An American Cinderella: A Royal Love Story

by Krista Lakes

  I loved him.

  The end of the workday came and I said goodbye to my co-workers. Now that the scanning job was done, I didn’t have anything to do. It was possible that I would be reassigned to another task in the building, but I knew that Senator Glenn would want me back eventually.

  For all intents and purposes, it was my last day.

  Especially if things went the way Henry and I planned for Audrey. Or if they went the exact opposite. I wouldn’t be in this building anymore either way.

  I hugged Gus and Jaqui extra long before heading out. Neither one of them knew just what I was about to do. They would have told me not to do it. They would have tried to help me.

  I couldn’t risk them, so I simply smiled and promised to visit.

  I just hoped I didn’t end up in jail instead.

  I had to pretend that everything was normal as I got on the train and then the bus to Audrey’s house. I tried not to check my phone every two seconds or fiddle with the button on my jacket, but it was hard.

  I was walking into the lair of the dragon. I only hoped that Henry had the right magic to take her down.

  The sun was just beginning to dip behind the horizon as I came to Audrey’s house. The world bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun and the trees whispered of summer coming soon. The world had the appearance of peace, even if I knew that wasn’t truly the case.

  I swallowed hard, adjusted my jacket, and walked up to the front door and knocked.

  Chapter 29

  “There you are, darling. I was beginning to think you might be late,” Audrey purred, holding open the door.

  She looked resplendent in a boxy-cut tea-length white dress. Her dark hair was up on the top of her head and her green eyes shone from under long lashes. She wore white heels that clicked on the marble floors as she walked to the kitchen.

  “Take your coat off,” she commanded. I didn’t, keeping it buttoned up. I wasn’t about to take it off.

  She sighed and shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

  “I’d like to get this over with.” She just ignored me and walked into the kitchen.

  “I believe this deserves some champagne to celebrate,” she said. She picked up a bottle from an ice bucket and popped the cork, making me jump. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves.

  “Before I give this information to you, I want to make sure it’s what you really want.” I stepped into the kitchen to face her. “It’s not too late to stop this.”

  “Stop this?” Audrey laughed. “There’s nothing to stop. This is how it’s supposed to be, dear.”

  “I don’t want to do this. This isn’t right. You know that it isn’t right.”

  She sighed. “You won’t get anything on tape from me. Though you do get an A for effort. Stop trying, please. It’s very annoying. I know you have a backup phone. It’s no use to you.”

  “I’m just making sure that you understand what I’m about to hand you.” I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a thumb drive. “I’m giving you the chance for both of us to walk away from this.”

  “To walk away from millions of dollars?” She snatched the small metal drive from my hand. “Of course I’ll do that. Of course I’ll do the right thing and walk away.”

  “Audrey...”

  “No, no, no. You have put me on the path to salvation,” she said, holding up the thumb-drive with a smile. “You keep that dirty thumb drive. You destroy it. I want no part in your schemes, Aria.”

  I sighed. She was playing to a non-existent recording device. If I had been on my own, I would have no thumb drive and a recording of her saying that she didn’t want it. It would have been useless to me.

  She walked over to a laptop set up on the kitchen counter and plugged in the drive. It took a moment, but suddenly thousands of images popped up on the screen. They were all documents outlining everything from Paradisa’s mining abilities to oil reserves to technology.

  “Oh, Aria. This is perfect,” she whispered. “I had no idea you could be so thorough. I’m very impressed. Your father’s legacy is safe with you.”

  “Then I’m done?” I asked. “I want your word that I’m done.”

  She laughed, the sound cold and chilling. She turned from the computer, her eyes glittering like those of a snake.

  “You’ll be done when I say you’re done,” she replied. “I know that you went to the ball after I explicitly told you not to. You will be punished for that.”

  My cheeks flashed hot. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh, Senator Glenn thinks she’s clever, but she’s not,” Audrey scoffed. “It’s not like it’s hard to follow you, dear. You didn’t even try.”

  “I got you what you wanted.” I crossed my arms and then quickly uncrossed them. “What more could you want?”

  “The world, dear.” Audrey smiled and it made me shiver. “You are safe for now. But, I have these documents now. Documents only you had access to. I’m sure I’ll think of something you can do for me in the future.”

  I was shaking with rage. I knew this would happen, but it still made me angry. Blackmail never stopped. It just paused for a little while.

  “I have nothing left to give you,” I said, my voice coming out low and dangerous. “What more could you possibly want from me?”

  “I hear you’re dating a businessman from Paradisa these days.” Audrey poured herself a glass of champagne and sipped on it. “An interesting choice, given the documents I didn’t take.”

  My fists clenched up tight enough that my nails dug into my palms. If she knew about Henry...

  “Oh don’t be so dramatic,” she scoffed. “He’s a nobody, darling. Just like you.”

  I wanted to hit something. I wanted to scream. Henry was so much more than a nobody. But I kept my cool. She had the files now. As far as she knew, she was the one in control.

  “Since you didn’t take the files, are we done? Can I go home?” I asked. “I’d like to go back to my old job.”

