Denise let out a shaky breath as she bit on her fingernail nervously. The entire room had become so cold after listening to all Anne-Marie had said. No one said a word, especially Oliver who had his entire gaze on the empty wall, with his hands resting on his hips. He was thinking, it was obvious that he was but Anne-Marie was nervous. She was nervous to know what was going to happen when he turned around.

What was he going to do?

Was he going to send her back to crystal lake? Was their contract going to be terminated? Was he going to stop Abel's medication? She had a lot of things to be worried about. One member of the royal family knew about everything now. Aiden knew about their secret and the probability of him not telling the court or the King wasn't in their favor. He was a royal family after all and it was his duty to protect the throne. There was no way he was going to slack or cover up a situation that could lead to treason, especially since it was one involving the Vutrons. The family he hated so much.

She let out an exhale.

She wasn't even sure how she got to the hospital but from what she was told when she opened her eyes, she had fainted. Why wouldn't she? She was in so much shock and almost got shot with Elijah's gun. When she woke up, there was a nurse adjusting her IV. She could still feel her wrist hurt from the time the doctors tried to find a vein. Not that it look a long time, her body was probably used to it since she had visited the hospital a lot more than she thought she would since she moved to Bostwood.

She let out a shaky breath again. She was nervous, really nervous. In a minute, the royal guards could be charging into the hospital with a warrant for all their arrests. She hadn't even had a chance to speak to Abel yet. For all she knew, they could be on their way to Abel as she thought. She had to do something. She slowly reached for her hurting side as she found herself slowly turning to Denise who was standing right beside her, her hands trembling uncontrollably too. Anne-Marie could hear the click sounds her nails made each time it came in contact with her teeth.

Denise let out an exasperated sigh.

"We have to do something." She said before she slightly turned to Oliver. "We can't let the Prince go to the King or the court. There's no way they are ever going to see reason with what we did. We'd be marked as opposers to the throne. They'd think we are starting a rebellion or plotting treason against the throne. If the court finds out we lied about the condition of our daughter and brought Anna to act as her and manipulate the Prince and the royal family, we could be banished and even worse, lose our lives."

"We have to remain calm Denise."

"Remain calm?" Now she raised her voice a bit, turning herself fully to face him. "How can anyone remain calm after this? Do you not have any idea what's at stake here? How many lives? We could lose our daughter even before she wakes."

"No one is going to lose anyone-"

"How can you even say that? This is not a speculation anymore Oliver, the Prince knows. It's only a matter of time before the royal guards come trooping in here. I told you this was a bad idea from the beginning. You said you had it under control, that you were careful, that no one was going to find out and look what happened. What on earth do we do now?"

Oliver drew a deep breath. He slowly turned to them, turning to Diane who looked terrified and then lowered his gaze to Anne-Marie.

"What happened?" He asked her. "How did you not know that the prince mistrusted you?"

Anne-Marie raised her head to him. How on earth was she supposed to know that? It wasn't like she was a mind reader or something.

"You should have been more careful. None of this would have happened if you didn't give the prince a reason to suspect you in the first place."

"Oliver, you can't possibly blame her for this-"

"I tried." Anne-Marie said. "I did all you asked me to, I thought I was being careful-"

"Well you weren't!" He raised his voice. "You had only one job to do, act like my daughter, take her place and blend in and what did you do? The first day in school you slapped the prince, then you broke curfew and took him outside the palace, and don't get me started on how you supported his vision to save that useless village,"

"Oliver-"

"I shouldn't have trusted you." He looked away, toning down his voice a bit. "What was I thinking? I shouldn't have entrusted the life and future of my daughter, of my family in someone like you. You could barely even take care of your own life. It was a mistake thinking you could take care of hers, to think you could blend in. You're one of them after all, you have no idea on what nobility is. Of course the prince was going to suspect you. He's been surrounded by Kings and noble citizens all his life. You're no match for my daughter. He must have known immediately."

Denise exhaled.

Anne-Marie wished she could let herself get offended by his insults but he wasn't wrong. She was too delusional to even imagine that she could pull it off, that she could live like the real Paris Vutron without making any mistakes or without anyone finding out. Oliver was right, she could never fit in with the elites, she never did. How could she let her guard down and totally forget that?

"What can I do?" She asked him as he slowly raised his head to look at her. "I'd do anything you ask me to. What can I do to fix this?"

She couldn't just give up yet. She was too involved now. A blow on the Vutrons was a bigger blow on her. If someone like Oliver Vutron was this scared of the repercussions of their actions, what on earth was left for her? What was going to be her fate? Thanks to the Vutrons, she and Abel had made enough to last them the next half of their lives but it wasn't enough. There was so much at risk now if the King found out. Her life and Abel's. She couldn't let that happen. She knew she had to protect them at least. Denise turned to her slowly and reached for her hands. She squeezed them.

"You can't do anything. " Oliver said. "If you really want to make up for your mistakes, stop fainting every now and then. How do you act like my daughter when you're always in and out of hospitals? Paris was no weakling."

