“You never know what you’re going to need, you know. Better safe than sorry,” Jessie replied immediately. “I agree. It’s a lot better than not having something when you need it. You’ll also be away so we won’t be there to help you,” Salena said. I disliked the way they were talking as if prior to having them working as my personal maids I wasn’t able to take care of myself. Of course, I knew that my friends meant well but sometimes their efforts were just way over the top. I let out a sigh of resignation as I decided to let them do whatever they wanted. As for me, I had much bigger problems at hand to deal with. “The prince is running a little late, isn’t he?” Salena asked in a small voice as she came to stand next to me.“He’s probably busy with something…” I replied without much worry. “Do you want to review your schedule again for the trip?” Jessie suggested before handing me the booklet that had been prepared. “That’s not a bad idea. Thank you,” I thanked her before taking th
The flight lasted only a couple of hours and soon enough the pilot informed us that we would be descending to the airport of our destination. The country that we were visiting was one with very close ties to the prince’s family. “Just make sure to keep smiling. You don’t have to answer anyone’s questions. One last thing, always stay close by my side,” Prince Leonard instructed.“I will,” I promised him without any hesitation. When we exited the plane and entered the airport, many people were there to greet the prince. I found out that so many people travelled along with us for the trip. Many reporters were there to take photos of us, and I could understand why the prince had instructed me to smile. It felt like the only thing that I could do as I stood by his side. Everything proceeded exactly as outlined in the schedule that was printed and given to me beforehand. Someone who looked very senior came to greet the prince and as they shook hands, a middle-aged woman offered me a bouqu
I was certain that the many medical technological advances that the team of doctors presented to us were beyond impressive; however, it made me feel conflicted inside. To me, I felt like there was also an emotional side to the process of conceiving and having a baby. Many things during the various presentations caught my attention although I couldn’t completely comprehend the medical aspect of things due to my limited background knowledge.The various videos shown of mothers with their newborn baby and other videos of mothers and fathers raising their baby into a young child were easy enough for me to understand. Everyone featured in the videos seemed happy as they lived their dream come true moment of finally having a child. For a moment, I couldn’t help but wonder if the parents that I used to have smiled like that when they had me or when they were raising me when I was a baby or a young girl. Trying to recall my memories of them was futile because I simply did not remember anythi
The luxurious room did not surprise me and neither did the spectacular food options that were present. Thankfully, the food wasn’t much different to the food served in the palace because that meant that I knew quite well what was being served. At first everything seemed normal as I took my seat next to the prince at the dining table. Apart from us, many government officials that had joined us on the trip were also present at the dining table along with a handful of people that represented the host country. Frankly, I did not recognize most of the people and had no idea what their roles were. Regardless of not knowing precisely who they were, I could feel their eyes on me. It did cross my mind that they were staring at Prince Leonard who was seated next to me; however, as time went on, I was certain that I had become the center of their attention. The way they looked at me made me feel uneasy. Suddenly a man dressed in a formal suit approached us.“Your Highness, if I may have a word
“I…Umm…” I murmured as I hesitated. “You don’t have to be shy about it…” she coaxed before smiling at me. I wished that the only emotion that I felt at that moment was simply shyness; however, that was very far from the case. I felt so conflicted, and all my emotions were a mess as I struggled more with myself than the pressure that everyone seemed to be putting on me to answer that question. “I’m…” I began saying before I had to stop. “Are you embarrassed? Well, there’s no need to be. I’m just very curious about your relationship with the prince. So, tell me, what exactly is your relationship with Prince Leonard?” she asked again as her eyes stared directly at my face. “I…I’m just…” I murmured as I felt my body tremble slightly. “Mila…”I heard the prince’s voice calling my name almost at the same time that I felt the warmth of his hand on my bare shoulder. My heart skipped a beat before relief flooded my chest. I turned to stare up at Prince Leonard’s face; however, he wasn’t
My heart clenched a little in my chest before I felt a wave of warmth washing over me. “Umm…you should get some rest…” I suggested as I started to feel slightly shy. “I’m very sorry, Mila. I shouldn’t have left you alone like that. I didn’t think that the talk would take so long…” Prince Leonard suddenly apologized. I turned to him with what must have been a very blank look on my face because I didn’t expect an apology from him. That was also simply because I didn’t feel like there was anything that he needed to apologize for. In fact, I felt like I owed him such a big favor after all that he had said in my defense. “There’s no need for you to apologize for anything. I’m fine…” I quickly reassured him. “It’s my fault. I misjudged the situation and you had to pay the price for it,” he replied firmly. I had no idea what he was talking about or why it seemed to be such a big deal for him. It was true that many people in the dining room made me uncomfortable and Lucinda did put me o
“It’s not your fault at all, Mila. Plus, I didn’t just change the time,” the prince said before grinning a little my way. “I’m sorry but I’m not sure that I understand what you mean,” I murmured softly as I kept on staring at the prince. “We’re leaving this country,” he stated simply. “We’re leaving? I mean, what about the rest of the trip?” I asked while failing to hide my panic. The official visit wasn’t over. In fact, we had only spent one day in the country, but the prince seemed to have made up his mind to cancel the rest of the trip. My mouth hung open in shock as I wondered what was really going on. “That’s right. After you’re done with breakfast, we can leisurely make our way to the airport. Don’t worry, everyone that needs to know about this has been informed and everything has been taken care of,” Prince Leonard told me reassuringly. “But…is this really, ok?” I asked with evident worry. “Of course. Some of the key staff will be staying behind to complete the trip as p
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he replied without giving me any real answer.“Do you have some other work to do there?” I took a guess.“You could say that” he replied without giving anything away. “You’re always so full of secrets…” I mumbled softly to myself. “Doesn’t that just keep you feeling excited?” Prince Leonard said happily. “I don’t know. Sometimes it can be a little bit too much,” I replied honestly. The prince just laughed at my response as if he found it to be entertaining. Although I had no idea what was going on, I was content with the fact that Prince Leonard seemed to be in much better spirits than during the dinner last night. The flight was longer than the one before and I had to admit that it felt boring after a while. Even though I didn’t intend to, I ended up falling asleep and taking a nap just as the prince had suggested. By the time that I woke up, the plane was already descending. I looked out of the window to see that it was dark. As the plane continue