Hey! So sorry about the long wait, life has been so crazy lately. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update this, but I will continue working on it. Hopefully all of you had a great last few weeks and happy holidays. Thanks so much to my reviewers for sticking with me: XOStarbrightXO, A Fan, Ashley Jackson, Cookiedoodles168, wolfofstark, LeaGirlWriter22, and morethanjustastory. You're all so great and without your support this chapter would have taken even longer to write, so thanks! Also special shout out to wolfofstark for helping me out with inspiration for this chapter and making Brook's instagram (if you're on Pinterest you should seriously check it out).

Brandon knew that sending the Selected home had been the smart thing to do. It was the thing that would keep them the safest plus he could tell that many of the girls were homesick after spending so much time away from their families. He knew he had made the right choice but his heart was telling him the opposite. Without the girls there to talk with he felt lonelier than he ever had before. He was used to always having someone there who cared about him and who would listen to him. Someone who would give him advice and who treated him like he was the most important person in the world, despite every mistake he had made. He missed having the girls talk with him, tell him about their days and hearing their opinions and input when he had questions. He didn't realize how much of his time he spent with them and thinking about them until they were no longer there.

Being without the girls made him miss all of the little things he'd taken for granted when they were still there. Things like hearing their laughter as he walked by the Women's Room or accidentally bumping into them in the hallways when he was leaving a meeting. He would have given anything to see them after he finished a late budget meeting with all of his father's advisors.

Brandon had never been good with math but it hadn't mattered before. It used to be Matthew's job to attend the meetings and work on budgets but now it was Brandon's and it was proving much harder than he had ever thought. He had never given his brother enough credit for how hard the job was. Now he knew that Matthew's slumped shoulders and mussed up hair at the end of everyday were no exaggeration.

With a sigh Brandon fell back on his bed, his hair sticking straight up and his tie lopsided. Angrily Brandon yanked his tie off and discarded his jacket, laying down in just his dress shirt and pants. He sat for a minute, enjoying the silence and peace of not having anywhere he needed to be. It was nice to have a bit of free time but there was no one to spend it with. Since all of the girls were gone the only people Brandon could hang out with were his siblings. But Brook was gone, Ryan preferred to be alone, and Natalie was always disappearing. The only people Brandon wanted to see were spread across the country, away from him.

The media had done so many stories on the Selected and what it meant that Brandon had sent them home. Brandon was sure if he went into Brook's room he would be able to find tons of magazines that told him what the girls were doing, but Brandon wanted to see for himself. He needed reassurance that he had done the right thing by sending them away.

Brook was the only one of them who truly followed social media and paid attention to all of the frivolous gossip columns and shows so Brandon knew her laptop would have what he was looking for.

He got up from his bed and walked across the hall to Brook's room. Sitting on her desk was her laptop in its hot pink case. She hadn't taken it with her to Italy and when Brandon turned it on he was happy to discover that the password was still the same as when she'd first set it. Lorenzo wasn't a very secure password but it was easy for Brandon to remember.

He waited for the computer to load then opened the Internet browser. He scrolled through Brook's favorites list, seeing all of the social media sites she was on and meaningless gossip blogs. Brandon knew any of those websites would have what he was looking for- information on how the Selected were doing at home- but none of them felt quite right. He didn't want the news stories, what he really wanted was to see his girls, but he didn't think that would happen.

He was wrong though. About halfway through Brook's favorites list Brandon saw a link to a blog he'd never checked out but had heard all about. London's Tower seemed to call to him and before he realized he'd clicked on it the site was loading in front of him.

All of her posts and videos were there, everywhere Brandon looked he saw her face and all of the text posts he could hear her voice saying.

He began scrolling down, seeing all of her posts. The newest ones were first but Brandon didn't stop to watch any of her videos. He scrolled through what felt like hundreds of posts, all of them made after he'd sent the Elite home. It seemed London wasn't taking the time away from the Selection to relax like Brandon had intended. But at least he knew she was alright if her posts were any indication.

Brandon went back to the top of the page, ready to go to a news site to check on the other girls, but her latest video made him pause.

Selected Reunion it read. The caption on it said, I meet up with some of the fellow Elite for a girl's day and we'll answer some of your questions from my last video.

This was what Brandon had been looking for, he could feel it. A way to hear how they were all doing from their own mouths without the media's interference.

Brandon clicked on the video and watched it begin to play. London's face filled the laptop screen and Brandon didn't realize how much he had missed her until he heard her voice.

He didn't listen to the words, just the cadence as excitement filled her voice and she spoke to her thousands of fans. Her passion was evident in every word and Brandon suddenly understood why she has been making so many videos. It was what she loved doing and she would make as many as she possibly could. Brandon couldn't remember the last time he had done something just for the pure joy of it. His desk was filled with half-finished drawings and his walls hung with paintings he'd done and pictures he'd taken but he hadn't done anything creative in months.

London's voice brought him back to the present and he listened just in time to hear her explain that her and the Elite from the provinces near her- Seraphina and Tristyn- were meeting up to drive to Fennley and surprise Kadence for her birthday.

