CARLY “Come with me. You can take a few days off.” I didn’t want to let him go. I was not ready yet. “Please?” “You have to go and sort things out. And I’m not going anywhere.” He cupped my face and pressed his lips into mine. But it wasn’t enough. I needed him by my side. “But I need you.” I felt like I want to cry again. “I need you too, but you have things that need to be settled and done with your family. This is your chance.” I looked away, tears welling in my eyes. “I can’t convince you, can I?” “You don’t need to convince me. When things get better, the dust has settled, and you don’t have time to come and see me, I will visit you.” “Visit me, huh?” My tears finally fell. “Why do I feel this is a goodbye?” “No, sweetheart. This is just the beginning. I will be waiting for you. None of us is giving up. Do you understand me?” “Yes.” I nodded even if my heart disagreed. “Good. Now go. Call me whenever you can. I’m going to miss you.” He kissed me again, the kind of kiss
ROME“What the fuck are you all doing here?” I shot a glare at my friends marching in my direction.“Nice place you got here, bro,” Kye said. Of course, they knew this place. They helped me install the camera and security system of the cabin.”“You did not answer my question. I’m here because I wanna stay away from someone like you all.”They all smirked because they knew that was impossible, and I was fooling myself. Honestly, I really could use their help. I wanted them to tell me to move on, and I also wanted them to tell me to fight for Carly.“Cenric and Sadie extend their congratulations,” Linden said.“For what?” I opened the gate.Zee parked the SUV in my driveway, and they all jumped out as if I had just opened the gate to the hottest sex club in town.“I’m happy for you, bro.” Sax hugged me so tight, slapping my back.“What are you all talking about?”“If I hadn’t known you, brother, I would have believed you for a second. So this is how you’re going to play it? Fine. You an
CARLY This is not happening. I put my hand that had touched my grandfather on my chest. I had not even settled in. Everything just happened so fast, and now things in the palace, the cottage, and the manor were changing. Staff was juggling a lot, and I’d never felt more useless. We were supposed to take a break for a moment to mourn, and it seemed that was not the case here. As they said, life must go on. Everyone was back in business, even if it was declared a national holiday until the Late King was sent to his resting place. Not in this place. For most people, this was the first time to witness the death of the King, as King Kamrun IV had reigned for decades. It felt surreal. I was just holding his hand. Suddenly, he was gone. And now my father was the King. And just made his first speech, addressing the country and the world that his beloved father had passed away. I felt suddenly exhausted—drained that I had no one to hold onto. I went to my room after I couldn’t bea
ROMEThree days since the King died, we barely talked. I missed her, but I also had a job to do. I just came back from a business trip and hadn’t slept for twenty-four hours. I couldn’t even take a nap. All I could think of was her cries. I hoped and prayed she was okay.Everything must be foreign to her since she’d been away for years. I wondered if they treated her right, but I knew her brother would take care of her no matter what that the King had decided for her future. Her father, now the King, just gave a speech in line with his father’s death. I saw the resemblance between Prince Thayer and Carly. And I still pinched myself every now and then that my girlfriend was a princess.My new assistant walked with the file in her grasp.“What the hell is that?”“The report you asked me for, sir.”“I needed that three hours ago, Aryan. And why it’s still in your hand?”“Sorry, sir.” She quickly handed it to me, and she almost tripped. “Careful.”“Sorry, sir.”“I don’t need your apolo
ROME I packed another bag with my new sets of clothes. When I went down, Linden had just arrived with my friends. They wore the same suit. “Wow. Isn’t that too much?” “Too much? You should have seen your lobby.” Kye showed me the live footage outside the building. He was right. There were at least thirty heads in the lobby, and I bet a few more outside waiting for me. It was shocking how people were so interested in royal romance. They still believed in fairy fucking tales. “Whether you like it or not, you have to write our cheque,” Kye added. I snorted. “I thought we were friends, asshole.” “You’re kidding. But I can’t wait to see Triberean,” Sax said. “I thought they call themselves Caprean,” Kye told Sax. “Caprean is like pure blood. Tribereans are mix and modern.” I watched Zee and Linden as they planned on the laptop. “Have you talked to Carly— Princess Carlott?” I looked at Sax. “Yeah. Just right after I talked to Linden. Why?” “Did she tell you how the media got
CARLY “I am still talking to Langston!” I glared at my brother, who had just snatched the phone from me. “Why would you do that? The palace is doing you a favor, sister.” He turned off my phone. “It’s a death trap for Langston. I can’t just force him to marry me. I’m not like you, Thay.” He arched a brow. “He will still be here. Trust me because it’s how he feels about you. He is tenacious. Nothing can stop him if he wants something. I believe you know it by now.” “You don’t know that.” I just wiped my tears and asked him to return my phone. Instead, he slipped it into his pocket. “I do know him better than anyone. I see myself in him once that I would do anything to be with the person I love.” “I don’t think so.” I hit him in the arm. “He won’t waste his time kidnapping me, you prick.” He just laughed at my outburst. “I love you, Carlott, so much that I want you to be happy for the last time. Rome is the man who can give you eternal happiness. The palace did you a favor, and
ROME The late King was placed to rest. Still, I was having a hard time wrapping things around my head. We just arrived at the Guardion via the fastest train from Winterbourn. It only took one hour and fifteen minutes, but it felt like twelve hours. Her details were a pain in my ass as if I was planning on kidnapping the princess. Then she drove the pretty vintage car, her details, and my friends were tailing us in the SUVs. “You’ve been silent throughout the ride.” What did she want me to say? “Dating a princess comes with a lot of security details and less privacy.” “I’m so sorry.” She looked at me and held my hand. “Eyes on the road, princess. Why can’t you even let me drive?” “It’s customary.” “Customary?” I scoffed and was confused. “You are my guest. We’re not yet married. And also, I missed this car.” “Jesus. Are we allowed to sit at the back together?” “Yes. No problem.” “And I haven’t kissed you.” Her lips spread into a smile. “What? I can’t kiss you too?”
CARLY It was warm in the cabin, and I could see the snow falling outside. It felt like the holiday season right here. It was pretty romantic. We just had amazing sex. Then we cuddled on the sofa with our hot chocolate and watched a football match. “So, this is like a big deal here, huh?” He sipped his hot choco. “Yup, just like coffee and milk teas. Here you can find hot choco in a lot of varieties.” “Hmm.” “What does hmm even mean?” “I could live with it.” “You’re a guy who drinks black and isn’t fond of dessert but likes chocolates?” “Who doesn’t like chocolates, Storm?” “Come on. You can’t just be that guy.” He looked down at me, meeting my gaze. “Tell me what’s bothering you?” Rome felt it— he felt that I was hiding something from him, and one thing I loved about him— he cared and asked, but he didn’t push. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head as I curled into him. “My father paid you a visit?” “Well, when we arrived at the airport, we