So far, thanks to Harry’s efforts, the mainstream media had given me space outside of the official public appearances, but I didn’t know how long that would continue. I also knew that certain outlets were prone to taking extreme steps to get scoops, and frankly it was best not to trust any of them. That meant not using my phone for any conversation I hoped to keep private.

I picked up a pre-paid phone from a newsagent, loaded it with enough credit to make a long international call, and then dialed the number for Tabitha. She wouldn’t answer, but I could leave a message and—

“Hello?”

“You’re not supposed to answer calls from unknown numbers,” I scolded.

“Oh give over,” she replied. “I’m quite capable of hanging up if a reporter calls. Stop panicking.”

How could I not panic? If anything happened to them, it would all be my fault.

“I’ve seen you on the television,” Tabitha said. “A lot. I thought you were going to keep a low profile.”

“I was.” But then I got tempted by the dark side. “We decided to go out in public together, and then the rest just sort of… happened.”

“You both look the part. I’d never know the relationship was fake. It is still fake, right?”

“The marriage is fake,” I replied.

“Hmm… interesting choice of words.” I really needed to become a better liar. “You still plan to get divorced soon?”

“At some point, yes.”

How could I ever divorce Sophia? Pre-planned or not, it felt like one of the stupidest things a human could do. When you convinced a woman like Sophia to marry you—regards of the circumstances—you didn’t just go and get a divorce. You clung on for dear life and rode out the wave for as long as possible.

“You’re going to break her heart,” Tabitha said solemnly.

“I’d never do that.”

“You might not realize you’re doing it, but that’s what’s going to happen.”

“This has all been planned since—”

“I don’t care about your plan, George, and neither does she. I see the way she looks at you when you two are together. She’s either one hell of an actress, or she’s not playing your little game.”

“It’s not a game,” I snapped. “This is serious, and we both know it. In fact, I’ve been thinking about ignoring the inheritance and becoming a prince.”

“What? Why?”

“I can raise a small fortune for charity as a prince, and I’m sure I can work out a way to funnel money to you and Liam for any therapy you need. In the long run, that has to be better than claiming my inheritance.”

“Is Sophia okay with that?”

“Yeah, I’m sure she will be.”

“So you haven’t asked her?”

“She’d be a princess. Who wouldn’t want that? That’s what she deserves.”

“Just promise me you’ll check with her first, before you go storming off and making all the decisions. You’ve brought her into this mess. It’s the least you can do.”

“Okay, I promise. Now put Liam on. I haven’t spoken to that little scamp in ages.”

I’d hoped that organizing lunch for Sophia and her friends would cheer her up a bit, but it hadn’t helped much. She’d been different these last few days; distant, as if she always had something else on her mind. I kept trying to talk to her about the future, but all I ever got in response was a series of polite nods and murmured ‘okays.’

We went back to York, and Sophia decided to attend classes as normal. No doubt she’d attained some degree of celebrity status in the past week, but for every person who stared at her, two more would pretend she didn’t exist. University students were far too cool for that kind of thing, or so they thought.

Miraculously, I managed to get a degree of privacy in the coffee shop on campus. Admittedly, I sat in a dark corner and hid behind my computer, but I still kept expecting reporters to burst in at any minute. If there was one thing that could be said for students, they did tend to move on quickly. It was no longer ‘cool’ to be obsessed over Sophia and me, so they acted like I wasn’t there. That was just fine with me.

I’d been avoiding the online press as much as possible since this whole thing started, but when I finally looked at the media coverage, I realized why Sophia had been feeling a bit despondent.

There were hundreds of pictures on her online with me, but she was always referred to in a way that made her seem secondary to proceedings. The only detailed articles written about her went into exhaustive detail on her fashion choices, and the opinion pieces weren’t always that kind.

No wonder she didn’t want me to become a prince. The spotlight hadn’t been kind to her so far, and I hadn’t done anything to help.

“I always wondered how Clark Kent managed it, but apparently it’s possible to be incognito in public with just a pair of glasses.”

I looked up and saw Ellie standing over me with a fresh cup of coffee which she placed down in front of me.

“Thanks,” I replied. “I’m going to need that. Sophia doesn’t get out of class for another hour. Any idea how things have been for her today?”

“No,” Ellie replied with a shrug. “But I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“She’s been a little down lately.”

Ellie looked away awkwardly. She knew something. “I’m sure she’s fine.”

“It’s about the pictures, isn’t it?” I asked.

Ellie breathed a loud sigh of relief. “I’m so glad she told you about them. I knew you’d understand. Everyone does the sexting thing these days, and she was engaged to the guy at the time.”

I nodded along, teeth gritted tightly, and the blood boiling in my veins, as Ellie kept talking about how unfair it was for women to get such a hard time for sending nude photos even though everyone did it.

Once Ellie went back to work, I finished the coffee—even though it was the last thing I needed—and patiently waited for Sophia to meet me.

Her and I needed to have a little talk.