"It's like an eight hour drive," London explained, "but it'll be totally worth it to surprise her!"

The next thing Brandon knew London's car was coming to a stop.

"I'm in Belcourt right now about to meet up with Tris and Sera to finish our drive to Fennley," London explained.

Brandon watched as she got out of the car and Tris and Sera came running out of a small house. The three girls began hugging each other, all of them talking too quietly for the camera to make out the words but there was no mistaking the joy on their faces.

The three girls piled into the car and began talking.

"I've missed both of you so much!" Sera exclaimed, her blue eyes shining, "Life just hasn't been the same without your camera following me around, London," she teased, winking into the camera, "I've missed you all!"

"I miss so much about the Selection," Tris said, "but I miss the food the most. Sorry," she said with a glance at her friends, "but I would take palace desserts over you two any day."

The two girls laughed and London spoke, "Thanks, Tris, we can really feel the love."

The camera faded out and when it came back it was zoomed in on a small sandwich shop that was bustling with people.

"Alright, so Kadence doesn't know we're coming so we're going to have to surprise her."

"I just can't wait to see her," Sera burst out, a happy smile on her face. Her and Kadence had been friends since they'd first met on the plane ride to the Selection and almost a month was too long for Sera to go without seeing her best friend.

The girls made their way inside and Brandon spotted Kadence instantly. She wasn't running around waiting tables like he'd thought she'd be, instead she was perched on a bar stool near the cash register, a book propped open in front of her.

She was so busy reading she didn't notice the three girls who had appeared in front of her.

London cleared her throat and Seraphina said, "Table for three."

Kadence glanced around the restaurant, looking for an empty table. Before she could find one, Sera burst into laughter and Kadence looked up. The shocked expression on her face was priceless but soon the brunette had raced around the counter and grabbed all three of her friends in a huge hug.

"What are you doing here?" She gasped.

"Surprise!" London called, "And happy birthday! You didn't think we'd forget, did you?"

Kadence didn't know what to say so Seraphina just pulled her into another hug and said, "We already talked to your dad and you don't have to work today. You can spend the whole afternoon with us. It'll be great!"

Kadence looked ready to burst from happiness and as her friends led her outside Brandon paused the video.

He didn't need to see anymore. All of his worries about the girls had been put to rest. Besides, when he left tomorrow Kadence would be the first girl he saw since Fennley was so close to Angeles. He could ask her all about her birthday then.

Just as he was about to exit out of Brook's Internet, a blinking notification caught his eye. It was a new message. Brandon knew he shouldn't snoop but when he saw the message was from an account with the username .falling he couldn't resist. He had a sneaking suspicion of which "London" Brook had been communicating with through social media.

When he clicked on the message his suspicions were confirmed. It was his London. The current message wasn't anything interesting- just plans for the two of them to meet up once Brook was back and London wishing her a fun trip to Italy. Brandon was going to shut off the computer but his eyes caught his name used in one of Brook's messages.

Brandon's just not good at expressing his emotions, Brook had written, I know he cares about you, he cares about all of you and that's the problem. He's too selfless sometimes. Even if he loves one of you he won't act on it until he's certain it's what's best for the country and our family. He'll marry whoever he thinks will make the best princess, regardless of his personal feelings.

You're right London responded, it's just hard sometimes. I REALLY care about him and I just need a way to show him that. Sometimes I worry that-

Brandon slammed the computer closed, not wanting to read anymore. He shouldn't have gone through Brook's messages, it had just left him feeling worse than before.

Did all of the girls feel how London did? Like he didn't truly care for them? Brandon had thought he'd showed them how he felt. He'd kept them in the Elite after all. But maybe that wasn't enough. Maybe no matter what he did it would never be enough. He could never fill Matthew's shoes as Crown Prince and he couldn't find the girl he was meant to be with because he kept pushing her away. He needed to change how he dealt with the girls and fast because he left tomorrow for his ten week journey to see them. He didn't have much time to figure out what to do but he needed a plan because all too soon he would have to face the girls again. Even with this new discovery Brandon wanted to see them again, although now there was a feeling of dread around him. He felt as if no matter what he did it wouldn't be enough for them, that he wasn't enough. And he didn't see any way that he could change that.

...

Serenity looked up when the knock sounded on her door but she couldn't bring herself to get up and answer it. Instead, she slumped back down in the chair she'd been sitting in and stared blankly at the ceiling.

The knock sounded again and Serenity turned her head to stare at the door. It wasn't her maid, she had learned to just come in and try to coax Serenity to eat something. Serenity never opened the door anymore so whoever was knocking would either figure that out or leave.

Finally Serenity heard a voice calling her name. It was someone she should have known, but to her everything felt muddled and the voice sounded as if it were coming from extremely far away and not just the other side of the door. She couldn't figure out who it was but she really didn't try. She simply closed her eyes and wished the noise would go away. It didn't though.

