ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇᴅᴇᴍᴘᴛɪᴏɴ ❅ 𝕽𝖔𝖞𝖆𝖑 𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖔𝖓𝖎𝖈𝖑𝖊𝖘

❝𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 2❞

Prince Liam sighed.

He could never be fully sure unless Princess Caitlyn was around as she never failed to spot a lie. It was always a mystery that Liam could not put his hands on.

Glancing over to the living area enveloped in darkness, its emptiness seemed to reflect the Aussie's current sentiments. With a quick shake of his head, Liam decided to not dwell on it as he rinsed the glass he drank from. After keeping the glass and making sure to turn off the kitchen lights, Liam returned to his room. Multiple thoughts raced in his mind, faster than a bullet train.

Seems like sleep will not come any time soon. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Year 2039
Queen's Study, Royal Palace Oslo, Norway [13:00]

"HOW DARE HE HANG UP ON ME?!" Caesarius Exley, the longest serving president of the United States of America, shouted at the darkened screen of his phone. "ME! HIS OWN FATHER! HE HASN'T BEEN DISCIPLINED ENOUGH!"

While the man continued to look as if he was picking a fight with his own phone, his wife sighed softly.

Queen Cassandra of Norway sat behind her table, looking away from the laptop screen and stared at her beloved husband. "Discipline?" she asked. "What good will it make? He's at a stage of life where he will do his absolute best to disobey his parents and pick fights with his siblings. It's too late to try and change him."

"Cassandra," Caesarius said. "This is plain disrespect. What happened to filial piety? What happened to manners? They're all gone the moment he decides that his friends are more important. I knew I shouldn't have allowed the construction of the school to take place! That nasty snake Fo—"

"Caesarius, my love," his wife called out to him. Obediently, he walked over to her side and took her outstretched hand. He got on one knee and enclosed her hand with both of his. Feeling her warmth, he visibly calmed down a little.

Staring up at his wife like she was the most beautiful person in the world, Caesarius started, "This has gone too far, darling. I know you're hurt. I can see it in your eyes when you read that email of his." He brought her hand close to his chest. "My wife, he needs to be taught a lesson," his blue eyes of the summer sky met her ice-blue gaze, staring into her soul. "Please, allow me to do my part as a father."

Cassandra brought her other hand and gently cradled her husband's face. "Min elskede [My love]," she said, smiling softly at her beloved. "It's obvious that he does not wish to hear about his argument with his sister. He's trying to escape. Scolding or forcing him will push him further away from us."

"By lying to us? Assuming that we're so stupid to believe him?" asked Caesarius indignantly.

"He didn't . . . cut contact with us, did he?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow.

"No, he didn't."

"Exactly," said the Queen of Norway, using her thumb to caress Caesarius's cheek. "He said he will stay in touch through emails. I think that's the only way he will contact us now. He's out of our reach at the moment, not lost yet. I certainly hope it does not come to that."

"Cassandra . . ." Caesarius sighed, leaning into her touch.

The Norwegian Queen let out a soft chuckle at the sight of her pouting husband. She wondered if that was where her sons, Caesar and Claudius, got their puppy-like antics from. She leaned down and gave him a peck on the nose.

"Let him enjoy his new-found freedom," she said, caressing his cheek, her hot breath fanning his face. "Sooner or later, he will miss home —if he has a conscience. We should focus on covering up his absence and spend more time with the other children." Cassandra gave her husband a sweet smile but his frown and worried expression did not cease at all.

"I know, my love," he said, placing a long kiss at the back of her hand that was held in his grip the entire time. He let out another mournful sigh. "Carmen has been asking to go on a picnic with the two of us but—"

"But what, min elskede [my love]?"

"My darling, it's you I'm worried about," he said. "You're so young and precious, but the stress..."

"I'll be fine," Cassandra assured her husband. "I'm just like any modern woman trying to have it all. Loving husband, a beautiful family. What we have right now is more than I could ever wish for, min elskede [my love]. Thank you for being by my side, supporting and loving me."

The couple shared a kiss. Their love was as strong and passionate as it was two decades ago when they were in their teenage years, accepting their feelings for each other.

"As I always do," said Caesarius, placing another kiss on her hand again, "and I always will. Till the end of time and beyond." He vowed.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

1425 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜

𝐚/𝐧: a shorter chapter but it seems like the stakes are getting higher. life isn't all rainbows and cupcakes after all.