Page 46 of Prince She Shouldn't Crave
As much as she needed to support her family, Lena needed to respect herself more. She knew the risks if she stayed. How easy it would be to be sucked back into the vortex that was Gabriel Montroy, dying a little each day because she was showing the man she loved to the world, and he could never choose her. Then what if he met the perfect princess bride? She’d be left as an unacknowledged footnote in his history. That was something she couldn’t bear. ‘You don’t have a choice. There’s no future here. There never was. One day you’ll come to realise I was right, and you’ll thank me for it. But it’s time to go. I resign, Your Highness, effective immediately. Thank you for trusting me, when others might not have. Given I’ve exceeded your objectives, I look forward to my reference.’
Before he could say anything, Lena turned and strode out of his apartment. Walked away, before she could fling herself into his arms and beg him to love her. The tears burned in her eyes and she let them fall because doing the right thing was hard, andthere was no shame in that. Lena loved Gabriel, but she loved herself even more.
And sometimes the best way to love was to let a person go.
CHAPTER TEN
Gabriel had neverwanted to look back on his life with regret, but for one so relatively short—only thirty-two years—he’d had many. Yet none was greater than how he’d treated Lena. For days after she’d left, he’d been unable to forget the look on her face. The disappointment, as if something in her had shattered irreparably. The light in her snuffed out. What wounded almost beyond description was thathe’ddone it to her, hurt her. Not realising what he was about to lose because he hadn’t thought to honestly look to the future. Mired, instead, in a past and present that no longer fitted the man he’d become.
It had taken Lena’s loss to make him recognise how much she meant to him. Now it was as if he walked through a haze of apathy. Nothing held any interest. He was entirely unsure how to heal the pain he’d caused, to a woman who’d come to mean everything to him. Until he could, none of this meant anything at all.
‘Are you convinced this is the right course, Your Highness?’ his private secretary asked.
‘It’s theonlycourse,’ Gabriel replied.
There were few people he trusted implicitly. Henri. Pieter. His personal protection officers. Lena. But she wasn’t here to give him advice any more. To share all the precious moments he might have once experienced, but hadn’t properly valued until they were seen through the lens of her eyes.
His failure to protect her was like a knife to the gut. She was a woman with a tender soul. Someone who said what she thought without fear. A woman he’d craved to nurture, to protect. Yet the yawning ache in his chest called Gabriel out as a liar. He hadn’t protected Lena at all, sneaking her through secret passages in the palace rather than proudly inviting her through the front door of his suite, forcing his parents to accept her.
He’d gone a little way to dealing with that issue in the brutal, bleak days after she’d walked out of his life. Gabe had spoken to the King and Queen and told them they needed to take a long, honest look at themselves. Suggesting the problems with the royal family’s image were more likely due to the quiet disdain in which they appeared to hold those who weren’t royal like themselves, rather than anything he or his siblings had done. Then he’d walked away from them, inviting communication between their respective private secretaries until they’d properly reflected on their actions, because in the time since Lena had walked away, a single truth had glared at him.
He might have a duty to his country, which he’d carry out willingly, but he didn’t want it without Lena at his side.
If he couldn’t have her, how could he perform the role? He’d be miserable, and he’d make a miserable king, which wouldn’t be good for the country. He’d seen how his relationship with his people had changed since Lena had come into his life. It hadn’t been the photographs, the curated view of himself, that had made the difference. It had been her. She’d demanded something honest from him—not the man in hiding, not the prince, but therealman.
He’d spent his whole life doing what was required of him, as opposed to what he might have truly desired. Yet duty could only take you so far. It didn’t make you laugh. It didn’t feed the soul. It didn’t comfort or console, or keep you warm on a cold night. Lena was the one who’d offered him all those things.Encouraged him to contemplate more for himself. She’d held a mirror up to him and he finally saw himself through her eyes. That was the true gift she’d bestowed on him, recognition of the best parts of himself, the ones he’d tried to forget. That he was allowed to care but, even more, that he was allowed to show it. That he had dreams and aspirations that his people might want to see too.
Lena was the one who showed him.
Realising he was happy to walk away if it meant having her made his next task easier. He was tired of secrets. Those secrets, and a failure to address them, was what had led them here. To a place where his family was being held hostage by fear, and he was without the woman he loved. Because he’d come to realise, very soon after she’d resigned from her job and his life, that he was in love with Lena Rosetti. Now was his chance to be honest and, in some ways, atone for his personal failings.
He picked up the piece of paper that held a media release, drafted by him and his private secretary. Henri had loaded it into Gabriel’s screen reader, but Gabe wanted to read the words on the page, to take the time and make the effort, since he’d written them because of Lena and in many waysforher. To show the woman he loved how he’d changed.
For immediate release:
His Royal Highness, Prince Gabriel of Halrovia, Adopts Patronage of Literacy Charity, sharing his personal journey with dyslexia to inspire and empower.
In a meaningful display of dedication to literacy and inclusivity, His Royal Highness, Prince Gabriel, has announced his new role as patron of the Halrovian Literacy Foundation, a charity dedicated to supporting children and adults in achieving reading confidence and fluency. In stepping into this patronage, His RoyalHighness has also publicly shared his personal experience with dyslexia for the first time.
Since his diagnosis in his teens, Prince Gabriel has successfully learned to navigate the challenges dyslexia can present, allowing him to fulfil his royal duties and responsibilities. His diagnosis was kept private out of a belief that it was irrelevant to his public role. However, as he assumes leadership of the charity formerly championed by his sister, Princess Anastacia, he has chosen to share his story in the hopes of inspiring others facing similar challenges.
‘Reading is something many take for granted but, for some, it’s been a constant source of struggle and, occasionally, stigma,’ Prince Gabriel said. ‘My hope is that by sharing my story, others will feel less alone and more empowered to seek the help they need. With support and community acceptance of those with reading difficulties, we can all find ways to strive and thrive.’
With Prince Gabriel’s support, the Halrovian Literacy Foundation aims to reach even more people, offering them the tools and encouragement to achieve their personal best, supporting the Halrovian community’s commitment to literacy and learning for all its citizens.
Media Contact: Henri Lacoste, Private Secretary to His Royal Highness, Office of the Crown Prince, Halrovia
Gabriel wished he’d had Lena’s counsel before sending the release, but she’d told him once that this was the kind of authenticity people wanted to see, and he trusted her judgement implicitly.
‘Are you satisfied, sir?’ Henri asked.
He wouldn’t be satisfied with anything until Lena was back in his life, but, until then, this would have to be enough.
‘It’s time to hit send.’
Henri reached for his laptop. Tapped on the keyboard, then looked up over the screen. ‘It’s done. Their Majesties’ private secretary will be—’
‘To put it colloquially,pissed off, but I don’t give a damn.’
