On his return to the palace, he was greeted with the news that the queen mother had endorsed the princess's charity initiative. Big deal.
"And why not?!" he barked at Pat.
"Mother and daughter are from the same middle class stable, are they not?"
Pat maintained a studied silence.
"Why don't you answer me, you bastard?!" yelled Kenrick.
"Or do you prefer to join them, all middle class morons, the lot of you?"
Pat was about to react, but he bit his tongue. Inside he was seething in anger, but it was not in him to counter and create a scene. Let the dog bark as much as he wanted; once he was done, he would shut up and curl his tail between his legs. Best was to get going from the place he was unwelcome in.
*****
Meanwhile Kenrick's woes with regard to Addie continued. Whether he had love for her or not, his ego was bruised by her steady progress in the royal circles. The mother-daughter duo she had going wanted to garner everyone's support and make him irrelevant.
That'll never happen, you bitches! he said to himself.
*****
With each passing day, two things happened. Addie's charity grew from strength to strength. And so did his obsession with her. Waking, sleeping, eating, drinking, Addie was his constant companion – but only in his thoughts, in his mind. He even wondered if he would lose his mind.
And he kept going back to that wild sex scene in the Gallery. He played it over and over again in his head, like a video on playback.
What a fabulous session it had been! His loins tingled at the very thought. Now, looking back, all his other conquests paled in comparison. Addie was his hottest catch thus far, this much was true. And it was unlikely that anyone would surpass her in the future. She was so, so special.
And she had been a virgin! How sweeter could it get? The woman he loved, whom he considered the sexiest, had been there for his taking, and no man had ever enjoyed her before. He was the first! My god my god, what had he done to deserve her?
What added more thrill to the proceedings was her own participation. Unlike what he had imagined, she was not this shy little middle class girl. And though she was not experienced in the art of having sex, she was open to adventure. And she'd tried it all. She even wanted to hold his cock in the end and caress it!
That he never let her touch it was another matter.
He was needlessly rude to her, he realized. Whatever said and done, she was not like other women, not by a long shot.
For one, she was this perfect goddess endowed with every quality, mental and physical. Such a sample was hard to find. That itself qualified for the highest grade in his system.
On top of that, she was a royal. By birth or by relation, she was part of his nobility. That should put her high up on the rung of desirability.
Kenrick desired her. Badly, desperately. He wanted her again, he craved to take her once more. Even once would be enough. At least once.
Suddenly he felt terribly alone. Pat had left him the day after they returned; he was lost in thought all the time, anyway. And the only other person he could talk to – he felt a deep connection with – was Addie herself.
Surprising. But for Kenrick, she was out of reach.
*****
Let me think like Pat, the prince said to himself. What would he have come up with in a situation like this?
Kenrick sat there, all alone in his chambers, and started putting his mind to it. Let me be like Pat, he thought. Surely that would throw up something.
"So that's the problem, Phantom. You like her so much, or you lust after her so much, that you want to get into her panties again. And, going by the last encounter, there's no way she would let you come near her. Do I read it right?"
Right, Kenrick said to himself, in response to the points raised by himself as Pat.
"For that, Phantom, you'll have to do something to impress her, to get into her good books. What can you do to achieve that?"
Mmm, I don't know. She's seen through me, she knows all my tricks.
"Oh? So no hope there."
No.
"What's she up to these days? She's running a charity… Wait, hold on! She loves helping her own folk, the commoners, the poor, the downtrodden. So why don't you run a charity as well, for the middle class? Now that's an idea, Phantom. In fact, that is THE idea!"
Really?
Really. If charities were her weakness, he would start one of his own. And he would make it unique, something unheard of, in the whole world. That would capture the imagination of the public, of the media, and there was bound to be hype about it. He would be everywhere, on the television, in the newspapers, on the Internet, on social media, and there would be no way for her to escape him.
Then he would gradually creep into her mind once again, his charm taking over, and this time he would make sure to stay put in there. He would not get out and vacate his place in her heart; this time he was forever.
That sounded like a real good, workable idea to him. He would also have something to do, and would kill his time. Plus, he would have the avenue open to meet and interact with her, and continuous meetings and interactions were bound to open more opportunities and possibilities.
I want you back in my bed, Addie, said Kenrick to himself.
