Amberly

What was I going to do? Anthony was going to give up and at first I thought that was what I wanted, but now that it might be a reality I could feel an emptiness in my chest. Why was this all so confusing?

I had been pacing my room for the last hour, working up the courage to speak to my grandfather but nothing I told myself could convince me to walk outside my room and over to his. I had been avoiding thinking about Anthony's last words to me but now they were the only things running through my mind. His face the only image playing across my vision. He was just so defeated. I had never seen him that way before, even after the ball he didn't give up.

I stood behind my door glaring at it, willing myself to open it. Why was this so hard? I had spoken to my grandfather hundreds of times about almost everything why did this task seem so impossible?

Letting out a frustrated groan I twisted the handle and marched outside my room towards my grandfather's door further down the corridor. Before I could lose my nerve I knocked on his closed door and moments later he opened it with a stoney expression. I had seen it before but it had never been directed at me.

'Amberly, I think we have a lot to discuss,' he said, his mood lifting slightly when he realised it was me. I nodded in reply and he stepped out of his room linking his arm with mine. We walked silently through the castle until we reached the gardens and he led us over to the same bench we had sat on yesterday. In the silence I twisted my hands in my lap, uncertain of what my grandfather had to say to me.

'Amberly, I don't think you've been completely truthful with me,' he said quietly, staring out at the mess of trees in the garden, swaying gently in the afternoon breeze.

'What do you mean?' I asked in alarm. 'I would never lie to you grandfather.'

'Then you must be lying to yourself because from what I've seen the prince is nothing like you have described him.' He answered and I noticed a small smile playing on his lips even though he was trying to hide it.

'What do you mean? You spoke to him, you almost broke him.' I said in disbelief. If he thought I had been lying why had he attacked Anthony like that?

'Amberly the prince you described to me was not the prince I met yesterday, nor was he the one today who begged for my approval. Yes, when I first met him I was wary for him. He appeared childish and weak but I now see that he has the most important quality a man can have,' he answered looking down at me with determined eyes. I looked back at him, confused. I had thought my grandfather hated Anthony.

'He loves you Amberly, even more than that, he adores you. I can tell that there is nothing that man wouldn't do to see you happy. Many men don't realise the value of the ones they love before it's too late. He knows now and he is willing to wait for you. I think he would wait forever, even if he knew you would never return his affections.' My grandfather said sadly.

'He loves me?' I asked in a small voice. Anthony had hinted to this several times but I didn't truly believe him. How could he love me when all I had shown him was contempt? How could he love me when we were so different from one another?

'He tried almost everything to make me believe him, no matter how terrified he was of me. He knew that without my approval you would never give him the chance he so desperately seeks.'

'What if I don't love him?' I asked, defensively.

'You are far too much like me Amberly, we both shut our hearts off to the ones we love the most. I did it to your grandmother all those years ago and when she died it burst open. All the love I felt for her twisted into regret and hatred for myself because I had denied her and myself the only thing that could have made us happy. My past affected so many around me and I couldn't stop myself. It was who I was.' He finished darkly. 'I was a tyrant and a monster. The people feared me, your father despised me and you mother was nothing but a thorn in my side, threatening to tear down everything my family had worked to achieve for generations.'

'You're not a monster grandfather,' I said, looking up at him, shocked by his revelation. He had never been a dangerous man to me. He had always been my grandfather. The man who was always there for me. The man who loved my warm hugs and would give me sweet kisses on my forehead in return. He made everything all right even when I thought my word was falling apart.

'Before you Amberly, I was. I was one of the worst.' He said in a quiet voice his eyes glazing over with a memory from his past. 'Your mother, when she was in your father's selection was everything I didn't want him to choose in a future wife. She was stubborn, passionate and obnoxious.' My grandfather reminisced, smiling at the memory before continuing. 'But you know what?'

'What grandfather?' I asked eagerly, edging closer to him on the stone bench in the castle gardens.

'She was everything your father needed. I dismissed her on site because of what she was, because of her caste. I condemned her because of one hasty action and I finally, gave her my respect because of her courage. What I'm trying to say Amberly is sometimes we forget to give people a chance to prove us wrong. Did you ever give prince Anthony that chance?' I thought about it for a long time. Had I ever given Anthony any chance of winning my heart? Looking back on our time together I realised I never had. I had locked my heart away from him, keeping it out of reach, never telling him where the key was hidden. How could I blame him for failing when I made the task impossible?

