Chapter 56

King Derek

Derek was in the main studio going over some papers when he heard a knock at the door, he looked up to see who it was, and it was her sister-in-law Hadley.

"Hello, Derek, are you busy?" asked the princess.

"Hey Hadley, no, I'm just going over some papers; what's up?" asked Derek.

"Well, I came to ask you a favor and tell you something." Said Hadley as she was telling Derek her plans for what she wanted to do for Christmas, and he got surprised but loved the idea.

"What do you think?" she said.

"I love that idea; did you tell Genevieve in advance as well?" asked Derek.

"Yes, and she told me to ask you too." Said Hadley.

"Well, it's alright with me; you can take the royal sled and get the place ready." Said Derek as he wondered what the second thing was about.

"The next thing is that Genevieve is acting a bit weird. Can you keep a close eye on her, please?" Said Hadley.

"Of course, thank you for telling me I will fix this." Said Derek as Hadley smiled at him and then left to get the things ready.

Knock…. Knock

"Come in," said Derek as he knew who it was, the door opened to reveal his trusted friend Phoenix.

"Phoenix, just the person I was waiting for; how long have we been friends? Like brothers?" asked Derek, while Phoenix chuckled at this.

"Since I can remember, you helped me when I was 8 to stand up for some kids that were bullying me one day after school; why?" asked Phoenix.

"I've heard that you and Hadley have been getting a bit close?" asked Derek teasingly.

"Oh? You've heard that, huh?" asked Phoenix.

"Yes, I did, and she's basically my little sister now; I just want to know your feelings towards her." Asked Derek.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but It feels like love at first sight to me; when I talked to her and saw her for the first time, I felt something special, like something clicked." Said Phoenix with loving eyes as Derek could see that he was falling in love with Hadley, and Derek smiled at him.

"That, my friend, is love." Finished Derek.

"You're not mad, are you?" asked Phoenix, worried.

"Mad? No, I just wanted to make sure how you felt about her. Are you going to ask her father permission to officially court her?" asked Derek.

"Well… I want to do the right thing, but I also want to know how she feels about me; if she feels the same, then yes; if not, I will let her be." Said Phoenix while Derek simply smiled at him.

"Like a true man." Said Derek.

"I learned it from you; you taught me to be fair and true; your son and wife are lucky to have you as a role model. And speaking of your wife, Derek, I have something to tell you." Said Phoenix.

"What is it, Phoenix?" asked Derek, worried.

"If I were you, I would keep a close eye on her; I feel like something is not right here, and she and Henry could be in danger." Said Phoenix, as Derek suddenly got confused.

"Huh? You know you're the second person who's told me this and don't worry, I will; plus, I need you to do me a favor since I hired Angel; I feel like something is not right. Could you investigate him for me? facts on where he was born, family last job, that sort of thing." Asked Derek.

"Of course, I will notify you if something happens." Said Phoenix.

"Thank you," said Derek as they continued to discuss some things before he departed to his wife.

"Hey honey, how was your day?" asked Derek as he reached out and kissed his wife, as she only shrugged.

"Did something happen?" he asked, getting her attention.

"Why… why do u ask?" she said as she made her way to the vanity and started brushing her hair.

"Gen, if anything is bothering you tell me, please; I don't want anything to happen to you or our son." He said as she looked at him and smiled, then got up and walked toward him.

"You need to be calm…. Nothing went wrong; I… I just considered what you said earlier and concluded that you're right, so if it's okay with you, I want Phoenix to be mine and Henry's personal guard till this is over." Said Genevieve.

"Okay, I also asked him this early before coming back with you." Said Derek as she smiled and pulled closer to him, and he hugged her.

He knew Genevieve well; she was hiding something and if she didn't want to tell him was either because she feared something that could happen or because she thought it was no big deal.

But he doesn't care; he's going to try to figure out what it is; eventually, he just hopes that it won't be too late once he finds out; he got ready for bed, then joined his wife in bed and drifted to sleep.

Doctor Philip

Philip had enough of this; he needed to find Edaline and solve this quickly; as he made his way to his dormitory, he found her halfway there; he looked at her; she was reading a book.

'she's so beautiful, still with everything that happened.' He thought as he made his way towards her.

