Saturday morning came far too soon. I was still behind and needed to catch up and I was quickly running out of time. Once again, I hurried into the office as the sun came up.“Good morning, Aria,” Gus greeted me.“What are you doing here on a Saturday?” I asked him, surprised to see him in the office on the weekend.He shrugged. “Overtime. It’s almost Jada’s tenth birthday and she wants this fancy computer thing.”“You’re a good dad.”“Pfft. I didn’t say I was working so I could get it for her.” He crossed his arms as he sat at the desk. “I’m here so I don’t have to listen to her ask for it thirty more times.”I chuckled. I had a sneaking suspicion that Jada would have a shiny new computer on her birthday, simply because Gus loved his daughters with all his heart.“I hear you have a party tonight,” Gus said, smiling and raising his eyebrows. “What are you doing here?”“Just getting some last minute work done so I can really enjoy myself. You know me, I don’t like leaving things half d

The limo pulled up alongside one of the older buildings downtown. The building was a private club, so I’d never been inside, although I’d heard of the extravagant parties that were often thrown here.The building took up the entire corner. Rich tan stone with large windows glimmered in the fading light. A red carpet lined the sidewalk on the corner, and the police had the intersection completely blocked off.I took a deep breath and stepped out of the limo and onto the red carpet, clutching my invitation and a small purse with my ID and phone.Act like you belong here, act like you belong here, I whispered to myself. I was positive that one of the police officers was going to call me out. This was a party for high society, not some low-level government employee. They would see right through me.I held my head high as I walked along the red carpet, keeping my eyes open for any sign of Henry. He was supposed to meet me inside, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t run into him outside of the

I ran through the streets of downtown Washington DC ducking cars and twisting between buildings. My beautiful blue dress trailed out behind me like a flag. Tears streamed down my face and I could barely see.How in the world had my wonderful night ended up like this?How was Henry a freaking prince?He loved me and I had to run from him. I had to protect him from me and what my stepmother was forcing me to do. I would ruin him.I ducked around into an alley to try and catch my breath. It had been a few minutes since I’d last heard anyone call my name. I didn’t want Henry to chase me. I would only end up hurting him if he did.I leaned against a brick wall, my chest heaving and hurting. I just wanted to go home and hide. I wished I had never met Henry, because then I wouldn’t have this hurt in my chest. I wouldn’t put him at risk that way. If he had never run into me, I wouldn’t have to worry about him. The last thing I wanted was to hurt him, but I seemed destined to.My feet hurt. Ru

I confessed everything. I confessed to taking the picture, to not telling anyone just how much trouble I was in, and to what my stepmother was expecting of me. I told him all of it without keeping anything back.And while it felt good to tell someone, I felt miserable at the same time. I was giving him this burden in addition to the ones he already carried. If he had fallen in love with just about anyone else, there would be no trouble.Instead, he fell in love with a girl who was going to be convicted for selling secrets because her stepmother would stop at nothing to destroy her.“So, that’s why I ran,” I concluded lamely. “I panicked when you told me who you were. I’m selling your country’s secrets and my stepmother will use you like she uses everyone. You’ll never be safe around me.”I was sure he was going to hate me. I was sure that he was going to sigh, tell me that this was too much, and walk out the door.Henry was silent. I could hear my neighbor’s TV on a commercial and som

I didn’t watch the news for the next week. I was told that my stepmother was on quite frequently. Well, the video of her being arrested was on quite frequently. They didn’t show much more than that as my name was to be kept out of the press entirely. I was absolved of all wrong doing as my stepmother obviously coerced me.I didn’t want to watch the news of my stepmother. Instead, I enjoyed my time off of work and spent it with Henry. For two weeks, we either stayed at my place or with his family. I ate meals with him and his brothers and even managed to make the older one smile a time or two.His mother accepted me like a long lost daughter. For the first time since my father died, I knew what it felt like to have a family around me again.For two weeks, Henry and I did nothing that required us to be regal. We were just a normal couple that went out for dinner and stayed in a nice hotel. There were some perks to him being royal, but we spent many of our evenings holed up in my tiny ap