On board with the royals: an exclusive look inside the Clarence's royal jet!

It is common knowledge that royals don't fly commercial, especially when they're off to a royal tour. The Duke and Duchess of Clarence, however, have taken the royal flight experience to a next level. The duo have invited journalists from the Royal Rota to join them on the plane, offering an exclusive look behind the scenes of this very special royal tour. While the journalists usually fly on a commercial flight that arrives a couple of hours before the Royals, the Clarences have decided to take a different approach.

Their Boeing 777 X, which is the largest aeroplane with two levels that exists, has been built to their family's needs. As a commercial flight it can seat 400 passengers very comfortably and just a handful are used for private flying. In the Bolton's case, the plane has enough space for 70 people. Enough for the family of four generations and security service or, in our case, the Royal Rota, the security service and the royals with their team. While we weren't allowed to enter the royal area of the aeroplane, there was enough to see and do. There was a bar, a relaxing lounge area, a conference table to work at and a board kitchen which allows the chefs to cook fresh while flying! Mahogany mixed with white marble, finest Egyptian linen and camel coloured leather for the seats that turn into beds and two showers in the two standard bathrooms. We were each gifted slippers and pyjamas to sleep in, made out of navy silk. The whole plane was decorated with vases filled with pink peonies, which are the Duchess' favourite flowers. The sky was glittering with stars. The cost of one of these machines? The starting price is asking half a billion pounds!


The Duke and Duchess of the Bahamas: How the Royals are yet on another holiday!

The Clarences have arrived in the beautiful Bahamas over a week ago, yet nothing of substance has come out of this visit. A little hand waving there, some hugs here and lots of love gazes. The Royal tour was off to a good start though, the couple visited former sugar plantations and paid their respects to the people that died by laying down a wreath on behalf of His Majesty. While Josie has kept a low profile ever since - allegedly due to morning sickness - her husband has been visiting hospitals, homeless shelters and schools all over the island. Hampton Court Palace has not yet issued a statement in regards to Josie's health but the Royal Tour Planning Committee has said that any plans for the Duchess has been postponed until Her Royal Highness is feeling better.


Josephine

"Here are the best five letters for you to read, Your Royal Highness." Lydia hands me five handwritten letters from kids in elementary schools.

"Just five? Where is the rest?" I ask surprised.

"I suggested to filter them-"

"According to what criteria? I wanted to go through them all and not just five!" I nearly explode, causing the rest of our team to look up from their desks. "Sorry. I am very hormonal right now." I apologise. To say our tour didn't go to plan would be an understatement. I was caught off guard by severe morning sickness for the first half of our stay here, so Oliver had to go on all the royal engagements by himself. While he did an excellent job, I wanted to be by his side and that grew my frustration.

"We have stored them in boxes. If you follow me." Lydia rises from the chair and I follow her through our permanently office here. It's quite warm today and the sun is shining mercilessly, but thanks to the air conditioning we're not sweating. Everyone's wearing T-shirts and shorts, flip flops and ballerinas, maxi dresses and straw hats. Everyone except Lydia. She sticks to her tight cut business dresses and high heels. She looks like I used to when I was still working for my family's firm.

She really needs to be fucked to let loose a little.

Lydia stops in front of a closed white door. "They're all in here." With that she opens the door, revealing a room that's stuffed with boxes and loose sheets of papers.

That's more like it. "Okay. I need a chair, a cup of peppermint tea and a pen to make notes." I decide as I scan the room. This is something I can work with.

"You want to go through all of them by yourself?" Lydia asks me surprised. Her blue eyes are wide and her left perfectly and plucked eyebrow is raised at me.

"Yes." I run my fingers through my chestnut curls. I haven't bothered trying to tame them with the humidity there is on the Bahamas. "When did Hilary want to publish the first letters?"

"At twelve."

That means I have four hours. That should be enough to get an idea of what's in these boxes. "Okay. We'll post single page letters in our first Instagram post." I decide. "Girls and boys at the age of five to eight maybe."

"That would be in these boxes." Lydia points at the stack to my right. Eight boxes. "We could go over them together."

I shake my head, "No, I want to do it myself."

"You have your first engagement at one at the Early Learning Centre. Your hair and make up will be here at twelve sharp."

The Early Learning Centre is dedicated to making education for deaf people accessible. It's something Oliver suggested me to do and I fully stand behind the idea. I would love to pay them a visit and engage with the children there. I haven't communicated in sign language in quite a while though. I might make some mistakes, but I don't mind. I nod, "Thank you. That would be all." I dismiss her with a genuine smile on my lips. Lydia closes the door behind her and I free a chair before sitting down on it. It might take me some time to go through them all but educational support is worth it. We have chosen multiple schools to support under the umbrella of The Commonwealth Education Support and are planning to announce it simultaneously to my visit to the school. It will be my first visit since day two here on the Bahamas. While I have been knocked out by morning sickness for almost two weeks, I am excited to be back out in public. I am sick of writing apology letters because I can't make it. The Commonwealth Education Support won't fail. I'll make sure of it.


Oliver

"We've arrived."

Ralph's voice rips me out my thoughts. I look out of the front window and we've indeed arrived at the bungalow we've been living in for the last ten days. The last four hours at the homeless shelter were a pure bliss. I loved prepping and cooking all the food with the people there and I wish my wife could have joined me but I promised them to come back with her. Our schedules are quite tight so we're going to be busy in the finale days here.

I get out of the car and feel the humidity clashing against my face. It's the same humidity that I felt every time I went outside in Rio. It was in a different life. I can't believe how much my life has changed since I met my wife. She turned it upside down in the best way possible.