"Oliver?"

"I was just shocked, that's all." Anne-Marie said almost in a whisper. It wasn't her fault anyway that her anxiety had been off the roof since she arrived at the imperial city. She was always terrified out of her mind and looking over her shoulders. He wasn't the one that had a gun to his head earlier so it had to be easy for him to say. Oliver exhaled.

"Rest as much as you can, you leave for Eutherdore first thing in the morning."

"Eutherdore?" Denise asked him. "Babe, she can barely even move as it is. She needs more than one night to get over the shock she has been through. Everyone saw what happened at the airport, I don't think going back to Eutherdore is what's best at the moment."

"Going back to Eutherdore and acting like nothing happened is the best thing we need right now. Convincing everyone that what happened was just a misunderstanding is the first way we get through this. It's what's best for all of us and the royal family. The King and Queen must be startled by the news already. Everyone is going to start asking questions soon and questions lead to digging. Once they realize that what happened was a big deal, the media is going to try to get on top of the situation and that's what we don't need right now. Get her ready,"

Oliver turned and hurried to the sofa as fast as he could. He grabbed his coat and started to put it on.

"She flies first thing in the morning."

"W-where are you going?"

He exhaled and dropped his hands, narrowing his gaze on Denise who looked so worried.

"To have a word with the Prince. He must be confused and desperate for some kind of an explanation right now. I might be the last person he would want to see but I have to buy us some more time at least."

He turned to leave and took a few steps.

"Oliver."

He froze the moment Denise called his name. He slowly turned back to her.

"Come home safe."

He let out a smirk.

"When have I never?" He lowered his gaze to Anne-Marie who didn't take her eyes off him for a second. He exhaled and turned before he walked away.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

"What? The prince canceled his trip to Eutherdore and fired a gun in the airport?"

Vanessa got up immediately, her surprised gaze boring an invincible hole through the head of her court lady. Felicia's worry multiplied even as she found the look of horror in Vanessa's eyes. Vanessa slowly reached for the neck of her dress and squeezed it gently.

"H-how did this, why?" She turned back to Felicia. "What happened?"

"No one is sure your highness. All we know is he walked into the airport and pulled the prime minister's daughter into the airport's VIP waiting room, that was when everyone heard the gunshot."

"Paris?" Her eyes opened even wider. "Does that mean-"

"They think he shot at her, especially since she was rushed to the hospital a few hours ago after she fainted."

Vanessa felt faint immediately. She almost slumped back into her seat before two court ladies hurried to stop her.

"Your highness!" Felicia took a quick step towards her too but the court ladies caught her right on time. Vanessa had her hand pressing on her chest as the ladies slowly brought her into her seat. She raised her other hand towards them. That was a sign that she was okay, a sign for them to step away. They did.

"Wh-what on earth? How did this happen? Why would he, oh." She exhaled heavily and bowed her head into her hands. She was so shocked and confused.

"The court can not know about this, the citizens can not know. If anyone finds out that the future king of Breton tried to hurt one of his own subjects, talk more of the future Queen, they could start to doubt him to be a fit King. It could lead to another uprise, or even a revolution. His position could be shaken." She let out another weak sigh. What on earth was she going to do about it.

"Does the King know about this?"

"Fortunately your highness, the Vutrons have been able to stop the news from spreading. As far as I know, it's just the words of the students that had witnessed it. The royal academy is working on handling the situation as we speak so the King is not aware of the situation yet. I made sure the news got to us first as you instructed."

She let out a relief exhale.

"Thank God. We need to keep it that way." She raised her head to Felicia. "And Aiden, where is he?"

"The Prince has not left his chambers since he arrived at the palace your highness. He has refused to see anyone, including the prime minister."

"The prime minister is here?"

"He's been asking for an audience with the Prince for the past forty-five minutes. The prince would not bulge."

"What about the press? And the royal media?"

"They arrived at Eutherdore hours ago. They are still waiting for the Prince to make an entrance. Do I ask them to rap up your highness?"

Vanessa lowered her head back to her hands. She had no idea what to do herself.

"Just let them be. We can't just cancel now. The whole country is looking forward to having the prince at Eutherdore. We need to find a good excuse to dismiss them and ease the people. One that would not bring about any suspicions. My God, what on earth happened? Why now when everything was just starting to fall in place?"

"Would you like me to summon the his highness' head of security? I also heard he was in the waiting room with the prince. He might know something."

Vanessa raised her head to her immediately.

"That's right." She said. "You said he had been away from the palace in a while haven't you?"

"He returned yesterday your grace. And the moment he did, the Prince's mood changed."

"You think he has something to do with this?"

"I wouldn't be so sure your highness."

Vanessa nodded her head. She understood. She understood perfectly.

"Bring him to me at once."

Felicia bowed her head. She raised it up after a few seconds and turned to one of the court ladies. She bowed too. She knew exactly what she was supposed to do. She turned and left the room.

Vanessa exhaled and turned back to the table immediately. She grabbed her glass of water and gulped it hurriedly.