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ESTEFAN'S POVEsmeralda came back to our house as planned very early that morning and Rhea helped her settle in one of the rooms. Later that morning, I got a call from Mom asking If Esmeralda was with us because they couldn't find her which made me realize that she left the palace without telling anyone and they couldn't reach her on her phone.“Esm, did you tell anyone before leaving the palace?” I asked in a scolding tone as I entered the dining room.Her hand that was holding a cup of coffee froze mid-air as she avoided my eyes. “Don't tell me you didn't get permission from your parents before coming here?” Rhea questioned.“I didn't think I needed to get permission before going to my brother's house,” she mumbled.“Are you serious right now?” I shouted at her. “Mom is worried sick about you. Why can't she reach your phone?” “I turned it off and kept it in my bag,” she replied and I breathed out in frustration.Rhea took her seat opposite her. “Talk to me, what's going on?” She
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RHEA'S POV“Miss Ruiz, are you trying to tell me that you are Prince Esteban's biological mother and not the Queen?” Laura asked the strange woman.“Yes,” she replied, making me gasp. “I gave birth to Prince Esteban in a State hospital 25 years ago on the same day Queen Carina had her baby. I heard from a nurse that her baby died, so they approached me and told me to give her mine because I was planning to give him up for adoption.” “Why are you just saying this now after keeping quiet for twenty-five years?” “I have been seeing on social media that Estefan should be made the crown prince instead of Esteban. As a loyal citizen of Spain, I believe it won't be right to let a child without Royal blood take the throne, so I thought to use this opportunity to tell the truth and get rid of the guilt of my sins.” The host began to ask her more questions but I took the remote and turned off the TV. The room was in complete silence and the tension in the air was so thick that a knife could
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LEAH'S POV“Come on, it's not fair,” I whined after losing to Asher again. “It's my first time playing, should you be going easy on me?” “That was me going easy on you.” He gave me a confused look. “It's not my fault that you suck at video games.” I took the couch pillow and slammed it on his head before standing up from the floor. “I might suck at video games but I still have a beautiful face, that's all that matters.” I flipped my hair back, making him chuckle. Picking up my phone from the couch, I went into his kitchen to grab a snack. I already had breakfast before coming over to Asher's place and I didn't want to take something heavy again because of my weight.Asher came to wrap his hands around me as I rummaged his cupboard for a snack. “I spoke to my mom yesterday.” “Okay,” I replied half-heartedly as I was more concerned with the snack I was looking for.“She wants to meet you,” he blurted out.“Okay,” I replied before his words fully registered in my brain, making me fre
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ESTEFAN'S POV“Anna, relax.” I held her shoulder. “I know it's hard but you have to think about your baby and be careful with everything you do.”“But what am I going to do?” She cried. “My parents are planning to come and finalize the divorce so they can take me with them, and Esteban is not even here.”I sighed because I couldn't assure her that everything would be fine. I was more confused than I'd ever been in my entire life.“Just go to your room and get some rest, I'll see what I can do.” I glanced behind me to see Rhea in the corner of the room talking to someone on the phone. I had a wild guess that it was someone from her family, probably wondering what was going on.“Esmeralda,” I called and she walked to me. “Take Anna to her room and I'll take Mom to the guest room on the second floor.” She nodded before she asked, “Don't we have to stay with them here?” “Yes you have to but I will have to take Rhea back home.” I glanced at Rhea who was still taking on the phone with a
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135ESTEFAN'S POV“That day at the hospital, I had just delivered a baby boy. I had no family or husband to take care of me and my baby, so I told the nurse in charge that I would like to give the baby up for adoption. She took the baby away and prepared to get me discharged.” Miss Ruiz narrated and I took a seat on the chair in the room.“What happened after that?” I placed my elbow on my thighs and listened to every word she said.“I was about to leave the hospital when she back and told me that a woman lost her son and they would like to switch her baby with mine. I agreed to it when I found out it was the Queen. I thought that was the perfect opportunity for my son to live a good life.” “Did you see the dead baby?” I asked.“No.” She shook her head. “I didn't even get to see my child before I left the hospital.” The nurse must have taken care of it and claimed it was Miss Ruiz's child.“Okay, but who convinced you to come back and reveal the truth?” That was the question I had b
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136RHEA'S POVThe rays of sun cast on my face and I shifted to feel my head resting on something hard and warm. Popping an eye open, I raised my head to see Estefan sleeping with his hands around my body. I positioned my head on his chest to get a good look at his face. I used my fingers to remove the strand of hair on his face before moving to place a kiss on his lips.His hands tightened around me before I could pull away and his lips moved against mine.“Good morning.” He smiled when he pulled away.“When did you home yesterday?” I traced my finger on the side of his face. “You look stressed out.”“I came in sometime close to midnight,” he replied and my eyes widened. “Why were you out till that time?” I sat up on the bed beside him.“Anna called me when I got home after meeting Miss Sofia. She was worried about Esteban so I had to go back out to look for him.” He stretched his body and yawned. “I'm so tired. I wished everything that happened yesterday was just a terrible nightm
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RHEA'S POVThat night, I called my dad to tell him that Estefan and I would be coming down to London for something important. I choose not to go into details and leave it to Estefan to explain to my father face to face.Estefan said the court gave his father one week to make his decision about his brother becoming the Crown prince. Though Prince Eugenio cannot take over the throne until King Estevan passes away Estefan is convinced that Prince Eugenio wouldn't wait till then to ascend the throne.He wanted to use the one week his father had to chase any hope that his real brother was still alive. That was the only way to save his father's throne and guarantee his safety.We sat on the dining table, having breakfast while the maids took our traveling bags to the car. As I was eating, Leah's call came through and I answered it.“Hello.” “Dad said you and Estefan are coming to London today, is that true?” she asked. “Yes, we have something important that we need to take care of.” “T
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ESTEFAN'S POV Esteban went back to his room as soon as Anna left the palace. My father glanced at Mom before turning on his heels and walked to the elevator. “He's never going to forgive me, is he?” Queen Carina sighed as she watched her husband walk away.“I'm sure he'll come around, just give him time.” Rhea moved closer to her and rubbed her shoulders.“Are you two going to London?” Esmeralda asked, looking back and forth between Rhea and me. “Who is going to help Dad if you leave?" she said to me. “Trust me, we won't be gone for long,” I assured her. “We are going for something important that might end up resolving our situation, so I want you to give Dad the moral support you can while we are gone.” “Okay.” She nodded. “I'll go talk to Dad before we leave.” I ruffled her hair before walking to the elevator. The elevator stopped at the fifth floor and I went to my dad's study after checking his room to find it empty. I knocked on the door and he responded, “Come in.” Pushi
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