I walk down the pathway that leads to the wooden bungalow with a straw roof. The beach with its white sand and turquoise coloured water is right behind it. There are six other bungalows on this property for our security and staff. We've converted the biggest bungalow into an office for us to all work in. We removed everything that we didn't need and put in large desks. But we still kept the master bedroom with its en-suite for us. The Commonwealth Education Support is something we plan to announce in a few days, right before we fly back home. This way, the effect would have the most impact according to our team. But neither Lydia nor Hilary could have guessed how nasty the press was about to get while we're here. Especially, when Josephine's doctor demanded bedrest after my wife had been throwing up for one day straight, the press turned on us. It's going to take a while until the opinion of the public shifts to the positive, so Josephine and I - and our whole team - try to focus on our work and its impact. But it's still hard if the press brings out one negative story after another. No matter what we do, we'll be #NotOurRoyals for a bloody long time.

I enter the bungalow through the open wooden doors and get greeted by a tensed atmosphere. Everyone is dressed in flowy summer clothes except for Lydia. Honestly, I have no idea why this woman sticks to business dresses and stilettos when everyone else has let loose in their long dresses or shorts, T-shits and flip flops. It's quite hot but windy here. Our team is working silently on their laptops. The only audible sound is coming in through the open doors, but even the calming sound of the crashing waves is uplifting the atmosphere here. Whatever happened here, it has definitely killed the good vibes.

"What's going on?"

All heads shoot up at my voice and I get greeted by faces full of guilt.

Shit, it's bad. "Another bad headline?"

"Worse." Sarah mumbles.

"Where's my wife?" I ask as I notice she's not sitting at her usual spot at the large rectangular table.

"She locked herself in your bedroom."

My eyes widen at Lydia's words. She did what?! "But we're suppose to leave for the opening of the first Early Learning Centre in an hour."

"It's cancelled." Sarah enlightens me.

"Cancelled?" I echo her. "Okay, someone needs to tell me what happened."

The women in our team share a gaze, while the men look down at their laptops and continue working. I guess, Josephine was right when she said that women are the stronger sex.

Sarah rises after a moment from her chair and walks over to me. "Our job is to protect you from harm of any sort and to keep our eyes out for anything that might throw sticks and stones our way."

I don't like how this conversation is starting. "Just spit it out, Sarah." I hiss at her.

"Lydia's radar has gone haywire when one of her sources told her about a bomb that's going to explode in mid summer. Around the time Her Royal Highness is due to give birth to be exact."

"What bomb?" Really, She needs to stop talking in riddles!

"A tell-all book of 500 pages." Sarah bites on her lower lip. "Written by no other than Edward Rothschild."

My jaw drops open. "Edward wrote a book?"

"It doesn't have a title yet, but Lydia managed to get her hands on the finale edit."

I pinch the bridge of my nose. That bloody psychopath just can't let her go! "Have you read it?"

Sarah nods, "Just Lydia and me. We scanned it for… for damage assessment."

I don't need to ask how bad it is. Her face says it all.

"The book talks about…" the blonde looks away from me for a moment. "I mean, it's all rumours, but the fact that he is her ex-fiancé indicates some truth…" She's still avoiding my gaze. This is getting worse by the second.

"Sarah,"

"There's a whole chapter about arrangements with other men. One-night stands."

"Bloody bastard!" It escapes my lips. He fucking wrote about the contracts?! "Is Josephine reading it right now?"

"Yes."

I run my fingers through my hair. This is the ultimate way to destroy whatever reputation we have left. "How long have you guys known about this?"

"Since the first day of our stay here. We're working on stopping the publication. Our legal team is already working on letters, preparing to sue…"

That won't do much. Not when the writer is a Rothschild. He isn't afraid of a legal fight. This is something that can only be solved the illegal way. By hacking into the system and removing the bloody book from every device there is. "Is anything about that in the press?"

"No. I think they're going to wait until probably the birth of your twins or right before that to utilise the maximum exposure. It's kept under very tight wraps, which is odd considering the scope it holds but very good for us."

"I need to talk to my wife. Inform me when you have any news." With that I turn around and rush down the hallway that leads to the master bedroom. I stop in front of the wooden door and inhale deeply. It won't help us if I storm in there like tornado. One of us has to stay calm, so the other can let go.

And it has to be me because it can't be her.

I pull down the door handle but it's locked. "Josephine, it's me." I knock on the door and wait. After a few seconds the door unlocks and I step in. To my surprise, my wife hasn't shed angry tears like I thought. No, she has taken out the red pen and annotated every single page of his book. There's an explosion of loose pages all over the hardwood floor. Some pages even have the devil's horns on them. Others have words in Russian and French written on them.

Yep, that's definitely the work of my wife.

I shut the door behind us. "Tesouro, I just heard-"

"I will kill him!" She yells at me, full of rage while gesturing with her hands. "I will choke him to death! How dare he! How fucking dare he!"

"I-"

"He bloody did not sign a non disclosure agreement and he's fucking rubbing this under my nose in front of the whole world now! He agreed to not say a single word about anything. But his fucking word is clearly worth nothing! This is payback! Fucking karma! Because I pushed you away and used him as a rebound and fucking left him at the alter! I'm paying for all that I have done!"

My eyes wander through through the room, scanning all the paper on the floor and bed again while my wife keeps talking. It is only now that I realise some pages have drops of what looks like red ink on them. Except my wife didn't use a fountain pen with red ink for her notes. She used a pen. Not a fountain pen.

I notice a pattern and slowly follow the trail. They stop at my wife's feet.

And then I notice the red line running down her left leg. "You're bleeding!" I breathe out in shock.

