Chapter 1

After everything that had happened, like our break-up and miscarrying the baby, Eddie decided that an evening out with him, my mother, and my brother would be good for me, especially since they were going to leave in a few days. I sat in the front seat with Eddie and would turn around to talk to my mother and brother. It was so nice to have them around, especially during this hard time. I would really miss them when they left.

I had officially caught up on all of my schoolwork, and my teachers even had excused my absences after I provided a doctor's note, verifying that I truly needed to miss those days. My life was slowly becoming normal again. Well, a normal life for a girl engaged to the King of Denmark.

The press continued harassing us, especially after Johnny yelled at them and told them that I had just miscarried. However, the palace refused to talk to any of them or answer any of their questions. Every magazine and TV show was buzzing about the possibility of a royal baby as well as the royal scandal. Apparently if we had a child together without getting married, the child wouldn't have been in line for the throne according to Danish law. Eddie told me that if I had not lost the child, he would have fought to change the law since we were going to married.

Continuing about the press, they were still forbidden to corner me at school, and sometimes I would see security walking around campus. I know that the security was for me. Actually, I should have a bodyguard, but I explained to Eddie that it wasn't necessary at school. If I ever felt like I was in danger, I promised that I would call him or one of the security guards but so far, I had no issues.

I turned to Eddie in the car and for the first time in a long time, I felt genuinely happy. I was surrounded by those who loved me, and I couldn't be happier. Eddie was being super supportive and understanding after losing the baby. Even though I was still mourning and sad about everything that had happened, I was able to come to terms with it all and slowly move on and continue my life.

"So, when is the big day? Have you decided on a date yet?" My mom asked me.

"Yeah, speculation about the date has been all over the tabloids. I figured I could sell them the date and make a little extra cash before I went back to school," Johnny said, jokingly.

I turned around and tried to hit him playfully.

"You're not allowed to talk to the press anymore," Eddie said laughing, but I knew he was referring to when Johnny yelled at the reporters and told them that I had a miscarriage and to leave alone.

"I know, my mouth speaks before my brain thinks. Next time, I'll make something up really juicy," Johnny said laughing.

Even though I was originally mad at Johnny for telling the world my secret, which explained why I was in the hospital, I understood about getting caught up in the moment and yelling at the press. I had done it before too.

"The press would have figured it out sooner or later," I said. "They're sneaky like that."

"So, seriously- when do you both want to have the wedding?" My mom asked.

I turned to Eddie and smiled. We had discussed a date, but nothing was set in stone yet.

"Well," Eddie said smiling back at me. "We were thinking about this summer. That way, Paige would be out of school. Also, it gives us the six months needed to do the marriage preparation in order to get married in the church."

"Our biggest issue is that I want a Catholic wedding, and Eddie wants a Lutheran wedding," I said. "So, we have to decide on that before we find a minister and a church," I explained.

"Every Danish royal has been married by a Lutheran minister, and their children are later christened as Lutheran," Eddie argued calmly. "It's tradition!"

"And we are all Catholic," my mom said.

"We're talking about it," I said. "Although the one thing that we have agreed on is that we don't want a huge royal wedding. We want a private wedding that is shared with just our close family and friends. It'll have to be a secret from the press. So Johnny- no talking to anyone!" I said turning around to smile at him. "We just want it to be a day that we share with the people we care about and not the entire country."

"My mother and the people will be furious about it, but I don't want all of our moves, motions and words analyzed the entire day. Normal weddings are stressful enough; we don't need the extra stress. We just want to enjoy the day." Eddie explained.

"Well, at least you've agreed on something," my mom said.

"The only issue is the planning the wedding. We may have to give the press a fake date so that Paige can go dress shopping, we go cake shopping together, plan the wedding, etc. Otherwise, the press will know," Eddie explained.

"But what about the food? If the food is delivered early, the press will be all over it," my mom asked.

"We've thought about that," I said. "We'd ask the kitchen staff to prepare the food for the reception. We'll say that it is for a party, which is true. Also, even if they suspect anything, they can't say anything that goes on in the palace. They'd be dismissed if they did. The only thing is getting the cake on time..." I said, thinking.

"We'll figure it out," Eddie said reassuringly.

I smiled at him, completely unaware of the next challenge that we would be facing in our relationship.

