Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 264: Desire for Me

“Well, if I had to put it frankly then I would say that I want us to start dating,” the prince replied.

“That’s not possible,” I replied immediately with the response that came naturally to my mind.

“Really? Well, that is interesting...” the prince replied softly as he began rubbing his chin.

I was still stunned by my sudden response; however, I already had a pretty good idea why I blurted out that response. Surprisingly, the prince didn’t look surprised and neither did he look disappointed. Just when it seemed like he was ready to say something else, the car came to a stop and it seemed like we had arrived at our destination.

“Don’t worry, we’ll pick this up later,” the prince told me before he reached out a hand and patted my shoulder.

I stared at him silently for a brief moment as I tried to find the words to say to him. After failing to find the right words in time, I just let out a long sigh of resignation as I waited for us to arrive at our destination.

Had I known what was going to happen during the event, I would have made sure to finish up that conversation with the prince before we even got out of the car.

...

The limousine door opened and the prince got out before extending a hand to help me out of the car. I wasn’t at all prepared for the large crowd of reporters that were waiting for us. Seemingly endless flashes of cameras sparkled all around us as countless photographs were taken of the Prince and me. My heart clenched in my chest when the prince held my hand tightly before entwining his fingers with mine as I stood by his side. I realized that it no longer mattered what we were or what we thought of us, because for everyone else, it must have looked exactly like the prince was dating me at least for the day. The prince turned and offered me a smile and I found myself smiling back at him as if I was playing the role of his perfect partner.

Is this what I’m supposed to do and is this what I’m supposed to feel like as his accomplice?

The reporters began asking the prince some questions regarding the event and his thoughts on the new project launched by the Ministry of Tourism. As if he had everything prepared in advance, the prince managed to answer all the questions flawlessly and smoothly with a practiced air of calm and maturity. I found myself staring at the prince and admiring how easily he seemed to be dealing with an event like this. I stayed silent and smiled as I stood by his side while I wondered when this would all come to an end. Just when I thought that everything would blow over without involving me, one of the reporters asked a question about me.

“Please tell us, Your Highness, who is the lady with you today?” A middle-aged man asked before smiling slyly at me.

There was no reason for me to believe that after all the rumors that had appeared about me in the media that a reporter wouldn’t know exactly who I was. Had I been Diana, I would have been so offended by what he had just asked.

“Dahlia, would you like to introduce yourself?” The prince asked as he gave my hand a slight squeeze before smiling at me supportively.

It felt like that moment that I had dreaded had arrived, the moment where the prince would introduce me to the public while I was standing by his side. It wasn’t like they didn’t know who I was so they were probably wondering why I was with the prince. While suppressing the urge to roll my eyes and pull a face, I plastered a professional smile on my lips and tried to look my absolute best.

“I’m Dahlia,” I introduced myself in short because there was no need for any further introductions.

I am Dahlia. Period. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Clearly, the short introduction that I had given didn’t answer the question that they all had in mind. Another reporter quickly stepped in with a follow-up question.

“What are you doing here with the prince? We’ll see you two out and about together quite often so we have started wondering if...,” the reporter asked before trailing off as if he wanted me to complete his sentence for him.

“Should we answer them or should we keep them waiting in suspense?” The prince asked as he turned to me and smiled.

That seemed to be the cue that marked the end of our interview with the reporters because the security guards quickly rushed in to clear a path for us so that we could proceed into the venue where the main event was taking place.

“I’m sorry about that. It must have been a little shocking for you,” the prince said as he escorted me into the event.

“It’s fine...” I replied as I decided to leave everything behind me.

I had planned to lay low for the rest of the event but even that proved to be impossible. The prince led me to our seats which happened to be in the very front row and isolated from everybody else where we would definitely be the center of attention. Being the gentleman that he was, Desmond led me to my seat and even helped me adjust my dress before taking his own seat. While all of that was happening, I could feel countless pairs of eyes on us. My plan of laying low and staying away from everyone’s obsessive radar seemed to be backfiring at a very rapid pace.

The presentation regarding the active promotion of the country’s tourism flew by me without a single word sinking into my brain. I was too wrapped up in sorting out my own situation to focus on anything else.

“This is completely boring isn’t it?” The prince asked rhetorically from beside me.

“Don’t be so loud, Your Highness, people may hear you,” I warned him in a whisper.

“Let them hear...” the prince replied without a care.

“You should focus, isn’t this supposed to be part of your work?” I reminded him with a glare.

“I guess you’re right about that,” the prince replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

–To be continued...