Chapter Thirty-Nine (END)

"So what did that dreadful woman want with you?" William asked as soon as I made it back to our room, those sage eyes filled with a mix of curiosity and worry as he gently gripped my upper arms.

I pursed my lips and glanced off to the side, gently patting one of his hands. "Well...ah...she wanted to produce an heir to the throne using your...ah...seed, seeing as I obviously cannot." I turned my attention back to him, nearly chuckling at the disgusted look on his handsome face.

"That is...oh goodness, now I'm going to have nightmares tonight. The thought of that is horrifying." He shivered dramatically and ran his fingers through his hair. "What on earth was going on in that woman's head?"

"I'm honestly not sure. But," I walked over to our bed and sat down, slumping a bit as a sigh pushed past my lips, "I now know why she raised me in the manner she did. It was for nothing more than a status of royalty for our family. She used me to get what she wanted most."

I felt the bed dop beside me, and William's arm draped over my shoulders as he pulled me closer to him. "I am so sorry, Mel. I can't even begin to understand what you must be going through." Your own mother using you as a pawn for her selfish gains...I knew I disliked her for a reason. I just never understood how truly wicked she was."

I glanced over to him, leaning my head on his shoulder as I stared at him through my lashes. "I am proud of myself, though. Once she got onto her pointless rants about how this was the only way, I told her off, telling her...well, I told her off and goodness, you should have seen the look on her face, William. She looked as if her whole world was crashing around her." I averted my gaze once more and frowned a little. "I've never openly questioned her motives before. I was always so quick to please her so that she would one day love me as a mother should with her children." I snorted and shook my head, my hair spilling over my shoulder at the action. "Such childish dreams, they were."

William's eyes grew soft as he gently tightened his hold on me, the man pressing a sweet kiss against my forehead. "It is not childish to yearn for your mother's love. Mel." He then pulled away from me and cupped my cheek, staring right into my eyes. "Your mother is a horrible, horrible individual, and I don't think she even has a heart." He tucked my hair behind my ear. "Look, you don't have to worry about her anymore, alright? You have a multitude of individuals who love you and cherish you the way you deserve to be, and that's all that matters in this moment of time."

My heart warmed at that as joy blossomed within me, a smile formed on my face. "You don't understand just how much that means to me, truly."

I closed my eyes when William leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against mine, his stubble rubbing against my cheeks as his tongue pushed past my lips, clashing with mine. I hummed happily in his mouth as he kissed me, his hands warm against my face as I pushed myself closer to him.

After a moment, he pulled away from me and pecked my cheek, his thumb rubbing against my bottom lip before he stood up and brushed the palms of his hands against his trousers, nodding to himself. "You know, I was being quite truthful when I said I was going to have nightmares. I mean, your mother is around the same age as Father, so hearing what that dreadful woman wanted of me...: he visibly shivered in disgust and crossed his arms over his chest, "that's just wrong on so many different levels."

I felt an amused smile form on my face as I stood up and made my way over to him, placing my hand on his bicep. "How do you think I feel? My own mother wanting to conceive my husband's child? To think that it is her blood rushing through my veins."

William scoffed. "But you're nothing like her. You're sweet, kind, and put others above yourself, not matter the consequences. You're literally an angel."

I blushed darkly and hid my face against his chest, completely embarrassed of what he thought of me. "I-I'm not an angel, William."

"It sure seems like you are," my husband chuckled, wrapping his arms around me as he hugged me close. "Oh! I forgot to mention," he pulled away from me slightly to look me in the eyes, "Anthony will be back in about an hour. It seems that your brother needs some assistance with Edith."

I frowned and furrowed my brows, worry replacing my happiness as I feared for the worst. "Why? H-Has she escaped?"

My worry was replaced with relief when he shook his head, the man pulling completely away from me as he placed his hands on his hips and began pacing. "No, thankfully. But she is putting up one hell of a fight. She's slamming her trays of food against the bars, cursing out the guards on duty, and she's also demanding to be released. It's giving Marvin a massive migraine trying to deal with her." He stopped pacing and glanced at me. "But do not worry yourself, Mel. Anthony shall be here in an hour or so. Perhaps even sooner than that."

I nodded my head. "Alright. Actually, I would like to stargaze with the both of you tonight. I-I promised you that we would, and now that everything is figured out, tonight seems like the best night to do such a thing."

The warm smile that blossomed on William's face had my heart racing in my chest, the butterflies back at it again in my stomach as he nodded and walked closer to me, placing his hands on my hips as that beautiful sage gaze searched mine. "That sounds like a splendid idea, Mel."

That comment made me shyly smile as I lifted myself onto my toes and gently kissed William, the man humming in approval as he pulled me closer to him. The world vanished around us in that moment, leaving just William and I, our lips dancing in sweetened love.

