Danny

"Ekow, it's great to see you and your family today. Please, have a seat. Esther will bring you guys something to drink." my father addresses Mr. Nelson, gesturing for him and his family to sit in the couch across from me.  Esther nods and runs out of the parlour for the drinks. They all greet my mother and father and proceed to take a seat in the couch. Afia decides to take her seat next to me and I hold back the urge to roll my eyes, and give her a tight smile.

"Hey Afia." I greet politely.

"Hi Danny-bear. I missed you." she greets, squeezing onto my arm.

I furrow my eyebrows at everything that just came out of her mouth. I just saw her a few days ago, how can she miss me? And did she just call me a bear?

"Erm, me too." I respond after hesitation.

Esther quietly runs into the parlour with a tray of three glasses of water. She bows and lowers the tray for Mr. and Mrs. Nelson to grab one glass each. When she puts the tray in front of Afia, Afia eyes the glass of water and pouts.

"Really, just water? May I have iced tea instead?" she asks, twirling her hair around her finger.

We all look at her. She should be lucky she is even getting something to drink in the first place. Her parents sip their water and shrug instead of paying attention to her. My mother clears her throat.

"Well, you heard the girl. Get her iced tea then." my mother orders, gesturing towards Afia.

Afia hums with a smile, causing me to scoff. Esther nods and scurries off into the kitchen. My father clears his throat and adjusts the crown on his head. He is obsessed with that crown; I don't know what he would do if something ever happened to it.

"Well, we have yet to discuss some of the wedding preparations. I believe we should start, you know, we don't have all the time in the world." my father says and they excitedly nod.

"Yes, I have been wondering about a few aspects of this wedding, Your Majesty. Specifically, the venue." Mr. Nelson says with a nod.

How about the venue be their dreams? Because I am still baffled about this forced marriage that they are actually going through with.

"Ah, yes, the venue. Well, Queen Forson and I had our ceremony at the Royal Cathedral, so I suppose it makes sense that my son has his wedding at the same place." my father says.

Mrs. Nelson smiles and nods.

"Oh yes. The cathedral is a lovely place. It would definitely be indicative of the high status of our two families." she gushes with a wide smile.

"That would be nice. However, I was thinking of an outdoor ceremony at a very picturesque and alluring meadow." my mother suggests.

I put my hand on my face in exhaustion and listen to the grueling conversation. Afia puts her hand on my shoulder and bats her eyes at me. I return the smile and look away.

"That's also not a bad idea. It would be very peaceful." Mr. Nelson says with a shrug.

My father scoffs. "Ekow, this is going to be a royal wedding. Don't you believe an outdoor ceremony at a meadow is too... basic?"

Honestly, if I really cared about this ceremony, I would opt for the meadow ceremony. The cathedral is full of a lot of valuable materials, like gold and diamonds, and it's just too much extravagance for one day.

Mr and Mrs Nelson glance at each other and nod.

"I suppose you are right. Maybe the children should contribute their opinions to this discussion." Mr. Nelson suggests.

I raise my eyebrows at them while Afia perks up in excitement.

"Well, I want -" she starts before my father interrupts.

"Their opinion will not be necessary. The actual planning will be done by us four. They just have to be aware of the plans and accept them. The only aspect of the wedding they will have control over is writing their vows and picking their outfits." my father informs.

Afia pouts with a reluctant nod while I roll my eyes. Since they're taking control of this wedding, they might as well marry each other.

"Oh, very well then." Mrs Nelson says.

Esther carefully walks into the room with a glass of iced tea on a small tray. She bows with a smile and stops in front of Afia, holding the tray out to her. Afia inspects the glass before she smiles in satisfaction and picks it up.

"Thank you. You took long." she remarks, before sipping some of the beverage.

I give her the side-eye while Esther bows apologetically. My mother scoffs.

"She moves slowly. I apologise for her." my mother says, glaring at Esther.

I narrow my eyes at my mother before giving Esther an apologetic smile. She smiles back at me before lowering her head.

"You can leave now." my father tells her and she scurries off.

Afia plays with the straw in the drink and looks up at the King.

"Your Majesty, since we have no say in these wedding plans, would it be okay if Danny and I chat in his room?"

I groan to myself. What does this girl want from me?

"Oh, of course. He is your fiance after all, you two need alone time." my father replies, making me cringe.

"Aw, you two are simply adorable together." her mother gushes, almost making me gag. Do these people not realize how uninterested I am in Afia?

"Son, escort her to your room. Give her your undivided attention." he advises , narrowing his eyes at me. It's obvious he's referring to the incident with Maadwoa, so I sigh and nod.

"Follow me." I tell Afia, helping her up from the couch. She jumps up excitedly with a smile, still holding her glass of iced tea.

I lead her up the spiral staircase and she gasps as we near my room.

"How many rooms are there?" she questions incredulously.

I shrug. "I've never counted. But there are definitely a lot."

I open the door to my room, gesturing for her to walk in. She strolls in, looking around in awe. I close the door behind me and walk over to my bed, laying in it.

"I love this room." she states, still looking at the gold ceiling fan.

