❥ SARAH ❥

I stood before the door, knowing the press awaited on the other side. I could picture the camera flashes and the flood of absurd questions I would have to answer.

"Ready?" Alfred asked. I took a deep breath and nodded.

Alfred, with his white gloves, opened the door. My head felt heavy, but I forced myself to focus. As I entered, I noticed a woman sitting in a chair.

"Sorry, I think I'm in the wrong room," I said, starting to leave.

"You aren't in the wrong room, Your Highness. I'm Grace Matthews from the Greta Kingdom press," she said, standing up with a notebook and pen.

This must be a joke, I thought. She was the only one here, and her smile seemed forced. She clearly had questions, and I wasn't confident about answering them without Chris's help.

Just then, the door opened, and Chris walked in. He seemed distant, just like when he was with the tailor. Was he always like this, or was he just bipolar?

"Hey, love," he said, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek, surprising me.

"Am I just in time?" he asked cheerfully.

"Uh... yes, dear," I said, taking his hand as he pulled me closer. I accidentally stepped on his shoe. Expecting a reaction, I was relieved when he just clenched his jaw and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Sorry," I whispered, knowing the woman was watching us closely, anticipating something to go wrong.

He turned toward me and briefly nodded, "Not a problem, love," he said with a gentle smile that left me feeling conflicted.

This wasn't the man I had spoken with just a few minutes ago.

Was he putting on an act for the woman's benefit? It seemed so, but it felt strange to see him playing a role that I was supposed to be handling.

"May we take a seat?" Grace suggested, her eyes examining us with each step we took until we both settled on a love seat.

"So, I understand that this is the first time his Highness is revealing his girlfriend to the world," she began, adjusting herself and readying her pen.

"My fiancée," Chris corrected her suddenly. I turned to look at him, then back to Grace, who appeared confused.

"I..."

"I want you to refer to her as my fiancée. Am I understood?" His voice was stern and serious, cutting her off before she could finish. I wanted to nudge him, to tell him there was no need to correct her, but I was too shocked to speak.

"Of course, your Highness," Grace replied, her voice slightly shaken, losing the confidence she had when she started talking.

"And yes, I have decided to reveal her to the world," Chris continued.

"And why is that? I mean, why now?"

He chuckled at the question. "Why now, you say?" He crossed his legs, leaning back into the chair, his hand lightly touching my back.

"Because I love her."

My eyes nearly popped out in shock hearing those words. I tried to stay calm, forcing my body to react normally and reminding myself that he needed to say things like this.

If he could kiss me in front of his family, why should those three simple words worry me?

"Is that enough reason?" He continued speaking, bringing my mind back to reality.

"Of course," Grace smiled at him, then turned toward me.

I guess it's my turn now.

"I forgot my manners. I would love to know the name of the future queen of the Gelin kingdom."

Well, that felt forced.

I smiled, "It's Sarah. Sarah Wayne."

"Lovely name," she complimented.

"Thank you."

"So, Miss Sarah, did you know that his Highness here was royalty, or did he just tell you recently?"

That question was tricky. It didn't appear to be, but it was. If I answered that I didn't know he was royalty, which was the truth, she would think I was a liar and a gold digger. Before I knew it, my name would be in the news for trying to steal from a prince.

But if I answered otherwise...

"Of course I knew about him."

"And do you also know what he was known for?"

Shit. She looked too comfortable confronting me, her eyes widening as if she was ready to strike another blow.

"Player, womanizer, heartbreaker of the season—I know all about them," I smirked, folding my arms and crossing my legs just like Chris.

"Since you know about the rumors, what makes you think that you're going to be the last?"

That felt like a punch. I mean, we weren't even a real couple, but if we were, that would have torn my heart.

"I think you should be careful with your questions. Just because I allowed this doesn't give you the right to say things like that," Christopher intervened, his eyes glaring at her like she was an old enemy.

It warmed my heart a little.

"I'm sorry, your Highness, but I'm doing my job. It's my duty as a reporter to ask questions, even if they aren't pretty," she argued.

He was about to lash out at her, but I stopped him, reaching my hand toward his face and resting it gently on his cheek.

"It's okay, baby," I murmured. His cheek felt soft beneath my fingers, and I found myself staring into his eyes, which were a mix of shock and curiosity. I leaned closer, my focus shifting entirely to his eyes.

They were really beautiful. I always avoided looking directly at them, especially when he gave me those stern or flirty looks, but this felt different. His eyes sometimes reminded me of the grass at my old home where Mum planted her flowers. There was one stubborn leaf that refused to grow into a flower.