'Grandfather, did you like mother?' I asked curiously, looking up at the man I had always come to for advice. I loved my parents fiercely but since I was born I had always been my grandfather's granddaughter.

'No, Amberly,' He chuckled nostalgically getting lost in his memories, 'she drove me mad and because of it I did some terrible things.' I watched as the darkness he tried so desperately to hide spread across his face but as quick as it came it left. 'But eventually she made me see her, really see her. And I'm glad she did because without her, above all else, I would never have you. You were the bright light in my darkness Amberly. You were my second chance.'

There was more to his past. I knew this, I had always known but I never wanted to ask him. I still didn't. He was my grandfather and if he wanted to tell me he would, but for now, I was happy to only know the man who had been there for me everyday when I was growing up.

'I love you grandfather,' I whispered wrapping my arms around his torso and burying my head in his familiar chest.

'I love you too Amberly,' he murmured, pulling me closer as the world around us continued to sway in the dying sunlight. It didn't matter what he had done in his past, as long as this was the man he continued to be now. I truly believed that no matter what he had done in his past I would be able to forgive him.

Anthony

I watched the two from my bedroom window as they embraced and I felt my heart twist. There was no doubting that he had just cut through any links Amberly and I had shared. She would never be with me now. The man despised me and now he had made sure Amberly did as well.

Turning from the window I marched across my room and back again. What was I going to do?

On the third lap of my room I'd had enough. I couldn't stay cooped up in here any longer. If she didn't love me, I wasn't sure what I was going to do? Would she leave for good and I would only see her at official events? I didn't want that, I couldn't handle that for the rest of my life. I didn't want to marry a diplomat's daughter or a princess from another country. I wanted Amberly.

I stormed out of my room and headed straight for the person who had unleashed this monster on me.

'Mother,' I growled as I entered her reading room. 'How could you do this to me?'

'Anthony, you always knew you were going to meet her grandfather. He's a very important person in her life.' She answered me calmly, never lifting her gaze from the book in her hands.

'I thought I would have had more time with her before you unleashed him on me,' I retorted, pacing in front of her.

'I told you this wasn't going to be easy. You know you don't need to marry her,' she replied. 'This alliance was always more for their benefit then our own.'

'Why don't you want me to be with her? Don't you want me to be happy?' I demanded, stopping in front of her, my voice reverberating off the walls of the room.

'Of course I want you to be happy.'

'She makes me happy. Why are you trying to tear us apart?' I asked angrily.

'She doesn't make you happy. She makes your life even more stressful than it needs to be. She doesn't understand you Anthony. Amberly wants you to be something that you aren't.' My mother answered, finally looking up at me, determination in her eyes. Why was she doing this? I knew she was hesitant when Amberly was involved but I didn't think she would resort to this. She had spent very few moments with Amberly but I had thought she was warming to her.

'You're a hypocrite.' I shot back. 'You are constantly telling father to stop his pranks and be more responsible. How is the way Amberly acts towards me any different than how you act with father?' I questioned angrily.

'It's completely different. I don't want you to forget who you are Anthony. She has complete control over you and you can't even see it.' She got to her feet, raising her voice at me and I met her glare with one of my own.

'I don't care what she does as long as she stays with me, but you've made that almost impossible by inviting her grandfather here to torture me and fill her mind with all the reason's she shouldn't be with me.'

'If she can't decide she loves you on her own, then she never will,' she answered her eyes lighting with a renewed determination.

'What's going on in here?' My father asked and I turned to face him as he entered the room, his eyes staying on my mother.

'Your son believes I have ruined his chances with Amberly by allowing her grandfather to stay with us.' Mother explained as father stopped beside me, instead of heading straight for my mother as he usually did when he entered a room she was in. It was as if gravity pulled him towards her, but this time he resisted.

'You know my opinion Olivier. I told you not to let him come but you insisted,' he said with an edge to his tone I had never heard when he was addressing my mother.

'She's not good for him Frederick. He's your son, you know what he's like. Amberly is never going to accept him the way he is.' Mum answered not moving from where she stood.

'No Olivier, you were wrong this time. If she's not right for him, he deserves the right to figure it out on his own, without Clarkson's interference. Without your interference.' My father answered angrily.

'She'll break his heart,' my mother shouted stepping closer to my father. Both stared at each other for a long time before my mind finally caught up and I realised this was my heart they were discussing and I was the only one who got to decide who I should and shouldn't love. Not my parents.

