Author's Note: This is the finale of the first book, enjoy! I'm bumping up the rating from here on out, so be warned. Nothing worse than what you'd get in the game, but there are some adult situations in this and upcoming chapters!

Bertrand grabbed the letter before I had even finished reading it. He looked it over, then folded it and put it in his pocket. His face was red. I had seen Bertrand annoyed, and dismayed, and disappointed. But this kind of fury was new. "How dare anyone send a letter like this to a member of our house?"

In spite of the gravity of his words, I smiled at the thought that Bertrand considered me part of his house. I tried to reassure him. "It's probably Madeleine or some other jealous suitor. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

"Whoever it is, I will not stand for it. I will get to the bottom of this. For now, Lady Riley, you musn't let news of this spread." He looked at Hana, as if seeing her for the first time.

"Oh, you can trust me," she told him quickly. "I won't breathe a word."

Bertrand gave Hana a terse nod, then turned his attention back to me. "You specified Lady Madeleine, is there a reason why you suspect her first?"

"Well, she and Olivia are the two that I would imagine could stoop to this sort of intimidation. But earlier tonight, Olivia confronted me about a letter she received. She thought I had sent it to her."

"Interesting. Maxwell and I will see what we can uncover. For now, Lady Riley, you must continue acting as if nothing has happened. Focus on Liam."

I hesitated, but nodded. If the goal of the letter was to distract me, I didn't want to let them win. As Maxwell and Bertrand stole away to investigate, a stranger approached me and Hana from across the ball room. He was a young man, though older than me, I'd guess. Ruggedly handsome, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a dignified tuxedo with a sash featuring the Cordonian colors. "Good evening, my ladies," he said warmly. He bowed low. "I'm sorry for the forward introduction, but are you Lady Riley?" he looked at me with a small smile.

"I am." I looked at Hana, but she was just as confused as I was.

"I'm pleased to meet you at last, my lady. I've heard a great deal about you."

"You have?"

"Yes. And this must be Lady Hana?"

"Yes," Hana said with a curtsy. "Forgive us, sir, but you seem to know more about us than we do about you."

"I'm Leo," he said simply.

I nodded, waiting for him to go on. When he didn't, I went fishing. "And you know the royal family because..."

He snorted and grinned. "Because they also happen to be my family."

"Wait," I said, my eyes wide. "Are you Liam's brother?"

"Guilty."

Hana curtsied low, her face bright red with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, your highness, I didn't recognize you."

Leo laughed a warm, good-natured laugh. "Please, don't worry about it. I'd prefer if people cared as much about my former title as I did, which is not at all."

"So, you're the guy who abdicated," I said thoughtfully, sizing him up. "I'm glad you came back for Liam's coronation."

Leo smiled at me. "I couldn't miss my little brother getting engaged."

Just then, Madeleine joined our little circle, and I could swear the room got about ten degrees cooler as she looked Leo from head to toe.

"Leo, darling," she said, her voice like ice. "How fortunate you found the time to join us."

"Madeleine," Leo said almost as coolly. "You know I wouldn't miss my brother's coronation."

"I'm glad there remain a few sentiments that'll make you return to court."

I watched carefully as they exchanged a few more pleasantries, then Madeleine excused herself. I grimaced widely. "Eesh," I said, pretending to pull at my collar like an old-time cartoon character. "Talk about awkward exes."

Leo chuckled and shrugged. "I don't blame her for being upset with me, but she handled it with dignity and grace, as she always does. But, I was, uh, less than thrilled to hear that she was contending for the crown again."

"I don't think you have to worry," Hana said, glancing at me. "I'm sure Liam will make the right choice."

Leo looked at me as well, and he smiled gently. "I hope so."

"So..." I said, thinking back to our conversation. "When you said you had heard a lot about us, was that from Liam?"

"It was. I hear you've been good for him, Lady Riley."

"Just Riley is fine."

"Just Riley, then. Getting him to loosen up a little, have some fun even amid all the courtly duties."

"I try. Liam's a good sport, but he keeps me balanced." I gave Leo a little wink, and he smiled and nodded, as if understanding me perfectly.

Liam walked up just then, his eyes wide. He clapped Leo on the shoulder and gave him the hint of a glare. "Leo, what are you telling Lady Riley and Lady Hana about me? Nothing too embarrassing, I hope."

"Only good things, Prince Liam," Hana assured him.

