RHEA'S POV
Everyone was having breakfast except me because I had long forgotten food and focused all my attention on my phone. I was busy doing some research on the Joseon Dynasty.The book I was writing for my final project was titled Royal Deception and it was based on the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. At the end of the online class session, we were to submit our masterpiece which would be reviewed by some editors and they would pick a winner whose book would be published in paperback and the writer would be given recognition.My online school has been holding a writing contest every year and my book has come third or second since I joined two years ago. That year was my final year and my last chance to win the contest which was why I put all my effort into it this year."Rhea, I've told you about using your phone on the table. This is why you are using eye contact in the first place." My mom scolded."Just to be clear, I love my eye contact, and I'm almost done," I said with my eyes still glued to my phone."Put the phone down and finish your breakfast, you have the whole day to finish whatever you are doing," she said with a pleading tone but I ignored her."I'll take that." Leah grabbed the phone from my hand."What the fuck are you doing?" I glared at her. "Give me back my phone.""I'll give it back when you finish your breakfast.""Dad, tell Leah to give me my phone," I whined.My dad, who has been quiet ever since we started eating, turned to Leah. "Give it back to her.""Dad, it's because you are spoiling her too much that's why she never listens to anybody."It was true. My dad has always been supportive of me no matter what I did which sometimes made my sister jealous. But she should have expected it the moment she got me as a younger sister. I mean, I was cute as a child and everyone fell for my puppy dog eyes, except Leah of course. She would refer to me as a little wolf in sheep's clothing.I couldn't blame her though, I was very stubborn as a kid and she was the one who always suffer from my stubbornness because I couldn't leave the house to annoy anyone else."Just give it to her." My dad sighed and I stuck my tongue out at my sister as she placed the phone in my outstretched hand.She glared at me before turning to my dad. "Dad, I didn't get to ask you last night because I came home late, so how did the meeting with the King of Spain go yesterday?""The meeting was shifted to today," he answered as he dropped his fork."Oh." She nodded. "Is it true that he came with the Prince?" Her eyes lit up like a kid who found a new toy."Yes, he arrived with his eldest son, Prince Estefan and his daughter, Princess Esmeralda.""So he will be present at the meeting today?""Yes, why?" Dad gave her a confused look."Is it okay if I'm present at the meeting?" She batted her eyelashes."I'm afraid not," Dad refused and I burst out laughing.One of Leah's many talents that got her to the top in the model industry was her way to attract influential men. She would date them for a while and then dump them when she got the fame and advancement she wanted. I won't be surprised if she tried to use the prince too. I knew it was the wrong way of getting fame but that doesn't make me love my sister any less."And what's so funny?" She glared at me."Nothing. I just read a funny tweet." I lied and turned back to my phone."If you want to meet him, I can invite them over for dinner," dad offered."That's awesome." Leah squealed."How many did you say they were?" I asked, feeling nervous about having a crowded house."It's just three of them. Don't worry you'll be fine." He smiled at me, and I nodded, paying attention back to my phone."I don't think I will be back early to prepare dinner for seven people," Mom voiced out her concern then turned to me. "Rhea, do you mind covering up for me?""Of course, she will," Leah said before I could reply. "That's the least she can do since she always stays at home and does nothing to support the family.""Are you done?" I glared at her.It was moments like this that made me want to break her head into pieces. Sometimes, she was the best sister anyone could ever ask for and some other times she can be the most annoying."Yes." She laughed as everyone stood from the table after finishing their breakfast and they bid their goodbyes to me as they left the house.I spent the rest of the day doing more research on my book and watching some Korean historical dramas to give me more inspiration for my book. When it was almost dinner time I went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.Mom and Leah came back when I was almost done cooking. While Leah went straight to her room to dress up for the dinner, mom stayed behind to help me finish up. As soon as we finished, we also went upstairs to dress up.I didn't have too much trouble picking a dress because they are all new since I never had a reason to wear them. So I picked out a white and black gown which is my favourite colour because you can never go wrong with them, and I curled my blonde hair, making it fall down my back. I applied little makeup because I didn't want to make it look like I was trying too hard.When I was satisfied with my look, I exited my room and made my way downstairs. As I got closer to the end of the corridor, my hands began to sweat when I heard unfamiliar voices, indicating that our guests were there.As I descended the stairs, my dad noticed me and said, "there comes my youngest daughter, Rhea."Trying so hard not to panic and trip off the stairs, I forced a smile on my face as all eyes turned to me but what caught my attention was the pair of cold amber eyes staring intensely at me.Sitting beside the Prince whose name I found out to be Estefan, was my sister who wouldn't stop talking about her newest contract with The Empire's Fashion house just to impress the prince and the family. The prince, on the other hand, looked like he would rather be anywhere else as he kept his face stoic and expressionless.I leaned closer to Princess Esmeralda who I know is younger than I was and whispered, "Does he ever smile or talk? Cos he hasn't said a word since he got here." "That's how he is, he doesn't talk unless it's necessary and for the smile, I have never seen him do that," she whispered back and I nodded."Why don't we move to the dining table for dinner?" My mom stood up and ushered our guest to the dining room.Leah clung to Estefan as she continued to brag about the endorsement deals she has signed that year while I walked quietly behind them."This dish is amazing." King Estevan said as he finished his food. "Mrs knight, you are a wonderful cook."Thank you, your