  Audrey turned and scrolled through the documents, her eyes dancing with delight. She waved her hand at me. “Yes, yes. You can go. I’m done with you, for now.”

  I took two steps to the door. “It doesn’t have to be this way, Audrey.” I stopped and looked at her. “It doesn’t have to be like this.”

  Her cold green eyes slowly came to mine. “Dear, this is exactly how it has to be. I own you just as I owned your father. You will dance to my tune. The world will dance to my tune. It is my destiny and you are just a worthless little pawn.”

  I sighed. She was beyond saving.

  “Good bye, Audrey.” I turned and left her house. Outside the sun had painted the sky into a glorious shade of red. I stopped to let it warm my face. I didn’t need a jacket anymore, so I took it off and folded it over my arm.

  I walked to the bus station and found my bus. The bus then left without me on it. Instead, I got into the backseat of a waiting black town-car with tinted windows.

  “It’s done,” I said, closing the door behind me.

  Henry kissed me, wrapping his arm around me. I handed my coat to the man in the passenger seat.

  “She thought I had a recording device. She never suspected it was video,” I told him. “She said she didn’t take it, but it’s very clear that she did on the tape.”

  “Excellent.” The man took the top button from my coat and pulled out the tiny video camera inside it. I’d gotten everything on film. “That is exactly what we need.”

  I nodded. The man was a detective working with me and the Paradisian government.

  Henry hugged me. “You okay?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure,” I answered honestly. “I’m still shaking.”

  Henry took my hands in his. His warmth radiated through me and I felt stronger.

  I still couldn’t believe I had pulled it off.

  “What’s going to happen next?” I asked the man in the front seat.

  The detective carefully put the camera into
a case before putting it away. “Tomorrow, she’ll go to sell that data. We’ll follow her to her buyers. There, we’ll capture all of them and prosecute them for their crimes.”

  I knew that the data she had was fake. Henry’s “knights” had spent the last ten hours creating hundreds of documents that had absolutely no information but looked like they did. Everything she had was made up. It wouldn’t be worth a dime, but she would try and sell it tomorrow anyway.

  “You aren’t guilty of anything,” Henry said. “I made public the photo she has that you took. It’s public information now. She can’t use it against you. You don’t have to worry.” He gave me a gentle squeeze.

  “I know, and I really appreciate it,” I told him. I looked at the direction of her house and sighed. “I just... I feel guilty about setting her up.”

  “Whatever for?” the detective asked. “She did far worse to you.”

  “Yes, but...” I shrugged. “She’s still my stepmother. As terrible as she is, Audrey is still the closest thing I have to family.”

  Henry reached up and put his hand to my cheek, turning me to him. “And that’s why I love you,” he said with a smile. “You never give up on people. You always see the best in them. Even dragons.”

  I tried to smile at the compliment, but I still felt guilty. Not super guilty, but the idea that the woman my father married would be spending the rest of her life in jail because of what I did was a little bit of a downer.

  “I will ask them to be merciful,” Henry told me. He smiled. “Would that make you happier?”

  I looked up into his beautiful kind eyes. “You’d do that?”

  “I’d do anything for you, my princess,” he replied. “Even show mercy to the dragon.”

  I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.

  My prince. My hero. My love.

  Chapter 30

  I didn’t watch the news for the next week. I was told that my stepmother was on quite frequently. Well, the video of her being arrested was on quite frequently. They didn’t show much more than that as my name was to be kept out of the press entirely. I was absolved of all wrong doing as my stepmother obviously coerced me.

  I didn’t want to watch the news of my stepmother. Instead, I enjoyed my time off of work and spent it with Henry. For two weeks, we either stayed at my place or with his family. I ate meals with him and his brothers and even managed to make the older one smile a time or two.

  His mother accepted me like a long lost daughter. For the first time since my father died, I knew what it felt like to have a family around me again.

  For two weeks, Henry and I did nothing that required us to be regal. We were just a normal couple that went out for dinner and stayed in a nice hotel. There were some perks to him being royal, but we spent many of our evenings holed up in my tiny apartment doing nothing but talking and kissing.

  Henry kept attempting to teach me how to cook and I managed not to burn down the kitchen a single time. I did set a turkey on fire, but caught it before it spread. We ate grilled cheese that night.

  It was heaven.

  But I knew it had to end. He was a prince of Paradisa. The trade negotiations were over. It was time for him to go home and help rule his country. I had to decide if I would go back to work for the senator.

  Since meeting Henry, I was having a hard time finding the enthusiasm to return to my former life. As much as I had once loved it, I loved my time with Henry more. I loved who I was around him more than I liked myself as a senator’s aide.

  The days flew by, and before I knew it, it was Henry’s last evening in America. We’d decided to eat grilled cheese and go for a walk, just like we did for our first lunch date. The food sat heavy in my stomach as we walked down the street toward the Reflecting Pool.

  “I can’t believe you’re leaving,” I said, taking his hand in mine. The weather was warm and perfect. Spring was slowly giving way to the heat of summer. The trees leafed out in full green to the blue sky full of cotton clouds. The sky still held the light of day for a few minutes longer every day, so the golds and purples hadn’t started yet.

