Danny’s words triggered something in me. My old pal , mistrust, reared its ugly head. I felt cornered and vulnerable. If his aunt ratted me out to the press, they would have a field day with my story. My nightmare would become a reality. I rose from the bench and folded my arms defensively across my chest. The question I was about to ask danced on the tip of my tongue. I knew it would probably ruin what we had together but it flew out of my mouth anyway. “Did you do this, Danny? Did you set this up to force me to come out?”

Danny’s baby blue eyes widened in shock. “How could you possibly think that?” He sounded hurt by my accusation. I looked away, unable to face the hurt in his eyes.

“So, what’s your price?” I blurted out. “Because I have a long fucking history of paying off boyfriends I was in a covert relationship with. This is how it usually works. I pay up and they zip their mouth shut.”

Danny laughed in disbelief. “And you think I want your money? Did we somehow stumble into some parallel universe just now? Because I cannot believe my ears.”

“No. I don’t think you’re after my money. This shit came out wrong.” I huffed. “I think you’re so desperate to be with me to the point where you’re willing to try anything to force me to come out. It’s the only thing standing in your way.” I instantly regretted what I said.

Prince Charming went red in the face. He glared daggers at me and moved farther away from my hostile body. We stood at opposite ends of the fountain. His eyes were a dark, murky blue. There was so much anger and hurt swimming in them. I swallowed the lump in my throat and stubbornly stood my ground.

“Believe what you want, Nathan.” He shook his head. “You might as well fuck off if you think I was capable of such deceit.” He added.

I watched him spin on his heels and storm out of the garden.

“Fuck.” I tugged on my hair in frustration and kicked the bench. I never meant to lash out at him like that. I felt sick to my stomach. There was a suffocating knot tied around my heart. I followed the cobblestone path that led to the palace and went back inside.

I entered the drawing room and ran into the Queen. She was on her way out so I wished her a happy birthday. “Are you leaving already?” She asked.

I coughed out of nervousness. She was an incredibly intimidating woman. How could I look her in the eye after breaking her grandson’s heart? She’d probably kick me out of Raplen if she discovered all the shit I said to him. “Yes, Your Highness. I need to go back to the States.”

The old woman’s eyes turned dark. She was a petite lady but I felt like a dwarf in her presence. She leaned in closer and studied my face intently. She had a sharp mind for her age. I held her gaze, unable to look away. “So you’re going to love him and then leave him?” She snapped her fingers. I blinked and my jaw dropped in surprise. I was speechless for a few seconds. Was she some kind of Jedi with mind reading powers?

“Excuse me?” I stuttered out.

Queen Emmeline leaned in closer. Her jasmine perfume invaded my nose. She looked like she was about to whip my ass. I tried to hide my guilt when she raised a finger and pressed it to my chest. My heart started racing like a Ferrari. “Young man, I may be old but not blind. At least not yet. Danny wears his heart on his sleeve, so it’s plain to see that he loves you. His entire face lights up when you walk into the room.”

I was beyond dumbfounded. My mouth opened and closed like a blowfish. My eyes fluttered around the drawing room. I felt like everyone was staring at me. Did everyone know about us? Did they feel the chemistry between Danny and me?

Queen Emmeline gave me a pointed look. That woman could somehow see right through me. I was amazed by her perceptiveness. “Maybe it is a good thing if you leave. Frankly, I’m not convinced that you’re the right man for Danny anyway.” She openly snubbed me and walked away.

I stood there in the corner, feeling embarrassed and guilty. Her words stung me like a bee. I quickly slinked out of the room and walked down the hallway with my tail between my legs. A bald man approached me the second I reached the main entrance.

“Mr. Nathan. Prince Daniel said you would be needing a ride to your hotel.”

“Yes. Please.” I nodded before following him to one of the royal cars. I climbed into the backseat and removed my tie. Danny was unreal. He was looking out for me despite our earlier argument. Fuck. I was such an asshole. He bought me this suit and introduced me to his family. And what did I do in return? I stabbed him in the back and said a bunch of hurtful shit to distract from the fact that I was too chicken to come out.

I was filled with remorse and wanted to apologize to Danny so bad. I had to win back his affections. He was everything to me. Why was I an expert at self sabotage? Why?

My thoughts drifted back to our conversation about his lovely Aunt Edith. If he was right about her big mouth, then I had to prepare my band, manager and PR team for the shitstorm that was about to hit us. I stared out the window, feeling oddly at peace with this whole thing.

“Weird.” I sighed and glanced down at the phone in my lap. I was supposed to be freaking out and calling everyone like my house was on fire. Instead, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I listened to the soothing sounds of nature outside my window. Raplen had a calming effect on me. The landscape was so serene. I suddenly realized just how much I hated being in the closet. I was stuck inside a prison of my own making.

I thought about all of the obstacles and challenges I faced on the way to becoming a recording artist. People actually made fun of our band name and told us we would never make it. We used to rent out shabby tour buses that barely fit our equipment in order to play small gigs at equally shabby bars and nightclubs. Our first manager took off with our hard earned money and ditched us in the middle of nowhere. Back then, none of us had credit cards or mobile phones. We were broke as fuck. Despite it all, we still managed to become famous.

I returned to the hotel room with a new perspective on things. Thanks to our fans, we had millions in our bank accounts and the best cribs in all of Chicago. They deserved better than a lead singer who lied about his identity. My publicist was wrong. Our fans deserved a big slice of honesty and so did Theo and the others.

With that in mind, I quickly packed my bags and headed straight to the airport.