𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄 | ✎

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟎

"Behave yourself," Alex mutters into my ear, leaning down.

I roll my eyes and resist the urge to shout at him. I'm still angry with him, although I don't really know why. I'm very aware that I'm just pushing him away. Maybe I prefer it that way.

Right now, Alex is escorting me to my birthday dinner, hosted by my parents. My birthday is tomorrow, and yet, I'm not happy about it. I never thought I would despise the day I finally became a legal adult, but Marco ruined all of that.

We enter the grand dining hall, which is an expansive room with high ceilings, elegant chandeliers, and ornate carpets that cover the floors. The walls are adorned with exquisite tapestries and paintings, and the tables and chairs are made of the finest wood and marble.

The extravagant display on the table is a mouth-watering presentation of classic Italian cuisine. The spread consists of an assortment of antipasto—a selection of cured meats, cheeses, and marinated vegetables—followed by steaming plates of delicious fettuccine Alfredo and baked ziti. The table also features a wide variety of different pasta sauces, as well as a rich and creamy risotto. For dessert, the table is graced by a hearty portion of tiramisu.

My favorite.

I'm immediately greeted by my parents, who are wearing very formal clothes. I never saw this dinner as a big deal, so I don't know why they're dressed in some of their best attire.

That is, until I hear Prince Marco's voice.

"Elena! It's great to see you again." The prince approaches me with a smug smile that I just want to wipe right off his face.

He opens his mouth to say something else but stops when Alex walks up and stands by my side. He cowers all of a sudden, bowing his head down and clearing his throat.

Then two more people enter. Marco's parents, whom I know as King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. The king and queen of Spain enter the grand dining hall with a regal air, dressed in their typical formal attire. Their presence adds an air of prestige to an already opulent dining hall.

While they talk to my parents, I try to sneak out of the room. That's when I realized that Alex had been holding me this whole time.

"Let go of me," I whisper to him with a scowl on my face, but he only tightens his grip on my wrist, his jaw fixed in a determined expression. I scowl at him.

How the hell did he know I was going to sneak out?

King Felipe turns around, spots me, and walks toward me. "Elena, my dear," he begins, his voice rich and warm. "Happy eighteenth birthday. You look absolutely radiant this evening."

I blink, unimpressed. "My birthday is actually tomorrow," I correct.

The king looks appalled by my response, but I just stand there, completely stone-faced. I'm not trying to hide the fact that I'm bored in any way. Alex nudges me slightly, and my parents turn around to scold me.

King Felipe sighs and takes a step closer to me, and I instinctively take a step back. I can feel Alex's grip on my wrist loosening at the sudden movement. The king doesn't seem to notice, however, and simply smiles at me.

"Marco spoke very highly of you. I must say, I am quite impressed by the young woman you've become. I am sure that you will bring great value to our family when the time comes."

He gives a slight nod in Prince Marco's direction, and I can't help but wince at the implication. I feel a sense of panic rise within me, and I turn to Alex, hoping for some sort of protection from the impending horror.

However, Alex's eyes remain fixed on the king, his jaw set in a determined line. He seems to be ignoring the unspoken demand and instead takes a step closer to me, his hand reaching out to take mine.

"Let's sit, shall we?" The sound of my father's voice breaks the slight tension in the room.

My bodyguard finally lets go of my wrist, taking a stance against the wall. I sit in the middle of the table while my parents sit on the ends. Prince Marco's parents sit on the opposite side of me. And of course, the shitty prince sits right next to me.

Just my luck.

I can feel the uncomfortable tension in the air. Marco's father looks uncomfortable, while his mother shoots me a dirty look. She hasn't said anything to me since they arrived.

My left eye twitches as I try my best not to scowl right back at her. What the hell did I ever do to her? Why is she looking at me like that?

Prince Marco leans in close to me, as if we're going to have a private conversation. "You look absolutely stunning tonight, Elena," he says with a slight smirk.

"Thanks," I mutter bitterly, trying not to let my disgust show on my face.

Marco doesn't say anything else. He just looks at me, and I can feel him staring at me like a hawk. It's almost as if he's trying to read my mind.

I take a deep breath and shift in my chair, trying to ignore the discomfort that's filling my body. I need to calm down. I don't know why I'm getting so worked up over this.

"Elena, cara mia," my mother says, breaking the silence. "You must try some of the risotto."

I nod and take a small helping, but find that I can't swallow more than two bites. I usually love risotto, but the tension in the room just seems to be getting worse and worse, and it's getting to me.

"So Elena," King Felipe says, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over the table. "Tell us about your interests. We heard that you're quite proficient in art and fencing?"

I nod, still picking at my risotto, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. "Yes, I am very interested in those things," I reply. "In fact, painting is actually something I do regularly during my free time."

Queen Letizia rolls her eyes and takes a sip of her wine. "Art, hm? Perhaps you could become a museum curator one day."

I feel myself bristle at the woman's words. Of course, she would think that the only job in the art world is being a curator. I keep my cool and reply calmly. "I'd be too busy ruling Italy, so that's unlikely."

"I'm sure you've put a lot of thought into it," the king says, his voice calm. "But have you given any thought to starting a family?"

I freeze, my fork still halfway to my mouth. "Excuse me?"

Marco's father leans in, his smile creeping me out. "We would like to have grandchildren one day, wouldn't we, Letizia?"

