Jessy walked into the study room unannounced. She found the Queen reading a wedding magazine. Margaret was indeed obsessed with the wedding preparation, and the bride to be wasn't interested even a tiny bit about the wedding, Jessy thought wryly to herself.

Margaret surveyed the young woman's face.

"Jessy, you're here?" she smiled.

"M-mother, I need to talk with you regarding your son Zain," said Jessy.

Margaret got interested. "Nice to know that we will be talking about my son. What is it?" she set aside the magazine to give her full attention to her future daughter-in-law.

The Queen motioned Jessy to sit on the sofa beside her.

Jessy obeyed.

"So, tell me, what about my son?"

Jessy beamed with confidence. She was sure that after the Queen know of Zain and Hannah's secret tryst she will be the one to stop the wedding herself.

"Your beloved son was having an affair with his assistant. I saw them naked inside his bathroom yesterday. That is another big reason why I don't want to get married to him. If he loves his assistant then they should be the ones to get married..."

The Queen smiled suddenly amused.

"Are you jealous?" she asked.

Huh? Jessy shook her head vigorously.

"I am not jealous! In fact, I am happy that they had a relationship together so that I won't be married to him at all," she retorted.

The Queen rose to her feet. Her cool demeanor didn't even change at all.

"Don't worry about Hannah, she's not a threat to you. Once you and Zain will get married she no longer appears in the picture."

Whoaaa! Jessy sighed. This isn't the reaction she was expecting from the Queen.

"Mother, do you still want me to go on with the wedding in spite of what I had discovered between them?"

Margaret laughed.

"Why? What's wrong? Men can make mistakes and also women. We all made mistakes one way or another. How about you? You have an affair with Adam as well, right? You and Zain are now even. It's a good thing actually, you both made mistakes outside the marriage. When you get married you will be absolutely perfect for each other, no more mistakes by then."

Aargh! Jessy can't believe what she just heard from her...

"M-mother. You are impossible!"

Margaret continues smiling, to the point of irritating the hell out of the younger woman's ire.

"Come on, Jessy. It's just a minor mistake on Zain's part. If you have been much closer to him and you didn't deny him your time then he and Hannah would not have been intimate right now. It's much as your fault as it is of my son. So, please don't be stubborn, just go on with the wedding for two years, and if nothing happens with you and Zain, then you can go free your way."

Jessy inhaled sharply and groaned.

"Okay fine. I will go on with the wedding!" she finally said.

Margaret's face brightened up with excitement.

"Fantastic! So we're okay now, this is good!"

Jessy gritted her teeth in anger.

"On one condition..."

The Queen's smile vanished instantly.

"What is it again this time?" she's frowning.

Jessy displayed an acidic smile on her face for the Queen's benefit.

"After the wedding, I will take Hannah to live with me and Zain in our new home."

The Queen's eyebrows rose.

"No! You can take anybody as a companion, just not Hannah! What you're up to young lady?" she finally has given up not able to comprehend the girl's intention. It's just so plain absurd.

Then Margaret was silent for a while, the silence stretched to a few more minutes...occasionally she would stare at the younger woman's face and trying to delve into her mind.

Jessy welcomes the silence that engulfed them.

The Queen kept assessing the girls face. No married woman will bring her husband's mistress into their marital home after the wedding. It's so outrageous!

"So, what is really your plan?" Margaret repeated.

Jessy sighed.

"I promise Hannah that she can continue serving the Prince after were married. I don't want to break my promise in spite of knowing their affair. She told to me that she will serve me, the Prince and our kids in the future. I pitied her."

The Queen still don't get it.

She ran her fingers in the surface of her books. There's got to be a hidden reason why Jessy easily agreed to Hannah's offer other than pity. Then it finally dawned on her what was the young woman's intention.

"Ah, you are going to use Hannah as your shield against my son's advances? You have no plan to consummate the marriage. So, you were thinking that if you bring Hannah with you into the marriage their physical intimacy will flourish and you will walk out free within two years time?"

Jessy laughed a little. She would like to clap her hands to applaud the Queen's brilliance and cleverness. Margaret had guessed perfectly well what she actually has in mind.