"Truthfully," Leo agreed, "There's nothing else to tell."

Liam grabbed Leo and gave him a tight hug. "It's good to finally see you in person again, big brother."

"You too, little bro." They pulled apart and Leo gestured around him. "If I could see you without all this, believe me, I'd be here more often."

"Just know that you're always welcome whenever you wish."

"You always know how to make me feel at home. But, uh," Leo said, glancing between me and Liam. "Now that you're here, I feel it's my duty as your big brother to make sure you're spending your time wisely. So," he turned to Hana. "Lady Hana, would you like to join me in investigating the appetizers?"

Hana looked confused for a second, then her eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh. Oh! Of course. We'll leave you two alone," she said with a wink to me. She took Leo's arm as they left me alone with Liam.

"So, we find ourselves alone, Lady Riley."

"Well, relatively alone."

He grinned. "Yes, well. When I'm with you, it does feel like the rest of the world fades away. In truth, I've been trying to make my way over to you all evening."

"Oh?"

"I want to talk to you, privately."

He cleared his throat and stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Well, I want to do more than just talk, if we're being honest."

I raised an eyebrow suggestively. He glanced around, suddenly aware of the crowded room. He stepped back. Keeping his voice low, he said, "I'll slip outside. Meet me at the entrance to the hedge maze." And with that, he disappeared into the crowd.

I wandered nonchalantly for about thirty seconds before tearing off after Liam towards the maze. When I saw him, I started running and leaped into his arms. He twirled me around before setting me down and, hand in hand, we took off running, not stopping until we were in the center of the maze. I threw myself breathlessly onto the swing, leaning against the rope for support. Liam stood near me, breathing hard, but smiling.

"I love you, Riley," he said suddenly, and my face grew wide with a smile. My chest felt full, and I could feel tears of joy welling.

"You do?"

His face was flushed with color, and his eyes sparkled with joy. He had never looked more gorgeous as he continued on, "Even if I didn't need to choose a bride tonight, I'd still be proposing. Because I don't need any more time. I love you, Riley, and I want to spend my life with you."

I leaped from the swing and embraced Liam tightly. "I love you, too, Liam."

He sighed. "I'm so relieved to hear you say that."

I laughed and pulled back, swatting his shoulder. "You really doubted me?"

"I honestly can never believe my luck, having you in my life at all. The thought that you might care for me as I do you," he shook his head. "It seems like too much goodness for one man."

"Well, let me say it again, to make sure you understand. I. Love. You." I kissed him quickly to punctuate each word, then when I was done, he pulled me in for the kind of kiss that ends romantic movies – the kind of kiss that just goes on and on, and seems to pull two people together more than lips can.

We broke away, and Liam cupped my face with his hand, his eyes filled with tears and love. We laughed a little, overcome by happiness. "Don't stop now," I managed to tell him. "Things were just getting good."

He shook his head, but smiled broadly. "If I keep going, I don't know if I'll be able to hold anything back."

"And you want our first time to be perfect..." I said, remembering our last conversation on this topic. "Well, we're about to get engaged, in front of the whole damn court, and I'd love to wait until after that announcement to tear your clothes off, but this seems like the only chance we'll have to be together tonight. And I, for one, don't want to wait another day."

"You really want to...here?"

I nodded, biting my lip. "That is, if you want to..."

"Yes. God, yes." He hurriedly tore off his jacket, laying it in the grass, then guided me on top of it so he was laying over me. We kissed a little more, but I was hurried, and started tearing at his bow-tie and shirt buttons. He laughed and pulled away. "I do have to go give a speech after this, it wouldn't do to tear my buttons off." He took off his shirt and quickly removed it, as well as the rest of his clothes. I sat up, and he reached around me to undo my dress. It was a little cumbersome, but we got me out of it, and once all the clothes were out of the way, we lay back down. Liam's eyes were wide and full, his smile soft and gentle. "You're so beautiful," he whispered, trailing kisses along my chest and neck.

"You're not so bad yourself," I managed between pants. I was amazed at Liam's self control; my hands were anxious and wandering, but he kept pulling me short, wanting to savor the moment.

"I've thought about this for so long," he said.

"Me too," I admitted.

"And how have you imagined it going?"

"A lot faster than this."

"Your wish is my command, my queen."

