"There isn't enough time on this show to break down the relationship between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. It's like they have their own love language. We see it in the way he always checks around for her when they're together. We see it in the way she always makes sure that he's right beside her. People say it's the honeymoon phase, but it's more than that. I look at them and I see people who are genuinely in love with each other. And because they work so well together, their dynamic is quite eye-catching. And then we see that of Prince Vincent and Ms. Rachel Raglan. It almost seems forced. It's like they have little to no connection."
"And what would you say is the relationship of the Royal Family and Ms. Raglan?"
"Well, close Palace sources say it's not so good. I believe that with the dating history of Prince Vincent, the family wants him to tread carefully with this one. And I think there's the pressure on Ms. Raglan to be perfect, because let's be honest, Princess Victoria is basically flawless. And we can also see how strained the news of engagement is. Normally, the Royal Family makes an official announcement of the engagement. But this time, we found out through the Instagram page of Ms. Raglan."
"I guess there's still so much to unravel. We'll hear more from our Royal expert when we get back." I turned off the TV and picked up my phone. The news was everywhere. They had actually gone ahead with the engagement announcement. The whole news had the family on edge.
"That's it. Gran banned me from physically being at the meeting today." He settled next to me on the couch. I rubbed his arm lightly.
"It seems fair. You did throw him across a room merely a week ago. Plus, he still has a broken nose. They still can't even take engagement photos." I laughed a bit at that last part.
"So what, I'm a security risk to him now?"
"I didn't say that." I dropped my laptop and moved closer to him. "Look at it this way, you get to spend time with your wife. So, what do you want to do?"
"I don't know." He ran a hand through his hair. "I just want to get away from all this."
"I know just the place." I dragged him to the room and we got changed. We were out, but with just two security guards. And he was the one driving. They were seated at the back. We looked so basic as we walked into the lobby of my old place. I hadn't been here since the night before the wedding. But, George always had it cleaned for me. And he supervised it! We hadn't actually seen any of our friends since the wedding. As Arthur settled in and ordered some food, I decided to surprise George. As I was about to knock on the door, the door opened.
"Tori!" He carried me and spun me around. He was so happy. And he looked good. Really good.
"George! How did you..."
"Thin walls. I actually thought someone had broken into your place."
"Ahhh. So, you want to come over?"
"Absolutely." He locked up his place and came over to mine. Arthur was actually happy to see him.
"George! Looking good." Arthur said as he gave George a firm hug.
"Says the groom. You both look amazing. I was starting to think that you had forgotten all about your poor old friend."
"Never. Victoria and I have just been settling in."
"I assumed." We all sat down and just talked. Our conversation then landed on Vincent.
"George, he crossed a line."
"And I get that Arthur. And we all know how you get when it comes to Victoria. But this isn't any random guy, it's your brother."
"That's exactly what I said." I added as I sipped my wine.
"Look, I can handle Vincent on a personal level. But I don't think I can handle that girl of his. We're on every paper today. Our family is all over the news. Why? Because Vincent wanted a new toy and we said no?"
George gave me a knowing look. Obviously, we weren't getting anywhere with Arthur. "Look, you have the Commonwealth day Service tomorrow. Just focus on that."
George did have a point. I was always sure of one thing. Irrespective of what the Press was reporting on the family, my outfit report would trump it. So, to distract people from all this, I had to put extra effort on my first Commonwealth day Service outfit.
After a few more hours of talking, George left.
"I want to talk to her. Just us." We were in bed after having sex, and it just came out.
"Who?" He asked as he played with my hair.
"Rachel."
"Absolutely not."
"Arthur..."
"No."
"Babe..."
"No."
"Isn't there anything..."
"No." He got out of bed and put his clothes on. "You're not talking to that woman. And that's final."
I got out of bed and grabbed a robe. I followed him as he walked out of the room. "Arthur, this is happening whether you want to allow it or not. He's going to marry her."
"No!" He turned and stopped. He was furious. "I may not have a say when it comes to their relationship, but I refuse to allow that woman into our home! So again, no."
"Arthur...I won't sit by and watch this happen. We had one bad dinner with her, she deserves another chance!"
"You know what, do what you want to do. I'm not going to be a part of this." He walked out of the apartment and I didn't see him for the rest of the day. I returned to Kensington without him. I had dinner alone, and then I went up to bed. I tried calling him, but he wasn't answering. Tomorrow was the Service and he wasn't even home yet. I did not think our first serious fight as a couple would be because of his brother.
I waited up for him till the 2am, and still nothing. I then called the only person I could actually talk to.
"George." I was so tired. All the cups of coffee in the world couldn't make me feel better.
"Calm down Tori. He's at my place." I felt a bit of relief, but I wanted him home. "Care to tell me your side of the story?" So I did. I told him everything. "Look, I can't lie to you. He won't be home tonight. Or maybe even tomorrow. He's quite upset about the whole thing."
"What about the Service?"
"I'll drop him off before the Service, what ever happens after, is totally up to you." I sighed lowly. "Hey, you guys will sort this out, you always do."
"Thanks. Just...take care of him."
"Take care of yourself. We're all good here."