"Edaline." He said, and she looked up, she was going to leave again, but he had stopped her by grabbing her hand gently.

"No, please, Edaline. We need to talk; let me explain." He said as she looked him in the eyes and said.

"Like hell, I would let you. We have nothing to talk about; you made it clear." As he looked depressed.

"Please, Edaline. I was stupid then, but we were barely in our teens. I made mistakes just like everyone. I'm not perfect, and neither are you." He said.

"Fine, I'll give you five minutes." She said.

"I am so sorry for what I did to you; I shouldn't have done that. I was young, and I know that's no excuse but hear me out. My intentions were never to hurt you, and if I could go back in time, I would change it." He said, but then Edaline had cut him off.

"But you can't because that's impossible, Philip; you knew my feelings towards you when we were young, and you never seemed to care; you acted like you loved me and then not. You played me, and you knew how I figured that out? I saw you kissing Emily; she was one of my best friends." Said Edaline, tearing up.

"No, Edaline, I never played you. Yes, in the beginning, it was hard because I didn't know what I felt for you, but then it hit me, and princess Emily wasn't your friend; she was using you to get to me because she loved me. But because I loved you, she tried to seduce me; what you saw, she planned it because I told her that day that I was going to tell you everything, and then when I heard you, she kissed me." Said Philip, very depressed; he felt so destroyed.

"When I left, she came to find me and told me that you had kissed her and that you weren't a good match for me, and I kicked her out because she had betrayed me, you said, Love?" asked Edaline.

"Yes, Edaline, from the moment I never saw you again, my whole world fell. I never saw anyone else. I just dedicated my life to working, hoping someday I could see you again and ask you to forgive me for not talking to you sooner I gave up too quickly when I should have fought for you more." He said as he lifted her chin with his fingers and wiped away a tear.

"I never stopped loving you, and since most of my life was lost, I don't think I'll ever stop loving you; please forgive me, and I still hope there could be a chance for us? Don't answer me now, but please think about it." Said Philip as he kissed her cheek and left to his room.

Princess Edaline

Edaline looked as Philip left; she couldn't help but cry; she never wanted those memories to come back; they had always haunted her, it was killing her on the inside, but it was time to face It, but only time could tell if she can forgive him and they can try again.

Flashback

"I... can't believe that you did that?!" said Edaline angrily.

"It wasn't my fault, Edaline; he just came up and told me that he loved me and kissed me and said that you were just a game to him." Said Princess Emily.

"It doesn't matter; you knew I love him and did this to me. Aren't you supposed to do that?" She said.

"You know what, Edaline, I told you these many times, but you're too good for him; you're a princess; he's a commoner. You have everything; what does he have to offer you? He could just be used as a toy." Said Emily as Edaline gave her a look.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she said,

"Oh honey, you are stupid, aren't you? Surely, he's hot and cute, but he has nothing to offer me; if he did, he is off with me." Said Emily smirking.

"You know I love him, and you still would take him away from me?" she asked while her friend smirked.

"Oh, come on, Edaline, have you seen yourself?! You're almost too fat. I'm a bit skinnier than you and don't have any scars or freckles on my face, plus the way you dress and the hair. Compared to you, I'm a barbie doll, a goddess." Said Emily.

"Stop it!" said Edaline.

She didn't want to hear this again; she knew Emily was very popular, and every prince who met her wanted to marry her immediately; her skin was standard peach color, her hair was long and blond, and her lips looked like the soft color pink.

It was true she was skinnier than her, but she was still pretty; her father had told her she looked like her mother, and everyone wanted to marry her.

"Just get out; you aren't my friend! You never where you just used me, get out!" she screamed at her, and Emily smirked before replying.

"You're such a bitch; you're never going to find anyone who loves you, your too ugly, and without me, your nothing." Said Emily as she left laughing.

End of Flashback

Some tears fell from Edaline's eye, and she remembered the memory of her ex-friend; she never liked her, and she always made her feel terrible; she's fed up with people's misery, and she had also thought that maybe it was a lie that he had kissed her first but was never sure.

All she could do was think about Philip, then she whispered the three words she never thought she would say again.

"I love you." She said as she headed to her room.