to convince him was beyond me. He surely has a plethora of women that cater to his every whim.

"Show me one." He challenged, looking me straight in the eye.

I raised my chin defiantly, "My friend is one."

"Your friend?"

"The girl who was with me in the hospital, her name is Taylor."

"Hmm." He grunted again. Suddenly, he began to move. I turned around to find him shadowing his brother. "Are you his bodyguard or something?"

"What's it to you?" He grunted, following his brother at a safe distance.

"Well, you should have been more careful with him." When he didn't respond, I then said, "I could press charges you know."

That stopped him in his tracks. He turned around and I found his eyes blazing. "You can't." He bit out.

"I can."

"You can't because then the authorities will find out about you and force you to marry. And something tells me, you don't want to."

"Right but your brother will be disgraced, not to talk about the monarch-"

"You don't have proof."

I laughed nervously. "You think? There were many witnesses that may have taken pictures in case you ran away. Although, they may not have known it was the first family."

If looks could kill, I would be six feet under the ground. "I could pay you much more." He said quietly, but his piercing blue eyes were saying the opposite. 

"Oh yes you will. And I will dictate the terms." I continued, as a crazy idea began to form in my mind.

"Terms?"

"Yes." My mouth had suddenly gone dry and my palms were sweaty. Dare I?

"What do you want?" He asked, his eyes narrowing into icy blue slits.

"I want you to marry me."

Ha! Tania is one bold girl! Will the Prince agree? Find out in the next chapter. But please vote❤🙏