I called it stubborn, but Mum said not all flowers are meant to be pretty on the outside; maybe it was beautiful on the inside. Strangely enough, it eventually grew into something unique, unlike any other leaf I'd ever seen.

I felt him pull away slightly from my hand, snapping me back to reality.

"You good?" he asked, making me smile.

"Of course, love," I replied. He gave his devilish smirk, but now wasn't the time for distractions, so I ignored it.

"For your question, Miss Reporter," I said, adjusting my position and moving closer to Christopher, "I know he won't think of leaving me." I looked at him this time, "He dares not."

His smirk grew even more.

"On what account..." she began.

"On the account that he loves me," I cut her off, my frustration bubbling over.

"And what about you?" Her words made me turn to her sharply. "What?" My voice shifted, now defensive.

"Do you love him?"

Do I love him? Ha! I don't even know a single thing about this guy aside from the fact that he wants to sleep with me, and I'm foolish enough to want that too. But there's something sad in his eyes, something that reminds me of my younger self.

I gulped slowly, facing him again and hoping my acting skills would shut her up. "Of course, I love him." Chris didn't move or say a word, which encouraged me. "If I didn't love him, I wouldn't leave everything I've worked for just to be with him and him alone."

"And even if people like you..." I turned back to the reporter, "don't believe it, it's not my business. As long as he promises to stay with me through tough situations,"

I looked back at him, seeing his eyes now soft and vulnerable, "as long as his heart keeps beating for me and mine for him, we'll be fine." I intertwined my hand with his, giving it a soft kiss before looking back at him and smiling sweetly.

"Won't we, Chris?"

This was it. The moment he could screw this up for both of us. Next time, we are definitely getting a script.

"We will," he responded, giving my hand a tight squeeze before kissing it just like I did his. His lips on my hand sent shivers through my body as he stared deeply into my soul.

Focus.

“Well,” Grace cleared her throat as she stood up from her seat. Her face looked flushed, her cheeks growing red. “It seems that our interview is over.”

“Just like that?” That was fast.

“Umm, yes, this is just a preliminary talk before the main press begins their own.”

The what?!

“I thought you said that you were the press here,” I almost coughed.

“I am the press, but not the main one. I just represent them. We were curious if this relationship was real or not, and by the looks of things, it seems we were wrong,” she said, putting her things in her bag.

“Oh.”

“It’s been lovely talking with you both. I’ll see you both when the king decides to have another meeting.” She bowed slightly and in a second, she walked out the door.

The first thing I did was groan.

“Why on earth would there be another meeting?” I whined to myself. Realizing I was still holding something, I instantly remembered what it was and removed my hand from Chris, who still hadn't spoken to me.

“Hey, are you alright?” I reached towards his shoulder to touch him, and the strangest thing happened—he pulled away.

He stood up from his seat, his face emotionless, and walked towards the entrance door.

“Hey!” I called out, my mind spinning as I tried to understand what I had done to make him act this way.

I stood up, walking towards him slowly. “Did I do or say anything wrong? I made sure to play the part well, and if you think she suspects anything, we can just practice more.”

He stopped walking and faced the door, refusing to look at me.

He stayed silent for a while, and the silence was killing me.

“You didn’t say anything wrong,” he finally spoke, and his words gave me relief.

“In fact, you were perfect,” he whispered so softly that it made me freeze in place.

I didn't know what to do, so I tried to change the mood.

“Oh,” I nervously chuckled. My body felt sweaty all of a sudden as I tried to calm myself down.

“Well, thank you. It just means I'm perfect for this job, and you don’t need to worry about getting caught. I’m here for you, remember. Pretending is my gift.” I caught my breath after blurting out the nonsense that spilled from my lips.

I heard a chuckle escape from him. He turned towards me, putting his hands in his jeans pockets, and walked towards me.

“I agree, pretense is really your gift,” he said, but it felt like it had another meaning to it.

"So? Is that a problem you have now?" I raised my eyebrows, confused by his choice of words.

"No, just that for this to work out, maybe we should be truthful with each other," he suggested.

"Like talking about ourselves?" I questioned, feeling a knot form in my stomach.

"Yes."

"So, what do you want to know about me?"

"Everything."

He moved closer, each step making my heart beat faster. I didn't enjoy the sensation, yet it thrilled me. The closer he got, the harder it was to think clearly. When he finally stood in front of me, his height towering over me, our eyes locked. His gaze was intense, piercing through me, and I felt like I was suffocating in his presence.

He repeated his words, his voice low and commanding, "I want to know everything about you, Sarah."