'I don't care if she breaks my heart. She has owned it since we were young. If she leaves for whatever the reason I will be devastated. My heart will shatter and there is nothing anyone will be able to do to put it together again.' I said in a low voice not looking at either of them. 'Do you want to be responsible for that mother because if you drive her away I will never forgive you.'

'Anthony, I want you to be happy, you're my son,' she implored stepping closer to me and reaching for my hands but I pulled back from her.

'Then leave me alone, leave Amberly alone. Stop trying to break us apart. If she breaks my heart then I'll know for certain she never wanted to be with me but for now I still have a chance.' I finished and turned from them, walking angrily from the room. How could my own mother act this way?

I moved through the castle in an angry haze until I found myself on the front steps. I couldn't stay here a moment longer. I needed to get out, clear my head and my heart. Despite the strong words I spoke with my mother I wasn't sure I could fight for Amberly again. I wasn't sure she would ever truly let me into her heart. It was my choice who I loved and I had always chosen her but after everything she still refused to choose me.

Amberly

Where was he going?

'Amberly?' I spun from the window I was looking through to find Elliot behind me, looking at me curiously. 'What are you looking at?'

'Do you know where Anthony is going?' I asked, a little desperately.

'He was with mother and father before but he stormed out of mother's reading room. I don't know where he went after that.' He shrugged.

'I really need to talk to him. Are you sure you don't know where he went?' I pleaded, looking back out the window to see the gates close behind the disappearing car.

'I don't know, maybe he was going to get you something special,' he suggested flippantly, walking away from me, bored of the conversation.

'Why would he do that?' I mumbled. I didn't deserve anything from him. I'd done nothing but hurt him since I got here.

'He loves you silly,' Elliot said over his shoulder as he disappeared around the corner. Did everyone know this but me? Or was I just too stubborn to acknowledge it?

I walked back to my room in a daze, barely registering anything as I walked through the corridors. I walked for quite some time just thinking about everything and nothing. Eventually, I ended up back at my room, with more questions than answers circling in my mind. Sadly, pushed open my door, eyes downcast.

'Amberly,' I jumped at the sudden voice and my eyes darted to queen Olivier who was sitting in the seat beside my window. 'I was wondering if we could talk?' I paused for a moment shocked to find her in my room before quickly shaking off my surprise.

'Of course,' I answered, walking over to sit across from her. I hadn't really been alone with queen Olivier since the beginning of my stay here. She hadn't seemed to want to spend any time with me, but I never knew why.

'Amberly, l'm sorry I haven't been very inviting since you got here. Honestly, I was afraid of the power you seemed to have over my son.' She admitted. 'I was afraid because you didn't seem to return his affects and I didn't want him to get hurt.' I simply stared at her, shocked by her admissions. It seemed to be a day of revelations, first from my grandfather and now from Anthony's mother. I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take.

'I wasn't the most accepting when I first arrived. I didn't understand Anthony,' I admitted cautiously.

'And how about now?' She prodded, her eyes boring deeply into my own.

'I know I judged him too quickly. I was wrong and now I think he may have given up on me. I can't even explain myself to him because he ran off.'

'I believe it is my fault my son fled the castle. He needed to get some space, away from me and I daresay away from your grandfather,' she smiled bitterly. 'I knew you would ask for him to stay.' I remembered the night after the ball. Queen Olivier had been very encouraging of grandfather coming over to visit. I hadn't thought much of it at the time, all I wanted was someone on my side and he always was.

'I knew he would act this way towards Anthony and I knew he might turn you against him. I just wanted to protect my son from a broken heart.' She answered her eyes drifting from me to something behind me, something from her past I assumed. Had her heart been broken before?

'My grandfather didn't convince me that Anthony was wrong for me,' I replied softly. 'It was actually the opposite. I think he might actually like him,' I answered, still bewildered by my conversation with my grandfather.

'Then, it seems he isn't the man we all remember him to be,' she mused.

'I never knew the man you all perceived him as,' I said looking up at her. 'He has always just been my grandfather, not a king and not a monster.'

'He changed for you, it seems he was never the same after your grandmother died. Frederick and I were there after it happened, if only for a short time and he was nothing more than a shell of what he once was. However, we always believed he could never change and that it was only a matter of time before he returned to his former self. I knew very little about him except that he was a ruthless ruler but I know Rick despises the man. He never told me why, just as your parents never speak about it, but I know it was something horrible.'

'That was his past, whoever that man was, he isn't my grandfather,' I answered firmly. How could I judge him for something I wasn't even alive to witness?

