I pushed my way through the crowd, wedding announcement in hand. I had waited for a gap in my schedule, and I had taken the first flight I could to San Peluzzi. I had really wanted to handle the situation from the States, but it quickly became clear Antonio had no intention of returning any of my calls, nor was he going to reply to any of the messages I sent him.

More than once I had tried to inform him that it was urgent, but I was met with the same message in reply. He wasn’t taking any calls or messages at that time, and if I wanted to leave my name and number with the secretary, she would be certain that he would get back to me as soon as he possibly could. I wasn’t stupid, however, and I knew that she wouldn’t be giving him any kind of messages at all.

With my pregnancy only progressing, I knew that I had to get to him before I got too far along to travel—something that I absolutely didn’t want to happen. I knew that to get the support that I deserved, I had to show up and let him know in person—and clearly that was the only way I was going to get anywhere near him.

But the journey proved to be difficult, and I soon found that once I landed in Lomazz, tracking down the Prince was no easy task. I asked around for any place that I might meet him, but I soon discovered that the only way to really get hold of him would be through an appointment—one that needed to be scheduled in advance.

I knew if I tried to get an appointment, I would end up waiting until the baby came. No, if I was going to get a chance to see the Prince, I was going to have to show up where he was, which, unfortunately, meant going to his wedding. Immediately, I took to the streets to learn where it was going to be held.

Royalty had an obligation to live in the public eye, and I knew despite the fact he had been disappointed by one girl, Antonio was going to be making a show of marrying another. Perhaps he was even going to be doing so in hopes of making Sophia jealous. I didn’t know, and I certainly didn’t care.

All I cared about was that I needed to get to Antonio, and I needed to tell him the truth. Having found out where the ceremony was taking place, I planned how I would do it; I was going to go about it in the only way I could think of—I was going to give him a note.

I wasn’t going to make a scene. I was merely going to slip the paper into his hand and let him read it when he had a moment, hopefully before the ceremony. I felt he ought to know what was going on before he swore his life to another, though I still didn’t think that it would be enough to change anything. Not to say that I wanted him back for my own, but he deserved to know the truth.

Note in hand, I made my way to the ceremony. There were doormen standing at the entrance to the church, and the only way I got in was by telling them I was his cousin. Thankfully, I knew the cousins who had declined the invitation to the last wedding, due to the fact they were unable to leave their business or family for one reason or another.

Antonio wouldn’t have bothered with this information, therefore those guests would have still been on the list—something that proved to be a great advantage to me. I smiled to the different guests who looked at me with a sidelong stare as I walked into the sanctuary, but I really was watching for Antonio.

Finally, I saw him standing near the front of the church, deep in discussion with a few of the men who were present. At first, I thought about going up to the front and telling him at that moment, but then I realized one of the men with whom he was speaking was the minister of the church and I dared not put him through such embarrassment right before the ceremony.

In a final move of desperation, I handed the note to one of the ushers who was wandering back and forth up the hall. “I need this to get to the groom as soon as possible. If you can get it to him before the procession starts, all the better!”

The boy ran up the aisle quickly, doing his best to weave in and out of the guests who had lined the way. Some seemed to notice him and took the time to get out of the way for him to pass, while others were so engrossed in their own conversations it was clear they didn’t have any interest in moving out of the way for a messenger boy.

I wanted to shout out how important it was, but I thought about it logically. If Antonio was ignoring my calls—if he was avoiding me, as he sure appeared to be doing—then he would certainly have me removed from the building if I began shouting or making any kind of a scene. In fact, he might have me removed anyway if I were to say something and be recognized.

Though I didn’t particularly want to watch him swear his love to another woman, if this was the only way I was going to get him the news about his being a father, then so be it. The one thing that I didn’t want to happen was being escorted out. Not in front of all those people. Not in front of another bride.

This time, I was going to hold myself together, and I was going to behave in a way that proved to him that I no longer cared about what he was doing with his life. I was coming to him strictly on business, and it was going to be up to him to respond. Of course, it was almost certain that he was going to do nothing more than write a check and hand it to me, but even that would be fine.

I had spent the entire flight from New York wondering what I was going to do, and now that I was here, the feeling was all the more intense. If I was going to be a single mother, that was fine, but I wasn’t going to be a struggling single mother. Not when my baby’s father was royalty.

