Page 16 of Royal Extra After

Frustrated, the princess turned to face Gary. “You don’t have to lie for Ned. He already admitted he said that to Simone. I know I was just a PR stunt. I hope you all had a good laugh at my expense.”

“I’m not laughing, Princess,” Gary fired back at her. “Ned just fired me. Me, his business partner, and one of his best friends. We’re shooting our last scenes today at the castle, but Ned told me not to show up. We were supposed to do two upcoming movies together…”

“Get to the point,” Benson demanded, losing patience.

“Ned told me that no pictures of the princess were allowed. Period. I went behind his back. I thought I was helping our movie. He didn’t know about the press.”

“Ned admitted he said that to Simone,” the princess shot back.

“Yeah, because she was getting jealous, and he didn’t want her saying anything to anyone. He was trying to protect you…”

“Why are you telling me all this?” The princess interrupted, skeptical. She wasn’t about to be fooled again.

“Because you should know the truth,” Gary said. “I owe Ned at least that. You can hate me. I deserve it but don’t take this out on Ned. He really cares about you.”

The princess had heard enough. She started walking away. Benson was right by her side. “Where to next, Princess?”

The princess stared straight ahead. “Home.”

Benson looked surprised. “You don’t want to find Ned? Gary said he wasn’t responsible for this. When he left the suite, he looked as miserable as you were. By what Gary has told us, it sounds like he truly cares for you.”

“Who knows if Gary was telling the truth or if this was just another lie? I can’t trust any of them. I just want to go home. I’m done with New York City.”

Benson looked worried but nodded. “Okay, Princess. As you wish.”

***

A few hours later, when they got into the town car to take them to the airport, the princess was exhausted physically and mentally. She had emotionally shut down to protect herself. Now she only felt numb.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk to Ned before we leave,” Benson asked. “I think it would be good for you.”

The princess sighed. “Or just hurt me even more. No, thanks, Benson. I’m waving the white flag on love. I give up. Tried it. Got crushed by my crush. End of story. I won’t make this same mistake again.”

“Falling for an American?” Benson asked.

“Falling at all,” the princess said and meant it.

Benson looked surprised and concerned. “I’ve never known you to just give up on anything.”

“And you’ve never known me to have my heart broken either,” the princess said wearily. “First time for everything.” As she shut her eyes, the last thing she saw was the worried look on Benson’s face.

“Princess, we’re here,” Benson said softly.

She woke up from a deep sleep, disoriented. A wave of sadness washed over her when she remembered they were flying. This was not the dream trip to America she had hoped for. She looked out the window, confused. She rubbed her tired eyes.

“Where are we?” she asked, looking around. She inhaled sharply when she saw a stunning castle. Her eyes flew to Benson. “Benson, what have you done. Are we? Is this? I see movie trailers. Benson…”

Benson took her hand in his. “You’ve always trusted me, correct?”

“Yes, but…”

“Then trust me when I tell you, you can’t leave without getting closure on this. You have always faced adversity head-on. Do you really want the end of this story to be that you ran away because you were afraid?”

The princess sighed. “No, but…”

“You will thank me for this,” Benson said. “Now go, talk to Ned, and let him tell you his side of the story. The whole story.”

The princess’s eyes widened. “Since when are you a champion of Ned’s?”

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