Whatever it takes.
Chapter Fifty-One
Addie was thrilled with her mother, the queen's, endorsement to her charity.
She had sent her dear mum a message thanking her, to which she replied with a short and sweet message:
My Dearest Addie,
It feels weird to write to you like this, but we must respect the new situation we're in. I may not meet you often but please remember that you're always in my thoughts. Not a day passes without my mind running to my little darling. And I'm especially glad that my Addie is still grounded, and this new charity of yours is proof of that.
All my wishes are with you, my darling, and I know that you'll take good care of yourself.
When you can, call on me. I haven't seen you in exactly three months!
Hugs and kisses,
Mom
It meant a lot. Granted, her mother was not in touch with her on a day-to-day basis, but she knew that it was because of her unending engagements as the queen. And she was missing her mum, too, it went without saying.
*****
It was a week after the charity had been set up. Now they were getting donations from around the world through its e-commerce portal. This, added to her royal endowment, would add up to quite a sum. And they were chalking out programs on where and how to spend the money.
One afternoon, Addie was sitting at her desk in the study working when Mrs. Bradford walked in with a small envelope.
"An invite for you, my child," she said simply, placing it in front of her.
Addie was stunned. It had the insignia of Prince Kenrick. It looked official.
She used the paper knife and opened it.
It was a printed invitation, with her name handwritten on top. It did not look like Kenrick wrote it.
Her Royal Highness Princess Adelaide Royce,
It is my honor and privilege to invite you to the launch of my CHARITY PROGRAM, an initiative aimed at the disadvantaged citizens of our great country, under the auspices of the Prince Kenrick Trust.
I request your august presence at the launch.
In gratitude,
Prince Kenrick Royce the First
There was another card attached, which had the date and venue details. She returned the invitation to the table and fell into deep thought.
What was this now? Why was he doing it, to spite her? Would it not be odd, that in weeks of the princess launching a charity, the prince did the same?
She was sure that the tabloids would go to town with this one. They would even speculate a rift in the royal family, and the cause would be cited as this Johnny-come-lately – this middle class girl who became a princess overnight. Surely she might have thrown a
spanner in the works, or else why would the prince duplicate her efforts?
The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that Kenrick was doing it to get back at her. Either to steal her thunder – maybe he was jealous of the strides she was making – or to also create a goody 'crusader' image for himself.
Whatever it was, it did not portend well.
*****
The next day, another envelope came from Prince Kenrick. Mrs. Bradford was a tad amused by her déjà vu feeling.
This one was a personal note from Kenrick.
My dear Addie,
I trust you're doing well.
The official invitation must have come to you, but I wanted to personally invite you to the launch of my charity.
The credit for this initiative of mine goes to you. You and your charity were the only inspiration behind my humble effort. It shamed me that at your level you're attempting something, and at my level I'm not doing anything at all.
I believe in giving credit where credit is due. Since it was inspired by you in the first place, I'm planning to dedicate this charity program to you – in public.
This will happen at the launch with the world witnessing it, and I want you to be present when it happens.
Because, for me, you are special.
Kenrick
Addie sat for a few minutes in silence.
She did not know what to make of this memo. Since when was she special to Kenrick, the man of a million women? And since when did she start inspiring him to do something worthwhile with his life?
She was 'special' to him? Was that why he used her and discarded her like a soiled towel, crumpled and bundled up?
Why the sudden change of heart? What was cooking inside that scheming head of his? She smelt something vicious in the whole thing.
What was his charity about, anyway? That was not clear – just a charity for charity's sake? Or to counter her efforts? He was derisive of her and her social status anyway. How come he was suddenly taking up cudgels for the same social strata; how was it that he'd become a paragon of all virtues overnight?
When Cate came over as usual, to discuss charity work, she showed her both the mails.
"That's a very touching note, Addie," Cate began.
"It sounds like he's known you for years."
Addie said nothing. She had not yet shared with Cate what had transpired with Kenrick at the Royal Gallery – she was too ashamed. So her friend was justly surprised at the intimate tone in the letter.
"It seems he's nuts over you," Cate noted.
*****
Addie turned into a workaholic. She was completely immersed in her charity, putting in fourteen to sixteen hours a day. Her consumption of food turned irregular. She was neither resting enough, nor getting enough nutrition. It was getting alarming, and Mrs. Bradford was worried.