LEAH'S POV"That's beautiful, Leah. Now give me something cute," the cameraman yelled as I strike different poses, wearing a blue gown from the new fashion line that the Empire fashion house would be launching soon under the bright light of the studio as 7rings by Ariana Grande played in the background."Gorgeous. Now give me something sexy." He moved around to get the picture from different angles.Opening the slit of the blue gown I wore, I stuck my bare legs out and give him a seductive smile."Enchanting." He laughed as he kept taking more pictures.We were at it for three hours because I had to take more pictures in another five outfits. The job of a model can be stressful and time-taking but I wasn't complaining because I loved the fame and money that came with it."Okay, that's a wrap," the company's managing director said after I'd taken pictures with the last outfit. "Good job everyone, especially you Leah." "Thanks, Mr. Cedric." I smiled at him as I went back into the chang
LEAH'S POVStepping into the restaurant twenty minutes later, my eyes scanned the room and stopped when they landed on a familiar dirty blond hair guy whose attention was fixed on his phone. A smile made its way to my face as approached him slowly, taking in his appearance. He was looking devilishly handsome in an all-white outfit, making him appear like a big bad handsome wolf in sheep's clothing; a wolf I wouldn't mind being bitten by."Hi." I took the seat opposite him."Miss Knight, one of the things I hate the most is people coming late to an appointment." He glanced up from his phone. "I'm a man who strictly keeps to time and I don't appreciate others wasting my time by coming late." "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I got delayed a bit when I was about to leave the studio.""It's fine, I'm only letting you know in case of next time." He turned his attention back to his phone.Next time, that was the word that stuck in my head. It means that he wanted to hang out with me again. If
RHEA'S POVIt was another usual boring afternoon for me as I sprawled on the couch trying to finish another chapter of my book. I was in deep thought about how to construct the next paragraph of the chapter when the main door opened. My eye widened as I stood up to check who it was because I knew no one was supposed to be home that early. "Rhea." Princess Esmeralda came to view as she moved closer to envelop me in a hug."Esmeralda." I gave her a confused look. "How come you are here?" "I was bored out of my mind when I suddenly remembered that I have another friend who would be feeling bored like me, so I came over to keep you company." She beamed at me."Friend?" I blinked in surprise. That was the first time anyone would ever refer to me as a friend. I didn't even know what it was like to have a friend after being cooped up in the house for twenty years."Well, I think you are beautiful and nice, so I think we should be friends. That's if you don't mind that I'm three years youn
ESTEFAN'S POVStanding in front of the mirror to fix my tie, I groaned as I couldn't get the hang of it. Back at the palace, I always rely on my younger brother Esteban to knot my tie for me. He had been trying to teach me how to do it myself for the past seven years but I never paid attention since he was always there to do it for me which I was regretting at the moment.After trying for more than thirty minutes, I gave up and threw the tie on my bed beside my phone that has been ringing nonstop since I woke up. Ever since the lunch date, Leah has been calling me endlessly. I ignored her calls so that she would get the hint that I didn't want to talk to her but she wouldn't stop calling. Talk about desperation. A sigh escaped my lips when the phone stopped ringing and I stopped myself from punching the mirror in front of me out of frustration when the phone rang again. I checked the device screen and I exhaled when I saw it was my brother calling."Hello, big bro," my brother holle
ESTEFAN'S POVThe car stopped in front of the Knight Tech company which was a thirty floors building covered with blue transparent glass. My dad and I walked through the revolving door and made our way into the private elevator that was only used by the CEO but he extended the use to us.We stopped the elevator on the twenty-fifth floor and made our way to the conference room where Mr Knight's secretary, Jordan, waiting at the entrance. He approached us with a wide smile on his face. "Welcome Your Highnesses. Everyone is waiting for you in the conference room."He opened the metal door that led to the conference room and everyone stood up upon our entrance. The room was filled with the company's board of directors and shareholders occupying their places on either side of the conference table. Mr Knight sat at the head of the table while my father took the seat on his right with me beside him and some royal bodyguards taking their positions behind us. The lights of the room were turne
LEAH'S POVI sat in the spacious dressing room of the Empire fashion house with five other models, getting ready for the Empire's fashion magazine shoot that would begin in the next fifteen minutes. The door barged open making me swerve my head in the direction to see Shirley running toward me with an excited look on her face. She stopped beside me breathing heavily."What's wrong?" I turned back to the mirror, checking if my makeup needs any more adjustment."I think you should see this." She passed me her phone. Taking the phone from her, my eyes widened when I saw a picture of me and Prince Estefan in the restaurant on Twitter with people commenting if we were dating or not. My shocked expression turned into a smile when I scrolled further and I saw more pictures of the both of us plastered all over Twitter with some people questioning our relationship and others shipping us together. People already saw me as Prince Estefan's girlfriend, it was just a matter of time before he co
LEAH'S POVThe shoot took longer than usual because Kenzie always had something to complain about. If it was not about my dress being prettier than hers, it was about me being at the centre of every photo. She kept pushing me to the edge and it took all the willpower in me to stop myself from pulling all her hair out of her head. A sense of relief washed through me when the shoot ended and I was able to escape from the claws of those wolves in sheep's clothing. I got to the house around 4 pm to meet my sister in the living room watching a historical Korean drama as usual. "Hey." I slumped on the couch next to her, taking a handful of popcorn from the bowl on her thighs."You're back early." She didn't spare me a glance as her eyes were glued to the movie she was watching, not wanting to miss any second of it."Yeah. I had nothing else to do, so I came back home." I stuffed my face with popcorn. "What are you planning to make for dinner?" She picked up the remote that was sitting bes