This was a dream, Alix said to herself. Duncan had not just asked her to marry him, while laying naked on his couch, two days before she got on a plane for Jordan.

“You can’t be serious,” were the first words out of her mouth.

Duncan’s face fell visibly and she felt him stiffen next to her.

“I’m totally serious,” he said, pulling away to sit up and face her. She pulled a blue blanket around her, not wanting to have this conversation while completely nude.

“I’m leaving in two days,” she reminded him. “You’re just panicked about that. You’re still freaking out about Leo.”

“No, Alix, listen to me. I love you,” he said earnestly. “And you just said you don’t want to leave.”

“I just meant I was comfortable in your arms,” she said, a hint of panic in her voice. “I meant I can’t stay here all night. I have to start packing.”

“That’s really all you meant?” he raised an eyebrow, incredulous.

“You can’t love me,” she protested. “You barely know me.”

“Why are you so resistant to this?” he asked. “Why don’t you believe me?”

“Because…” she sputtered, the words getting stuck on the edge of her lips. “Because you’ll always love the crown more. You have to. My own parents left me for years because of their responsibilities. Prynesse will always come first.”

She hadn’t intended to admit such a thing to him. Despite all their late night talks, she’d usually kept it fairly light, never revealing anything too personal. The look of love in his eyes scared her, and reminded her why she had kept him at arm’s distance all summer. But he deserved some amount of truth from her, if it helped him understand why all of this simply wasn’t possible.

“No!” he insisted. “It’s not about the crown. It’s about love. Sacrifice for love.”

“You’re asking me to sacrifice everything for you. My dreams, my career, my future,” her voice was growing stronger. “What are you sacrificing by loving me? The hundreds of other girls you could be sleeping with instead?”

“No!” he said again. “Why do you keep saying you’d be so easy to replace? Am I that replaceable to you?”

“It’s not a question of being replaced,” she said, throwing up her hands in frustration. “It’s a question of space. There just isn’t space for this in my life right now. You knew that.”

“I know, I just thought...” He sighed, leaning back against the couch, running his hands through his hair. “Being with you this summer hasn’t been what I expected it to be. It’s become so much more for me. I thought you’d be staying here, going to school, and eventually it would become more for you, too. Now I’ll never have that chance; not with you, or anyone. Being king will change everything.”

She didn’t know how to respond to that. He stared with his pleading eyes, begging her with his entire body not to leave him. He wanted her to stay and help him. He wanted her to give up her future for him.

Despite herself, she could feel the tug of her heart at the thought of a different kind of life. One where she could see her parents and Stella every day, and where she could use her influence to help hundreds of charities, not just one. It was a future where she had someone next to her, helping her, where she didn’t have to do it alone.

She brushed those thoughts away quickly though. Duncan was being ridiculous. This was everything she’d been working towards for so long, and whatever inkling of feelings she was having for him, it wasn’t worth giving all that up for him. It was unfortunate that he felt much more strongly for her than she did for him, but he wasn’t giving anything up; just taking things away from her.

Alix shook her head.

“I’m sorry, Duncan. I can’t stay,” she said, standing to awkwardly gather her clothes that were strewn about the floor around the couch. “I’m sorry your life isn’t turning out the way you thought it would. But mine still can. I’m sorry if that’s selfish of me.”

“It’s not,” he said quietly, watching her get dressed. “You’re still giving up so much of yourself to help others. I just don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do that.”

“You will,” she reassured him, sitting down next to him and tenderly placing a hand on his cheek. “This is a huge responsibility, and you can do so much good with it. Listen to your brother and father. They’ll make sure you’re able to do it.”

He looked doubtful and lost. Alix wondered if he was on the verge of tears and didn’t want to have that as her last memory of him. Instead, she kissed him one last time, with all her heart, leaving the part of it that was his with him when she left.