My wife stops taking and looks down. "Oh, God!"

"You're not in pain?"

"No! I don't feel anything!" She says in total panic now. She touches her left leg, wiping away the line of blood. "God, please no! I can't loose our babies!"

"I'll call Dr. Ross." This bloody bastard won't harm my wife or unborn children any more.

Josephine

I went into a state of shock after Oliver redirected my attention from Rothschild's book to the blood I was loosing without noticing it. For a moment, my heart clenched so painfully in my chest that I thought I would die for them. I cannot lose my babies. I cannot give Rothschild this satisfaction. He tried to kill them not once, but twice now! How dare he!

And how dare I give him this power over me and therefore my babies, the two lives I vowed to protect until my last breath.

The air leaves the blood pressure wrap and Dr. Ross pulls out her stethoscope. "Your blood pressure is too high."

No wonder. "Are the babies okay?" I ask her. I have two belts wrapped around my belly. Each for one baby. The belts are connected to a monitor that writes down any contractions that could have started. So far, the needle hasn't moved much on the paper, which is good. It means no contractions, which equals no early labour. But at least I'm still in my own bedroom and not in the hospital.

To my relief she nods and Oliver squeezes my hand. "Oh, thank god!" He breathes out for both of us.

"It was another ruptured blood clot. Just like last time, your high stress levels caused it to rupture. The babies are okay but you have to be on strict bed rest until your blood pressure has come down."

"I'll be fine in a couple of days." I wave it off. I can't be on bed rest until we fly back home. We have so much planned!

"No, Josephine. This is serious. If you carry on like this, you will go into early labour and deliver these babies here. Speaking of leaving, I can't clear you for flying until the situation has improved. This could be in a week but also longer. Looking at the reason for this rupture and the last, I suggest you stay away from any news for the foreseeable future." My doctor tells me.

I gulp at her words. "We're stuck here?"

"You could sail over to your island when your blood pressure has normalised. But I'm pretty sure that these babies will not be born on English ground." She answers my question. "You may take the boat after your blood pressure has been stable for three days in a row. If it fluctuates even the tiniest bit than you will give birth here on the Bahamas."

Bed rest it is. I nod, "I'm tied to the bed."

"No work. No news. The babies will get monitored for the next few hours and so will your blood pressure. A nurse will come in every hour to check your blood pressure and see if the tocodynamometer has recorded any contractions." She looks at Oliver. "She has to stay calm."

"I'll make sure of it."

"Can I eat ice cream while in bed?" I ask them as the craving for ice cream overcomes me. Coconut with passion fruit sauce.

"If that calms you down, you can eat all the ice cream there is." Dr. Ross says with a smile on her lips. She squeezes my hand before looking at Oliver. "I'm just a call away."

My husband nods, "Thank you. I'll walk you out."

"No need. I know the way." She shows us a genuine smile.

I watch how my gynaecologist leaves the bedroom. For a moment, there's just silence in the room. "Well, this is not how I thought our royal tour would end."

"You think I did?!" Oliver hisses at me.

I look at him and realise his hands have formed fists. He's mad. "Oliver,"

"If you won't kill him than I bloody will!" He clenches his teeth. "As soon as our babies have arrived safely in this world, I'm going to drag this fucker out of his multimillion home and show him how things are getting cleared in Rio."

"My love,"

"No, I've had enough of his fucking games! Book, interview, hiring Arabs to rape you - it's enough! This has to end and it won't end until he's dead."

I lick my lips before grabbing his hand. "What matters now is my blood pressure and their health. Let's not give him any more of our attention and time. Our team gets paid to do that. But we have to focus on our babies."

His nostrils flutter as he inhales deeply a few times to calm down. Eventually, he nods. "Okay."

Suddenly, a light bulb goes off in my head. "We haven't even chosen their nursery yet. They have no where to sleep. They have no clothes. No diapers! Oliver, we have no diapers! No pram! No-"

"Relax. We still have time. Our parents can take care of ordering diapers and other stuff. We have to take care of them. And this is how."

I bite on my lower lip. "But I wanted to paint them a wallpaper in their nursery. Like I did in the kindergarten in Greenwich." Greenwich feels like a lifetime ago.

He smiles at me. "I'm sure you can do so when we're home all safe and sound."

I sigh, "I guess I have to. We're stuck here until they've arrived."

"I'm going to inform our team. We should send them back to England."

"Not all of them. We're going to need someone close by. Sarah and Ralph should stay. They can stay here when we're on French Cay."

"You want to play cupid again?" He shows me that smirk that I love so much. He sees right through me. Always has. Always will.

I shrug, "They're such a perfect match. It's a shame they broke up in December."

"I think we shouldn't interfere."

"We're not. We just make sure some of our team members stay within our reach."

"Okay." His lips still smirk at me.

"Okay. And now go." I kiss him quickly.

"You're okay?"

"As long as they're okay, I am as well." I nod to emphasise my words, "But tell Lydia to write another apology letter for the school I wasn't able to attend. Again."

"When you get cleared for moving more, we can pay the school a private visit."

I smile, "That would be nice. I was so eager to finally get out of this bungalow and meet more people! I feel like all the filming and photographing we did for the Commonwealth cook book won't really be fruitful until we make the announcement in mid June. And I want the locals to know we didn't just come here so you could connect with everyone, while I was stuck here."

"Listen, we'll just do private events after Dr. Ross gives us green light, okay? After that we can sail over to French Cay and you can finally relax." He narrows his eyes at me. "Because I know you still worked while you were battling with morning sickness."

"Who told you that?" I ask with shock in my voice. I thought our team was on my side!

