A woman rushed out of the CEO’s office at De Konigh Enterprises, sobbing and sniffing, and the sight of her made everyone at the executive floor pale.

“That makes seven,” Andrea whispered anxiously to her fellow receptionist. In a span of one month, Willem de Konigh had gotten rid of six personal assistants, and the woman hastily gathering her belongings from her desk was likely to be #7.

Rachel started to answer, but then the door to the CEO's office opened again, and she and Andrea quickly ducked their heads as Willem de Konigh himself strode out of the office.

The Dutch billionaire was as immaculately gorgeous as always, his blond hair presenting an exquisite contrast with the dark shade of his custom-fitted suit. In the past, all of the women in the office would vie for the chance to greet the boss first. If they were lucky, they might just be the recipient of one of the billionaire’s famous smiles – tiny, brief, but oh so breathtaking.

But for the past two months now, anyone who was unlucky enough to draw the CEO’s attention was guaranteed to have their head bitten off.

Even with their heads down, both Rachel and Andrea covertly watched their boss walk past his sobbing P.A., his face hard.

Poor girl, Rachel thought. Beside her, Andrea had sunk down to her knees, hiding behind the reception counter. She started to do the same, only to realize it was too late.

“Rachel.” The billionaire had suddenly stopped next to the counter.

Paling, she croaked out, “Yes, sir?”

“Inform Accounting to give my P.A. one month’s pay then call H.R. to look for a replacement.”

She nodded profusely. “Understood, sir.”

“Thank you.” The billionaire gave her a clipped nod before disappearing into his private elevator.

When the doors slid close, everyone in the floor breathed a sigh of relief. Or rather, almost everyone, since P.A. #7 was still sniffing at her table.

Andrea rushed to the girl, patting her back, murmuring, “There, there, it’s not your fault.”

Number 7 sniffed again. “I don’t know what I did wrong. I just greeted him, ‘Good morning, Mr. de Konigh,’ and that was it.” The last word came out a wail. “He had this really furious look in his eyes and told me I had broken Rule #1 and was fired.”

“What is Rule #1?” Rachel, having come to join the other employees circled around the just-fired personal assistant, couldn’t help asking curiously.

“Not to call him Mr. de Konigh. I was to call him only ‘meneer.’ And yes, he did tell me that, but---how was I to know he was that serious about it?”

Everyone nodded in sympathy, having heard the same thing from the other girls as well. They had thought it a ridiculous story at the start, but by the time P.A. #3 had left the company, everyone at the executive floor had been forced to change their minds.

For whatever reason, their billionaire boss now despised his own surname.

“It must be why Serenity quit as well,” Andrea said thoughtfully as she and Rachel returned to their station.

“But she always calls him Mr. de Konigh,” her friend argued.

Andrea rolled her eyes. “Silly, it’s not that. Can’t you see? Serenity is Shane Raleigh’s half-sister. The boss and his on-off girlfriend must have had a fight, and that’s why he fired Serenity, and now he doesn’t want anything that reminds him of the Raleigh sisters.”

* * *

“You look appalling, Willem.” The words, coming from his open laptop, greeted Willem as soon as he slid inside his limousine. Upon hearing them, he immediately glanced at his chauffeur, but the older man studiously avoided Willem’s gaze as he closed the passenger door.

Martin had been frightened into betraying him again, Willem thought grimly. He really should have a word with his chauffeur soon.

“Did you hear what I said?” the voice from the laptop demanded.

Turning to face the laptop, he said blandly, “A pleasant afternoon to you, too, Your Majesty.” He had been dodging her video calls for days, but he should have known Wilhemina wasn’t one to take the hint that he hadn’t wanted to talk to her.

The Queen of Contini only smiled. “Ah, no ‘grandmother’ for me. You are in a testy mood again.”

Her grandson’s face softened a bit. “I am,” he acknowledged wryly, “but never with you, oma.”

If the exchange between grandmother and grandson had been made public, the world would have been in shock. When in company, the queen and Willem were civil but distant with each other, a deliberate choice to conceal just how important the role Willem played in handling de Konigh matters.

Only those who had worked in the palace long enough knew the truth, and that was that Willem was only second to the queen herself with the amount of power and authority he exercised over all members of the de Konigh clan.

“Women problems, no doubt,” Wilhemina murmured.

Willem wasn’t fooled by his grandmother’s tone. “Do not interfere, Your Majesty.” He had no doubt that the queen had already made it her business to find out everything between him and Serenity, who she had always expressed fondness for.

“Ah. So you admit that there is a problem.”

“Oma.” His voice was soft.

She raised her hand in a placating gesture. “Yes, yes, I understand. I shall not meddle.” The twinkle in her eyes faded, and concern lined her voice when she said, “I just want to make sure you are okay, dear.”

“I am.” He changed the subject. “I spoke with Gabe last night, by the way. I don’t believe he’s coming back anytime soon.” As the Crown Prince’s only legitimate son, Gabe was third in line to the throne, and local press had begun to question his prolonged absence from the kingdom.

