For those who missed it, I updated yesterday as well. See you at the bottom.

Thank you for all your passionate responses. I cherish them all.

Thank you to Dawn and Mandy for their invaluable input and support.

The American Princess

Chapter 28

Bella

We arrive at the palace after we leave the ball. I am escorted to the common area while Edward remains holed up in his father's office. It's going on about three hours now so it's late. I'm sure that as his father's heir, he has things he needs to tend to, but I am concerned about him. The doctors had updated the family and Emmett had called to say the king would be okay. There were some blockages and a stint was being performed. The small bitter part of me whispered that if he wouldn't be so damn irritable and meddling then this wouldn't have happened, but then the bigger person in me hushes that part and tells me to be gracious and relieved that Edward's father would make a full recovery.

He lives to meddle once again, comes the small whisper.

"Hey."

I look up to see Emmett being escorted in by the same man I had been.

"Looks like you get to join the other outsider," I smile.

Em shrugs and joins me on the couch.

"Where's Rose?"

"With Esme, gathering some of the king's things up for his hospital stay. Apparently, he has to have a certain thread count for his sheets or he goes ape shit crazy." He jokes.

I smile briefly then return to my melancholy.

"What's wrong?"

I raise my right eyebrow at him.

"Besides the obvious." He urges.

"I… I don't know how to explain it, really. It's like I felt something shift when it happened and then in the car..." I trail off.

"Something?"

"In Edward."

"Bella, his father just had a life-threatening heart attack and for all intents and purposes, they were estranged for the last few months. I'm sure, Edward is beating himself up about it."

"Yeah. That makes sense. I guess, I just want him to be okay."

"He will be. He has you."

I really smile this time and put my hand over Em's and squeeze. We sit like that for over an hour, chatting quietly and laughing at our private inside jokes when Rose appears in the doorway.

She seems sad.

"He's gonna be okay, Rose." I assure her.

She tries to smile but doesn't look at me, instead her eyes find Emmett and she extends her hand to him. "Come for a walk with me?" She asks.

"I'll follow you anywhere." He replies, grabbing her hand. She pauses and turns towards me.

"Edward will see you now." She says, almost formally, her eyes still averted.

"Thanks." I smile sympathetically at her. I know this is hard on her. On all of them.

I get up and walk the long trek to Carlisle's office. I knock and then open the door, poking my head in to see if he was still there.

He is. His back is to me, looking out over the gardens. I slip up behind him, wrapping my arms around him and inhaling his scent.

"You okay, Charming?"

He stiffens up and then turns around to face me. I look up at him. How I love this man with everything in me.

But then my eyes find his and I suddenly realize this fairy tale is over.

Because looking back at me isn't the man I fell in love with. This isn't the man that has repeatedly shown me his own love and devotion.

This man is Carlisle's son. The Crowned Prince of England reporting for duty, my subconcious mocks.

So, I let just one word destroy the silence.

"Why?"

"Like you said, it was never supposed to go this far. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" I bark out a harsh laugh. "You said you loved me."

That's irrelevant given the circumstances."

"Irrelevant? That's the only thing that is relevant, Edward!"

I place my hands on his cheeks and make him look at me. I see a flicker of something and I grab onto it like a lifeline.

"I know you didn't go into this thinking we would fall in love with each other. Neither did I.. But we did. We did. I love you, Edward. I love you. We can get through this, I know we can."

He grasps onto both hands and I smile. Then he slowly brings my hands down and places them at my sides, still linked with me.

"You don't know anything. You went into this thinking you could get 'Masen'. What you don't realize is that Masen is Edward and Edward is Masen. We are the same person. I forgot that for a moment." He lets go of my hands and backs away. "It was fun while it lasted. You are...were... a wonderful distraction, Bella, and a genuinely kind, generous, gorgeous woman. But you are not, and never will be, my princess."

Now its my turn to back away. I have already done the one thing I swore I would never do and that is beg for a man to want me. Even if it's this man.

I nod, and I smile because I will be damned if he ever sees he got the best of me, even when I had given him the best of me. It's gentle in its nature because I do truly love this man.

"I never once said I wanted to be." I tell him, my voice as soft as my smile.

I gather myself and walk quietly to the door.

"Promise me one thing." I wait for an answer that doesn't come, not that I expect it to. "Take care of yourself and remember who you really are." I then look back over my shoulder at his unmoving figure, once again facing away from me. "Because I know I always will. Goodbye, Edward."

Then with a gentle click, I'm in the hallway, knowing I shut more than just a door.

I calmly take out my phone and shoot off a text to Emmett.

'I need you.'

Then I hurry away from the room where I left my heart and soul, because I will never let him think I am waiting on him to come to me.

Never again.

***TAP***

I grab another stack of shirts from the chiffrobe and place it in my suitcase. How did I accumulate this much clothing in such a short amount of time? Bras, underwear, yoga pants, shirts, etc, were going with me. All the gowns and princess-y stuff were staying here. I had no need for it.

