ESTEFAN'S POV Stepping into my father's office, I met him standing near the window with his back turned to me.“I understand what you are saying, but it's not a decision I can make in haste,” he said on the phone. “Why don't we wait it out and see what happens?”He turned to face me before hanging up. A sigh escaped his lips as he took his seat on the couch in front of me. “What's wrong?” I asked, sitting on the chair opposite him.“Some of the court members are suggesting that I remove Esteban as the crown prince and appoint you according to the people's wishes,” he explained. “What do you think about it?” “Though it's true that the people's opinion about the leader matters in a way because their leader is meant to serve and make decisions for them, but at the same time, I don't think such a trivial matter should be an excuse for Esteban's removal.” A smile etched on my father's face as he leaned into his chair. “I was expecting you to say something to support Esteban's disposal
LEAH'S POVI climbed down from the stairs dressed in a fitted black gown that stopped mid-thighs. I made my way to the dining room where my parents were already waiting for me. After finding out that my dad lied to my mom that day, I haven't gotten the time to ask him about it. I still hadn't found out why he did that, so I didn't want it to come out as if I was accusing him.I also chose to keep it from my mom because I didn't want her to jump to conclusions. When I figured out what exactly was going on, I'd ask my dad about it and decide it was something I should tell my mom about.“Good morning.” I sat on my seat, opposite my mom. I filled up my plate and began to eat while going through my phone. My hand hung midair when I came across a video on social media with the caption ‘The future monarch of Spain's first appearance at the Madrid Youth festival’. The shocking part of the video was that it was Rhea and Estefan in the video instead of Anna and Esteban. “What the hell is goi
RHEA'S POV“How long are you guys going to keep this up?” King Estevan asked his sons over dinner. The brothers remained quiet, ignoring their father's question. The wedge between Estefan and Esteban was getting bigger by the minute. I tried talking to Estefan to settle things with his brother but he refused to do that until Esteban made a proper apology to me. Estefan also believed there was no point in settling things with his brother because it wouldn't change anything as long as he still believed that Estefan was trying to take his throne from him.“Anna, Rhea, what are guys doing about this?” He looked back and forth between us. I swallowed the food in my mouth and put my fork down. “I've been trying to talk to him but…”“You don't have to involve them in this,” Estefan said. “This is between us.” “It's because you two believe that you have to protect your wives from each other that's why you are fighting each other,” King Estevan raised his voice.Everyone fell into an awkw
ESTEFAN'S POVThe meeting at The Cortes Generales went smoother than I expected. My dad already filled me in on the alliance project that the King of Norway was coming for. After I gave him my opinions on the project, he decided to let me handle the negotiation with the king of Norway. My dad didn't say a word throughout the negotiation process and I was able to handle it with ease. They signed the agreement with the Prime Minister and shook hands. The King of Norway shook my hands and said, “The citizens of Spain are lucky to have you as their future king.” I opened my mouth to correct him but my dad shook my head at me, so I nodded with a smile on my face.The Prime Minister treated us to lunch where I was able to meet the other council members. They talked to me about some matters concerning state affairs and they were surprised at my response to their questions. I had learned all those things and researched them while helping Esteban out with his duties in the past. They event
LEAH'S POV“Why don't step aside and let me do the cooking?” Asher said when he saw how terrible I was at cutting the vegetables.“No, I can do this.” I refused as I cut the vegetables, trying not to cut myself in the process. Asher stepped back and continued to prepare the rest of our dinner. He was who insisted that we prepare dinner ourselves when I had opted to order some chicken. Since we were at his apartment, I decided to follow his decision. I could tell he was regretting telling me to help him out. If only he had asked Rhea before doing that, he would have made sure I never went near his kitchen. “So you are going to take the job for that price because he's your brother-in-law’s friend?” Asher asked. “Yes.” “Don't you think they are taking advantage of their relationship with you?” He continued.“Of course not.” I dropped the knife and turned to him. “Estefan offered to pay me the rest of the money but I refused.” “Why would you do that? You shouldn't mix personal relat
RHEA'S POV“Is she sure about that?” Estefan raised his eyebrows at me. “She said she is.” I ran her fingers through her hair. “Mom is going to be devastated when she finds out but we can't keep her in the dark.”Despite being married for years, my parents loved each other unconditionally. I was still trying to figure out what could have prompted my dad to take such actions.“Why don't you talk to your dad first? You should hear his side of the story before telling your mom,” Estefan advised. “If you are not careful in handling the situation, it might break them apart.” “That's what I'm scared of.” Tears slipped out of my eyes. “I don't want to see my parents fighting each other in court to sign a divorce agreement.” “That's not going to happen.” He pulled me into his chest and rubbed my back. “You should get your mind off it, it will only distract you.” “How am I going to do that? I can't stop thinking about it.” I sighed with my head resting on his chest.“You need a distraction
