9. The Model Child.

[Megan]
"What did you happen to accomplish today at the gala." My mother scoffed and glared at me.
"What are you talking about mom?" I asked her in confusion. "I was with the Prince, just like you asked me to."
"You were with the Prince?" She asked lividly. "Then why are you not the talk of the town, why was it not published in the newsprint."
"I don't know why mom, but I swear I was with him, he even introduced me to his best friend," I said trying to defend myself.
"You better not disappoint me, Megan, you've been trained for this all your life, if you cannot keep that man then you'll be the worst failure ever." She said and stormed out of the room.
Tears blurred my vision as she left and I had to hold a chair to prevent me from falling down.
She had to remind me about my sole purpose in life every day.
To be married into the royal family.
I don't know why she was obsessed with being part of the royal family, but she was.
She was a rich widow who lacked nothing, father had died when I was very young so she had practically raised me all by herself; if a full staff of maids and servants meant that she raised me then yeah.
Ever since I could remember, I'd been groomed by her to be Luke's wife one day.
When we were little she would yell at me and have a fit if I wasn't around Luke and that's why I developed an odd obsession with being around him.
He felt suffocated by it but he didn't have a choice too because his father was into the idea, he always sent gifts over to my house and the attention he gave my family made my mother proud.
I couldn't remember what he looked like but I still had to be the first to know when he got back to Denmark, my mother had found out before I did anyway and she had been enraged about it.
I didn't blame him for hiding his face, if only I could, my life would be much easier.
My mother had exposed me to the public from a young age, from modeling for skincare products to makeup products, a wide range of products actually, she just wanted me to be the talk of the town, she wanted me to be so popular that the king would not think twice before approving my relationship with his son.
My mother had wanted me to go with Luke to America but the King had not been in support of the idea so she made me stay in Denmark and build my brand till I was one of the most influential people in the country.
It was all tiring but I couldn't do anything about it, she knew what was best and I didn't want to disappoint her, I tried my best to make her happy and proud of me so that she would love me.
I was raised by my Nana who happened to be my grandmother, my Nana loved me very much and she cared for me but my own mother never looked twice at me, except to yell at me or to drag me off to some photoshoot or high-class event.
I wished I was free to make my own decisions, but I was not, Margaret Jorgensen was the one who did all of that, I was just a figurehead.
"Child, you're crying." Nana wiped my tears away, I had not even realized when she entered the room.
"When did you?" I asked.
"I heard her yelling and I decided to come and check on you." She said, Nana didn't approve of the things my mother did but she couldn't say anything about it, she could not stand up to my mother because she lived off her.
My mother had threatened to throw her out of the house more than once if she intervened, so there was nothing much she could do.
"Thank you, Nana." I hugged her and stopped crying.
I should be used to it by now, I wondered why it still cut so deep anytime she verbally assaulted me.
"I brought you some food," Nana said and pointed to a table.
I hadn't eaten anything all morning since I had to watch my weight so I was really hungry.
"Thank you." I rushed to the table and opened the dish. "It's not a salad," I said sadly and moved backward.
I couldn't have any carbs since I was on a strict diet, my mother would flip if she found out what I was about to eat, I didn't want to give her any reason to yell at me this night so I turned away from the savory dinner in front of me.
"You can't keep starving yourself Meg, you have to eat, you're all skin and bones."
She didn't have to try to convince me, my mouth was already watering and I didn't think I could turn the dinner away.
I opened my door and checked the hallways for any sign of my mother and when I didn't see her, I locked the door and sat down to the meal.
"Did you want some?" I asked when I was halfway through the meal.
"Eat sweetheart." Nana chuckled and I smiled at her.
Today was my cheat day I reasoned as I downed the remainder of the food.
"Megan, about your schedule tomorrow." My mother's voice came from outside and Nana and I immediately got to work.
We hid the plate and sprayed some perfume to remove any smell of food from the air before she got to the door.
"Why is this door locked?" She demanded rattling the doorknob from outside.
"Nothing ma, I was just about to change." I lied opening the door, Nana and I looked around nervously for any sign of the food I'd just eaten and we relaxed when we found none.
"Okay, I just came to tell you that there's going to be a change in your schedule tomorrow, I just found out that the Prin—" she stopped abruptly and stared at me intently.
"What is that stain on your dress?" She asked, moving closer to inspect the stain on my dress.
"What stain?" I asked and covered the spot she was staring at.
In my hurry to clear the dish, I must've gotten sauce on my dress.
"Ah, must be blood, she just had a nosebleed before you came in." Nana lied, quickly covering me up.
"Nose bleed eh?" Mother sneered. "It had better not happen in public, go to the hospital and find a medication for that." She said disinterestedly.
"Thank you." I mouthed to Nana behind my mom's back and I heaved a quiet sigh of relief.
She informed me about the change in my schedule and she left after ordering me to go to sleep.
I said goodnight to Nana and I took a cold shower before heading to bed.
Despite all my mother did, I loved her and I wanted her to be proud of me.
As I lay on the bed, I recalled meeting Liam, Luke's friend, growing up when I usually hung around Luke. I had met him once or twice but he was always so reluctant to talk to me so I never really spoke to him.
I remember that he had an unlikely resemblance to Luke but I wondered if they still looked alike because it had been a while since I had seen Luke's bare face.
Luke spent all of his younger days telling me how much he hated me clinging onto him but I never took his rejection to heart because my mother always told me that men didn't know what they wanted so I had to show Luke that I was who he wanted.
I didn't really like Luke, it was not that I was in love with him or anything, I just had to be with him since it was something that my mother wanted and I'd just accepted it as a fact since we first met.
Luke and I had been friends at first and we really enjoyed each other's company until he turned sixteen and then my mother started planning our wedding and she managed to convince the King since he always liked me.
This was my fate and there was nothing I could do about it. I was going to get married to Luke and I was going to be the next queen of Denmark.
I decided not to think anymore about it and I found myself wishing I would meet Liam again when I visited the palace tomorrow.
Yeah, that was the change in schedule mother had come to inform me about, she wanted me to sneak into Luke's room and catch him off guard when he had not donned on his large hat and black shades.
"You have to move in on him fast and claim him for yourself before another hussy comes in your way." She had said.
I guess she hoped something of the sexual nature would come out of my surprise visit tomorrow, but I couldn't help but feel like I would be invading his privacy.