"Of course," the queen replies, her smile equally eerie. "We all know how important it is to continue the bloodline."

My heart drops to my stomach as I look up at Marco's parents, my eyes wide with shock. What the fuck is wrong with them? I'm not even 18 yet.

I open my mouth to respond, but no words come out. My mind feels frozen as I try to process what I've just heard.

"Elena, are you going to answer?" Marco's father asks, his tone firm. "As the future wife of my son, it is your duty to provide us with grandchildren."

I feel my entire body tense up as I try to form a coherent response. I need to say something, anything, to get out of this uncomfortable situation, but I don't know what to say. My mind feels like a blank slate.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally managed to speak. "I don't know," I say quietly, my voice barely above a whisper. "I don't think it's anyone's business but mine."

Marco's parents look offended by my response, but I don't care. I can't believe they would bring up something like this in front of everyone. It's none of their business what I do with my life or if I decide to have children or not.

My father clears his throat in a desperate attempt to change the topic. "So, Marco, has my daughter been getting along with you?"

Marco's gaze shifts away from me, and it's not long before he's responding to my father.

"She's a wonderful girl. I enjoy her company very much." He grins widely, clearly enjoying the fact that he has my father's attention. "We get along very well, actually... although she can be a bit stubborn at times. Nothing I can't handle, of course."

I feel the anger bubble up within me at his words, and I have to stop myself from lashing out. Marco has no right to talk about me like that, especially in front of everyone.

I try my best to go along with it, but I'm getting increasingly restless. Suddenly, I'm standing up from the table, catching everyone by surprise.

"Enough of this bullshit!" I declare loudly, my voice echoing throughout the hall. "This is my birthday dinner, and I will not spend it listening to your disrespectful questions and stupid conversation!"

"Well!" Queen Letizia gasps. "Never in my years of living have I seen a girl act so entitled and spoiled! You should be ashamed!"

"No," I shoot back. "I'm not ashamed at all. You can kiss my ass, bitch, because you're an irrelevant old hag who's been giving me dirty looks all night long."

"Elena!" My father practically screams at me. "Apologize at once!"

"She should be the one apologizing to me!" I shout back.

My mother stands up, looking at Alex. "Alexander, could you please escort the princess to her room?"

I turn around to see my bodyguard, who bows his head. "Of course, Your Majesty."

Alex steps in and grabs my arm gently, but I shrug him off. "Get away from me, Alex!" I yell. "I don't need you to hold my hand! I'm perfectly capable of handling this myself!"

At this point, everyone in the dining hall is shocked, and some whisper among themselves. My parents look absolutely humiliated, and the king and queen of Spain are rolling their eyes and scoffing.

Alex rolls his eyes, grabbing me firmly now and pulling me out of the grand dining hall with him. "Your behavior is extremely inappropriate, and we need to talk about it," he whispers in a low but stern voice.

I completely ignore him and jump, looking over his shoulder to see everyone still staring at me in shock. "You can all rot in hell!" I holler.

"Princess!" Alex whisper-shouts. "That's enough."

I barely hear what the responses are, but I do know that Marco's parents are fighting with mine now. Alex finally manages to pull me all the way out of the room. After trying to resist, I eventually let him pull me to my room. I make sure to look as unhappy as possible, glaring up at him.

Alex opens the door to my bedroom with a loud creak and pushes me into the room. "You're in big trouble," he whispers, his grip on my arm still tight. "Now, sit down."

I roll my eyes and snatch my arm away from him. I sit down on the edge of my bed, feeling the tears well up in my eyes. "I don't care," I mutter. My anger is still burning brightly, but I don't want to show any emotion right now.

"Listen, I get that this is all frustrating," Alex starts, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "But that was just completely unacceptable."

I look at him in disbelief. "Don't you think I know that?" I bit out. "Do you think this is how I wanted to spend my birthday dinner? Playing nice with a bunch of stuck-up royals?"

"You need to apologize for your behavior," he says, his voice gentle but firm. "You embarrassed your father and mother, and you need to take responsibility for that."

I hang my head, feeling the shame wash over me. He's right. I am ashamed of how I acted. I can't believe I let my anger get the best of me like that.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I didn't mean to embarrass my family."

"You should also apologize to the king and queen of Spain," Alex adds, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't want to," I murmur defiantly, looking down at my lap.

"Princess, that's not how it works," he explains. "You can't just refuse to apologize to them because you don't want to. You have to show them respect, whether you like them or not."

"I know," I mutter, feeling even more ashamed of myself. "I'm still not going to, though."

"Are you really going to keep this up?" He pauses after delivering a sharp glance at me. "I hope that you know that your stubbornness is only going to cause a slew of problems for both of us. I'm trying to help you and keep you out of trouble, but not only do you not trust me, you don't respect me or the authority I hold."

I roll my eyes at his long speech about how I don't respect his authority. "I don't respect you because you're boring," I retorted. "Maybe you should be more fun."

"And how do you suggest I become more fun?" he asks, his voice laced with sarcasm.

My eyes light up as an idea flashes through my brain. I look up at him with a mischievous smile, getting up from my bed.

"Follow me."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・

authors note: little fun fact if anyone noticed—king felipe & queen letizia are the names of the actual king and queen of spain! in other words, i was lazy af naming them