"I won't name any names, but our team is really concerned with our well being, which includes you and our babies."

I lick my lips, "Okay, fine. I will slow down once we're on French Cay."

Oliver

I walk into quite a nervous group of people that are standing in the open living area. "Josephine's on bedrest for the foreseeable future. Her doctor told us she's unable to fly. We'll stay here until her blood pressure has normalised again and then take a boat over to French Cay. We've come to the conclusion that it's best when all of you - with the exception of Sarah and Ralph - fly back to England. We need our team in England to handle everything." I announce before looking at Lydia. "I need another printed version of Rothschild's book."

She nods, "Of course. Do you want me to stay on the island as well?"

"No. You and Alexander will be working with our legal team to stop this book from any prying eyes."

Alexander nods, "Very well. Please send our best wishes to your wife. We all didn't expect this tour to end like this."

"That's life." I say with a shrug. There's nothing we can do now. Josephine has to relax. And Rothschild has to be stopped. Once and for all.

"I'll book you a flight." Sarah tells to the other team members. She's a very busy bee and I admire her work ethics very much. Our whole team has been working hard for the last two weeks, but Sarah's exceptionally much. I hope she can now let loose a little on the Bahamas. Perhaps even with Ralph.

"Thank you. I want you all to know that you are all doing a remarkable job." I force myself to smile despite feeling the need to kill Rothschild.

They mirror my smile but it's clear that our team is worried about Josephine. So am I.

"I'll write a statement to explain why we have to cancel the tour now."

I nod, "For the remaining days I want you all to let loose a little. Go out. Enjoy the incredible beaches. There's nothing more that you can do." I fold my hands and nod in their direction before turning on my heel and walking down the hallway. Instead of walking into the master bedroom, I open the side door that leads to the beach in front of our bungalow. I take off my shoes and socks before rolling up my linen trousers to free my ankles. Then I step onto the white sanded beach and stare out at the turquoise coloured water. The sun is shining mercilessly onto me but the many palm trees offer enough shade. The Bahamas are amazing and I hate that Rothschild managed to ruin something for us yet again. He keeps interfering.

I get my iPhone out of the pocket of my jeans and decide to FaceTime my brother-in-law.

"Everything okay?" Wladimir asks me in his heavy Russian accent.

"Rothschild is writing a book about Josephine. Including her NDAs."

"Fuck!"

"I don't even know how many NDAs there are but I assume it's been more than just a handful." I think out loud.

Wladimir's thin lips stretch into a smirk before he licks his lips. "Do you really want an answer?"

My eyes widen, "You know?"

"Of course I do. My team has been watching her since she was born. We know everything she did outside the walls of her home."

"It's a thick chapter, isn't it?"

He nods, "You were the first she slept with more than once. But we were all worried about the fact that I couldn't find anything about you. Anything that would be a red flag, anyways."

"You have files about every men she slept with?"

"Of course."

"Are we over 100 here?"

Wlad laughs, "No! Definitely not. But we are in the middle figures…"

I always knew Josephine had a very active sex life before we met, but do I really want to know how many men she fucked with? "Josephine reacted with a very high blood pressure which caused another rupture in her uterus." I decide to change the subject.

"Is she okay? Are the babies okay?"

"She's on bedrest until the blood pressure is normal again. We have to stay in the Caribbean until the twins are born."

Wlad is silent on the other end of the line. Or did he freeze?

"Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I just... Wasn't this what Jo wanted all along? To give birth in the Caribbean? I mean that's why you guys bought the glass house with its tropical plants and the seaside views... it's sort of... fate."

I chuckle, "I haven't seen it that way yet."

"That's the bright side of it."

The only bright side there is. I run my fingers through my hair, "I want you to hack into Rothschild's computer and erase that book. It can never see the light of day."

"It's my top priority."

"I know we stayed on the legal side but I just... I can't endure this anymore. It has to stop. He has to stop. The book-"

"Consider it erased."

"Good. Thank you."

"How are you?"

"The tour started off so well. But then Josephine got knocked out by not only jet leg but also morning sickness and circulation problems. She felt quite weak and had to stay in the bungalow and work from there. It was... not the tour we had originally planned."

"That's not an answer to my question, Oliver."

"I want him dead." I hiss between my teeth. "He's hurt my family more times than I can count and all I can do is sit back and watch him act like a psychopath."

"I'll take care of him and you take care of your family."

"She's starting to blame herself again." I sigh.

"Again?"

"She's been doing it ever since Rothschild started attacking her, the babies... us. She keeps saying it's her fault. Because she broke things off with me and then started dating Rothschild... and then left him at the altar and is now married to me. She can't let go of the past."

"That's her freaking Maria-syndrome as Troy calls it. She wants to fix the world - and Rothschild. No matter how life threatening his attacks on you or your children were... She shattered him into pieces and she's determined to glue them back together again."

"There's no saving for him." I think out loud. "This can only end one way."

"I agree..."

I stare out at the waves for a while, feeling an immense amount of gratitude towards my brother-in-law. "I didn't expect to be stranded here. Especially not with Josephine being in the late stages of pregnancy."

"You don't have to worry. French Cay has a miniature hospital as well as a whole bungalow dedicated to giving birth. Gabriella had it built when Rory was pregnant with her triplets and touring whole South America. It will serve you well. There are very qualified midwives on Turks and Caicos and I'm sure Dr. Ross won't mind spending a few more weeks in the Caribbean."

"I swear that doctor is living her best life!"

This time it's Wlad who laughs. "Oh, you have know idea. She has delivered all Bolton children for two generations. She will be around when Calloway's or Gideon's wife is going to give birth that's for sure."