As he stroked every part of me, I raked my nails against his back and arched up into him. "Ohhh," I moaned. "Yes..." Still, though, Liam was too tentative and diligent for me, so I finally grabbed his shoulders and rolled us over so that I was on top of him, straddling his waist. "I said, faster." I said with false sternness. I lowered myself down, reveling in Liam's moans as we started to move together...

Afterwards, we caught our breath, lying on our backs and looking up at the starry sky. Liam held my hand and eventually brought it up to his lips for a soft kiss. "We need to get back," he whispered, not wanting to break the spell.

"I know," I said. We waited a few more minutes, then finally dragged ourselves up and gathered our clothes. I checked my dress for grass stains, and Liam pulled a few blades of grass from my hair.

"I love you so much, Riley," he said to me as we walked slowly back to the palace. Later that night, as I was lying in bed, I chastised myself for not saying it back, but at the moment, all I could do was let out a contented sigh and rest my head against his arm.

I let Liam enter the palace before me, and I took the extra few minutes to breathe deeply and make sure my hair didn't look like I had just had sex in a hedge maze. Just as I was about to go in, I was nearly run over by Olivia, racing out of the palace. Tears were streaming down her face. "Olivia, wait!" I called. "Where are you going?" She stopped and fixed a serious gaze on me.

"Don't leave Liam in Madeleine's clutches, okay?"

"What?"

"I...I have to go. Just, keep him safe for me, okay?"

As she hurried away, I noticed a familiar looking piece of paper in her hand, and remembered the note I had received earlier in the night. I wondered if I should have told Liam about it while we were alone, but in the heat of the moment, it was the furthest thing from my mind. Worried about Olivia, curious about the note, but most of all eager to get this night over with, I headed inside to hear Liam's speech.

When I arrived back in the ballroom, the King and Queen had already started their address. Bertrand grabbed me by the arm and dragged me towards the front of the room, looking at me harshly for being late. I gave an apologetic look, but knew he would be jumping for joy soon enough.

Soon, the King motioned for Liam, who stepped up the microphone with his head held high. I caught his eye and blew him a kiss with a wink. He grinned in spite of himself as he started his well-rehearsed speech.

"Thank you all for being here tonight. This is an incredible honor and a responsibility that I don't take lightly. I can only hope that I can serve Cordonia with the distinction that my father did."

He embraced his father and then the Queen before stepping back a little. The Queen took the microphone, saying with great ceremony, "And now, the time has come. Your Prince will choose his bride."

The King and Queen each said a few more words, thanking the ladies and blah blah blah, but I was barely listening. I was watching Liam, the stupidest smile plastered on my face. I was caught off guard when a strange man approached the King and Queen, whispering something to them while gesturing to a phone he held in his hand. I looked around and noticed that, all around me, phones were beginning to buzz. Murmurs came from all sides of the ballroom as whatever news it was spread. Maxwell looked at his own phone and gasped. "Bertrand!" He yelped, showing his brother the phone.

"Those bastards!" That was Drake's voice, and I spun around to see him a few feet away, seething and red-faced.

Oh God, I thought, somehow knowing what it was without seeing it. Please, no. "Drake..." I said, wanting to hear it from him rather than anyone else.

"The night Tariq walked into your room," he spat. "Someone took a picture, and they've plastered it all over the news." He showed me his phone, where there was, indeed, a picture of me in my underwear while Tariq reached towards me with a loving look. The headline read Prince Humiliated by Unfaithful Suitor.

I burst into tears, shaking my head. I spun quickly to look for Liam, but was blocked by a pair of royal guards. One of them was Liam's personal bodyguard, Bastien. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice quiet but firm, "But I've been ordered to escort you out...immediately. Along with the representatives from House Beaumont."

"This is absurd!" I heard Bertrand yelling.

"Get your damn hands off her," Drake yelled at the guards.

All the noise faded into a buzz. I felt numb. All I could think of was Liam. I desperately searched for his face as I was led out, and caught just a glimpse of it, shocked and horrified.

Before the ballroom doors closed, I could hear the King and Queen trying to restore order, and calling for Liam to make his selection of bride. Liam's voice was harsher than I had ever heard, and I realized it was filled with hatred as he spoke. His next four words broke my heart and hurt more than any of the humiliation I suffered that night. "I choose Lady Madeleine."

End note: And that wraps up book 1. Thank you so much to anyone who's been reading along; I hope you enjoyed it. I do plan to continue with the 2nd and 3rd books, so keep an eye out for those soon!