Against All Odds

Chapter Twelve

Keys clicking together, Henry flicks a light switch, illuminating the fully-furnished apartment that is ready to live in. That I will be living in. Stuck at the entrance way, I glance around, having expected to feel glad to be out of his palace apartment. However, the expensive furnishings, the chandeliers hanging from the roof make it impossible for me to feel anything resembling happiness.

This is not mine. This is not me. I'm actually scared of this place. It brings all of my worst fears to life. That I'll live here, as a mistress and nothing else, waiting for an empty promise.

"Do you like it?"

"It's- beautiful," I whisper, swallowing. "I'm shocked. It's... bigger than I expected. I don't need fancy things."

"You should get used to fancy things, Mia," he murmurs, approaching me. I try to decipher what that means by that as he clasps my face. "You look scared to death. What is wrong?"

I try to breathe in. "I feel like I'm never going to see you."

"Everyday," he vows. "I will speak to Annabelle immediately after the funeral. The news will break tonight after the committee has discussed a course. I will need to be with my brother."

I nod, looking around me. "I'm going to get a job, Henry. I cannot just sit here, waiting for you."

He nods, as if he expected me to say that.

"Of course," he answers, caressing my face. "You have a gift. It would be a pity for you not to share it with the world."

"The world?" I laugh, shaking my head as I walk from him towards the couch. "I don't know about that. England, sure."

"The world, Mia," he repeats, smiling wide.

I tilt my head, touched. "You're very flattering." He crosses his arms over his body, clasping his hands together and shrugs, looking happy.

"I am your biggest fan."

...

I stare at the television screen, watching the televised procession of the Queen's funeral headed towards Westminster Abbey. Days have passed, giving Britons the chance to pay their respects to her body and lay tributes to her outside of Buckingham Palace.

The entire country is grieving. As the camera scans over the crowds that have lined the sides of the road, leaving not a space available, I lose count to how many people are crying. Henry did not want me to attend, even though I persisted, saying he didn't want me to be alone without security. It's raining but I can still see Henry and Richard walking behind the casket and soldiers. They both have a resigned, calm expression that looks like it's been mastered for this day specifically.

Richard is king. The man I met while completely naked is king. His coronation isn't for another month or two but the moment she passed, he became the new monarch. My eyes widen slightly as I try to comprehend what this means for Henry.

Henry is now his successor. Which means at some point in his life, when Richard passes, Henry will be king. I feel a suffocating pain in my chest at that thought, at that observation. Henry keeps talking about me getting used to this life, getting used to being with him. But I can't be a princess, let alone a queen. I'm from Queens. I like coffee, not tea.

Being with Henry means I have to move past the fact that I'm an American, although the people won't forget it, and become someone entirely new. My mind takes me back to the conversation in my old hotel room when Henry was talking about what the woman he marries has to be like.

I'll never allow myself to be that woman. I can't.

But I also can't leave Henry. Not now. My feelings have changed. I'm in this too, as he says he is. I'm attached. I rub my head, reaching for my cell phone. I've called Ida for days now and have yet to hear back from her. I know she's mad, but this is unlike her.