Chapter 5 - Loss Of Hope

The news of the disappearance of Prince Gabriel and his personal secretary named Lucas, shocked the entire land of the Godnation kingdom. Even the current state of the kingdom was extremely chaotic, as this tragic event was the first time this had happened in this kingdom in many years. Not only the royal family complained, but all the people who had worshiped Prince Gabriel seemed to complain, even to the point of offering a special prayer for the Prince's safety at the crime scene, where the plane wreck was found.

Currently, there is still no aircraft dashboard camera that can prove what happened when the plane exploded. For now, all police officers and members of the National Intelligence Service are still in the process of searching for various pieces of evidence and several bodies that have drowned on the seabed.

There is still no news regarding the whereabouts of the bodies of Prince Gabriel and Lucas even though it has been 24 hours since the incident. Charlotte who is Prince Gabriel's beloved fiancé, her current situation is far more unstable than usual. The cheerful smile and the gleam in her eyes, which always looked confident, had now sunk into the valley of despair. Her lips pursed, the languid sighs that flowed from her mouth, and the sad gaze made everyone around her  very worried about her now. Moreover, her appetite decreased drastically as if she had no zest for life at all.

As usual, apart from Gabriel who was able to calm Charlotte's heart, Violet, who was her closest friend, was also always by her side whenever there was a problem. Currently, Charlotte locked herself in her room, no one entered her room including her own mother. When the mother wanted to bring food for her daughter, again the door to her room was locked tightly.

“Charlotte! You have to open the bedroom door for me!” screamed the mother from outside the room.

"Do not want to!" Charlotte stubbornly refused from inside the room.

"If you don't eat, you'll get sick! Since yesterday you haven't eaten at all, I really worried about you!"

“Leave me alone, Mom! I don't want to be bothered by anyone now!”

"Anyway, I don't want to leave if you continue to rebel like a child!" dodged, the mother raised her voice an octave.

“Please, mom! My mind is so messed up right now! Don't disturb my mind!”

In the midst of the argument between mother and daughter, Violet walked slowly towards Charlotte's mother, showing her empathy by lightly patting her on the shoulder.

"Is Charlotte still stubborn?" Violet asked quietly.

"Auntie has given up on her. Indeed, since the first, he always behaved like this whenever there was a problem. But ever since she met Prince Gabriel, her demeanor has drastically changed to that of a very mature person.”

Violet's hands touched Charlotte's mother's hand, a friendly smile etched on her face spontaneously.

"Just let me persuade her."

"But auntie doesn't like you, Violet. Auntie has been a lot of trouble for you to take care of Charlotte."

"It doesn't matter. It's all for her good. If I hadn't intervened, things would have gotten even more complicated. The only person he can rely on is me.”

Spontaneously Charlotte's mother hugged Violet warmly while patting her back rhythmically. All this time, Violet had been treated like her own child. Therefore, he was very happy to see that her daughter's friendship with Violet had never been broken since they first became friends.

"Auntie is relying completely on you, Violet."

"Don't worry, Auntie. I can definitely persuade her.”

"If he's still stubborn, you can threaten him in any way."

Quickly Charlotte's mother left Violet alone in front of the room. Violet took a large tray filled with various side dishes for Charlotte while knocking softly on the door.

"Go away from here!" snarled Charlotte sobbing.

"Your body is running out of energy, you should eat." Violet tried to coax her gently.

“You are no different from my mother. You don't understand how I feel right now!"

"We don't mean to not understand your feelings, we are really worried about your body right now. If you keep your head up, you can get sick. Prince Gabriel, if he sees you like this, he will surely be very sad.”

Hearing the name of the future husband who was supposed to marry her today, her tears broke and she didn't budge for a moment. Her hands trembled even more as she contemplated under the thick blanket. She kept imagining the warmth of being with him that always brought happiness. Every time she doesn't have an appetite, her future husband persuades her to eat. She is always advised gently and lovingly from her lover, thus making herself always fall in love with him. However, the light that always illuminates him is now gone. Because, deep inside, the Prince is like his soul mate.

After thinking about it for a long time, indeed what she was doing at this time was very inappropriate. What her lover wants is not being selfish like this. Moreover, the Prince did not like to see her face sad. Before that, Charlotte got out of bed, straightened herself looking disheveled on the dressing table while putting on a little makeup to look a little fresh. After that, she walked limply as she opened the door. 

As soon as the door opened, Violet quickly entered the room with her tray and placed it on the table near the bed.

"You look really skinny, Charlotte." Violet looked down sadly while touching Charlotte's right cheek.

"Do you think that in a situation like this, can I live in peace?" said Charlotte taking a deep breath, her brows dropping.

Violet took a spoonful of the side dish aimed at Charlotte's mouth.

"Open your mouth!" she said firmly.

"But I still don't have an appetite."

"Anyway, don't be stubborn and just follow my orders!"

Violet swiftly stuffed a spoonful into Charlotte's mouth like a mother feeding porridge to her child when she was sick. Getting a little rough treatment from her best friend, Charlotte looked at her with an eagle look like she wanted to pounce on her.

"You!!"

“Now I will play as Gabriel. So don't ever think you can rebel against me!” Violet dodged and poked Charlotte's arm lightly.

“Gabriel has never treated me so rudely!”

“I still doubt it. Looks like he's going to treat you exactly the way I do now. One day, he'll be fierce enough for you to obey him!"

A rough gasp was released from Charlotte's mouth while shaking her clothes in the heat. However, if it feels over time, the feeling is getting tighter and it feels like I want to vent it with satisfaction. Looking at her friend's unstable condition, Violet spontaneously hugged her while patting her back lightly.

"I really miss him. It's only been a day, but I can't face reality right now. The wedding blessing ceremony should have been lively, then Gabriel and I had become a happy husband and wife. Whereas in reality I can only lock myself up for a whole day.”

“Although until now his body has not been found, I believe one day he will be found alive. Prince Gabriel was a very strong man. He can definitely handle it.”

"Even Lucas's body wasn't found at all."

“If Lucas wasn't found, he would have protected Prince Gabriel with all his might. How about we make a bet?” Violet said with a smart smile.

“At this time you can still bet with me. I don't want to play with you." Charlotte frowned as she folded her arms in front of her chest.

“I think that the two of them are still alive.”

“But the bodies of the bodyguards as well as the pilot were found dead. It would be impossible if they were still alive.”

"It's enough you just hear what I say!"

Charlotte rolled her eyes lazily, and could only surrender to the words from her own best friend, whose hobby was joking with her.

"Okay, I'll just listen even though I actually still doubt you."

“Instead of us being sad all day long, how about we reminisce about the old days? Especially when you first met Prince Gabriel.” Violet enthusiastically put her arm around his shoulder.

"Aish, remembering that incident, it's such a shame!" Charlotte's cheeks started to turn red and she lowered her head in shame.

"I remember once you were always after him, even though you were a woman introverted."

"Never mind, you better not have to talk about it anymore, it's over."

"Come on Charlotte, my memory is starting to fade!" Violet whined, waving Charlotte's arm.

"But I'm too embarrassed to tell you again."

"You're ashamed of your own best friend! Even though we've been friends since we were teenagers, you're still shy in front of me.”

Charlotte can only surrender to her friend who is getting more and more stubborn. He forced a small smile.

"Okay, I'll retell a bit for you."

"Well, only a few times anyway!" Violet snapped in disappointment.

"So you want me to cry all day remembering every moment of our intimacy?"

"No. Well, you can tell me whatever you want. Quick, tell me now!"