Sorry for the long wait in between updates, but real life does take precedence over fandom life. I will try to do better in the future.
Now, some of you think that Edward is a bit of an arse for using Bella but you have to understand this- Bella is not an option for marriage so he won't even entertain getting to know her in a romantic way at this point. Things will change soon enough.
Thanks to my sister for pre reading and Belynda for beta-ing. I appreciate you both. And sorry about the lack of commas this last time, B. It's always something.
The American Princess Chapter 4
EPOV
I am awakened, rather rudely, with the shrill ringing of my phone. I do my best to ignore it, until I just can't anymore.
I groan and roll over to the side of the bed where my phone is residing and check to see who is ringing me at this hour.
Father.
Doesn't he know I am five hours behind him?
I press the side button to ignore it and try to go back to sleep.
It immediately starts going off again.
Marcus.
I frown and wait for it to stop ringing then check my messages.
I scroll and I scroll and I scroll. Message after message from Jasper, Alice, Rose and Kate.
Missed calls from my father, Marcus, and my mother, because they refuse to learn how to text.
What in the world is going on?
I decide to call my brother as he is the calmest one in the family.
He answers as I wipe the sleep from my eyes.
"Edward, what in the world is going on?" he answers.
I blink hard, now awake. He sounds panicked which is exactly the opposite of what I am hoping for.
"I'm sure I have no idea to what you are referring."
"Are you bloody serious? It's all over the telly and the rags."
"What is?" Can't he just get to the bloody point already?
"You and Bella Swan sneaking away to her hotel room last night, and you leaving a long while later."
I wince.
"Oh, that. Yes, I met Bella Swan last night. She's a lovely young woman." I left it at that. If I am to convince her to participate in my plan then I need to convince everyone.
I could hear him waiting for me to clarify. I don't.
"That's it? That's all you are going to say?"
"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell," I reply.
"You are in so much trouble."
"How mad is he?" I ask.
"On a scale of one to ten, I would say he is at about a fifty."
"Wonderful. I think I will refuse his calls for a little while longer then."
"I wouldn't advise that, Brother."
"I am in New York for another day so I think I am safe for now. I will deal with it when I arrive home. For now, though, I have things to accomplish this morning before my dinner meeting. I will see you soon."
I hang up, not bothering to hear his reply, and instead rise to call in my breakfast order and the newspapers.
That should make for some interesting reading.
***TAP***
I am right on all accounts. It is interesting some of the things that the media can make up. I am in trouble—deep trouble. My phone hasn't been silent since I woke up. I ignore all calls, including Kate's. I instead shoot her off a text telling her that everything is fine and I will fill her in later. She replies, using language most unbecoming of a lady.
I dress and decide to make my way over to Bella's hotel. I am sure the news has reached her and she won't be very happy about it. She doesn't seem the type that likes scandals and I know Emmett won't be happy.
My security detail arrives promptly and they escort me out the back entrance, and soon enough, we are at 'the scene of the crime' – as it were. I am, however, delayed by the most unhelpful concierge. It occurs to me that I can't simply go up to her room. I must be announced and accepted, neither of which, I am sure, will happen. I am right.
However, Emmett does arrive downstairs with a look I can't quite decipher.
He motions his head for me to follow him to an empty conference room, so I do.
"What exactly are you doing here?" he asks.
"I am here to see Bella." I would think that is obvious.
"Have you seen the papers today?"
"Yes."
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath then opens them again.
"You can't be here, so I am going to ask you to leave."
I raise my eyebrows.
"I am the Crown Prince of England. I don't leave unless I want to." An arrogant statement, for sure; but honest. "And I don't want to."
"Well, Buddy, this is America. Not England. And when the lady says she doesn't want to see you, that means she doesn't want to see you. She doesn't need this right now. I don't need this right now. My job just got easy again."
"Ah, yes. The scandal she was involved in a couple of years ago, with the director. The one she knocked out cold? What was his name? James Hunter. Not one of our finest citizens, it seems. I believe that no one would work with her for over a year after that."