But after a moment, we slammed back into reality when a knock sounded against our bedroom door, causing us to pull away from one another as William sighed and went to open the door, revealing none other than my brother Marvin.

Surprised at his unannounced visit, I frowned and walked closer to him as he stepped into the room, those light blue eyes falling onto me. "Marvin? To what do I owe this pleasant visit?" I asked him, watching as he began nibbling at his bottom lip, awkwardly glancing at William before that light gaze fell back on me.

"I...wanted to see how you were doing, considering our dear mother decided to pay us a visit."

I pursed my lips at the mention of that dreadful woman and crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm doing just fine, no thanks to her. We talked about why she raised me as a woman and lied to me my entire life." I slightly narrowed my gaze. "Did she visit you too?"

Marvin sighed and nodded his head, looking exhausted as he mimicked my stance. "Indeed she did. She was quite livid, actually. Told me how angry she was at you for leaving her heartbroken after she journeyed up here to see how you were fairing. I don't think she realizes I know your secret...but it really did take all of my willpower to not say anything that would cause her to expose you." He pursed his lips. "Not that she would, since she would be the one held liable for her deception." That light blue gaze flickered back towards me. "So, if it is alright for me to ask...why did Mother raise you as a female? Surely se must have had a reason for doing so."

I searched his gaze and sighed, wrapping my arms around myself as William walked closer to me, placing a hand on my hip. "She wanted ties to the royal family. Wanted our blood to be considered royalty. She knew William wouldn't turn me in, and I obviously cannot bear a child...she offered herself to be an incubator for the next heir to the throne."

Marvin's brows darted high on his forehead, a deep frown falling onto his lips as he turned his attention towards William. He then grimaced and pursed his lips. "Just the thought of such a thing...it's disturbing."

William snickered. "How do you think I feel? It was my child she wanted to potentially carry." He shivered and tightened his hold on me. "I'm going to have nightmares tonight."

Marvin looked awkward, as if he didn't quite know what to say to that as he as those light eyes flickered to me. "I'll let you two be alone now. I just wanted to check in and make sure Mother didn't do anything to you. Because if she had, she would be dealing with me right now."

My heart warmed and a smile spilled across my lips as I moved from William and walked over to Marvin, giving him a hug. "I really appreciate your concern for me, Marvin, I really do. You seem to be the only one of our siblings that has anything to do with me. I'm grateful that you care."

My smile widened when I felt Marvin's arms wrap around me, the man warm against my tiny frame. "The way I see it, both of us are very similar, Melani. Our parents expected too much from us when we wanted nothing more than to control our own lives. It gives us a kinship that I do not have with any of our other brothers."

We pulled away after a moment, Marvin's gaze soft as a small, awkward smile formed on his face. He then nodded towards me, then William, before he left the room, causing me to turn my attention to William, an amused smile on his lips.

I frowned slightly, my brows dipping in confusion at his expression. "What?"

William shook his head and walked over to me, pressing a quick kiss against my forehead. "It's amusing to see your brother so flustered. I'm so used to that serious side of his." He cupped my cheek and gently pressed a kiss against the corner of my lips. "Makes him seem a little more human."

I nodded my head in agreement. "It does, doesn't it?" I patted his chest. "In the meantime, let us get ready for tonight. I would like to bring some snacks with us to munch on while we stare at the stars.

William grinned and kissed me again, and honestly? It was amazing that when I first learned of my arranged marriage, I was skeptical about him loving me back. Goodness, I even felt that I would never love him in return, I mean, I had no idea who he was, or what made him, him. But as I watched him now...that handsome face smiling while love swirled in his gorgeous sage eyes...I realized I was glad that Mother made me marry him. Because there was not another man I could see myself being with, other than Anthony of course. And I couldn't be happier that both men loved me back. So perhaps there was a one good thing about Arranged Marriage...not that I would ever admit that aloud to anyone, and I knew I was going to live the rest of my life in happiness, alongside William and Anthony.

A/N: And there it is! The end of Arranged Marriage! I'm not quite sure how I feel about this chapter, but meh, it'll do for now lol. I just want to thank everyone who stuck with the story for the duration of it, and I absolutely loved reading all the comments and opinions of the story, it really made me happy to see so many people getting into the story. And I'm super surprised at how popular this story has become, considering this had actually been a fleeting thought while I was trying to go to sleep lol. (Great ideas always seem to happen like that, huh?)

Anyway, I am toying with an idea for a book two, featuring Marvin and his little secret lover (ooooh la la), but I would like to take a break to write a decent amount of chapters for it so that I can actually update on time (because lets face it, I'm super poo at updating on time). So I'm thinking either December, or January that book two will go up. So keep an eye out for that.

But thank you all so much for reading and commenting, and getting into the story, it really means a lot, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!