'You can never completely bury your past Amberly, just like no one can ever truly change who they are. The traces of that person will remain with them for the rest of their lives. The ghosts of the past don't leave easily and your grandfather is haunted by more that most people.' She answered sadly. 'You can't change my son Amberly.'

'I don't want to change him,' I replied, a little outraged.

'He'll be infuriating, irrational and insane,' she continued.

'If he wasn't he wouldn't be Anthony. If he was serious like me he would never become the compassionate and generous ruler he is destined to be.' I answered with conviction and I knew my words were true because they came from somewhere that lacked reason, my heart.

Everything Anthony had done since I had arrived ran through my mind. Every immature action, every hateful word I had said to him and every time he had surprised me. Not just the pranks but the times he had shocked me and turned my world upside down. Throwing reason and normal convention aside to show me a new way to act as powerful ruler. I may have thought it was odd at times but it was him and it worked. Why had I never realised this before? Why had I never just listened? Why did I need to be so stubborn all the time?

'I need to go,' I said suddenly, getting to my feet, startling Olivier.

'Where are you going?' She asked.

'I was wrong, I need to fix this,' I said running from the room. Even if I didn't know where he was I would wait just like he had all this time. Finally, I understood. I may not have been able to have the love I had dreamed of all this time, the love my parents shared but I could have something so much better than that. I could have my own kind of love, one with Anthony because as unlikely as we might be as a couple we worked. I had just been too blind to see it before now.

When I made it to Anthony's room I sat on his bed my body humming with excitement and nerves. I couldn't sit still so I paced beside it, waiting.

An hour later when the door opened I looked up expecting to find Anthony there but instead I found a butler with a serious look on his face, carry a phone in his hand.

'Your highness, we have been looking everywhere for you. Prince Adam is on the phone,' his tone made my stomach drop and I reached for the phone with an unsteady hand. What had happened?

Anthony

I didn't return to the castle until well into the early morning hours, my mind finally settling enough to return. I had asked my driver to drive me around the streets of London but I was restless in the car and instead had him take me to the ruins of Buckingham Palace when I shared my first kiss with Amberly. The first time she had allowed me anywhere near her heart.

I sat there and stared at the chandelier for hours, but in every surface all I could see were her blue eyes staring back at me. I felt like I had already lost her so when I finally returned, my heart was heavy and my mind was exhausted.

I shuffled through the empty castle until finally, I reached my room. I shoved my door open and moved into my darkened room, eager to just collapse into bed. However, I stopped almost immediately when I saw she was on my bed. Still dressed in her dress from earlier and curled in on herself. She looked so innocent when she slept and I approached her cautiously, afraid to wake her.

What was she doing here?

When I got closer I realised her eyes were red, as if she had been crying for hours. Gently, I sat down against the covers beside her. What had made her so upset?

'Amberly,' I whispered, tracing my fingers along her forehead. She didn't even stir at my touch so I tried again. I needed to know what had upset her and why she was here. Did she not agree with her grandfather's opinion of me?

'Amberly,' I said a little louder, running my thumb along her cheekbone where I could see where the tears had run down her face. Finally, her eyes fluttered open, still heavy with sleep, not recognising me at first.

'Anthony?' She asked, pushing up on the bed, her long blonde hair falling down her back and framing her sleepy face. 'Where have you been?'

'I needed to get out for a bit. What are you doing here love?' I asked, my heart beating hopefully in my chest.

'I needed to see you,' she answered vaguely, stifling a yawn as she tried to shake off the sleep which was sitting heavily on her body.

'Why?' I asked, not satisfied with her answer.

'Everything's changed,' she breathed, her voice shaking with the brimming tears in her eyes.

'Amberly, what happened?' I asked worriedly. What had made her so upset?

'Adam called,' she answered in a heavy voice. 'There was another attack.'

'Is everyone safe?' I asked, worried one of her siblings had been injured.

'Yes, no…I don't know,' she answered in frustration.

'Amberly, you aren't making any sense.'

'Nothing makes any sense anymore.' She answered her blue eyes resting on mine, confusion plaguing her mind.

'You need to tell me what's happened, maybe I can help,' I said gently, clutching at one of her hands.

'I fought with Adam, after he told me about the attack he told me something else. Something I didn't want to hear. I thought that his past couldn't be that dark. He could have never done the things they said he had but Adam told me something I can't deny because I've seen them too. I just chose to ignore them.' She said in a rush, her eyes darting around, as if looking for the answers in the dark corners of the room.

'Love, please, you're frightening me you need to slow down and explain this to me from the beginning.' I begged, holding her hand tighter in my own.