"And if not, she'll come back from her retirement just for them."

"Yes, she will!" He agrees with me. "Do you want me to inform Troy?"

"Yeah, please do. And ask Gabriella to call my Mama. With the time difference I don't want to call her now and wake her up."

"You didn't bother with me."

"I know you, Wlad." I say. He's our go-to when we have problems. It's the family dynamics I understood the quickest: Wlad is the person to call when you're in trouble... and Troy when hell has been let loose. George is the person for diplomatics. Nate is the clown in the family. Ana always has an open ear and advice. Rory's best at organising events. Della is the best for any medical advice. And Gabriella... Gabriella will move mountains for her family if necessary. She's got the biggest heart of all but also the biggest protective need. She's a lioness because she had to become one when her husband left the family.

"I'll make sure your Mama will be informed. If you want we can all hop on the jet and fly over-"

"No. There's nothing you can do anyway. We just... have to wait."

"Trust me the last weeks of pregnancy always seem to last forever. Does she snore yet?"

I grin, "George and Nate asked me about it as well. And no, she doesn't."

"Lucky you! That's the real Bolton curse, you know."

I chuckle, "We'll see. I'll have to write Ana a text and ask her to prepare their nursery. Josephine wanted to paint some sort of art on the wall but I thought perhaps Ana could do that. As a surprise."

"Have you guys chosen a room yet?"

"No. We haven't even bought anything. No clothes, diapers, pram, car seats..."

"We'll take care of that. I'll have Della pack two suitcases full of your guys' clothes. Plus another suitcase full of newborn stuff. We'll send them over. All you have to do is buy two car seats so they can fly home safely." He ensures me.

It's a relief to know I have such a huge family as my back bone. "Thanks."

"Of course. That's what family is for." He yawns on the other end of the line.

"Okay, I don't want to keep you up any longer. Good night!"

"Just try to relax. If you aren't calm, Jo won't be as well. You're mirror images of each other. At least during pregnancy. Just don't put on the same weight as her."

I chuckle, "I promise."

"Send me a text if you need anything." Wlad hangs up without waiting for my response.

I stare out at the beach and watch how the waves crash against each other. I step towards to water until my toes get touched by the warm water. Even in freaking paradise Rothschild's actions follow us. It's a nightmare that doesn't seem to end.

"Your Royal Highness,"

I turn around at Lydia's voice. She's holding another printed version of Rothschild's revenge book. "Ah, yes. Just lay it on the chair. And please tell Sarah and Ralph to come and see me."

The blonde woman nods before laying the printed book on the wooden chair. "Please give your wife our get-well wishes."

I show her a smile, "Have a safe flight."

She returns my smile before turning on her heel and walking back into the bungalow.

I stare at the bloody book for a whole minute before I pick it up. There's no design of the cover yet but the title is pretty clear: Duchess of Narcissism: How Josie manipulated her way into Buckingham Palace. I gulp at the title. It's already worse than I thought.

Josephine

I brush through my curls as I stare at the screen of my iPhone. It's laying on the bump and I wait for my best friend to pick up. It's almost midnight in London, but I don't care. Luckily, it doesn't take forever until she picks up.

"Jo, this better be important." To my surprise my brother picks up. He sounds as grumpy as he looks.

"Where's your wife?" I ask him instead.

He yawns, "Trying to get the girls to finally fall asleep. The puppies kept them excited for the whole evening."

My puppies. "How are they?"

He moves his iPhone, so I can see my three Dalmatians sleeping on the floor in the living room. They have grown so much in the last two weeks! My heart aches in my chest at the sight of them. I miss them. "I have no idea how you guys manage three puppies and two kittens. These three are whirlwinds!"

I chuckle as the screen changes to my brother again. "Any chance you can watch them longer?"

"Longer?"

"Oliver and me are stuck in the Caribbean until the twins have arrived." I explain and lick my lips. "And then some more time until they have developed an immune system."

"You are what?"

"High blood pressure. Caused by the psychopath, who is writing a book about me."

"He is what?"

I shrug, "My point is, we won't be home for at least another three months."

Nate runs his fingers through his blonde hair and for a split second he looks like our father. "I'll ask Mum and Dad to watch them."

"I don't think they can handle four dogs, Nate." I point out.

My brother opens his mouth before closing it again.

He's hiding something from me. His navy eyes are full of guilt and inner struggle. "Nate, what is it?"

"I... it would be three and not four dogs."

I frown, "What do you mean? Is Zeus sick? Is he in-"

"He passed away two days ago. He didn't wake up in the morning. Mum and Dad buried him in our garden and planted a hazelnut tree in his memory."

"He's dead?" My voice sounds as broken as I feel. Our dog is gone?

"Almost seventeen years is a hell of a life, Jo. We didn't want to tell you guys before you came home but since you're stuck..." he shrugs, "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you earlier."

"He felt no pain?"

"No."

"And he's buried-"

"Behind the guest house. Near the door that leads to Richmond Park. Next to your drawings on the stone wall."

I can't help but smile as I remember the drawing. I was bored when I drew a sun and moon on the Cotswolds' stones at the age of ten. "A hazelnut tree will look perfect there."

My brother nods and looks above the screen, "Do you still want to talk to Char?"

I nod, "Are Mum and Dad ready to house three dogs?"

"They will be the perfect partners for Daddy's morning runs."

I smile. Daddy is running 20 miles in the morning and Zeus has been his partner for the last 17 years. Our puppies need the distance to get somewhat tired. They won't fill Zeus' paws but they will do him justice. "I'll ask them."

