"Your papers are not in order. You have been proven guilty. Thus, earning a punishment of lifetime in prison. Case closed."

The judge leaves and several lawyers follow. Some of them stay behind, talking in groups. The policemen come forward to take away the threesome. Thalia decides that this is the right time to play weak.

"Ronald. We've been married for two years now. How can you let them do this to me? I'm your queen."

"No you're not!" He screams at her. "I regret the time I spent with you. I wish we'd never gotten married. I'm ashamed of my decision and I'm ashamed of myself for being so short sighted." 

With this he storms out of the room, leaving Thalia speechless. The moment the guards touch her, she bursts out crying. Mason and Simon silently walk away but she leaves sobbing.

In normal circumstances I would've pitied her and would've tried to comfort her in some way but right now I feel nothing even close to pity. All I feel is disgusted by her act.

"You handled that well." A voice says.

I look up to see William standing in front of me. Just a glance at him reminds me of what happened. I get up and start to walk away but he gets hold of my arm and pulls me back. 

"What?" He asks me.

I force myself to look at him. "It's nothing."

"Come on. I know something's bothering you. Who is it?" He asks.

"You." I clamp a hand over my mouth. This was not supposed to be said out loud.

He looks startled and then a hurt expression appears on his face. "I'm sorry. Look, I didn't mean it that way."

"Then what?" He demands, angry all of a sudden. I feel my temper rising too.

"Why can't you just tell me that you're ashamed of me?" I ask him.

He's taken aback by my statement. "What...what are you talking about?"

I scoff. "You know what I'm talking about." 

"No I don't." He replies, firmly.

"Are you sure?" I ask just to confirm that he's clueless. He crosses his arms and looks at me waiting for an answer. 

I take a deep breath and start. "When the judge asked me why they took me hostage. I lied because I wasn't sure if the press should know about us, as yet. But then you looked...relieved. As if you didn't want anyone to find out. And I can only think of one reason when you wouldn't want the people to know and that's when you're ashamed."

When I finish he sighs and unfolds his arms to touch me but I take a step back to tell him that I need an explanation first.

"Look. Yes I was relieved that you didn't tell them. But not because I was ashamed. I was relieved because I wasn't sure if you were ready to deal with the press as yet. You don't know how stressful it can be at times." 

That makes sense.

He continues. "It was you, who I was thinking about. The people are bound to find out sooner or later. So, it doesn't make a difference. But once you're in the spotlight there's no going back."

I'm saved from replying when I hear a  pitched shriek. "Get your filthy hands off me!"

I know who it is before even looking at the person. Ashley. When I turn around I find her struggling to get loose from a policeman's grip. 

The moment her eyes land on William, she starts in her sweet little voice. "William darling, ask this idiot to get away from me." 

But of course William being a royal is trained for situations like these, so ignoring her plead he gets down to business.

"To what extent are you involved in your aunt's crime?" He asks.

"What? What are you talking about?" She obviously has no clue and I'm about to point it out to him when he shouts.

"Shut up, Ashley! You've acted all the time we've been together. Just stop it!" 

Like Thalia, her eyes start to fill up with tears and her lip starts to shake. "Don't...Don't do this William."

He waves his hand and a guard takes her away, but she puts up a fight and manages to break loose.

William turns to me. "Ready?"

"For what?" I ask, confused.

Now Ashley is only a few steps away from us. William puts his arm around my waist and pulls me to him before kissing me.

It's the perfect kiss. Soft and gentle. When we pull away, he touches his forehead to mine and whispers. "Everyone knows. Now, do you trust me?"

I pull away slightly to look at the camera and sure enough it is pointed towards us, with the red light on. 

"Mom is probably having a heart attack back home." I mutter to myself. But he hears me because he pulls away, chuckling.

I find Ashley standing where she had been a few seconds ago. But now her mouth is hanging open and she's staring at us.

"William she's going to use you." She protests.

"And you haven't?" William challenges her. This time she's taken away for good.