'Someone tried to poison Adam,' she said, worry filling her tone. 'They call themselves the Elite. Adam had planned to have breakfast with Aisling and she noticed a bird had died after eating some of the food and stopped him moments before he ate some himself.' She paused and I ran the name though my head. She had mentioned this girl before but I hadn't been paying attention. All I was focused on now was the threat to her brother's life. 'He could have died Anthony. They want him dead.' Her voice shook and her tears had returned, falling down her face and dotting the fabric of her dress. I had never seen her cry before. I had always thought she was too strong or too stuborn, so I knew what was happening back home had really unsettled her but she wasn't done.

'Then they attacked the palace. They killed fifteen guards and three maids. Justin was hurt too. He managed to get Nia to safety before one of them shot him.' She continued hollowly, another name I didn't know bur I let her continue, these were questions that could wait for another time. I watched her for a moment as she tried to hold her tears back, but she was too shaken. 'Anthony,' she said looking up at me. 'They nearly got my baby sister.'

'Amberly,' I breathed pulling her in and thankfully she didn't pull away. For once she was going to allow me to hold her, to comfort her. For once she wasn't going to fight me. 'It's going to be all right.'

'How do you know?' She asked weakly, clutching my shirt in her hands as I held her close.

'No one knows, we just need to have faith that they'll be safe,' I answered, tightening my arms around her. 'How about you tell me about the other thing Adam told you about?' I suggested, needing to keep her talking and her mind away from the danger her family was in.

'I don't know if I can,' she whispered, ducking her head further into my chest.

'Please tell me, we can share this burden,' I offered but she stiffened in my arms and I looked down at her in confusion. 'Amberly?'

'My grandfather is what they say he is,' she said emotionlessly.

'What do you mean?' I asked pushing back from her, to see the dark look that had consumed her features.

'He's a monster. He is everything everyone believes him to be. He's been lying to me all this time, pretending to be someone he isn't.'

'Amberly, I don't understand I saw you with him this afternoon. What changed?' I asked.

'What he did is unforgivable,' she growled. 'I can't believe my parents let him get away with this.'

'Amberly, you need to tell me what happened.'

'He…he…my mother, she has scars on her back. I saw them on my father once, for a moment but I was too young to understand and when I was old enough I didn't believe my younger eyes had truly seen them.' She told me, sadness and anger mixing on her features. I felt my own anger spike as her words finally sunk in.

'Your grandfather, did that, to you mother and your father?' I asked barely hiding my own anger.

'Yes, that's what they have been hiding all these years. If Adam hadn't seen the scars on my mother's back they could have kept it from us forever.'

'What are you going to do?' I asked, knowing what I would do to the man. No wonder my father hated him so much and he didn't even know the full story.

'I don't know, he's my grandfather,' she answered confusion furrowing her brow. 'It's hard to see him doing that to my mother after how he's been with me my entire life. I always thought I could forgive whatever he had done in his life before me but I never thought it would be this.'

'You don't need to believe this Amberly. You don't need to do anything. He's still your grandfather. The man he is to you, may be the only man he is now,' I said, trying to be reasonable. Clarkson was everything to her, this might destroy her. As much as I wanted to keep her away from him I knew he wouldn't hurt her and I knew it would be like keeping a part of herself away. What this man did was unspeakable, but it was a lifetime ago and if those whom the pain was inflicted upon could forgive him then so could we.

'I don't know what to do, I love him,' she whispered, burying her head in my chest. I pulled her closer and finally she let the tears fall, unrestrained.

'It's going to be all right love, I promise, we can handle this together,' I whispered as silent sobs wracked her body.

I held her until her eyes were dry and her body fell still. She was curled up so her head was in my lad and I was stroking her beautiful blonde hair. The rising sun danced off her face and I didn't care that I hadn't slept, all I cared about was that she was in my arms. I thought I had lost her, but here she was. She had come to me when she thought her world was falling apart. When she needed someone the most, she came to me. Despite it all a smile played on my lips as I stared down at her sleeping form and if it were possible she was even more beautiful than yesterday.

Adam

'Marlee, I need to know who brought me my food this morning,' I demanded, turning to my mother's best friend. The guards had released us an hour ago from the safe room and after dealing with the aftermath and destruction in the palace I had come straight here. I needed to know who had poisoned my food because they might know who the Elite were and where they might be. We knew they were the same people who attacked the palace because they left another note, this time it wasn't just a threat for me, but for my entire family. On the wall by all of our rooms they left a message in red paint.