"I'll ask them." Nate insists. "You relax and get that blood pressure down. Mum will call you the second I mention it."

"I didn't want to call them tonight. It's late enough-"

"Mum and Dad are not old. I bet they're still awake!"

"Is that Jo?" Char's voice fills my ears "Give me that!"

A second later I am looking at my best friend and sister-in-law. "Hi!"

"Jo, hi! I miss you so much!"

"I miss you too."

"How are you?"

"I'm on bed rest. High blood pressure."

"You're not allowed to fly home."

I nod, "The twins will be born on French Cay."

"You're not there, are you? The background looks different than your bungalow there."

"No, we're still on the Bahamas. Oliver has sent most of our team home and we will relocate to French Cay when Dr. Ross has given me green light."

"How are you?"

"Rothschild has written a bloody book full of lies about me! He's my very own demon." I hiss.

"Fuck!" Charlotte looks as angry as I feel. "That's why you're stuck in paradise?"

I nod.

"Have you read it?"

"I skimmed the whole thing. It's..." I sigh, "Typical Rothschild."

"Well, he cannot get to you now that you're living on the grounds of Hampton Court Palace, so this is his only way to reach you."

"You mean besides bombshell interviews and crashing royal parties?" I raise an eyebrow at her.

"And arranging a rape." She adds and I place my hands on the bump to protect my two loves in there.

Once they're born I will kill him with my very own hands. I will torture him until he begs for it and then I will torture him some more. Every single family member will get a go as well. It's going to be a blast!

"Jo,"

I snap out of my thoughts. "What?"

"I love you and I would kill him for you."

"No, I want to do that myself." I tell her without flinching. "But we have to be clever to catch him..."

"You've got all the time in the world to come up with the perfect plan. You've got our full support. Family and royalty."

"I know, but it feels good to hear that."

She sits down on the couch and turns the screen so I can see my brother sitting next to her. "How about we fly down to French Cay at the beginning of June? You could use the distraction and we could use the holiday."

Nate nods, "And the girls will love exploring the island."

I smile, "That's such a good idea!"

"And Oliver and me could go surfing while we all wait for these awful long days pass by until your twins have arrived." My brother grins at me.

"Then it's set!"

I watch how my husband walks through the white sand of the beach that our bungalow is located at. In his hands he's carrying a bonded document. I close my eyes. He bloody asked Lydia to print him another copy of Rothschild's book! "Oliver's coming."

"We'll text you when we know the date of our flight." Nate says before hanging up.

"Have you read it?" He asks me as he walks through the open balcony door.

"Just the first chapter." I lie. "Honestly, I don't want to read it any further and neither should you."

"We need to prepare ourselves if this gets published." He sits down next to me in the bed.

"It's full of bullshit."

"The NDAs aren't bullshit." He mumbles.

"Are you serious?! Do you believe him more than me?"

He looks at me as if I had two heads. "Of course I believe you! But I fucking need to know how he thinks so I can stop him once and for all!" He hisses at me.

"What does this mean?"

"I talked to Wlad. I want this gone." He holds up the book in his hands. "And I want him gone."

"Oliver, I've explained it to you. You can't just kill him. It's not possible-"

"I don't care about the consequences." He interrupts me. "I want him behind bars or in a fucking mental clinic if I cannot kill him!"

I lick my lips, "I think there are some pretty good ones in Switzerland."

"How's the blood pressure?" He looks at my naked upper arm.

"The nurse was just here to check it. Too high." I pinch the bridge of my nose.

"You're too stressed."

"I know."

He grabs my left hand and kisses my wedding rings. "How about an episode or two of Jane the Virgin on Netflix and a cup of lemon tea?"

I tilt my head to the side and can't help but feel an overwhelming amount of love for this man. He really knows what cheers me up on a bad day. "I love you."

"I take that as a yes."

I grin, "Definitely. But perhaps coconut ice cream instead of tea."

He nods, "I think we still have some in the freezer." He rises from the bed but I grab his hand and pull him back to kiss him.

"Don't forget the chocolate chips."

He grins, "Never."

I run my thumb over his lips. "We'll be alright."

"I know."

"And we will stop him."

"We will."

"And we will not read his bullshit."

He licks his lips. "I'm going to get the ice cream."

"Oliver,"

"I'll be right back. You can start with episode one of season one." He ensures me with a smile on his lips.

We've already watched the entire series twice but he willing to watch it a third time. Just for me.

I let go of him and watch him go. As soon as he's out of my sight, my eyes move to the stack of papers on his nightstand.

Duchess of Narcissism: How Josie manipulated her way into Buckingham Palace

I close my eyes to take five deep breaths before switching on the tv.


Oliver

I tear my eyes off of the tv in front of us to look at my wife. She finally fell asleep. After five episodes of the American version of the Venezuelan telenovela she finally drifted off. Her blood pressure is still not normal, but at least she can rest a little. I turn off the episode and put on relaxing piano music before picking up the book from my nightstand.

It's time to find out what game Rothschild is playing.

I open it and start reading.

It all started with a meeting in Paris on the first day of Paris Fashion Week-

I wince as my iPhone starts ringing on my nightstand. I look at the screen and see Wladimir's name on it. It's morning in London so that means he was probably up all night. I pick up my iPhone and accept the call. "One second." I whisper before quietly walking out of the bedroom. It's the late afternoon here and I could really need something more than coconut ice cream in my belly.

"Okay." I tell Wlad on the other end of the line just as my stomach starts growling.

"Looks like the book is being held back even without us doing anything."

"By whom?"

"The publishing house."

