02

She glared at him, her eyes staring straight at him. She could feel her blood rush and an urge to just yell back at the person before her. Without saying a word, Irene took a step, but her father’s hand grabbed hers and pulled her back.

"Don’t you walk away while I speak!" He fumed as he clutched her wrist so hard that she winced from the discomfort. "I hope I’m understood," he said to her, but she did not reply to him; instead, she tried to free her hand.

"You are hurting her, Sirius."

"Shut up, woman!" Her father ordered it, interrupting her mother while still clutching her wrist tighter. "Have I made my point clear?" he asked, and this time Irene nodded.

He released his hold on her and turned around. "Let’s get going, shall we?" he asked while moving ahead of them.

Irene stood there, staring at her father’s back in anger. She could already picture herself running over with a dagger and stabbing him to death for hurting both her and her mother.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Sabrina approaching her. "Don't," she simply said, and she walked toward her parents, with Sabrina following closely behind.

The ride to the palace was a rather quiet one, with neither of her parents talking to each other. Throughout the ride, Irene cursed Sabrina within her for revealing her plans to her father.

"I’m very sorry, my lady; your father would have killed me if you ran." Sabrina said, breaking the silence.

Irene did not reply but kept staring outside. She was too upset to speak, though she couldn’t blame Sabrina. Once before, her father had gotten a maid fired and beaten because of her.

Back then, Irene had managed to run away from home for a few days because her father had decided to get her married to one of his business partners. A man who was a few years older than her father. She had been caught by the guards who were sent to look for her, and the maid was replaced with Sabrina.

"Won’t you give up anything to be free?" Irene asked Sabrina without staring at her as her gaze was fixed outside, at the trees and buildings quickly zooming past them.

Sabrina kept quiet for a while. "Why don’t you confront him?" She asked, and Irene chuckled before glancing toward her.

"Confront my father? What a joke." She said that, and her focus went back to the window.

After a few minutes, they finally got to the palace. She could see from the window that not only they were invited. After all, it was a banquet, right? Different types of flashy, prestigious men and women were parked at the drive-way.

Their vehicle came to a stop, and as soon as a guard opened the door for her, Irene stepped out gracefully, gently clutching the rim of her dress. Her eyes scanned the place for her parents, and she could see them going toward the palace entrance.

Looking over her shoulder, she could see Sabrina right behind her. "You may leave." She said this to the guard, who just nodded and went to stand beside the car.

Irene did not say a word but simply walked to the entrance. As soon as the palace guards saw her, they quickly let her through. After all, everyone knew who Alpha Sirus was and his partnership in the royal family’s business. Moreover, they didn’t want to offend their king’s guest.

"Your pass?" one of the guards asked Sabrina, who stared nervously at Irene.

"She’s with me." Irene spoke, and without waiting for a reply or a nod, she walked past them with Irene following her.

Soon, they walked into the banquet hall. There were tables at either end of the large hall with varieties of food and drinks on them. Ahead of her, at the far end, was a larger table. She could guess at that moment that it was for the members of the royal families.

A huge crystalline chandelier hung from the ceiling, and a red carpet was laid out on it. The gate entrance leads right to the huge table at the far end of the ballroom.

Her eyes scanned around with difficulty as she wondered where her parents might have gone. It was quite difficult to try and spot them as the hall was almost crowded and there was a large disco on the ceiling with different colors of light, illuminating the room all at once with different colors. Not to mention that the hall was quite noisy with a song playing in the background.

She could finally see her mom waving and beckoning at her while her father conversed with someone. She took a deep breath and walked toward them. She approached them and stood beside her mother.

"Ah, you must be Irene." An elderly man spoke to her with an observant gaze while she smiled at him. "I have heard a lot about you. I heard you are going to be the prince’s new bride." The man said that, and age smiled bitterly.

"Yes," her father said with a proud look on his face as he turned to face his daughter. "She is the prince’s chosen bride and the next queen." He added it with a look of admiration on his face.

"My Queen." The elderly man spoke as he took Irene’s slender hand and kissed it. She stared at him with a smile on her face.

Becoming a queen used to be Irene’s fantasy wish as a little girl. She would play dress-up with her father and have him play the role of her prince charming. Now that it was coming to fruition, she did not know if she wanted it anymore.

"Excuse me, father, mother." She said this and turned to walk away when her father’s words stopped her right in her tracks.

"Wait, Irene." He said this and walked up to her. He leaned in toward her. "Don’t just stand there like a statue. Try to create allies and fewer enemies. Get to know people around here; do not disgrace me; I’m warning you." He spoke and took a step back. "Come, I want you to meet someone." He spoke aloud, and Irene bit her bottom lip in anguish.

He took her hand and led her toward a table. There, a woman stood, talking to a group of men with a smile on her face. She was wearing a black feathered dress and a black hat. Her lips were painted with purple lipstick, and she wore jewels on her neck.

"My, oh my." The lady said this as she stared at Irene in awe. "Sirus most prized possession." She commented and chuckled. Her hand covered her mouth as she winked at Sirus.

Irene did not know why, but she did not like what the woman had said. She was no one’s property, and even though she understood what the woman meant, she didn’t like it.

"My name is Annabelle. Nice to meet you." The woman said this as she extended her hand for a shake to Irene.

Irene stared at the extended hand for minutes, contemplating whether to shake it or not. "I do not shake hands with fools." She said that, and Annabelle gasped while her father frowned hard at the comment.