“What is the meaning of this outrage?!” my father said as he pushed through the door.

I was intimidated, but I wasn’t going to back down. I squared my shoulders, and though I still showed my father respect, I wasn’t going to pretend like I was ashamed when I wasn’t.

“Two scandals in just two months! I told you if you were going to take the throne, you were going to have to rise to the occasion, and here you are, once again fodder for the tabloids!” He strode into the room and took a seat, not at all acknowledging Sasha’s presence.

“I know what you said, Father, and I respect that, but I think there’s something you ought to know: I never loved either of those women. I never wanted to marry them—I just wanted the throne and, as per your ultimatum, that was the only way I was going to get it.” I hesitated, and I could see that I angered him all the more. It wasn’t my intention, but I didn’t want him to think that I was afraid of committing, either.

“This is the last straw! I have tried to make it work with you, Antonio, you know that I have. There are so many things I wanted you to achieve, but you have thrown it all away. You are so strong and smart and capable. How dare you waste your talents in such a way? The throne is going to your brother, and that is the end of this discussion!” He put his hand in the air as he spoke and now brought it down hard. Sasha jumped, but I held my cool.

“You know what, Father? That is just fine with me. I respect your decision, and though I would love to have the throne myself, and know that I would be the best fit for it, I am not going to fight you on that. I am going to marry this woman, and I am going to stick with her no matter what. I know you would rather that I married someone royal, but as I said, I do not want to marry anyone with royal bloodlines. In fact, I don’t want to marry anyone but this woman!” I looked at Sasha with love in my eyes, and I could see that she was deeply moved by what I was saying.

“And what of this baby?” my mother asked, and I turned to her with a smile.

“Mother, Father, I am going to be a parent, and you are going to be grandparents. This is not a scandal, this is what happens when two people are in love, and it is something that I am proud of. I have spent most of my life looking to gain power, but I no longer care about that. Now, all I want is to have a family. I want to be with this woman, and I want to come home to her every night. I want to have children with her, and I want to stick with her through everything life throws our way.” I paused as I looked from one of my parents to the other, and I could see that they were both taken aback by this new side of me.

“Those other women reduced me to nothing more than a shell. I don’t want to be that. I want to be my own man once again. I want to live with the passion that I once had, and this time, I want to pour it into something that is going to last. I’m done with the parties, and I am done with all the fun and games that didn’t lead to anything. I’m done with all the women that I once chased who I thought would make me happy. Mother, Father, I want you to look at this woman right here. She might not have royal blood in her, but you can bet that she is more of a queen than anyone I have met with real royalty.

“She has taught me what it means to live life, and I am going to do it. I am going to see what it means to fall in love with life. I want to have this with Sasha, and I think she’s going to allow me to. Now, if you are going to give the throne to Francis because of it, then I will support you. I want nothing but the best for this nation, and I am done fighting you for that. You both know best, and I know you are going to make the right decision.” I smiled at both of them, once again causing them to exchange glances.

But I wasn’t going to just stand around and wait for what they had to say. For the first time in my life, I was beginning to experience true passion. It wasn’t just a sexual, lustful passion. It was something deeper and more intense. I wanted to know this woman. I wanted to spend time with her. I wanted to learn everything about her, and then some. I wanted to make memories with her, and I wanted to be the one she thought of first in the morning and last at night.

There were so many things I wanted to do with this woman, and the fact that she was going to have my child only intensified my desire for her. For the first time in my life I didn’t care if that meant I was going to live a hard life. I didn’t care if I was going to have to go through difficult times, and I didn’t care if that meant that I might have to struggle for money.

The only thing I didn’t want to struggle with ever again was finding the love of my life. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was this woman sitting right here in front of me, and there was nothing that could change that. I wanted Sasha, and I was going to do everything in my power to prove it to her.

I walked past my mother, who was standing in the middle of the room, and put my hand on her shoulder, giving her a warm smile. I wanted her and my father to both know that I wasn’t being defiant. I wasn’t doing this to get back at them or to make them feel as though they had failed. Quite the opposite. I wanted them to bring Sasha into the family. I wanted them to take her in as one of their own. I wanted her to feel comfortable in a royal family when she didn’t have a single drop of royal blood in her veins, because I knew that she was the one for me.

When I reached her, I bent down and gave her a kiss, seeing the tears running down her cheeks. I knew that it didn’t matter what anyone else said any longer; I was going to have this girl for my own, and she was going to forever be by my side. She wrapped her arms around me, and I could feel her heart beating against mine. I pulled back and looked at my mother and father with a smile, doing what I could to get them to see how much I loved this girl.

At first, no one said anything. I felt my heart sink as I began to fear what my father was going to say. I knew that he wasn’t going to be happy about this, and I knew that he likely was going to think that I was wasting my life. He probably thought that I had gotten some random girl pregnant, and now I was just acting out because of it.

He didn’t understand what it was like to fall in love and marry someone the way that I had, because he had always had to consider the political side of things. I wanted to show him that there was a different way to love, and I wanted him to see that my happiness mattered more to me than the throne.

To my surprise, it was my mother who spoke up, not my father.

“I think that this is wonderful. What you have just said there, Antonio, is the exact passion that your father and I have been wanting to see out of you for years. We don’t want you to get married for the sake of getting married, and we don’t want you to change for the sake of changing. We want to see you happy. We want to see you living life to the fullest, and we want to see you being real with yourself, and with the world around you.” She smiled and I looked at her in surprise.

“We don’t care if you marry a rich girl or not. What we care about is that you love her and you love life. You are going to find that there is so much this world has to offer, if you are willing to reach out and take it. Now, I am satisfied with what you have just said, and if you are willing, Sasha, I will pass on the throne to you when the time is right. Don’t you agree, dear?” She looked at my father, and I could see surprise in his eyes.

There was a moment of silence, then with a sigh, he nodded. I could feel the blood rushing through my veins, and I looked down into Sasha’s eyes. I could see she was amazed by the things she had just heard, but there was one more thing I needed to say.

“Sasha Greening, will you be my queen?” I asked, and she giggled. She buried her face in my chest, and I felt my heart skip a beat.

“I will, I will!”