Changes

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Chapter's song: Love never felt so good by Michael Jackson.

One of my favorite's songs! (I do have a lot of favorites. Lol)

ChaPtEr THIRTY-ONE _________________________

Changes

My eyes were fixed on a large sculpture down the garden. It was surrounded with colorful flowers. Mostly yellow, though. "Are you going to invite that man you were seen with last week?"

I turned to look at Grandma Isobel with a panicked expression on my face.

How on earth could she know? But then I remembered that the press snapped pictures of Richard and me while we were leaving Ben's concert.

"No," I straightened my skirt without really looking at her. It had been a week since I'd last seen Jason and my mother pestered me to no end to mend things with my great-grandmother before going out with him tonight.

I could feel her tenacious eyes on me and I was sure she knew I was hiding something but I played dumb by smiling softly. "You know we don't need to do anything for my birthday, right?"

"Nonsense!" she shook her head, "every Royal member has always celebrated their birthday at the Buckingham Palace."

Except my mother. I pursed my lips at that.

Be nice, Marianne. Be nice.

I looked at her. Really looked at her. She seemed fine on the outside. Her stance was as straight and composed as ever. Her hair was perfectly styled like usual. Her clothes matched her stance to perfection. However, there was something in her eyes. Like weariness. That pulled a chord in my heart.

Being Queen couldn't be easy. Especially for someone like her.

Someone who likes to control every little detail.

Mom was right. She was, at the end of the day, a human being with feelings. You know...deep down there. My birthday was in three weeks. She wanted to plan some sort of party? Let her do it. Even if it will be as boring as it usually is.

Suddenly, a thought popped in my head. "Grandma? What if we keep it more intimate this year? Like we should do an actual birthday party. Just us. We can have a birthday cake and play board games. Maybe watch a movie. I don't know. Something normal." For a change.

She eyed me warily for a moment. "Is that what you really want?"

"Yes," my voice was confident.

Inside, I was jumping up and down because maybe, if it was a small party, maybe Jason would want to come. Plus, she was totally caving in. I could see it in her eyes.

"Ok," her blue eyes looked towards the window behind me, "We'll have an official photographer, though."

Damn. Any hope I'd felt vanished in thin air.

That summed the whole thing. Jason would never come...

Sighing, I cleared my throat. "Why don't we plan the photo session as early as possible, so we can enjoy ourselves after?" Without any nosy paparazzi around.

She eyed me incredulously. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

I shrugged non-chalantly, "I just want Ashley to feel free to invite Ben...and you know," I raised an eyebrow, "enjoy some healthy family time."

Grandma Isobel watched me for a moment. "It's your birthday, Marianne. I believe your plan is elegant and simple. Like a future Queen's." I bit my lip. I really wanted to roll my eyes, though.

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