His jaw tightens.
"I am not here to cause problems, but to offer a solution. Please take me to her and see if she will hear me out. If she says no, I will leave and I will release a statement saying that nothing happened; that she took pity on me after I injured myself."
"And if she says yes?"
"Then I will still release a statement, of course, but my idea would be mutually beneficial to us because we both know that no matter what I say, the press will misconstrue it and twist it any way they see fit."
He ponders this for a minute, then nods. "Come on, but if she throws something at me, I am using you as my shield. I like my nose and yours looks like shit already."
He is right, of course. My nose is swollen and my eyes are black; I look like I lost a fight with Rocky.
I follow him up to the room. He strides in, leaving the door open for me, and I hesitantly step over the threshold, then into the living area.
Bella is curled on the couch, just as she was last night, but this time she isn't content or guarded. You can see all her emotions today. She is magnificent in her fury. No makeup, riotous hair, a silk patterned robe and no shoes.
She listens to Emmett while her eyes fall on me. She sighs then gestures to the chair across from her. I quickly settle myself in while Emmett sits next to Bella.
Her first words to me are shocking.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, why do you ask that?"
Her eyes soften. "I know that you have much more to lose than I do if this scandal continues."
She's very perceptive, this girl.
"I haven't spoken to my father but I do know that he is not pleased with me, at the moment. It seems I have put us in a most inopportune situation and for that, I am sorry."
"You haven't done anything, Edward. It's the damn press. I should've known they would be watching. They always are, like the hounds of hell at my feet, waiting for any scrap of negative information on me. I was just so worried about your injury that I let my guard down, and in that moment, they dragged us both into this."
I wait for her to continue, instinctively knowing she has more to say.
"I have fought so hard to never let them see me sweat. I act impassive. I don't smile. I don't show emotion at all for fear that they will crucify me, or someone I care for, all over the damn magazines for people to judge. Hell, I never go out with my friends anymore. Not the ones I love, anyway; because who wants to fuck with that?"
"If they love you, they won't care," I interject. "Take Angela, for example. She used more force than I am sure was necessary to set my nose, out of loyalty to you."
"Yeah, sorry about that. I'm sorry about all of that. I can understand your point of view but you have to understand, I don't like liars and I don't like fake."
Okay, here goes nothing.
"About that. I have a proposition for you. And it might be your most challenging acting job ever because it will involve you being a lying fake."
Emmett raises his eyebrows at me, while Bella frowns at me.
"Will you hear me out?"
"Yeah, I guess."
I blow out a breath.
"Okay, so I don't know how much you know about me but I am the first in line to succeed my father. With that comes certain responsibilities."
"Like what?" she asks.
Emmett laughs. "Unless you were born in a barn, I am pretty sure you have an idea of what his responsibilities are, Bella."
Bella never takes her eyes off me. "I'm asking him."
"I have to be on point all the time. I must remain impartial to politics. I must entertain dignitaries. I must be polite all the time. I can't be involved in any scandals, and I haven't been, at least, up until now, if this can be considered a scandal. I must study at my father's hands. I can't make mistakes. I can't be ... human."
Bella cocks her head at me, studying me carefully.
"Get to the point, Edward."
"I have to marry a suitable wife, one with a title. The woman that I would prefer to marry is titled but not considered suitable by my father."
"Why not?"
"She's had her fair share of scandals in the past. None of which reflected upon her family well."
"But you love her despite that," she states.
"Love? I don't think we are there just yet. I am fond of her. We have fun together."
"So, he lets you see her but doesn't approve of her?" Confusion colors her voice.
"No. We have to sneak and meet in private at night."
Awareness now.
"Oh, you have fun in bed together. Got it, go on."
I am almost thirty years old. I should not be blushing about Bella calling me out on my sex life.
I clear my throat and think of how to proceed.