LEAH'S POVTears rolled down my cheeks as I made my way toward the hospital exit. “Leah,” Asher called, making me stop on my track. I was so eager to get out of there that I forgot he was here with me. Turning to him, I watched him jog toward me.“What's going on? Why is your dad here?” He asked before he noticed the tears on my face. “Are you crying? What's wrong? Please talk to me.”“I just found out that my dad has been cheating on my mom,” I answered and his eyes widened in shock. “The child that woman delivered is my half-sibling.” “Leah, I'm so sorry.” He pulled me into a hug and I sobbed against his chest.“Please just get me out of here.” He pulled away and led me out of the hospital building. We sat in his car in a comfortable silence and I closed my eyes recalling how my father claimed to be the baby's father and the doctor congratulating him on the birth of his son.It made me angry as I thought about it. To think that my mom was home preparing his dinner and waiting fo
RHEA'S POVA palace maid dragged my suitcase out the door as I stood in the living room with Estefan's parents. “Is it that important that you leave immediately?” Queen Carina asked.“Yes.” I nodded. “My family is going through a rough time and I need to be there to help out. I'll be back as soon as it is sorted out.”“If not for the current situation in the palace, I would've insisted that Estefan goes with you,” the king said.“It's fine, I can manage by myself.” Estefan and I already argued about him not going with me because he wasn't okay with letting me go to London all by myself. It was the first time I would be travelling on my own, so he was a bit sceptical about it.After so much bickering back and forth, I was able to convince him to let me go alone. I knew I was only able to win the battle because he was needed in the palace and it would leave a great void if he left the palace on short notice.“We should get going now.” Estefan escorted me out of the house and opened th
ESTEFAN'S POV “Estefan,” Rhea yelled from inside the room and I glanced at Mrs Dutchman who was standing with me in the kitchen, before leaving the pan on the burning stove and running to the room.“What's wrong?” I stepped into the room to see Rhea standing with her legs apart in front of the closet. “My water broke.” Her eyes widened as she stared at the water on the ground.“Okay, no need to panic,” I said but I was the one panicking because I had no idea what to do.“She'll go into labour soon, we need to get her to the hospital.” Mrs Dutchman walked past me who was standing at the entrance, looking confused. I shook my head and got myself together before moving close to Rhea. She placed one hand on her huge baby bump while I held the other hand and supported her back with my other arm as we walked out of the room.“Fuck!” She cried out and squeezed the hand that she was holding. “That hurts.” “I'm so sorry.” I caressed her back as she kept walking.“We need to hurry up, the
LEAH'S POV “Asher, there's something I want to talk to you about,” I started as I sat next to him on the couch while he was busy typing away on his laptop. A few days ago, Asher brought up the topic of our wedding. He wanted to talk to my parents so that we could finalize the wedding date and start preparing for it. Like I told Rhea, I wanted to discuss the issue of not having babies yet before we proceeded. “Okay, but check this out first.” He placed his laptop on the table so that I could see what he was doing he was looking at.I raised my eyebrows when I saw that it was a picture of a house, a beautiful house at that. “What do you think about it?” He asked.“It's a beautiful house and I love the design too.” I nodded.“Would you love to live there someday?” He continued. My face scrunched in confusion. “Why are you asking me that?” He scratched the back of his head. “I'm thinking of buying the house for us. I don't want us to live in this apartment when we get married.” “
RHEA'S POV ONE WEEK LATER.“Do you think we should go with the Spiderman theme for the nursery?” I asked as we drove to the hospital because Esteban was getting discharged.“Why would you want to use a Spiderman theme for a baby girl?” Estefan looked up from his phone with raised eyebrows.“It's not a girl, it's a boy. I know that because I'm the one carrying the child.” I folded my hands. “It's called mother's instinct.” “It doesn't work that way.” “It does.” I countered. “Why don't we ask Mom when we get to the hospital?” “Fine.” He averted his eyes from me and focused on his phone.The car stopped in the hospital parking lot. We stepped out and made our way inside, heading straight to Esteban’s room.Esteban was heading out of the room with Mom and Esmeralda when we got there. “I told you not to waste your time coming.” He rolled his eyes at us.He had insisted that we didn't make his discharge a big deal and just meet him in the palace later. But Estefan and I being the adaman
