Page 14 of Royal Extra After

She cringed, remembering how disappointed her parents sounded when she’d tried to explain what happened. They trusted her to travel alone and represent the royal family at the Tell Your Story children’s charity event. She knew now all anyone was talking about was her coming to America to work on a movie. No one cared about the children’s charity she was trying to help get press and donations for. She fought back tears, knowing she had failed and had let everyone down.

“What do you want to do now, princess?” Benson asked quietly.

She quickly wiped away a tear that trickled down her cheek and took a deep breath. She needed to pull herself together and do the right thing. She had made this mess, now she needed to do anything she could to fix it. She stood up straighter. With her shoulders back and chin up, she took a deep breath.

“You’re right, Benson. We need to go home. Immediately.”

Benson nodded and put his arm around her as they walked back to the hotel.

Back into the hotel lobby, the princess froze when she saw Ned waiting for her. As he hurried toward her, Benson immediately blocked his path.

“Benson, please. I need to explain,” Ned pleaded.

“It’s okay, Benson, I can handle this,” the princess said as she stepped around Benson. She steeled her heart as she faced Ned and willed herself to breathe and stay calm. She was thankful all her years of royal training had kicked in. As a result, she could appear outwardly composed and in control, when inside she was losing it.

“Izzy, I’ve been calling you and texting you…”

“Don’t call me Izzy,” the princess said in an icy voice. “Only my close friends and family call me Izzy.”

Ned looked hurt but rushed to continue. “Are you okay? I’ve been worried about you.” When he tried to take her hand, she backed away from him.

“Am I okay?” the princess asked almost choking on the words. “Are you really asking me that? My photograph and name are everywhere. How could I possibly be okay?”

“I didn’t do this,” Ned started, but the princess stepped toward him.

“Stop, just stop.” She knew how easily she could be charmed by him. He’d fooled her once. She wasn’t about to let it happen again. “I don’t want to hear excuses. I only want to know how this happened.”

Benson looked around. “We can’t do this here. People are starting to stare. Princess, go up to the suite, and I’ll bring Ned up in a few minutes. Go. Hurry.”

The princess knew Benson was right but hesitated.

Benson sighed. “Don’t worry, I will not chase him away as much as I would like to.”

“Okay,” the princess said. “Because I need to talk to him and get this over with.” She hurried toward the elevator.

Anxious, Ned turns to Benson. “I swear, Benson, I didn’t do this.”

Benson held up his hand to stop him. “Save it for the princess.”

***

Waiting for Benson and Ned, the princess paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. She willed herself to stay calm, cool, and collected. She couldn’t let her emotions take over. “You can do this. Be strong,” she whispered, giving herself a much needed pep talk. She needed a clear head to ask Ned all the questions swirling around in her head. But at the end of the day she knew only one question mattered, and she couldn’t let herself get sidetracked.

When the suite door opened, she felt a rush of nerves. Her hands started to shake. She clasped them together so tight the knuckles on her fingers turned white. Regal, proud, she stared straight ahead as Benson entered followed by Ned.

“Thank you, Benson,” the princess said. “You can go.”

Benson hesitated. Clearly, he didn’t want to go anywhere.

“This won’t take long,” the princess said.

“I’ll be right outside the door,” Benson replied. He gave Ned a warning look as he shut the door behind him.

When they were finally alone, Ned let out a sigh of relief. “Wow, he’s really upset with me. I’m surprised he didn’t take me to a guillotine instead of bringing me to you.”

The princess locked eyes with him. “You think this is funny?” Her voice was as cold as her gaze.

Ned’s smile faded. “No, of course not. I’m sorry. I make jokes when I’m nervous.” Ned sat down on the couch. “Can we sit and talk?”

---