Chapter 0004

MILA

“Although we primarily serve local, traditional food, I hope that you can come up with some variations on our usual dishes,” Samara continued, but it was hard for me to focus on her words anymore. I was still shocked by the fact that I slept with the Prince of Fresonia the first night I landed here.

“Just review this binder and start brainstorming. You can start next week. Does 1,500 dollars a week sound good?....Mila?”

“Yes! I can do that,” her words about the salary immediately brought me back to reality.

With this income, I could afford to rent a small apartment at the end of this month. And beyond that... maybe I could even open another restaurant of my own someday if I could save some money.

“It sounds perfect. Thank you, Samara,” I told her.

Stumbling back to my motel, I had mixed feelings

The good news was that I would start to earn a decent salary.

The bad news was that my world had been completely turned upside down in the course of a few hours.

I was still a little exhausted from my hangover, but I couldn’t go to sleep, not yet. I had research to do.

I collapsed onto my bed and immediately opened my phone to Internet-stalk Felix.

It turns out, it was fairly easy to find information on him. He was 29, several flings spotted by paparazzi but had never been in a serious relationship known to the public.

I learned lots of other things about the royal family–how this bloodline had ruled Fresonia since it was formed, way back after the fall of the Roman Empire. They were considered to be the richest royal family in Europe, thanks to Fresonia’s natural resources and the fact the country had never gotten involved in a war.

They seemed to be widely beloved. The press seemed obsessed with photographing him, with one site even having a picture of him at dinner the night before, taken right before he headed to the bar and saved me.

I sighed and locked my phone.

So it was true. I was just the latest fling for him, nothing more than another notch in his belt. There was no reason to believe any differently with this man–especially now that I knew he was a prince.

At least I hadn’t allowed myself to get attached. Last night may have been dreamy, but I had to get over it.

At least now, with my new job at Samara’s, I had a future. Felix just had no place in it.

My gaze fell to that stone necklace on my bedside table. I knew I should figure out a way to get it back to Felix as soon as possible. However, looking at the shiny purple eye on the necklace, I somehow wanted to keep it a little longer.

I was not sure if it was about the purple eye or the great night I shared with Felix, but it didn't matter now.

I decided to relax and watch the evening news first, and plan to return the necklace to Felix’s place tomorrow.

It was a stone. It wouldn't matter if I returned it today or tomorrow. Right?

Fortunately, the news was in English, and I settled in to watch. The news anchors talked over the weather and an upcoming horse race. I scrolled on my phone, bored.

But then Felix’s face popped up on my television screen, and I sat up straight.

“Prince Felix and his right-hand man, Joseph, visited the Fresia police station early this morning for reasons unknown,” the news anchor said. “While the palace has not yet stated the reason for this visit, many are speculating that the Prince is searching for something–or someone.”

That cold sense of dread crept over me once more.

Oh no.

Did Felix think I was a thief, stealing a necklace right off his sleeping body and creeping out in the early hours of the morning? I buried my head in my hands.

This had gone too far. I stood to leave.

I had to get back to Felix’s place and return this necklace. Clearly, it was of great importance to him. I could only hope he would believe me when I told him I had no idea how it ended up in my bag.

As I gathered up my things, something else flashed on the TV. I was horrified to see what appeared to be a police reporting a case requested by the royal prince Felix to find a woman named Mila. There was also a blurry picture on the TV screen.

It might not have been clear to others, but I recognized myself instantly. It was probably taken from the street camera outside the bar I went to last night.

I wasn’t drunk at that time, and I wasn’t with Felix yet.

Below that was a headline stating that anyone who spotted me and provided my information would be rewarded with 1,000,000 DOLLARS.

I looked once more at the necklace in my hands. That eye still glowed, warm and pulsing, as if it was trying to talk to me somehow.

No, that was ridiculous.

This necklace worth ONE MILLION DOLLARS?