'The prince is only the first.'

A promise that they would return. I could only assume they were targeting my siblings and my parents next. I couldn't let that happen. I had called my parents and they were coming home immediately, my mother was beside herself with worry and I knew she wouldn't sleep until she knew we we're all safe. Now, I needed to interrogate our entire staff to determine who our traitor was, who had tried to kill me?

'Adam, I don't know. I had the morning off because Jacob and Miles came home today. It's their time off from the army.' She told me, looking worriedly around the kitchen. Marlee was in charge of everything down here, but I had no idea who was in charge when she wasn't here.

'Who was in charge this morning then?' I demanded.

'It was meant to be Georgia but she was sick so I'm not sure yet.' She answered anxiously and I knew she wanted to get back to Justin. That's where Harmonia had been since the attack. Thankfully, she hadn't seen the message left by our bedrooms, I wasn't sure I would have been able to calm her if she knew. Michael was still trying to settle a terrified Marinda whose panic finally rose to the surface. When I left them she had been near hysterics, shouting and crying on her twin brother. At least she wasn't staring blankly at a wall anymore. There was nothing scarier than a silent Marinda.

'I'll figure it out, why don't you go and check on Justin and tell Nia she needs to get some rest?' I asked as Marlee pulled me in for a familiar warm hug. I had spent a lot of time down here when I was younger. There weren't many opportunities to make friends as a prince but Jacob and Miles had been two of my closest. They were nearest in age to Amberly and I and we would spend hours with them just being regular children, not the prince and princess of Illea. Even now in Marlee's arms I felt some of the stress slip away, if only for the briefest of moments.

'Thank you Adam,' she breathed before darting out of the kitchen to be with her wounded son. I knew Nia wouldn't leave his side but she needed her rest as well and I knew if Justin was awake he would never allow her to stay by his side worrying. I would need to go and check on her after all of this but first I needed to know who had failed in killing me this morning.

'I need all the staff who worked today in the kitchens preparing any of the food and those who were tasked with delivering it to my rooms,' I instructed the guards and they nodded before moving off to gather the people I needed to speak to. It was going to be a long day. It was already late afternoon and I still hadn't had anything to eat, I was too afraid. Would they try again? Of course they would, they were determined and it was only a matter of time before they succeeded.

I had made sure as soon as we were released from the safe room that all the selected girls had been confined to their rooms and tomorrow I would make a cut. I couldn't keep them all here when the palace was one of the most dangerous places in the country. Ironically, the elimination as going to be so great that I was going to have only ten when I was done, the elite.

I couldn't worry about that now, just like everything else I needed to put it aside to deal with the threat not only to my life but to my entire family's lives. I would not see any of them die and I was going to do everything I could to protect them.

'Your highness, these are all the people who were in the kitchens this morning and these two women delivered your food this morning,' the guard announced, a line of thirty women and men standing before me. Many wore confused looks some nervous, not knowing why they had been called upon, but none looked more anxious than the two who had been tasked with delivering my food this morning. Either they had heard what had happened, or they were simply nervous to be called upon. Either way I needed to talk to all of them and discern who were the liars and which ones were telling the truth. Tiredly, I waved the first woman in the line over and began my investigations.

As promised another chapter before the end of the weekend :) I know a lot of you love Antherly, so there was a chapter dedicated just to them, except for the end, obviously :) I hope you enjoyed it.

theoneforever, clarkson is simply making amends for the terrible father he had been to his own son. He needed a second chance :) I got super excited when you said you liked Adling, thank you. Antherly is less of a mess right now even if Amberly is. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

To the wonderful guest who is falling in love, it's really lovely to hear that you are enjoying the story. I hope you liked the latest chapter too :)

Thil, I'm so excited you like the story and I hope you like this chapter as well :)

To the amazing guest who wants Anthony to catch a break, it's really good to heard that the different points of view aren't confusing. It was my geatest fear that they would all end up sounding the same and you would all get completely lost as you read, wondering who was talking, when. Thank you for your wonderful review and I hope you continue to enjoy it :)

Sam, so glad to hear you're back :) That's a massive test and I'm so glad I don't have to do it. Clarkson had his own agenda when interrogating Anthony, he just wanted to see how much he was willing to fight for his granddaughter :) I so glad you found time to read and review as well, I love hearing from you :)

lola5147, thank you so much for reading and reviewing, you're amazing :) I'm so happy to hear that you like it.

Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing the story, I love you guys. Happy reading, wonderful people :)