Page 59 of Coronation
Royal enthusiasts will be stunned to learn that Stelland’s famously frosty monarch appears to have found a flame.
Following rampant speculation, King Benedict (41) was spotted in a luxury perfumery on Saturday morning with American actress Zelda Flowers (25). The unlikely pair is believed to have met recently, while the king was touring the set of Miss Flower’s latest project.
At the time, his visit was seen as nothing more than a show of support for the arts in Stelland; however, King Benedict appears to have walked away with a good deal more than some positive publicity.
This is the king’s first romantic link since his highly publicized divorce, which was finalized only a few weeks before his unexpected ascension to the throne. His ex-wife, Lady Julia Fletcher, was unable to be reached for comment on her former husband’s new paramour, but sources close to Lady Fletcher report she is “aware of the situation.”
The perfume date, held atPercy and Stowe,a famed fragrance atelier nestled in Dalmore City’s historic sixth-century downtown, lasted close to two hours.
“He could hardly take his eyes off her,” reportedone staffer. “And from what I could see, the feeling was mutual. They certainly looked comfortable together.”
Comfortable, indeed.
Several witnesses report the new couple was “inseparable,” as they collaborated closely with a master perfumer to create a bespoke scent. The result? A one-of-a-kind fragrance featuring black orchid, bergamot, and vetiver—but with a surprising twist: subtle notes of coastal sagebrush and orange blossom, a clear nod to Zelda’s California roots. For those who are curious what such a combination would result in, Percy and Stowe later announced that they will be offering a limited run of the fragrance, appropriately titled“From B to Z,”in response to demand.
When it came time for the couple to leave the shop, the king was seen smiling—yes, actually smiling—at Miss Flowers, and had his hand resting on the small of her back as they made their way to his car. Their next destination? Unknown.
Is that love we smell? Or is this merely a royal fling? Royal fanatics will have to wait and see. Stay tuned for more news on the world’s most talked about couple.
Twenty-Five
Zelda
Apparently, there is a very big difference betweenmovie-star famousandpossibly-dating-a-royal famous.
Before the image of Ben looking at me went public, I could live my life somewhat normally, especially when I was in Los Angeles. Now, only a few days since I went on my first fake date with a king, I’m getting calls from hotel management to inform me additional security is needed to escort my trash directly to the compactor in the basement, so it isn’t “intercepted.”
Is that something I should be apologizing for?
I wasn’t sure, so I did anyway, sending the poor woman a very expensive tray of cookies to mitigate some of the ill will she must be feeling toward me by now. I certainly wouldn’t appreciate it if I were in her shoes and there was a horde of camera-wielding paparazzi camped outside my workplace, picking through the trash and trying to bribe the maids.
Apart from the hotel manager, though, everyone seems pleased about this arrangement. My agent has a stack of scriptsfor me to look through, my family members are already capitalizing on the added attention—all of whom seemed satisfied with my vague explanation of it being a “casual thing”—the palace reported a modest improvement in Ben’s approval ratings, and the anticipation is intense for the movie that supposedly kick-started our romance.
I should be happy, these are good things for me as well, but it’s kind of difficult to focus on the big picture when the small picture—spending time with a man I developed a whole lot of feelings for in a very short period of time before being unintentionally impregnated, and then dumped—is such a pressing problem.
We’ve been on three more dates since, and our next is scheduled for tonight.
As a result, I’ve been off all day. Work was a disaster. When I wasn’t dropping things and forgetting lines I knew by heart only a few days ago, I was fielding questions from curious coworkers or jabbing myself in the eye with a mascara wand. Then, there’s the nausea, which was the first real symptom of my pregnancy and has been growing from a passing inconvenience to a constant battle to stave off vomiting.
“This is actually wild. You’re the most famous woman in the world right now,” Davina tells me under her breath when we finally get to the end of another seemingly endless workday and are seated side by side on the transport van. With only a month to go until the project wraps, and more eyes on it than ever before, George has been working us to the bone to make up for the time we lost to the summer’s many storms.
“I am not,” I hiss, pressing a clammy hand to my chest in an attempt to steady the racing of my pulse that this comment elicited. “Don’t even say that.”
Dav seems to realize she’s stepped into a minefield, because she backs off, shooting me a reassuring smile. “Okay, you’re not. The press isn’t bad, though.People like you, Z.”
She isn’t wrong. Almost everything I’ve read—which isn’t a lot, for the sake of my sanity—seems to be very positive. If anything, people are wondering what I see in the “Ice King.”
It’s not comfortable to realize the answer to that isa lot. Once he relaxes a little, Ben is always a perfect gentleman on fake dates, and the hours we spend together never fail to provide an unsettling reminder of what drew us together in the first place.
For two people who couldn’t be more different, or come from such different walks of life, we seem to connect with alarming ease. I like him just as much as I always have, maybe even more now that we’ve been spending time together with our clothes on.
All the more reason tokeep them on.
I’m determined to keep my heart out of this and not allow my judgement to be clouded by the king’s unintentional charms. After everything that’s happened and spending so much more time together, I’m not so confident that Ben set out to intentionally manipulate or use me. Not anymore.
That uncertainty doesn’t erase the hurt or the fear, though.
I can handle it; I put myself in this situation, after all. What’s important is remembering that it isn’t just me or my feelings that I have to worry about being broken now.
