Page 107 of That Prince is Mine
She tried so hard not to think about the heartache her mom caused her, but she had every right to be angry with her—hurt and angry. She needed to let it out sometimes. It didn’t need to happen right away—this was a lot to take in—but it would eventually help her move on.
“It doesn’t matter, though.” And she meant it. She was grateful for the life she had. “You and Auntie Soo have more than made up for Mom’s absence.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Her dad sniffed. “God knows I tried.”
“You did good, Appa.” She squeezed his hands. “We both did.”
“Now, my dear.” He leveled a steady gaze on her. “Tell me what happened.”
“Michel’s engaged.” She realized the second the words left her mouth that she had opened on the wrong note.
“I’ll kill him.” Her dad shot to his feet as though he intended to commit murder right that instant.
“Sit down, Appa. I thought we already talked about this. I don’t want you going to prison.” She tugged on the side of his pants. “And it’s a bit more complicated than it sounds.”
“He was cheating on his fiancée with you,” he shouted. “That rotten bastard was using you. And what? Then he just dumped you?”
“Dad, you got it all… well… mostly wrong.” She huffed out an exasperated laugh, feeling more like herself for the first time in days. “Sit down. Please?”
Her dad sat down beside her, his shoulders bunched and his hands in white-knuckled fists. Emma had never seen him so angry before. But at least he sat down.
“First, he didn’t dump me. I left him.” As expected, that appeased her dad by a smidgen, but it broke her heart to say the words. She left him. “And second, he wasn’t cheating on her. They’re just friends and neither of them want to marry each other. Their parents arranged the engagement when they were babies.”
“Okay.” He blew out a long, calming breath. “Emma, you’re normally unnervingly frank. This roundabout explanation makes me think you haven’t gotten everything figured out yet.”
“I can’t hide anything from you, can I?” Her lips curled into a wry grin even though her insides were quaking with nerves. Talking to her dad meant having to face all the things she’d been avoiding for the past three days.
“Why would you ever want to?” He smiled sweetly, his rare display of anger gone without a trace. “You’re perfect.”
“Am I?” She leaned her head on his shoulder, feeling undeserving of his praise. “From the moment I met Michel, I felt such a deep connection to him. But I fought tooth and nail against it because I was so afraid of falling in love.”
“Did you win that fight?” he said with a skeptical arch of his brow. How did parents just know stuff?
“Not even close.” Her throat closed up with tears. “I fell head over heels in love with him. And he fell for me, too.”
“Then why did you break up?” A confused frown lined his forehead.
“Because Michel is the crown prince of Rouleme.” She cringed, preparing herself for her dad’s reaction. He choked on his own spit, and she pounded on his back until he was breathing normally. After a steadying breath, she added, “And he asked me to marry him.”
“Wait. What?” Her dad cradled his head in his hands. “I need you to put this into chronological order for me. When did you find out he was a prince? A prince? Holy cow.” He glanced up. “I’m so sorry, my dear. It’s just a bit overwhelming. Please go on. When did he tell you?”
“Weeks ago,” she confessed. If that was the real reason she broke up with him, then she would’ve done so long before this.
“You must’ve been shocked.” He still looked shocked.
“I guess.” She scratched at a stain on her sleeve. She must’ve splashed some kimchi on it earlier.
“You guess?” Her dad’s voice rose with disbelief.
“I mostly pretended it didn’t matter.” She scrubbed at the stain with a bit of her own spit. Eww. What was she doing? “I told myself it didn’t make a difference since we didn’t have a future together anyway—we were already too different to begin with. So I stubbornly ignored the fact that he’s a prince. I know. It’s bonkers. You don’t think I’m so perfect now, do you?”
“I just wish I’d talked to you about your mom and me sooner. That’s all,” her dad said, guilt marring his face. “Then what happened? When did you find out he was engaged?”
“Three days ago.” She didn’t want to think about that day. She wanted to shut down all her feelings and keep making kimchi. But her dad loved her too much to let her hide from herself.
Her dad nodded. “And when did he propose to you?”
“The day before I found out he was engaged.” Her voice broke, the truth becoming harder and harder to ignore.