"No, I mean who is behind this? No publishing house would hold back a book that's going to spike up their sales within the blink of an eye." I think out loud and brush through my hair.

"My guess is the Royal Family."

"They're protecting us?" I ask him as I reach the open kitchen of the bungalow we're staying in.

"That's my guess."

I open the fridge and have a look inside. It's empty. I shut the door. "Could you wait for a second? I need to order some food. I'm starving."

"Sure. I have some juicing to do anyway."

"Two minutes?"

"Two minutes." He agrees with me.

I lay the iPhone on the marbled countertop before picking up the phone and ordering a steak with grilled veggies and an extra large Greek salad. Normally, I would have a glass of white wine with that but on a day like this I need the whole bottle. As I have no idea about wine, I let the chef pick it. When I pick up my iPhone, I can hear Wladimir's juicer going. It's crazy loud for a few seconds. "Wlad?"

"Just finished. Let me tell you, living in a house with three women requires a lot of juicing. I make two litres of green juice every morning and by the early afternoon it's already gone!" He puts on the camera to show me two pitchers full of fresh green juice.

I remember there was a little boy on the corner of the street I lived in Rio, who was selling juices as well. But none of them were green as green juices were not on trend when I was little. My Papa bought me a cup of açai and strawberry juice once.

I will never forget the taste of it.

I chuckle, "Is that your way of saying you're loving life right now?"

"I bloody do! But I'm also saying get yourself a bloody good juicer and enough veggies."

I smirk, "I hope I'll be in your shoes in a few years down the road."

He takes a sip out of the pitcher, "The crazy thing is that I start liking it as well. I never liked celery or kale all my life but now I drink it! For breakfast!"

I chuckle. I still don't like celery. "Is the rest of your household still asleep?"

He nods, "But back to the book."

I sit down on the barstool and rest the iPhone against an empty glass. "It won't see the light of day?"

"It could still be leaked online."

"That wouldn't be good."

"Unfortunately, I am not able to hack into his computer but I could get a team into his house and erase it that way."

"I'm sure he has zillions of copies of it."

"Not Edward Rothschild." Wlad shakes his head. "His aim is not to get as much press as possible. His aim is to hurt you guys. And if the book won't get published then he will find another way."

"You mean another interview?"

"Maybe." He shrugs. "I'll keep you updated."

I nod, "Thank you."

"Have you read it?"

"I was about to when you called me."

"I suggest you don't. Because if you do he's going to make you question your perception of the past. He might even convince you otherwise. He's always been eloquent and very convincing. It's how he convinced Jo to accept the proposal."

"He had to convince her?" I ask with a frown.

Wlad sighs before running his hand through his short brown hair. "He put her under pressure."

I raise an eyebrow. No one has ever put pressure on my wife!

"He asked her on her birthday. With everyone in the room. After they sang happy birthday and the girls blew the candles out, he got on one knee, opened that box and asked her."

I try to fight the image in my head as best as possible.

"He revealed a ring with stones so big that I couldn't possibly imagine Jo would like that. It was this massive cluster ring full of yellow coloured diamonds. While Jo froze and didn't say a word for two whole minutes, I glanced at Della and she shared my thoughts. This wasn't going to work. But when she said yes... I wished I was wrong."

"But you were right."

He nods, "Obviously. I didn't know you but I knew that she felt happier when she was with you than the whole year she was with him. Yet, he had some kind of magic that almost turned Jo into his mannequin."

I don't like the thought of another man - another person - playing with my wife. "So, if the book won't be read by us, he thinks it's useless." I conclude.

Wlad nods again, "In his mind, yes. And that's the best that could happen because it means no book at all. Not in print and not online." He takes another sip out of his green juice pitcher. "They never had a chance."

"I have never nor will I ever question our relationship." I say firmly. I have never questioned her love for me and I won't start now just because Rothschild has written 500 pages about his for her.

"I didn't think you would. I was just pointing out the obvious." He licks his lips. "How's Jo?"

"Finally asleep." I breathe out. "Her blood pressure is still not stable. It fluctuates but it has gone down a little."

"A step into the right direction."

"We should go out when we're back in England." I suggest. "To balance out the feminine energy you're around all day."

My brother-in-law chuckles, "In a few weeks we could be in the same boat."

I grin like a Cheshire Cat, "Josephine wants boys but I wouldn't mind a girl or two. Not that I wouldn't mind boys as well, but... I mean, just imagine two girls with Josephine's attitude! Bossing everyone around-"

"It sounds fun in your head but reality is often-"

"Different, I know." I interrupt him.

"I was going to say tiring." He tells me, "but also lots of fun. Especially when Della realised our girls are just as stubborn as she is. It drives her nuts!"

I smile, "I am so excited to meet them!"

"I was as well. The feeling you have when you hold them for the first time is the best in the world!" His grey eyes start glittering in a silver colour.

"You want more." I think out loud.

"When the time is right I will." He says back to me. Della's been back home for half a year now. I wonder how much longer he is able to wait.

"Della's not ready yet?"

"Having two girls at boarding school is really tough for me. I miss them so badly and I know Della does as well. But they're happy there. They found friends and they have their brother-in-laws... but I want more. I want more girls or boys or both. I want sleepless nights, tantrums in the shop and endless crying when I brush their curls! I want this so much." He starts speaking in Russian for a moment before he realises whom he's speaking to. "Sorry."

I wave with my hand. "I sometimes talk in my mother tongue without realising it as well."

"Yeah, but everyone else in the family still understands you."

"Is that your way of telling me to learn Russian?"

He smirks. "Maybe."

"Is that Oliver?" I hear Della's voice before she appears in front of the camera. "Good Morning!"