Chapter 2

Eddie's Point of View:

After finishing yet another boring day at Parliament, I was extremely relieved when I heard them come to an agreement on the current tax issue. Thankfully, taxes were not being raised and were decided to be lowered .5%. I knew that the Danish people would be thrilled to hear the news.

Since we had finished with that item off of the agenda, it was time that I added my own item onto the list.

"Gentlemen, as many of you already know, Ms. Paige Morgan and I are engaged to be married. Now, according to Danish law, I need the approval of Parliament as well as the acting retired queen, which is currently my mother, in order to proceed with this marriage. Since we have finished with the discussion on taxes, I was hoping we could get your approval and then we could move onto the next item- public school system," I said, looking over at my agenda and writing a quick note.

Some of the members of Parliament nodded at me, giving their approval of my idea, while others looked dumbfounded at me.

"What makes you think you're going to get our approval?" I heard Alfred, a member of Parliament, ask me.

I laughed nervously.

"Well, I don't quite understand why we wouldn't get your approval," I said, being confident in my words and actions.

"There are a few reservations about Ms. Morgan that need to be discussed," Fredrick, another member, replied.

"Like what? What are you concerned about?" I asked, leaning forward slightly in my chair.

Now, I was getting concerned. Was this seriously going to be an issue?

"I don't believe that we should get involved in these types of matters. I think we should simply give our approval and move onto the next item," George argued for me. "Unlike several of you, I have personally met Ms. Morgan, and she has outstanding qualities that would make her an excellent queen."

"I just think that this matter needs to be discussed and not simply pushed under the rug," Alfred said.

"I agree," Fredrick chimed in. "I have several reservations about her."

"Would someone please tell me about these reservations?" I asked. "Because I truly don't see what the issue is here."

"There are several rumors circulating about Ms. Morgan. She hasn't been faithful to you, she appears to have an addiction problem, and we just don't believe she is here for the right reasons," Fredrick said.

"She has been faithful to me, and she was in the hospital not for an addiction problem but due to a rather personal reason. We both love each other," I protested.

"We just think that the next Queen of Denmark shouldn't have these type of rumors circulating since there is usually some truth to them," Alfred said.

"What happened between me and Ms. Morgan stays between us. Granted, we have had some obstacles, but we have worked through everything," I said, pointing to the picture of Paige "kissing" Jake. Alfred had started getting out newspaper clippings and placing them on the table. I didn't feel like getting into that it was fake and everything else that had happened.

"Then, she was in the hospital for a drug overdose and then the media was reporting that she was pregnant...It's just scandal after scandal. We can't have that here," Alfred said, going through the newspaper articles.

"You do realize that 99% of those rumors are completely false, right?" I said. "The press is always printing rumors and lies! This is nothing new," I argued.

"Then please explain all of these rumors to us," Fred demanded. "We want to hear the truth."

"Look, I don't know everything that goes on in your personal lives and just because I'm royal, doesn't mean you should know everything that is going on in mine. If I were in your position, I would grant permission for the marriage regardless of my own personal feelings to the fiancée. It's not your decision to make," I said, avoiding the question.

"You didn't answer the question," the Prime Minister said.

"In regards to the photo, it was photo-shopped," I said sighing heavily. "With all of the technology today, it isn't a surprise that someone who doesn't want this union to take place tried to sabotage Ms. Morgan's good name. In regards to her being in the hospital, she was in for a rather personal reason. I'm going to leave it up to Ms. Morgan whether she wants everyone to know about her recent stay in the hospital," I said.

I looked at my fellow members of Parliament. Some seemed to believe me while others stared at me with looks of disbelief on their faces. They didn't believe me."

"We'll need to discuss this further and vote within the next week," the Prime Minister said. "We would rather debate without you here. Please enjoy the time off until further notice," he said, motioning for me to leave.

"You're joking, right? Aren't you making a huge ordeal about this?" I asked, laughing nervously.

"No," the Alfred replied.

"Fine," I said, gathering my stuff and leaving the room.

I knew that the Prime Minister was on my side and that he was just doing what he had to do, but I was still infuriated. Could they actually deny me the right to marry Paige? And if we were denied, what would I do? Where would we go? I would leave the throne without any reservation in order to marry Paige, but was I really prepared to give up the only life that I ever knew?

I decided to head over to the University of Copenhagen. Paige would be getting out class in a few minutes.

