Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 303: Welcome Back
Apparently, the king didn’t go through the trouble of adding me to the blacklist of people who were banned from entering the country and that probably explained why I managed to fly back to take my sister’s place at her wedding based on my parent’s requests. Either that, or they had somehow managed to get permission from the king. Regardless, it didn’t change the fact that the king made my banishment so public that it was news that everyone in the country knew about at that time. Even if I could return to the country, he made sure that it wouldn’t be an easy return for me.
The king’s intentions of protecting his only son and the royal family from further scandal was clear. After officially announcing the end of my relationship with Desmond and my ties to the royal family and this country, we reached an agreement that I would never return to the country. Everything was supposed to end at just that, until Desmond’s genius idea to bring me back. Clearly, all the official announcements that he was going to make as the new king were to override all the shameful accusations and claims that his father had made about me and our relationship.
Even though I’ve participated in many public events and acted out many roles before in my life, I had to say that I never felt truly like a celebrity in some kind of movie until that moment when I supposedly stepped out of the plane and entered the airport as if I had just arrived in the country for the first time in many years. The intentional leak of news regarding my arrival back to the country spread like wildfire, and it was no surprise that a large crowd of reporters were waiting to interview me right upon my arrival.
Everything was pretty much staged by Desmond and the people working for him. It felt like I was truly a celebrity or some notorious criminal that had been finally captured as the bodyguards made sure to push the crowd of reporters away from me while clearing a path for me to walk in the airport. The idea was to make sure that my arrival back to the country was a big deal. With all the attention that I was receiving, I was certain that our plan was a success at least as far as Desmond was concerned. I hid behind my oversized sunglasses as I tried to walk as fast as possible.
“Dahlia! Dahlia! Dahlia!”
People yelled out my name so loudly that it felt oppressing. When I finally made it out of the airport building, I found out that there was an even larger crowd waiting for me in front of the airport. This time it wasn’t just the reporters and people related to the press that were waiting for me, but there were so many ordinary people as well gathered in such a large crowd. It felt like I had my own little fan club that was there to welcome me back. People holding up signs bearing ‘welcome home’ messages stood in a large group and also lined the streets.
I felt a stinging sensation at the back of my eyes as my chest clenched when I was overwhelmed with emotions. Although I was certain that many people were not pleased with Desmond’s decision to bring me back, it seemed that there were many people who were glad for my return and were ready to welcome me back with open arms. After living a few years in a country that didn’t quite know who I really was, it felt a little strange to come back to my hometown as myself and to be reminded that I was once again quite a controversial and famous figure. I didn’t want to be interviewed or give a speech, but Desmond spent many hours talking me into it. Finally, I gave up and let him convince me that it would make a greater impact if I said a few words.
“How does it feel to return to your home country again?” One of the reporters asked as all of them tried to shove their microphone my way.
Although I was wearing sunglasses, I could still feel the flickering lights from the camera flashes. The crowd of reporters only quietened down as they waited for my reply. I thought it was a very good question, and I wasn’t quite sure how I felt to return to my home country again. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
“I cannot even begin to express just how grateful I am to have the opportunity to be back,” I replied while trying to appear as humble as I could.
“How does it feel to receive royal pardon from the king?” Another reporter quickly asked a follow up question.
The intention behind the question was quite clear to me, and I was certain that everyone must have picked up on it as well. Without any surprise, everyone was curious about my relationship with Desmond. The royal pardon and official order that Desmond had given to allow my return back to the country was like a public announcement that we still shared a very special bond.
“The king is extraordinarily kind to me. I am honored, and I also feel eternally grateful for his generosity,” I replied before showing them a small smile.
“What do you plan to do now that you’re back in the country?” Another reporter asked without pause.
“Well, I haven’t been back for a few years so I would like to take the opportunity to spend time with my family and friends,” I replied with one of the fakest answers that I could come up with.
The truth was I wasn’t looking forward to seeing anyone from my family because my sister wasn’t present and I didn’t have any friends that I particularly missed either.
“Would we be seeing you performing any official duties like before?” Another question came my way.
Basically, they were asking if I would be attending events with the prince the way that I did before while we were supposedly dating. I smiled while thinking that these people always took the bait so easily. They were thinking exactly the way that Desmond wanted them to think because they believed that I was back to rekindle the fire of romance with their new king.
–To be continued...