Wilhemina was quiet for a moment. “We do not need to force him to come back yet,” she said finally, and with her words she let Willem know she was allowing herself to be sidetracked. With this grandson of hers, any interference from her would be considered a slight, an insult to his independence. And after everything he had suffered as a child, Wilhemina knew that she would rather hurt herself than make Willem feel weak again.

When it was time to end the video call, Willem made an effort to sound more his normal self as he bid the queen farewell. “I’ll see you soon, oma.”

“Of course.” But he could see with the way worry still shadowed her faded blue eyes that he had failed. Willem tiredly closed his eyes as he leaned back against his seat.

His life was a fucking mess, and even the queen – who was thousands of miles away – knew this.

Something had to fucking give, but what?

His mobile phone buzzed in his pocket, and after a moment, Willem resignedly took his phone out.

It was a text message from Serenity’s older sister.

* * *

“You look horrible,” Melanie said by way of greeting when her stepdaughter entered the dining room. She had hoped to draw blood, but as always, her words seemed to fall on deaf ears, with Serenity only smiling wanly as she took her usual place at the table.

Bitch, she thought. She knew that most people thought of her stepdaughter as Willem Jr., and the implication that Serenity was as perfect as the Dutch billionaire irked Melanie to no end.

Had the world gone crazy? Even Willem de Konigh himself knew Serenity was far from perfect. Melanie didn’t believe a single word about her stepdaughter having to resign due to over-fatigue.

Yeah right, Melanie thought with a sneer as she looked at her pale-looking stepdaughter. No doubt, the billionaire had found her lack of personality tiresome and boring, but he was just too much of a gentleman to say so.

The only perfect thing about Serenity was her taste in clothes, Melanie thought grudgingly, but other than that, the girl was perfectly flawed. Ballet had been the only thing the girl had going for her. But no, the idiot just had to break her leg and, in the process, cause Melanie’s ex-husband to kill himself.

The reminder of Daniel Raleigh’s death made Melanie grit her teeth, and she snapped at Serenity, “I’ll need your next month’s rent in advance.” It was this girl’s fault Daniel was dead, this girl’s fault that she no longer had Daniel’s monthly alimony payments and was thus forced to work while her other friends continued to live in the lap of luxury.

“Yes, ma’am.”

The quick acquiescence should have pleased Melanie, but it only made her angrier. “I suppose you’re thinking I’m being greedy?”

“No, ma’am.”

“I could have chosen not to take the guardianship, you know. I could have let you go to Social Services.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

And so it went on. Serenity was used to Melanie blaming her for everything, and a small part of her believed every word her stepmother uttered.

If she had just danced like Daniel wanted, her father would not be dead. Melanie would still have her money. And she would have only known Willem de Konigh as Shane’s boyfriend.

When Melanie took a deep breath, Serenity wondered absently if it was fine to start eating now. Her stomach had started to rumble, reminding her that she had forgotten to eat anything since returning home.

Telling herself she had nothing to lose, Serenity started to reach for the ladle to have some soup---

“Have you no manners?” Melanie hissed. “We should wait for your sister!”

Serenity quickly pulled her hand back and placed it on her lap. “I’m sorry.” She didn’t even consider reminding Melanie that she hadn’t known about Shane joining them, knowing it would only anger her stepmother more.

The minutes passed, and there was still no sign of Shane. Her stomach rumbled for the third time, now loud enough for Melanie to hear. She felt her stepmother glaring at her, but Serenity deliberately kept her gaze trained on her plate, pretending dumb ignorance.

Two more years, Serenity thought, trying to rally herself. Daniel Raleigh’s will had been pretty specific and in keeping with his controlling personality. Serenity was to be awarded full access to her trust only if she continued to live with her stepmother until she was twenty-one. Otherwise, she was on her own until she turned thirty.

Two more years, just two more years, Serenity repeated to herself. But the more she thought about it, the more she was thinking maybe the money wasn’t worth it. Maybe she should just take the risk and leave. Not just her stepmother’s house but Netherlands. If she started fresh somewhere else, she might have an easier time forgetting the humiliating way she had thrown herself at a man who didn’t want her.

Serenity started chewing on her lip as she thought of all the what-ifs that could happen, and she was so lost in her thoughts that she was completely taken by surprise when the door to the dining room flew open and Shane came rushing in.

“He’s coming, Mother!” Shane’s voice was breathless with excitement.

“Who?” Melanie demanded as she jumped to her feet.

“Willem!”

Serenity froze.

“I invited him to dinner, and I was expecting we’d go out, but he told me he was in the mood for something home-cooked so I told him we could come here.” As if suddenly remembering there was someone else in the room, Shane swung around to face Serenity. “And you.” Warning sharpened her voice as she said, “I have no idea what made Willem fire you, but whatever it is – don’t you dare cause any trouble tonight. You better be on your best behavior or I’ll make your life hell.”