After a few more minutes her door swung open. Serenity tried to ignore the interruption but couldn't when the intruder marched over to her and shook her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Natalie demanded, "This is enough. You need to get up."

Serenity tried to shake off the younger girl but she wasn't strong enough.

"You have been in here for weeks," Natalie told her, "we're all worried about you. You need to talk to us."

"I can't," Serenity's voice was hoarse from disuse, "you don't understand. I just need to be alone." She tried to pull out of Nat's grip but gave up after a few seconds.

"No, you don't." Nat said firmly, "You've been alone for the past few weeks and it has done nothing but hurt you. You need to be around people who care about you, people who can help you."

"Nobody can help me, don't you get that?" Serenity exploded, "Not you, not your mother, no one! Matthew was the only person who completely understood me, he's the only one who could have helped me through this but now he's gone," sobs racked her body but she continued speaking anyway, even though Natalie had to strain to understand her, "He's gone and it's my fault. If I hadn't been so slow he wouldn't have been in the hallway and then he wouldn't have died. It should have been me!"

She continued speaking but her crying was so loud Natalie couldn't understand a word.

Natalie reached down and forcefully and pulled Serenity to her feet, forcing her blue eyes to meet her hazel ones.

"Serenity," she said, not harshly but not softly either, "listen to me. Absolutely none of this is your fault. Do you understand? Matthew chose to protect you. Can you honestly say he would be happy if he were alive and you were dead? He would beat himself up about it every single day. He always wanted to protect you and he died doing that. You're dishonoring his sacrifice. He died so that you could live and just locking yourself up in here is not living."

Serenity shook her head, "You don't know how hard it is, Nat. We did everything together. He was the only one who could help me when I needed him and show me how to be a princess, he always knew what to do to make everything better. You just don't understand."

"I don't understand?" Natalie parroted, her anger rising, "Me? Are you serious?" she spat, not caring anymore if her words hurt the blonde, "Guess what, Serenity? You might have been married to him but you only knew him five years. I knew him my whole life. He was my brother and right now you need to get over yourself. You're acting like a spoiled child but what you don't realize is you're not the only person who lost someone! All of us lost someone when Matthew died. Yes it hurts, and maybe it always will, but that doesn't mean we can just give up. That's not what Matt would have wanted and that's not what you're going to do. So whether you like it or not, Serenity, so help me you are going to start living again," a crazed look entered Natalie's eyes and Serenity sat in stunned silence, "I don't care if I have to drag you out of here. You are coming to dinner with the rest of us and you are going to eat. You're pregnant, you have the last bit of Matthew inside of you right now and if you die so does his child and I will not let that happen. I don't care if you hate it but starting now you're only going to be in here at night. The rest of the time you can be in the Women's Room or at meetings. Frankly, I don't care where you are as long as you're not cooped up in here dying."

The fire was still in Natalie's eyes and Serenity had never before been afraid of the young girl, but in that moment she was terrified. Natalie truly looked ready to drag Serenity away and Serenity wasn't sure she had the strength to resist.

"Okay," Serenity relented softly, "you're right."

"What?" Nat seemed shocked, "You're going to come with me? Just like that?"

Serenity ran a hand over her belly and nodded. She replayed Natalie's words over and knew that she should have been focused on her child more than herself. Ever since Matthew's death she hadn't been feeling the baby move as much and that worried her. Matthew's child was inside of her and that baby would be a lasting piece of her husband. How could she have forgotten that?

Serenity stood up shakily and gratefully took the arm that Natalie offered.

They walked down the hallway in silence until they reached the doors to the dining room.

Serenity turned to the younger girl, "Thanks, Nat. I needed that. I needed someone to push me and to remind me what my job is here. It might take a while before I'm myself again, but this is definitely a step in the right direction."

Natalie pulled her sister into a hug, "That's okay, Wren. I don't know when any of us will recover, but the important thing is that we're trying. And just so you know," Nat told her, "having that baby isn't your only job. The people love you and I can't think of anyone more qualified to be Queen, certainly not me. The coronation was supposed to be set for after Brandon picks his wife and I doubt that will change. You should be preparing to fill the role of Queen soon. It's what you were doing before Matthew's death and not something that you should forget about."

"You really think people still want me to be the Queen?" she said, surprised, "But I'm not royalty."

Natalie nodded, "You're strong and smart and prepared, everything this nation needs. You've been training for this for years, you know what you're doing. And anyone who says you're not royalty or part of this family clearly doesn't know what they're talking about so you really shouldn't listen to them."

Serenity smiled her first true smile in weeks as she hugged Nat again.

"You're right, I can do this. I know the in's and out's of this job and exactly what to do. Those rebels didn't know who they were messing with. They never should have come after our family, but now they're going to pay. I don't care how long it takes, they're going to pay for what they did."

I hope all of you liked that chapter, and again sorry it took so long. The next few chapters should have Brandon and the Elite in it so I hope you're ready for those. Don't forget to leave a review about how you liked this chapter, but also let me know how your break was. I hope all of you had a wonderful time!

~Jen