  We walked past the tourists taking pictures and talking. Their voices made a gentle hum of sound as we worked our way down the street. It felt so different than the first time we’d done this. It was better, and so much worse because he would be leaving in the morning.

  “You will come and visit me soon?” Henry asked, his eyes looking far ahead as we walked. He was acting nervous again. He looked comfortable on the outside, but his eyes darted to me too many times and he kept swallowing hard.

  I nodded. “I have my plane tickets. I’m just waiting on my passport. It seems to have gotten held up somewhere. Once I have it, I can come.”

  He nodded and tugged on my hand. “This way.”

  I frowned slightly as he pulled me away from the fountains of the World War II memorial and across the grass toward the Washington Monument, but I didn’t fight him.

  He brought me to the spot where we first met in front of the Washington Monument. I thought for a moment of my father and how this had been a special place for the two of us.

  It was more special now. Now it was the place that I met Henry, the love of my life. I remembered how he crashed into me, his legs tangling up with mine. I still liked tangling my legs with his, though I appreciated not being knocked to the ground.

  “Did you bring a Frisbee?” I asked, turning from the monument to grin at him.

  “Not quite.”

  He went down on one knee and pulled out a small box from his pocket. My heart trembled.

  “Aria Ritter of America, I love you.” His blue eyes came to mine, full of hope and love. His red-gold hair caught the sunshine like beautiful fire. “I love that you don’t see me as a prince. You see a man. You see me as no one ever has.”

  He swallowed hard, his nerves suddenly apparent as his fingers fumbled with the lid of the box. He pushed the lid back to reveal a single solitaire diamond in a simple white gold setting.

  “This is the ring my father proposed to my mother with. They were blessed with a wonderful and loving marriage.” Henry’s voice cracked as he looked up at me. “I would be honored if you would wear it to marry me and follow in their path.”

  The world slowed for a moment of crystal clarity once again. I could see our lives together. We would be happy. We would grow old in a world of our making. In a world where love reigned.

  “Yes,” I whispered. A slow smile spread across my face turning into an all-consuming grin. “Yes!”

  Henry jumped to his feet, his face bright with joy. He kissed me, tangling his fingers into my hair and crushing my mouth to his.

  All around us the tourists turned into family. I recognized Henry’s brothers as they ran forward to congratulate us. Jaqui whooped her approval as she ran forward with Gus. I could even see Senator Glenn walking along the grass toward us.

  I turned to look at Henry. “I thought you’d want them here,” he said with a small blush.

  I kissed his cheek. “You know me perfectly.”

  He grinned and dodged a punch in the arm from his younger brother.

  “He asked me for permission, you know,” Gus said, coming up beside me. “Poor guy was a nervous wreck.”

  I looked over at the giant man standing beside me. “What’d you say?”

  “He gave me a bottle of Paradisian scotch,” Gus replied. “Of course I said yes.”

  I laughed. “I’m glad I’m worth a bottle of scotch to you,” I teased him.

  “I would have told him yes even if he brought me a bottle of water,” he said. “Henry makes you happy, so that’s enough for me. Even if he wasn’t a prince. He makes you smile brighter than I’ve ever seen you smile. Your dad would approve.”

  My chest tightened at the mention of my father. I looked to the monument to see the sunlight glimmer off the two-toned marble. My father was here in that sunlight. I knew it deep in my bones. He was here and he approved.
>
  I went to Henry and wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him to the cheers of the people that mattered most in my life and his.

  My future was with him. Wherever he was, I knew I would be happy.

  Chapter 31

  One year later in the Kingdom of Paradisa

  * * *

  “You look beautiful,” Gus told me.

  “Thanks,” I whispered, making sure I had a good grip on his arm. The last thing I wanted was to trip wearing this dress.

  Organ music filled the hallway, echoing in from the main chapel. The sound of a full choir mixed in after a moment, giving me the signal that it was time for my entrance.

  The queen mother, King Liam, Prince Freddrick, and my Prince Henry were already inside. Jaqui and the rest of my bridesmaids had already gone ahead. It was time for me to walk down the aisle to my beloved.

  Gus was to give me away. He and Jaqui traveled all the way out to Paradisa to be part of the ceremony. I loved them for it.

  Gus squeezed my arm and we began to walk through the ancient church. I’d been told it had been around for fifteen hundred years and was where nearly every Paradisian monarch had been married. As far as I knew, none of them had tripped on their lace gown.

  I was determined not to be the first.

  The main doors opened to reveal the inner sanctum of the church. I swallowed hard as what looked like the entire kingdom of Paradisa had crowded into the church to watch me marry the prince. I knew it wasn’t the whole country because I could hear the cheers of the giant crowd outside, but that did nothing for my nerves.

  I clung to Gus as the choir sang around me. My dress was satin and covered in lace, making a graceful yet classic wedding gown. I couldn’t see Henry yet. My stomach was in knots and I was having a hard time breathing.

  And then I saw him.

  He stood with his two brothers, wearing his military dress. His gold hair gleamed with red highlights, but it was his eyes that caught me