Veronica could only play sick for so long. When she awoke the next morning, exhausted from her millions of fantasies, she knew she had to face the music. She groaned, bleary eyed and tired as hell. She had touched herself all night—her hips bucking against her hand as they had wanted to do against Adrian.

But, it didn't help—she needed more, she needed him. She knew it was true.

But, she pushed the thought away.

Yesterday was a mistake.

And, she would make damn sure that she was on the offensive this time—she would be ready for his flirty ways and she knew she could withstand them. Nothing else would jeopardize her marriage with Brian.

She had a job to do.

Breakfast was almost upon them—and Veronica knew that now half of the ladies had been eliminated. This left more private conversations for Adrian and his bachelorettes. They had only a handful of days left.

She prepared herself for the day—she wrapped her dark hair into a tight bun, and made sure her clothes were wrinkle free. Her hands went down her body smoothly—swiftly recalling Adrian's heat. She shook her head—trying to free herself from the memory.

Her phone buzzed, and when she looked at it—her mouth almost fell onto the floor.

His Majesty requests the presence of you and your fiance for breakfast.

Her stomach tightened and then lurched. She gripped the phone so hard she thought she heard it crack.

"No way," she whispered—thanking God that no one was around to see her reaction. A hard knot formed inside her—and for a moment she thought Adrian might be sabotaging her.

He had threatened to tell her fiance—would he do it now over breakfast?

Would he tell Brian that we made out last night?

Her stomach twisted in unimaginable ways. She couldn't think of a way around it. Could she fake sickness longer?

Another message came in. She almost didn't want to look.

Now—Brian is on his way.

That made her move—she rushed out of the door and sprinted down the hall. She had to get there before Brian did—she was running as fast as she could—but the hallways were all littered with decorations and piles of other objects, that it made her feel like she was running for miles. She prayed that her sweat wouldn't' betray her—show them how nervous she was.

She ran up to the dining room door, and stopped short. She took a huge breath before going in.

"Hey girl," she heard Dexter's familiar voice. She snapped to face him—she felt like she was spinning out of control. She didn't know how much more she could take.

"Dex!" she wrapped her arms around him a quick hug, she needed a second to breathe— "Thanks so much for covering for me last night."

He nodded with a huge smile on his face, "It was nothing really—turns out I didn't have to do anything." He adjusted his coat after she hugged him. He was on his way to the bar.

"What do you mean?" her breath was finally calming down.

He shrugged, "He didn't have his date—but I heard he sent that woman home anyways..."

"Oh—" she managed to say, she felt confused. Was it because of her?

But Dexter leaned in, "But truth be told—I was passing by his room earlier and that assistant of his was yelling at him—telling him he had to, like, stop getting distracted."

Dexter shrugged as if he didn't know what that meant—but, Veronica might.

They heard the clatter of dishes on the other side of the doors—they must be serving breakfast. She had run out of time. She gave Dexter a quick peck, like they usually did, and told him thanks anyways. He bounced in the direction of the bar—he must have been bored with a ship full of ladies.

Veronica took a breath and stepped into the dining room.

"About damn time," Adrian's cold eyes locked onto hers. She froze for a moment, her body ached within an instant—betraying her earlier promise. Her eyes locked onto his—but, he didn't gaze at her like he did earlier—he stared at her with coldness.

She blinked and realized that Brian was sitting there already—napkin in his coat.

I always hated that.

It had never been appealing to her, and right now, it was just plain embarrassing.

One of the women sat across from Brian—they were at a small table now. It only sat four as compared to the huge dining table that sat the crazed banana-slurping women.

Veronica recognized her now, she was one of the banana winners. Adrian had tugged her hair when he stared at Veronica. Veronica gulped—was he teasing her now?

She walked slowly across the room, she tried to act normal. But, a rising feeling of jealousy fluttered within her. A new thought entered her mind.

Maybe Adrian wanted to mess with her—maybe he was showing her that she was not worth anything to him.

Veronica deflated immediately.

"Feeling better?" Adrian's voice slithered across the table. Veronica sat across from him.

She blinked and looked around the table, "Oh—yes, thank you."

"Good," Adrian snapped, "It took you long enough to get here."

Veronica's jaw dropped—why was he being so mean to her? Her eyes fluttered to Brian, who was now digging into his meal—happy to eat beside the Prince.

"Thank you your majesty for inviting us—" he said with a mouth full of food, "Really is a pleasure to dine with royalty."

Veronica felt a wave of disgust—Brian was beaming at the Prince, like he was a god or something. Veronica knew him well by now—he would boast about this all over his page, and when they returned home—telling everyone how Adrian adored him. Brian returned to shoving more food down his throat. Veronica caught Adrian's eyes. He stared at Brian— a look of equal disgust on her face.

Why am I here?

Breakfast was passing in silence. Veronica ran out of water—her throat was dry this whole time, as she waited for Adrian to say something like "Oh hey your fiance and I almost had sex last night" or "Your fiance wants me harder than she wants you."

Although it was true—she couldn't let that happen. She looked around for the waiter—they should have been out here, surveying the breakfast for the Prince.

Adrian coughed slyly, "Oh—I dismissed your staff—I figured you could do us the honors."

She gasped for a moment, "Me—serve you all?" Her voice was tight. That came out of nowhere.

Adrian raised his eyebrows—she looked to Brian for help, but he looked at her like what was she waiting for.

"Is that a problem?"

She met his cool stare—she couldn't show him her doubt—her fear.

"No, sir."

His mouth twitched.

She nodded once and got up, walking to the banquet bar and grabbing some water. She walked to the prince first, and offered it to him. She bent down and poured the water in his glass, and then she repeated for the woman, Brian, and finally her own glass. As she raised the pitcher, she caught Adrian's eyes—his eyebrows were furrowed and he stared at her like he wanted to punch something.

A new knot formed in her stomach but she quickly placed the jug back on the table and returned to her seat.

"So, what other plans do you have today, Adrian?" the woman cooed. She had barely spoken—perhaps Veronica and Brian's presence deterred her from throwing herself at Adrian.

Adrian's eyes twinkled, looking at Veronica, "What do I have planned?"

Veronica replied smartly, "You have a lunch date with Cressida at noon."

She knew his schedule.

"Change it," he demanded. She dropped her fork at the sound of his voice.

"Of course, sir—" she stammered. She was about to pick up her fork again, but his gaze was intense.

"Now."

She looked at the others. Brian's eyes told her she was embarrassing him, and the brunette was looking at her like she clearly confused.

Veronica shot up and excused herself, "My apologies—I left the organizer in my office—I'll be right back."

She scurried out of the room—but, she heard his voice behind her as he sighed loudly.

"I'm probably going to have to do this myself."

And, she heard his chair scoot back and his footsteps follow her as the dining room closed behind her.

Her heart raced. Is he going to follow me?

She heard the dining room open behind her and his footsteps step in time with her. He was a few yards away. Her heart raced, what the hell was he doing?

Was he really going to embarrass her in front of everyone like that?

She hurried—turning the corners quickly without turning into a full sprint. She spotted her office and she practically leapt for the door.

It was locked— "Dammit," she fumbled for her key.

The keys shook her in hands, they almost fell through her fingers. She heard his footsteps round the corner.

She found the key and placed it into the hole—her heart pounding.

Suddenly, a hand wrapped around hers. She gasped—and Adrian pressed his body against hers. Her heart thrashed in her chest. She had no idea what he was doing—but, she also felt the sweet burn of his body against hers.

He fingers tightened around hers and he twisted the key in her hand, unlocking the door.

"Get in," he whispered.

She swallowed, and she walked into her office.