Then she fell ill.
The governess panicked and summoned the Royal Physician. Not very long ago, Kenrick had joked about calling the doctor for her – now it had become a reality.
The physician attended to Addie and pronounced the predictable: She was exhausted from overwork. And, perhaps, something else was amiss that he couldn't quite place. He prescribed some energy booster tonics and medication, advising complete bedrest for seven days.
The next day was Kenrick's launch. And there was no way Addie was up for it.
She'd been undecided about attending it, anyway.
Chapter Fifty-Two
It had been a week since Kenrick's charity had launched. The event happened in the Royal Coronation Hall, in the midst of all the members of the royal family.
Except Addie.
Of course, he received an apology from her saying that she would be unable to attend. The reason? She was indisposed. But Kenrick knew that excuse rather well. She had used it on him once before, and he had called her bluff then.
Maybe she was plain jealous. Now he had his own charity, and he would soon be in the limelight for being a royal philanthropist. He would get his fair share of media space, too. Not that he had any less now, just that the reasons were not exactly noble. Now all of that would change.
Whatever her reasons for not showing up, Kenrick knew that he had to woo Addie all over again.
He fell into thought. What a colossal blunder it was – to treat her like the rest of them! At least he should have known that this here was an unusual girl, a different kettle of fish; and she was a fellow royal, never mind her antecedents. He could have given her more respect, even showed her some love. Was he not lovelorn anyway?
Well, now it was payback time.
*****
He was in his study, poring over the files pertaining to his charity. It had not even begun operations, and Kenrick was bored already.
He had thought of the charity on a lark – more to impress Addie than anything else. No, he was not a 'me-too', Kenrick assured himself.
He needed to display real change to Addie, to get into her good books once again, so he could bed her and bed her and bed her. That was his real reason; not one of goodwill or a pure heart. That was the true vision for his charity.
"Phew!" Kenrick let out a sigh.
The things a woman could make a man do!
With this woman, he only got the rough end of the stick. The stuff he had done for her, the levels he had stooped to! And now he'd even started a charity. It was true that the cock ruled the world, but it was always in the hands of a woman! She held it by her slender fingers and led him to the woods. What else would she make him do, he wondered.
And his charity was not half as relevant as hers. As per the program, the charity allowed disadvantaged common folk – 'peasants' – to spend a night in the palace. For one night they would be treated like a royal personage, part of the royal family, enjoying every luxury that the royals were used to. That was about it.
His first assistant got him a file full of names of possible candidates. One commoner per week would be chosen among the hundreds that applied, to spend a Saturday night in the palace, and the whole of a Sunday. The person would be sent home that evening.
Lazily, he flipped through the pages, each a handwritten application with a photograph of the applicant. Were there no women? He flipped the pages furiously and fast – but not a single female. Perhaps his notoriety had reached them already, he laughed out loud.
He tossed the file back on the desk.
*****
Three weeks had zipped by. And three men, from different walks of life, had spent a night each in the palace.
Kenrick had no idea about Addie's charity, but his own had kicked off. He was happy about that – at least in this, he beat her.
Contrary to what he had initially thought, he started liking charity work. He was not as flippant as he had felt earlier – to have a commoner live like a royal, even for a night, was a big deal. And it got rave reviews in the press, and some positive footage on the BBC.
He even met the beneficiaries – originally for a television interview – but later on his own volition. Kenrick found it interesting.
Honestly, having never stepped out of the palace premises except to go on his exploits, he had no idea how ordinary people lived. So when he got a chance to interact with them, though by design and not by default, he was fascinated. Their lives were so different, and so interesting, far removed from the palatial living he was used to.
*****
It was Saturday, and his next beneficiary had arrived. He was a university kid, and he seemed bright, so Kenrick wanted to meet him before he spent the night there. That was away from the norm, since he usually met the beneficiaries only after the event.
The prince was in his chambers when the boy was brought in by one of his assistants. The boy bowed before standing there with his head hung.
"Hey, how do you do?" Kenrick addressed him jovially.
"Congratulations on being this week's guest in the palace."
"Thank you, Your Royal Highness Prince Kenrick," the
boy replied softly.
Royal S.O.B. (A Bad Boy Romance) Page 21