ESTEFAN'S POV That morning, the doctor confirmed that my father had slipped into a coma and had no idea when he would be awake. Some of the court members visited the hospital to confirm it before they decided to proceed with their plans of making Prince Eugenio the ruling king.Princess Antonella contacted the officer and he told us the arrest warrant would be issued soon.I made Esmeralda and Mom stay in the hospital with Rhea and Esteban while I went to the appointment ceremony with Princess Antonella and her husband. We were sitting in the front row reserved for the member of the Royal family and the court members proceeded with the ceremony when everyone else was present.My feet bounced and I kept looking at the entrance of the palace Grand Hall, waiting for the police to walk in. “What's taking them so long?” Princess Antonella asked as Prince Eugenio was invited to the podium.“I have no idea.” “They have to arrest him before the ceremony is over or else he will be untouch
ESTEFAN'S POV Esmeralda and I were standing in the hospital reception when medics rushed my father who was lying unconscious on the stretcher into the hospital. My heart stopped when I saw the blood all over his white shirt. “Mom, where is Esteban?” Esmeralda ran toward Mom who was following Dad's stretcher with tears rolling down her cheeks.Before she could reply, Esteban's stretcher was rolled in by the medics. He was still conscious and groaning in pain. “Esteban, hang in there. You're going to be fine.” I followed the nurses as they pushed him toward the emergency room.“Please, make sure Dad is okay.” He groaned in pain as he spoke.“Dad will be fine, just worry about yourself.” I stopped as they went into the emergency room.Mom broke down in Esmeralda's arm and they sank to the ground while I watched them, trying so hard to control my tears. We sat outside the waiting room, watching nurses going in and out. “Where is Estevan?” Princess Antonella shouted and she ran towa
ESTEFAN'S POV“Go back there and check for the CCTV camera,” I ordered the bodyguards. “We need to find the people who left her there.” My bodyguards reported that they found Rhea lying in an alley. If I could get footage of the person who left her there and get him arrested, we might be able to get him to mention Prince Eugenio's name and add it to the list of his crimes. “Yes, Your Highness.” They bowed and left the room.Esmeralda walked into the hospital room with Mrs Dutchman who was holding a basket of food. I made her go back to the palace last night, even though she insisted on staying. I should have expected that she would be early the next morning. “Your Highness, I brought you some food.” Mrs Dutchman placed the basket on a small table and dragged me to sit on the chair in front of it. “I'm very sure you didn't get anything last night. Her Highness would get mad at you if she found out you have been starving yourself.” She was right. I didn't get anything to eat the wh
ESTEFAN'S POV I drove like a maniac to the palace and rushed into the living room where everyone was sitting. “Where is she?” I asked, breathing heavily. My father stood up with a dejected look on his face. “Prince Eugenio has her, and he won't release her unless I announce him to the Crown Prince.” My heart dropped at the mention of Prince Eugenio's name, and my shoulders slumped in defeat. After everything I did to save my family’s legacy, everything was going to go down the drain because I couldn't protect Rhea. If only I had chosen to let that maid go and follow Rhea to the hospital. I pulled on my hair before I picked up a vase beside me and smashed it against the wall. “Fuck!” I yelled. “Estefan, calm down.” Esteban rushed to hold me. “How can I calm down? I don't know what that bastard is doing to her. She must be scared all by herself.” I cried as I spoke. “I should have gone with her to the hospital. This is all my fault.” Esteban wrapped his hands aroun
ESTEFAN'S POV “Thanks for your help.” I walked toward the elevator with my bodyguards behind me. I took one of the regular elevators to the second floor. As if luck was on my side, the elevator stopped to reveal the kitchen maid holding two suitcases with her mother behind her. Her eyes widened upon seeing me, and she turned to make a run for it, but she stopped in her tracks when her eyes landed on her mother. I smirked, knowing she couldn't leave her mother behind to save herself. “Help them get in,” I ordered my bodyguards, and they stepped out of the elevator to usher them in. Gabriela shook in fear as she and her mother stood behind me in the elevator. The door closed, and I held the elevator before turning to her. “What's going on? Why isn't the elevator moving?” Her mother raised an alarm, looking at me and my bodyguards in fear. Gabriela kept her head down in fear, tugging on her mother's skirt. “What is it? Why are you quiet?” She turned to her daughter, e
ESTEFAN'S POV “You have a phone call,” Rhea brought my phone to me in the bathroom. She answered it and put it on speaker since I couldn't answer it in the shower. “Good morning, Your Highness, its Doctor Enzo,” the caller said. “The DNA results are ready, you can come pick them up.” “Thank you, doctor,” I replied and he hung up. Rhea left the bathroom and I finished up before joining her in the room. She sat on the bed, typing away on her laptop while I got dressed.“I have an appointment with my obstetrician today, do you think you can come along?” She asked as she closed the laptop. “What time?” I stood in front of the mirror and buttoned my shirt. “11:30, can you make it?” She stood up to help me with my tie that I still haven't gotten the hang of. “I'm not sure, but I'll try.” I wrapped my hands around her.I had to get the test results and explain everything to my father before the meeting which I was informed was scheduled for 2pm.“If anything comes up and I can't make