"Thanks. You can sit." I tell her, gesturing to my bed.

She gives me a cheesy smile and comfortably takes a seat on the bed.

"This is where we are going to sleep when we get married, right?" she asks, causing me to choke on air. The thought of sharing a bed with her made me squirm. It's not her, it's just the whole situation. It's uncomfortable for me.

"Erm...I would assume."

"Awesome." she says, taking another sip of the beverage.

I sit up in the bed and raise my eyebrows.

"Can I ask you a question?" I ask her.

She nods.

"How do you feel about this whole marriage? You seem totally cool about the whole thing."

She sighs and shrugs.

"Well, when my father first told me I was getting married, I was livid because I thought I didn't know who the man was. But then he told me that it was you, and even though I was still a bit annoyed that my freedom was being stolen from me, I felt way better knowing it was you. So I would say I'm okay with it."

I blink at her. "You're okay with it? But don't you feel like it's unfair? We don't even know each other well enough to marry. We're not in love."

She smiles. "I know, but at least we're not total strangers. And we'll grow to love each other. I definitely can't deny the fact that I'm attracted to you, and you're going to love me soon. A lot of people do. "

I stare at her in disbelief. This girl is really sure of herself. She's even convinced herself that I will love her soon. I have tried not to lead her on because I genuinely don't feel anything for her. I've tried being just her friend but she obviously wants more. However, telling her this is fruitless, as this marriage will still happen whether or not I have feelings for her.

She sighs. "I have to use the washroom."

"I'll show you where it is." I offer but she shakes her head.

"I saw it on the way here. I'll be back." she tells me, quickly getting up to leave the room.

The second she closes the door behind her, I let out an exasperated sigh. I can't believe this is happening. I really thought my parents were bluffing, but this is really the girl I'm getting married to. Why can't they understand that I'm not ready?

My phone rings two minutes later. I grab it from the nightstand to see it is Maadwoa. I smile to myself and pick up.

"Hello."

"Hey Danny. I just wanted you to know that I'm home now."

"That's great. Are you okay? "

"Y-yeah. Just... sorting my collection of dresses for fun."

I frown, feeling guilty.

"You hesitated. Are you still feeling down because of what happened?"

She pauses, before sighing.

"I'll be fine. Nothing that waakye can't fix."

I let out a chuckle.

"I'm beginning to think you like waakye more than me."

She giggles.

"Maybe so. It's really special."

"I thought I was special."

"Is that... jealousy I hear?"

"Maybe so." I say, mocking her.

She laughs and I can imagine the pretty smile on her face.

"Hey, at least I made you smile."

"You seem to always make me smile. Thank you. "

"My pleasure. I like seeing your smile."

"But you can't see me. We're on the phone. "

I playfully roll my eyes.

"You know what I meant."

She pauses again before answering. She lets out a sigh.

"Erm, I have to go now."

"Oh. No problem. We'll talk soon."

She hangs up before I can say bye. That was weird, but at least I got to speak to her for a while.

The door opens and Afia walks back into the room with a tight smile on her face. She quietly sits on the bed and picks her glass of iced tea up to take a sip. I raise my eyebrow at her.

"Did you...find the washroom?"

She nods, taking her phone out of her little purse.

"Are you okay?" I ask , confused as to how her mood suddenly changed.

"Peachy." she responds with a sweet smile.

I decide not to pester her and nod.

***
Narrator

Afia Nelson knocks on one of her best friend's door with a stern face. Paulina lets her in and Afia walks in to see Joy in the couch as well. Perfect. Both of them need to be there to hear what she has to tell them.

"Afia, you look upset. What's wrong?" Joy asks, concerned about her pretty friend.

Afia sits in the couch across from Joy and Paulina sits next to her. Afia sighs.

"You two remember Danny, right?"

They nod excitedly. How could they forget the charming, handsome prince that they finally had the pleasure to meet?

"Yes of course. Did something happen between you two?" Paulina questions.

Afia rolls her eyes, remembering the phone call Danny was on. She doesn't know who that was but she definitely did not like the way Danny was laughing and almost flirting. Danny is her fiance and she can't risk losing him to some other girl. Of course, she is forbidden from telling her friends about the betrothal, but she can't keep this to herself.

"I suspect he likes another girl. " she says with a pout.

"That can't be. How can he when you exist in his life? " Joy questions with a gasp.

"Exactly. But I heard him on the phone with someone and it sounded flirty. I hope it's not true because there would be a big problem. "

Paulina raises her brow in amusement. "I thought you two were just family friends."

Afia gulps. "We are."

"So why are you bothered?"

Afia glares at Paulina, crossing her arms  across her chest.

"Don't interrogate me like that. I'm just protective of him. I don't want him dating just anyone."

Joy giggles to herself, not believing her friend.

"Okay, madam. So what do you want us to do?"

" Keep an eye on him. We have to watch him very closely. Got it?" Afia orders.

The girls look at each other and nod, understanding how serious Afia was.
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Oops. Well,someone's jealous.
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*This is unedited bc I'm lazy*

Song: Ebony Reigns - Kupe