I'm not a patient man, I hate it when things don't go as planned. People judging that I'm not a suitable King is another nightmare.
I sigh at the mountain sized paper stocked on my desk, as planned we'll be leaving for the honeymoon trip tonight. A month would be too much so I put it for a week.
I need the trust of my people, I can't he dethroned. The throne is mine and I'll fight a war if necessary to keep it. The image of Samantha turning her back to me keeps playing in my head. I totally understand how she feels, this sucks even for me.
She was the best Queen candidate I had - nice, prim and proper - the reputed Duke's only daughter. Duke Samuel was Dad's most trusted person and hold a large amount of people's trust. He wasn't actually happy with the idea, he cares and adores for his daughter way too much. I get why, she's fragile, innocent and knows nothing of the world.
All I want is a heir from her, I won't ask much of her. I'd let her live her life as she wants after she gives birth to my heir.
I'll divorce her once she gives birth to my heir.
That's the agreement I and the Duke have but there's some alternation.
If she doesn't get pregnant after six months of marriage you'll divorce her.
No idea what he was thinking but I was very desperate and went on with it. Of course she doesn't know, the Duke is gonna handle things and he has my trust.
I have a deadline at most and I have to do my best to keep my throne.
I never expected to be the King so soon, life is so full of surprises. Alas, no use thinking of worthless things.
I try to finish all the paperwork before leaving the office.
There's a knock on the door, I ask the person to come in.
"The Duke is here to see you, Your Majesty." Steven steps into the room.
"Let him in." I signal with my fingers, he bows and walks out.
What business does the Duke have with me?
I stand to greet the Duke, he walks in with grace. The most reputable man in my Kingdom.
"Good morning, Your Majesty." He bows, these are one of the awkward situations I have to pass through. Having the people you admire bow to you isn't one of the priorities. I don't want them to bow to show respect, having it in their hearts is well enough for me. But not accepting their bows might be disrespect towards them.
And Duke Samuel is strict, very strict. Just one look at him and you can say it's impossible to get close to him. They say he's been the same since he's wife, the Duchess died during childbirth. He loved his wife a lot, still does maybe as he never thought of remarriage.
"You may raise Duke Samuel. How can I help you?" I drop my self back on the chair. I ask for him to take a seat.
"About the favor we talked about last time Your Majesty, I've come up with one." He says, my gut twists and I know this isn't going to anything good.
His balde like green eyes stare at me, Samantha looks a lot like him - not the perfect time to be thinking for her - Duke Samuel looks serious, determined.
The favor is the negotiation I have with him. In order to marry his daughter I have to do him a favor which he seems to have finally decided.
"Go on." I say rubbing my chin on my fingers.
"My Dukedom has no ruler after me. So I plan on returning it back to Your Majesty." His voice hit like an arrow.
Anxiety creeps inside my stomach making sweat form on my forehead, I take a sip of water before answering him.
"You do have a heir." I try to keep my voice as composed as possible. I can't flip a table on this man.
"She'll soon be the dethroned Queen, I have no intention of making her my heir. If you say no to my proposal you'll have to face major problems when I pass away and the Dukedom ends in your hands anyway." That's a threat.
Only one man can dare to threaten me in my kingdom and it's him, I envy his power so much. What will it take to have a personality like his? To have a power like his.
"What's the favour in this when eventually everything will happen one way or another?" I lean back trying to guess what's running in that old skull of his.
"It's very simple Your Majesty. You take my title while I'm handing it over and let me and my daughter leave the kingdom." He says it smoothly, like no big deal.
"You want to live like a commoner?" I ask in disbelief, a royal becoming a commoner is a big deal and Duke Samuel leaving the kingdom basically means the end of it.
The reason I've been gaining trusts is because I married his daughter, he wants to tarnish that? No way.
"Fine." I shrug, "But I also need to make some alterations." I say with authority.
"The mother of my child can't be a commoner. No way in another twenty century. So if the queen, your daughter gets pregnant with my child. She'll stay with me forever." I announce.
His shoulders tense and it's the first time I've seen shock on his face. He's so composed all the time the first time I saw him smile was at the aisle that too, of course at his beloved daughter. He shows no expression to the rest of the world as if they don't mean anything to him.
"You have a point but . . . ."
"I would never force your daughter, I'll have her consent with everything related to her." I say before he complains, I might actually understand his pattern of thinking. All he cares about is anything and everything related to his daughter. There must be some reason why he wants to become a commoner, I'll have to dig it up.
He thinks for a while then finally meets my eyes, "Then we have a deal." He says and I nod. He gets up to leave.
"We are leaving for the honeymoon today." I say with a sudden urge to see his reaction, but there is none.
"I read the news Your Majesty. Have a safe trip." He says and leaves my office. I throw away the paperweight in frustration, this man is a hard one to deal with.
I finish work at time and leave for the palace, I flight leaves in an hour. Maldives was a great choice in my opinion, the privacy and security is good.