Emmett comes into the room with his own suitcase and a forlorn expression on his face.

"I'm almost done."

"You okay?" He asks once again.

"Yeah." But it's a short, bitter answer and we both know I'm not.

I finish and look around to make sure I don't forget anything important. My eyes land on the necklace lying on the bedside table I had been using before I started staying in his room and I itch to take it with me but a constant tangible reminder like that might quite honestly be the death of me.

I grab a small piece of stationary, scribble a note and walk down the hall to place it on the pillow my head had once laid before walking back to where Emmett was, gathering my bags and leading the way out of the apartment to the waiting car so graciously provided by Prince Edward.

Final Destination: Heathrow.

But first, I had one more stop to make.

"King Edward's please."

Emmett looks at me sharply. "What are you going to do?"

"I have some more goodbyes to say."

***TAP***

When we get there, I see there are guards at the front entrance of the hospital. They have already asked someone if we have clearance by the time we get to them and we are let in with no fuss. More guards at the elevator. Then more when we reach the floor the king is on.

Emmett gets stiffer the closer we get to the waiting room. "I'm not going to assassinate him, if that what you're worried about."

Hmmm, maybe the guards are for me.

"I know that."

"Then why are you so rigid?"

"Later." I nod.

When we finally arrive to the private waiting room where there are yet again more guards, all the adult members of the family and Marcus. Always Marcus. The smug look in his eyes lets me know he knows and that he is thrilled with the recent turn of events between the prince and I.

At least one of us is. I nod at everyone and embrace Esme tightly. She's so worried.

"He'll be fine, Ma'am."

"I know, but he's always been so healthy. But lately with the strain…" She trails off as she realizes I am the strain she is talking about. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for. I never intended to be such a problem. Well, not one that would compromise someone's health." I laugh. "But I was wondering if I could have a quick word with Carlisle?"

"Absolutely not!" Marcus exclaims. "Haven't you done enough?"

Ignoring him, I keep my eyes on Esme. "I promise I will not upset him any further. You have my word."

Her eyes are gentle when she nods. "I think he may be still sleeping. They sedated him for the procedure."

"Your Majesty, I don't think that…"

Her glare quiets him. "I don't much care what you think right now, Marcus. He is my husband and I say it's alright."

"Yes ,Your Majesty." He slinks off to his previous position against the wall.

She indicates for a guard to escort me. I follow him to the room where there are two more guards. For a king so well loved you'd think someone would take him out in a moment's notice they way he is being protected. A harsh look from one of the guards makes me think Marcus put them there because of me. I roll my eyes at the thought.

I enter and a guard comes in with me and stands at the door, studiously ignoring me.

"I'll be sure to stay away from his pillows." I mutter under my breath. The tightening of his jaw tells me he heard me.

He appears to be sleeping. His is adorned with a nasal canula and there is an annoying beeping. He's slightly gray in color and looks weak compared to the man berating me just a short while ago.

I settle in next to him. "Hi. I don't know if you can hear me or not so I'll make this quick. I promised Esme I wouldn't upset you so it's probably good you aren't awake. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you, you win. Edward has asked me to leave and he is in your office taking care of things the way you would want him to. He will be a great king one day but not for the reasons you think.

He will be fair and honest. He will be charitable and generous. He will be pragmatic in most of his dealings. He will be charming." My voice breaks a bit but I clear my throat and continue. "Because that is who he is. He was always meant for this life, whether he realized it or not. And I helped make him better. You may be able to take him away from me but you'll never take that away from me."

I get up and as I do, I realize his eyes are open and fixated on me. I smile at him because when it really comes down to it, we both want what is best for his son. We just have different ideas of what that is.

"Do me a favor. Just one. Tell him you're proud of who he is because he doesn't know it and it bothers him more than he lets on. And it doesn't have to be for me- do it for him. Do it for your relationship with him. Can you do that?"

He nods once, curtly.

"I am happy that you will be okay. Take care of yourself."

And with head held high, I sweep past all the guards, collect a still silent Emmett who is waiting outside the waiting room and we head towards the airport. His hand nudges my leg and I grasp it.

"Rose asked me to leave."

"Edward told me to leave."

He snorts, but no humor is found in the sound.

"We don't need them." He declares.

"No, but we sure as hell want them."

Then we're both silent.

And it's only after I'm surrounded by the luxury of their private plane- the same one I arrived on- that I let one solitary tear roll down my face.

I know most of you will be upset. I am too, but no matter how much I tweaked and second guessed myself, this was always going to happen this way. I have always promised an HEA and I will deliver but I never said how I'd get there. Also, I know the idea of Bella getting anywhere near Carlisle in his state is preposterous but I ask you to suspend reality for the sake of fiction.

I'll see you sometime next week.

Harpy out.