Last time on Happily Ever After?:

I agreed to marry Ryan against most rational people's better judgment. And you know, as bad as the proposal seemed, the engagement was worse!

Author Note: Thank you to: Baby gyrl and Sakura evil twin of Sango for their wonderful reviews! So, with that, I hope that you enjoy chapter 3 of Happily Ever After?, at this point I'm fairly certain that there will be more than 3 strikes in Lisa's relationship with Ryan. I would also like to (since I keep forgetting) put in a disclaimer that some of the ideas in this story come from other books especally Just Ella, which is a great book ... if you haven't already read it.

Thank You for reading (and remember to keep reviewing!)!

Bagel Psi

The most infamous day of any relationship: Dinner with the Parents. I do realize that most of the population has, at some point or another, had to meet their boyfriend/girlfriends parents. I even realize that usually people make this out to be a bigger deal than it actually is. However, how many people are engaged to someone whose parents are the monarchs of an entire country? Not that many I would guess. What's worse is, I wasn't introduced to them as: "this is my fiancée … I love her very much" or even, "This is my girlfriend … please don't scare her away like you did the last one." Instead, they where given my entire pedigree.

Yes, I said "pedigree": like a dog. And let me tell you, my pedigree is not that of a purebred, award-winning retriever, I'm more of the runty mutt of the litter who doesn't come within 10 miles of a dog show because all the perfectly bred dogs would turn their noses up at me.

Then, only after giving his parents my not-so impressive pedigree, Ryan goes on to mumble that he is going to marry me. Not once in this conversation was my name even mentioned.

Now, in most families, a son being engaged to a woman whose name he has never even mentioned is considered a problem. Usually the conversation goes something like this:

Family (at the same time): "YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED?!"

And then they lapse into a stunned silence while looking the unfortunate fiancée over as though she were a piece of meat, and mumbling unflattering evaluations just loud enough for her to hear.

However, when you are getting married to a Prince, this conversation with his parents goes in a decidedly different direction.

King: So … what was your name again?

Me: Lisa.

Queen making a face: Lisa? Please tell me that that is short for something.

Me unwillingly: Yes, it is. Elizabeth.

Queen: Good. Then we shall call you Elizabeth. That is a much better name for the ruler of a country. Now, who did you say your parents were?

Me: I didn't bu --

King: Ladies do not say "didn't," use "did not" instead.

I'm sure you can guess the rest of the conversation. Just to give you a hint, not once was the phrase "You're getting married?!" or even "Congratulations" ever uttered, but that didn't stop the unflattering comments and glares. In short, their inquisition into my background would make the Spanish seem like humanitarians. I was grilled on my pedigree … again (didn -- sorry, did not pass), constantly corrected on my syntax and grammar (you can obviously see how well that worked), questioned on my commitment to their country, and, basically, my entire life from birth until now was picked through with a fine-toothed comb.

All-in-all, not a good start with "The Parents" as I didn't pass inspection in any area, unless of course, this is how they react to all of Ryan's girlfriends/fiancées. Not that I would know anything about the women in either category (if they exist), seeing as Ryan and I have only been speaking to each other for 48 hours.

Therefore, I think that the disaster that was my pedigree hearing a.k.a Meeting the Parents qualifies as: Strike Two in my quest to find happily ever after with a Prince Charming and his charming family. I'm also fairly certain that unless I somehow morph into a purebred princess from a rich country, I'm going to have In-Law problems. Many, many in-law problems.