The guard opens the door for me, I step out buttoning my suit. I can see the paparazzi at the palace gate trying there best to get a click. I ignore them and walk inside.
Carla, like always greets me first, "Welcome back Your Majesty." She says as I relax myself of the couch. It's been a tiring day, I want to sleep but my schedule seems not end it.
"Would you like to rest?" Carla asks, I give her a lazy smile. She's the closet to a mother I've had after what happened to mom and dad. She really cares for me and vice versa.
"I have a flight in an hour, I'll rest after." I say glancing at my wrist watch. It's almost time to leave. "Where is my wife?" I ask, she look at a maid, the maid goes upstairs probably to call her.
Minutes later she walks down, in a white sundress that reached below her knees. Was she always this beautiful? I mean yeah she's beautiful, I knew it since the day I saw her photo. But she's glowing differently today.
Her green eyes meet with mine, my lips pull into a smile on their own. She makes an irritated expression and looks away. I'm stunned. What happened while I was gone?
Butler Hampton walks in, "The car is ready Your Majesty." He says, I have to force my eyes off of her to look at him. I nod at him, Carla hands me the tab of all the plans for the trip.
I glance up at her and see Justin (First Prince) talking to her. By the air around them I can say they have gotten closer, in one day?
Jacob walks down the stairs with an unpleasant expression, he walks directly to me.
"Can I talk to you in private for a minute?" He asks, I hand the tab back to Carla and walk to a corner with Jacob. It's private enough and no one can hear us.
"You know it's Alice's birthday in two days." He says, I narrow my eyes at him. "The least you can do is give her a visit. You broke her heart remember?" He tries to guilty trip me but it isn't happening any time soon.
I place a hand on his shoulder, "Brother, I have more important things to look after. I have no time to play house." I say lowly, nicely.
"Like going on a honeymoon? You aren't even serious about her. You'll be leaving her soon anyway." He says, my grip on his shoulder tightens.
"What are you saying?" I glare at him. That's something only the Duke and I know. How did the words leak?
"I know about your deal with the Duke." He says confidently. "You can see Alice after you divorce her right?" He asks hopefully. I'd have slapped him if we were alone.
I clench my jaw and move close to him, "Who told you?" I ask very angrily. He gulps visiblely.
"The Queen." He lies and I scoff.
"The truth Jacob, or I'll have to forget you are my brother." I warn with blazing eyes. He looks like he's about to cry.
"I came to visit you today and overheard your conversation with the Duke." He says, I slip out a small laugh.
"Over heard?" I ask grinning, he gulps again.
He shakes his head, "I eavesdroped." He finally admits. I rub his ear watching him, his hands are trembling and seems like he understood his mistake.
"Do it again and you'll loose your ability to do that." I warn. Obviously I won't do that to him, he's my brother and I love him dearly but I need to put him in place.
"I'm sorry." He murmurs, I smile and hug him.
"I really care for you Jacob but you need to stop trying to bring your friend into everything and ruin it." I say and pull back. He nods looking at the ground. "Tell your friend to get over me. I have a wife now and soon a baby too."
He doesn't say anything more neither do I. We walk back to the others, Justin is still having a leisurely conversation with her. I walk behind her and wrap my arm around her. She feels small, slim in my arms.
She looks at me with big eyes, "Shall we go now, My Queen?" I ask, she looks out of words. She stares at me for a moment, she's been doing it a lot lately.
"Sure." She says straightening herself, she almost reaches my shoulder.
We say our goodbyes and get into the car, the ride is silent. There is nothing to talk about.
We reached the airport, the paparazzi are bustling like flies.
"Will you be okay?" I ask a bit concerned, she's never been out I the public after the wedding and I know how much nerve wracking it can be.
She give me a small nod looking at the paparazzi in horror.
"It'll be fine." I say and hold her hand. We get off and the cameras flash right on our faces. Good thing we have the shades on. Her hold on my hand gets tighter as we walk through. I wave a hand at a few reporters I know before they are all out of the way.
We enter the plane. I sit across her. "Where are we going?" She asks as we put on the seat belts. I thought Carla might have told her.
"Maldives." I reply. The airhostess comes in with some drinks.
"Whiskey." I order.
"Same for me." Samantha says, I look at her in surprise. I didn't know she drinks alcohol. The airhostess hands us the drinks and leaves.
I open my laptop to check some mails. There is a peaceful silence between us. I can feel her staring, does she have something to say? I look up at her and our eyes meet.
Her cheeks turn pink, she quickly looks away. It makes my lips pull sideways. "Something bothering you My Queen?" I ask with a little teasing.
"No." She says avoiding my gaze.
"Are you getting bored?"
"Not really. The view is pretty great from here." She glances out the window.
"So that's the reason you kept staring." I tilt my head, her eyes go wide as another blush creeps her cheeks.
"That's not what I-" She blushed harder. I couldn't help but chuckle. She looks at me with surprise, I guess it's her first time seeing me laugh.
"You can continue watching the view. I won't mind." I say before returning to check the mails.
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