"That was actually the plan, no, I mean it was Plan B. I really pity Hannah, she loves your son so much. They should be together. I should not come in between them. Mother, can you please consider it? Marry Zain to Hannah, that would solve all our problem," she pleaded.

Margaret dismissed the girl's plea.

"No. Absolutely not! You and my son had been destined to get married and continue the royal vampires' lineage. It has been written in your destiny since you were a little girl. How could you dismissed it just like that?"

"But Mother...," Jessy whined.

"Jessy, tell me. If you have not fallen in love with my other son Adam, is there any possibility you will fall in love with Zain? Tell me the truth?"

Jessy was taken aback by her question. She hasn't pondered about those possibilities. Before Prince Zain came into her life there was already Adam. It's Adam she was accustomed to seeing every day, it's Adam she falls in love with...

"If Zain has been in Adam's place, would you fall in love with Zain? Instead of Adam?" Margaret repeated her question.

The Queen has realized now the big mistake she and the King had made in the past. It should have been Prince Zain they sent to take care and protect the young Jessy, instead of Adam. The reasons why they sent Adam instead of Zain was because Adam was cursed and bound to die on the same day the crossbreed will turn twenty. They thought it will be handy, what they didn't factor in the equation was the 'love aspect' of it all. But...who would think that love will blossom between two young children through the years? That never cross their mind before. They were so busy fending enemies left and right that they forgot to think things over carefully regarding the children's future situation.

Jessy wasn't interested in answering the damn question.

While the Queen was lost in her own world dwelling in the past...

Jessy decided to think about it. Would she fall for Prince Zain if he was in Adam's place? Maybe yes or maybe not, how will she know?...she tried to shake those thoughts. She doesn't want to betray Adam's love just by dwelling on those absurd thoughts.

"Mother, let's not talk about that anymore. Things happened the way they are. There's nothing we can do to undo the past. While you might be trying to correct mistakes by marrying me to your son. And I am also trying to preserve my love for your other son, Adam. It's a very hard situation I'm facing right now. Falling in love is not as easy as changing clothes. You just can't shove your son to my face. I just can't forget and destroy the love and the beautiful memories I have shared with Adam and then let another guy enter my heart just like that. That's insane!"

The Queen released a deep sigh.

Jessy was already tired with their back and forth bickering.

"Mother we should not drag this situation too far. I agree to the marriage but my one condition stands. I want Hannah to be with me during the duration of the marriage, under the same roof! Take it or leave it!"

Margaret glared at the young woman. "Why you're being stubborn again? That can't be!"

Jessy sighed. "What are you afraid, Mother? That they will continue their illicit affair under one roof with me? That I will get out scratch free after two years and you lose?"

The Queen was annoyed with Jess' provocation. But she held her ground.

"It's an absurd situation the three of you will undergo. I won't let Hannah come into your marriage with Zain. Your asking for an impossible thing!"

Jessy was also persistent. "Why Mother dear? Are you afraid that your son can't get off his hands on his assistant during our marriage? That is a valid reason to get a divorce, infidelity happening right in our home and that would be tons of evidence, isn't that amazing?"

"...besides, if they still do hanky panky behind my back then that would reveal their true colors. I just want to see how far these two can keep their hands off from each other. If they won't respect the marriage then they're not worthy of my trust and affection."

Margaret for some reason got tongue-tied.

Jessy rose to her feet and bowed to the Queen.

"I will take my leave now, Mother. Don't worry I will go through the wedding preparations. I will attend the wedding day and I will have Hannah with me together with my husband under one roof. It would be a nice threesome for sure. I'm looking forward to it." Jessy smiled slyly at her future mother-in-law.

Before Jessy finally opens the door, she left something for the Queen to ponder. "By the way, Mother, do you know the art of successful negotiation? Let me share it with you," she paused for a second. "You can't get what you want unless you give them what they want. It's the true essence of negotiation, it's like give and take situation."

Jessy took another bow in front of the Queen and left the premises, the smile of triumph never leaving her face.

Margaret was left alone in the study room, astounded and shaken to the core!

Her mouth closed and opened without making any sound. Her face was flushed with rage.

That girl!