Once I arrived there, I parked, looked at her class schedule, and walked to where she would be leaving. I want to surprise her. Honestly, I was furious with Parliament, and I wanted to leave the country right now. Even though I knew that wasn't possible, I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to be completely free of my responsibilities.

"Eddie!?" I heard an excited voice exclaim. I turned and I saw my beautiful fiancée walking quickly towards me.

"What a nice surprise," Paige said leaning up to kiss me since she was slightly shorter than me. "Aren't you supposed to be in Parliament right now?" She asked.

"It's a long story, but I got out early. I wanted to come and surprise you," I said, gently stroking her arm.

"Well, this was a very nice surprise," she said very giddy as she took my hand and squeezed it.

We were so in love! Couldn't others see that!?

"Do you need to go study? Or do you have some time?" I asked her. I knew that she had been stressing out about a test.

"The studying can wait," she said smiling. "It isn't everyday that you get out of Parliament so early!" Paige exclaimed, excited.

"How did your doctor's appointment go this morning?" I asked her as we walked hand-in-hand to the car. Ever since she had the ectopic pregnancy, she had to get her blood drawn once a week to monitor her hCG levels (the pregnancy hormone).

"It went well. My hCG levels are still pretty high, so she decided to draw my blood again. She wants to see me again next week, and she gave me some vitamin supplement to take, which should help get things back to normal. She told me not to worry about it."

I heaved a sigh of relief. Even though I knew everything was going to be okay, I still worried when I heard that her hCG levels were still present.

I opened the car door for her and then got around to the driver's side.

"So, Parliament was interesting today," I said after she discussed her classes and her doctor appointment.

"How so?" She asked, looking up inquisitively at me.

"They have to approve our marriage," I explained. "I brought it up after we finished the last item on the agenda so that they could approve it, and we could move on to the next item, but they are giving us a hard time about it. It looks like it may not get approved," I explained. "They want to think about it and debate about it, which was why I was removed from the room."

I looked over at her to see her reaction. It was hard to read it; she wasn't showing much emotion.

"So, what are you going to do?" She asked me.

"I don't know," I said, sighing. "If they deny it, I can appeal it for them to reconsider it again, but that is about it. I just wanted to let you know what was going on."

"You don't know!?" She exclaimed, getting upset. "You aren't going to fight for us? What does this mean for us!?"

Oh shoot. She was asking what this meant about our relationship. I thought she was asking what I was going to do about Parliament.

"Oh no, Paige, I was referring to Parliament. I don't know what is going on with them. If we are denied marriage by them, we'll still be together. That isn't a question. Don't worry. I'm not going to let them tear us apart, even if they do deny our marriage. They can't stop us from leaving the country and getting married."

Paige heaved a sigh of relief, and she let her guard down.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions," she said.

"It's okay. I worded it strangely. It will be weird though to abdicate the throne though and my title. I've only known life in Denmark as a Royal..." I said, trailing off and getting pensive.

"So you don't want to give it up," She asked although it was more like a statement.

"I'm saying that it's going to be hard and that it is going to be an adjustment. But I'm willing to do if it means I can spend the rest of my life with you," I said, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Surely, you have to understand that it's going to be an adjustment," I said.

"I do. I've been trying to adjust to your life," she said. "I've been adjusting to the rules, the formalities, and having my every move documented and analyzed. Would you be mad at me if I said that I am almost relieved that we may be leaving?" she asked me.

I was slightly taken aback by her comments. Was she unhappy here? Did she want to leave?

"You aren't happy here?" I asked.

"Of course, I'm happy here. It's just been a huge adjustment. I just feel like the biggest obstacles in our relationship are the differences in our lifestyles, the press, and our expectations and duties..." She trailed off, looking out the window. "I just think that everything would be so much simpler if you weren't...royal."

I understood where she was coming from and sometimes I even felt the same way.

"I understand what you are saying, and I've thought the same before," I said. I saw out of the corner of my eye that she looked up with surprise. "We'll figure it out- don't worry," I said reassuringly. "If we are denied marriage here, then we will move to the US and start a life here. If we are granted a marriage here, we will keep all of our options and possibilities open. We want what will be best for us," I said.

Paige leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

I continued driving, completely unaware of our future. It was scary when I thought about it but as long as Paige was along side me, everything would be okay. Wouldn't it?