I couldn't sleep, so I went downstairs to make a cup of tea. While I was there, Louis walked in.
"Miss Victoria?" I was a bit startled by him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's alright. Is there a problem?"
"No. But there is someone here to see you." I checked my phone. It was 2:30am. Who would be here so late?
"Who is it?"
"Ms. Rachel Raglan." Oh...no. Arthur would kill me if I let her in, but what was I supposed to do? "Um, let her in. But keep her in the parlour."
"Of course." I was so tired. Too tired for any of this. I packed my hair into a ponytail, grabbed my phone and coffee, and headed to the parlour. I was just in black joggers and hoodie. I couldn't stress.
She stood up immediately she saw me. Apparently, she could curtesy now.
"Please don't do that. I'm not formal on the inside. Just sit." I sat down across her, with a coffee table separating us. "Would you like anything to drink?"
"No, thank you. I just..." She had something to say, but she was hesitant. "I'm sorry for stopping by so late, I just needed someone to talk to."
"Rachel..."
"I'm sorry. For everything. For my attitude at the dinner, for what Vincent said to you, and for causing all this drama. It was never meant to happen this way."
"Rachel, I thank you for your apology, but I don't think that I'm the person you owe an apology to."
"Arthur and I may never get along, and I'm trying to make my peace with it. But you and I see the importance of his relationship with his brother. Let's fix that, please." She was pleading. And while I was cautious with her, she may not be the worst person after all.
"Will you be open to dinner after tomorrow's events? Just the four of us." She smiled broadly.
"I would love that. But would Arthur be okay with that?"
"I'll take care of that. Just get Vincent here." As I got up to walk her out, she turned to me with a smile.
"I think that you and I may have more in common than you'd like to believe. But only time will really tell. I'll see you at the service in a few hours. Try to get some sleep."
"You too. Goodnight Rachel." She smiled and headed out. The truth is that without Arthur in bed with me, I barely got three hours of sleep.
I woke up by 6:30am. I had no mental energy to workout, but I still did. I just needed a distraction. My workout today lasted much longer. By the time I was done, it was almost 10am. As I jogged back into the apartment, I ran into Arthur. George had apparently dropped him off. We were both about to enter the apartment. He opened the door and moved aside for me to enter.
We both said nothing to each other. I went upstairs to shower, and he stayed downstairs. After everything, we sat down for a late breakfast.
"I'm sorry." He was reading a paper while sipping his tea, and he didn't even look up. He just said it.
"For what?"
"Leaving. I shouldn't have. And at the very least, I should've answered your calls."
"Arthur, babe, drop the paper and look at me." He dropped it and turned to me. "I'm your wife. I'll never stop trying to help you fix the problems that bother you. Even when you don't want my help. I just need you to stop lashing out at me like I'm the enemy."
"I know. And I've been doing a lot of thinking, I want to make things right between Vincent and I. It won't be easy, but I'm willing to give Rachel a chance." I smiled broadly. I was so happy to hear that. I genuinely was. In that moment, I told him what had happened while he was away. "And she just wants us to fix things too?"
"She does. She's not the worst person. And she's coming to the service today. So it'll be a step in the right direction."
"God....how did I get so lucky? You are my blessing. Thank you. For everything. I love you." I kissed him quite passionately before pulling away.
"I love you too." He smiled and we continued with our breakfast. After breakfast, we had to start getting ready for the service. I went in for hair and makeup, and that was that.
Now, the thing with my hair is that it's extremely long. And so, the number of hairstyles that work for me are infinite. Today though, I wanted to go with something simple. Just some very voluminous curls. That's it. All laid at the back, but voluminous. And my makeup was minimal. My outfit was quite nice. My stylist and I had gone through my options, and this seemed like the best. I was quite content with it.
When all was done, I stepped out to meet a waiting Arthur. He turned to me with a huge smile.
"I know I always say it, but that's because it's always true. You look stunning." I smiled broadly as he kissed me.
"Thank you. I just love the whole look. Glad you do too."
"And I'm sure everyone will. Ready?"
"Yeah." Hand in hand, we walked out of the apartment. The ride wasn't so busy. We just chatted about a few things. We got there 20 minutes before the Service time. It was arranged that way to enable us to mingle before the Service. Arthur got out of the car, and so did I. He turned to my side, placed a hand on my back, and led me as we walked towards the steps of the Abbey.
"Is that smile genuine?" I asked, not breaking my own smile.
"As genuine as they come." We walked up the steps and greeted the Bishop. We stepped into the Abbey and said hello to everyone. The curtesy and all. But just then, Vincent walked in with Rachel. After properly saying hello to everyone this time, they came and stood next to us. It was a bit awkward. I broke the awkwardness by saying hello with kisses.
"Victoria, I know this isn't the time or the place, but I am so sorry for my attitude during the dinner. It was out of line, and that was not my intention." I smiled at Vincent.
"Water under the bridge." Then there was that silence again. I nudged Arthur's arm for him to say something.
"Well, I'm not going to lie by giving an apology for how I reacted to what happened with my wife, but I am going to apologise for not giving Rachel a chance. I do hope we can all settle down and properly talk during dinner later on."
"I would love that." Vincent said with a smile.