"What exactly do you need from me?"
"I need you to act like last night was just what it looked like. We met, you invited me up to your room, things turned romantic and now we're dating."
Emmett's mouth falls open, while Bella's tightens into a line.
"So, what you're saying is that I have to pretend that I am the sort of woman who invites a man she has known for half an hour up to her room for an hour, like a prostitute? And what is that going to solve? Both of us will look like whores. Not what either of us needs at the moment."
"I said romantic, not sex." I scoot to the edge of my seat and lean forward. "I need to convince my family that I… we… fell head over heels for each other and are pursuing a committed relationship."
"Why? If you have to marry a title, which is what you are trying to do, then I am certainly not going to be suitable." She starts ticking off points with her fingers. "I'm American. I'm an actress who has been involved in a scandal. I was born poor. I have tattoos and I dress for comfort. I hate shoes. I rarely brush my hair. I say 'fuck' and 'shit'… like, a lot." She stops and closes her eyes. "Of course. You want to date me so you can make her seem perfect."
"Yes, he said 'anyone but Kate'," I quote.
"Does this woman have a golden twat or something?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"The only thing you have said positive about this woman is that she is a good time in bed. How male of you. This is kind of insulting and I fail to see how this will help me."
"There will be no scandal. Well, not a negative one anyway. It's the ultimate dream. The ordinary girl gets a prince. The media and their audience will love it. It's a romance novel played out in real life."
"Bella is anything but ordinary," Emmett interjects.
"I know that. Look, I felt a connection the moment we met."
"Yeah, I know. It was my shoe hitting your face. So, say this works, then what? You get the girl and I go home?"
"Yes, with all the sympathy of the people while I look like an arsehole."
"Well, can't say I don't like the sound of that," she muses. She turns to Emmett. "What do you think?"
"Are you seriously entertaining this idea?" Emmett asks.
"Well, I'm off for the next few months and I've never been to the palace and I do love to stir shit up."
"You will be crucified, Bella. People are going to be saying horrible things about you and how you don't deserve to be dating Prince Edward. They will criticize every little thing about you."
"Yes, it'll be a refreshing change, won't it? What do you think they are doing now? At least, I won't be by myself in this. Edward will take the hits too, not just from the media but from his family. And if it helps him get his happily ever after, that's okay with me. I did break his nose, after all. So, I say yes."
"Yes? Really?"
"Yeah, I'll do this but when I want it to stop, it stops. When it isn't fun anymore and I have taken all the blows to my self-esteem that I can, then I'm out."
Fair enough.
"Agreed."
She gets up, crosses the small space between us and extends her hand to me. I stand up and take it without hesitation. Her hands are warm, soft. She shakes it a little.
"Oh, we are shaking on it," I state.
"Well, we can't have the agreement in writing, now can we?" she teases.
"Thank you for this."
"You're thanking me for allowing you to throw me into the lion's den, destroying my self-esteem and possibly ruining everything I have worked for up until this point?"
"Yes, I imagine I am."
"I want to be on record for saying I think this is a bad idea," Emmett chimes in.
"No one asked you, Em."
"Of course not."
She turns to him. "I love you. You are my best friend but I pay you a whole lot of money that up until a couple of years ago, you didn't really earn, simply because I like your company."
He frowns and she walks over and sits by him.
"I need this right now. I can't explain it but my whole heart is telling me to go for it. For the past two years, I haven't allowed myself any room for error. I've become this shell of who I used to be and I feel dead inside most days. Last night was the first time in a long time that I let myself be me. I want to do this but I need your support."
He purses his lips, looks between us and sighs.
"Fine, but I reserve the right to say, 'I told you so'. My first responsibility is to you and if he makes you cry even once, I will break more than his nose."
I wince inwardly but remain impassive outwardly. I imagine this man could inflict much damage.
Bella grins.
"Looks like it's you and me, Your Highness. So, what's first on the agenda?"
I grin back at her.
This may actually work.