After what seemed like an eternity, the usher reached the front of the church and excused himself into the conversation Antonio was having with a guest. I could see by the way the people were beginning to find their seats that the procession was going to start soon, and I desperately hoped he would read it before it was too late.

The boy handed him the paper, and I saw him look pleased as he took it. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes to myself. He likely thought it was more blessing and happiness showered down on him and his bride. Little did he know it was a note that would change his life forever.

I watched with great anticipation as Antonio slipped his finger into the envelope, and my heart began to pound as he pulled out the paper and unfolded it. I could only imagine what he would do when he saw the words scrawled on the paper.

Part of me hoped that he wouldn’t make a big deal of it and would choose to contact me once he had the chance, but another part of me hoped that it would be news that would send him into some sort of fit. Something that would show him that he had to take care of his life better if he wanted to be king.

Of course, with his parents present, I didn’t want to do anything that would cause him too much trouble, so I silently prayed that he would take care of the note and put it away before either one of them saw what was written on it. He lowered his eyes to read the paper, and I sighed when yet another guest walked up to him and offered him their congratulations.

I wanted to tell everyone to get out of the room and give us a minute alone, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. If I was going to discover his feelings on the matter, I would have to study his reaction when he read through the note.

I bit my lower lip as the music began to play, and there was a sudden hush in the room as everyone began swarming about, looking for a place to sit down. It was clear that the bride was going to arrive at any moment, and the last thing I wanted was to be the only one standing. So I slipped into the nearest pew I could find and waited, my eyes glued to Antonio at the front of the room, not the back of the room like everyone else’s.

Once the music began to really pick up, I saw Antonio take the note and open it once more, my heart pounding in my chest. I could see the muscles in his face twitch, and his face whitened. Holding the note in one hand, he quickly looked up and scanned the crowd, clearly trying to see who would have given him such a note and determine if it was indeed true.

It was then that his eyes locked with mine, and I felt my heart begin to race. He paled even further, and part of me was afraid he was going to faint. I could see by the look in his eyes that he thought he was seeing a ghost, and he quickly looked around, as though he were looking for a something of an escape.

This all happened in no more than a few seconds, and I could feel my heart pounding so hard I wondered if it may burst. I looked around me, waiting to see if anyone else had witnessed what had taken place at the front, and if they were going to do anything about it. To my relief, it didn’t seem as though anyone at all had turned their head during the event, as they were all waiting eagerly for Arabella to appear in her dress.

I didn’t know if I ought to rise from my seat and say something, or if I ought to turn and watch the bride as she came in from the hall. I wanted more than anything to say something to Antonio, but I knew that I couldn’t—at least, not right now. The only thing I could do was sit and watch, and hope that he was going to do something about the note.

But, after the few seconds of shock took hold of his body, Antonio did the one thing I never would have thought of him doing. In fact, what happened next was so incredible, I felt as though I was standing in a movie watching someone else play the part of myself.

As the shock took over, Antonio’s grip on the note loosened, and it slipped out of his hand. He looked down, clearly trying to see where the note was going and if he could grab it in time. My own heart skipped a beat as I saw the note flutter to the ground, and I wondered what would happen if anyone else saw it.

Antonio was clearly thinking the same thing, as he did his best to step forward and take the note without anyone else noticing, only for it to be dragged away by the breeze coming through the open window. The draft increased, lifting the note and causing it to flutter upward, and though I stayed in my seat, my eyes were glued to the piece of paper, desperate to see where it landed next.

The wind wasn’t done yet, as it lifted the note and dropped it onto the projector which had been set up to display photos of the bride and groom. It wouldn’t have been too much of a problem except for one thing—the projector had already been turned on. One of the crew members had gotten it entirely set up so that when the time came, all they would have to do would be able to do would to be to press the button, and all the alleged magic that existed between the couple would come to light.

But that moment was when the bride came around the corner from the hall, and began walking up the aisle. Everyone in the room rose and turned, ready to turn and see her as she walked toward the front of the church, ready to tie the knot with Antonio and become the queen she had agreed to be.

At that moment, the words from my note flashed up on the screen, projected onto the wall in huge letters.

Antonio, I’m having your baby!

As soon as the words were up on the wall, the bride stopped, a look of confusion on her face. It didn’t take her long to read the message, and she made a cry that was unlike anything I had heard before.

The entire group turned to stare at her in complete shock.