Life’s good. And I mean, really fucking good.

You know, I thought that all of this would be way harder. I never expected that change could be this fucking easy. I don’t miss all the drinking and all the partying and… well, this is going to sound fucking insane coming from me, but I don’t miss fucking around with random women. And all this because Natalie’s by my side.

Yeah, I know, right? What the fuck happened to Prince Connor? Natalie happened, it’s as simple as that. She came into my life with that shy smile of hers, and I was done the moment we locked eyes. I knew I had to have her… And the moment I had her, I realized that I would never let go of her. And I haven’t.

So why haven’t I told her that I love her? Now that’s a good fucking question. I never have a problem telling people how I feel, but somehow, this is different. This makes me feel… fuck, I don’t believe I’m going to tell you this, but this makes me feel fucking vulnerable. I know that the moment those three words leave my mouth, that there’ll be no going back. That’s just how I fucking work. Whenever the moment comes for me to say it, I’ll love her until I’m six feet under.

“Connor to Earth, respond,” I hear a woman’s voice break through the fog of my mind. Fuck, it’s hard to pay attention to anything whenever I start thinking of Natalie, and I’m always thinking of her.

“I’m right here,” I tell Nadia, leaning back against my seat and looking straight at her. She’s standing in front of the conference table, pointing at something on the wall-mounted screen. Christ, these Royal briefings are getting more and more boring by the day. It almost seems that Nadia chooses the most irrelevant or biased bullshit for these meetings.

“You weren’t paying attention,” she tells me, hands on her hips as she frowns.

“I was,” I tell her with a grin. “The Constitutionalists are pushing for a referendum to abolish the monarchy, that’s what you’ve been hammering on for the last fifteen minutes.”

“That’s right,” she tells me, sitting down on her seat across the table and handing her two assistants the folders in her hand. “It’s time for us to do something about this.”

“That’s what Natalie and I have been doing for the past few weeks,” I try to tell her, but the way she looks at me makes it pretty fucking clear that she doesn’t give a fuck about what I’m going to say. “You know, I’m just wondering why you haven’t mentioned the latest polls; the good press I’ve been getting from the media is making the Constitutionalists lose a lot of support in the Senate. They’ll never manage to push this referendum bullshit through.”

“You don’t know that, Connor,” she tells me, completely ignoring me. I don’t know what bug crawled up her ass, but Nadia has been insufferable since we hired Gage Price’s services. “I think that whatever you’re doing with that girl Natalie, it isn’t working. We need something else, and we need to do it fast.” That girl Natalie... The way the words come out of her mouth make me see red.

“Oh, is that so? You think you’d do better?”

“I know I’d do better, Connor. I used to work for a fashion magazine; we don’t need any help cleaning up your image. You know how your brother feels about letting outsiders work on family matters.”

“Don’t presume to tell me what my brother feels,” I tell her, my lips a serious straight line. “I don’t like where this conversation is going. I really don’t, Nadia. So choose your words carefully.”

“Well, I’m sorry, Connor. But as Royal Secretary I have to act on your family's best interests. And this is not your call to take,” she starts to say, an explicit threat in every single word of hers. I can’t believe she’s trying to fucking outmaneuver me. What’s her fucking endgame? “It’s very simple, Connor. Just fire Gage Price.”

“It’s not Gage Price you want me to fire, is it? It’s Natalie,” I tell her, grinding my teeth together as I get up from my seat. Her two assistants seem to shrink in their seats, looking at each other and then back to me.

“I’m just taking care of your interests, Connor,” she continues, insisting on that fucking bullshit. What the fuck is her problem?

“The fuck you are,” I hiss. “I don’t know whose interests you’re looking out for, but they sure as fuck aren’t mine.”

“See? You’re losing your temper. Do you think you’ve changed? You haven't. You’re just one step away from bringing down the whole Royal Family. So I’m going to make this very simple for you: you either fire Gage Price or --”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll go back to your brother, tell him that whatever you’re doing isn’t working, and you know that he’ll have no choice but to disown you. He’ll take your title and all the Royal Family ever gave to you. You’ll be out on the street. You’ll have nothing, and you’ll be nothing.”

“Fucking hell… You’re fucking evil, Nadia,”

“Maybe. But all this boils down to one thing: Gage Price is out, one way or another. You either fire them, or your head will roll.” Fuck this shit. Does she think I’m going to take this lying down? No way in fucking hell I’m going to let Nadia walk all over Natalie and I.

I walk around the conference table and, leaning into Nadia, I whisper at her. “You don’t want to pick a fucking battle with me, Nadia. I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with you, but if you come against me, my family, or Natalie… I’m going to bury you. I fucking swear it. Leave us the fuck alone.” I pause for a second, looking into her eyes, and then continue. “Also, Gage Prince stays, and so does Natalie. It’s my call, and it’s final.”

I smile at her, and adjust the knot in my dark silk tie, then turn on my heels and storm off of the conference room. Who the fuck does she think she is? I don’t care if she’s the St. Alban’s Royal Secretary or the President of the United States; no one threatens me like that. Fuck, you know what I need right now? I need to see Natalie. I need to hold her in my arms, my lips pressed on hers…

That’s what I fucking need.