"It's late afternoon over here, but good morning to you." I greet her with a smile. She has the same chestnut curls as my wife. I noticed pretty quickly that all Bolton women share the same breathtaking beauty, which is especially visible when they're straight out of bed. I still remember the morning of Christmas Day and how we all ate our breakfast in special Christmas pyjamas and watched a movie together in the cinema. It was one of the best family moments I've had with my new extended family so far.

Until today, when I found out that the backbone of this family is stronger than I could have imagined.

"How are you?" Her navy eyes are still full of sleep.

"Stuck in paradise."

She frowns at my answer. "You won't come home?"

"Not until the twins are born. Josephine's blood pressure is too high. She's not allowed to fly."

"Wasn't that what she wanted? To give birth in paradise?" She looks at Wlad.

"I said the same!"

"Is that why you were up all night?" She asks her husband.

"I'll tell you later." Wlad mumbles.

I run my fingers through my hair. "Yeah but not under these circumstances."

"Well, the circumstances don't matter. What matters is right now."

"You sound like your Mum."

"Must be the genes." She shrugs. "Listen to Dr. Ross. She has delivered a lot of babies in her career. She's speaking from experience."

I nod, "Wlad said you would pack us a few suitcases."

"Of course. Just make sure to buy two baby seats for the flight back and leave the rest to Wlad and me."

"Oh and the nursery-"

"To Ana." She interrupts me. "Ana, Mum and Dad will take care of the nursery. Do you have a room in mind?"

"No. We haven't even bought diapers yet." I feel a small wave of panic overcoming me so I run my fingers through my hair to combat the need to scream out loud. Rothschild hit us again without a warning. We didn't see his book coming - just like the tv interview and the rape in the homeless kitchen.

"We'll take care of everything. You make sure to keep Jo and the babies happy. We'll do the rest." Wlad promises me. His grey eyes are filled with heartfelt sympathy.

"Thank you."

"We're family. That's what we do."

Before I can respond, there's a loud knock on the front door. "Room Service!"

"My dinner is here." I tell Della and Wlad. "I'll talk to you guys later. Have a great day!"

"Enjoy your dinner and send Jo our well wishes." Wlad ends the call.

After thanking the room service for their incredible fast and incredible delicious smelling dinner, I shut the front door again. I uncork the white wine bottle with levity before pouring the wine into the glass up to the rim. With the glass in my hand, I sit down on the couch that's facing the double French doors. The sun has just started to set.

I empty the glass almost entirely in one go.

"Oliver,"

I turn around at the sound of my wife's voice. She's standing in the living room, dressed in grey shorts and one of my white T-shirt. The fabric is stretched so much that it nearly rips.

"What are you doing here? You're on bedrest!"

"I woke up because I had to pee and you weren't there so I thought-" she stops talking as her eyes notice the Greek salad. "Is that Greek salad?"

"Yes. I was going to bring it to you in bed but since you're already here, you might as well have dinner with me."

"Does that mean I'm going to get some of your steak as well?"

I'm happy to hear she's got an appetite. "Everything if you want. Except for the wine."

Her eyes stop at the glass in my hand. "Man, I miss wine!"

"Let's have dinner together." I sit down.

She walks over to me before sitting down next to me. "When was the last time we shared our dinner?"

I think for a moment. "Was that Mexican food at Landmark Place?" I ask her. "When we first met."

She digs her fork into the salad. "No, there must have been another time. Perhaps when we had Chinese food while we sat on the floor?"

I chuckle as I remember the evening. It was just us with chopsticks and Chinese boxes filled with food around us. She taught me how to use chopsticks but failed. "I'm still not good with chopsticks."

She chews on her salad before gulping it down. "We'll try again."

"You never give up, do you?" I ask as I slide through my steak.

"Not for you. There're no boundaries for you and me." She says in a serious voice. "Especially not chopsticks."

"I talked to Wlad. Our family will take care of their nursery and send us suitcases with stuff for us and the babies. All we have to buy are two baby seats."

Josephine nods, "Good. I'll browse through some online stores tomorrow."

"Do you want the furniture in a particular style?"

My wife shrugs, "Perhaps I shall google nursery tomorrow as well."

I smirk as she cuts a piece of the steak from my plate, "Sounds like a plan."

She chews on the steak for a moment. "I really think we're having girls."

"Because of the curse?"

"It's true!"

I roll my eyes at her words, "It's not!"

"It is! You'll see!" She insists.

I pierce through a tiny tomato with my fork. "I don't believe in it."

"You believe in fate but not in a curse?"

I chew before gulping down the tomato. "It is not a curse." I tell her. "It's a blessing."

"A blessing? You call two girls a blessing?" She raises an eyebrow at me.

"I call two healthy babies a blessing. No matter their sexes." I insist.

"So, you want girls." She says before chewing on a gherkin.

"I want healthy children. Especially after today." I think out loud.

"It's not my fault." She almost hisses at me.

"That's not what I meant!"

She gets up from the barstool and picks up the two plates. "I'm having the rest of my dinner in the bedroom as I am not bedrest." She balances the bowl win the salad on the bump while her free hand holds the plate with the steak. Before I can apologise, she has already turned on her heel.

"Josephine," I watch her waddling down the long hallway to the master bedroom.

"I'm not talking to you."

"Forever?"

She stops in her tracks and turns around. "You knocked me up. Forever is off the table."

I chuckle at her words, "I'm sorry."

She licks her lips to disguise her smile. "I'm still pissed."

"I didn't mean it that way. I was speaking generally. What Rothschild did or will do is not your fault. You can't control what other people do." I slowly walk over to her as I speak. "I want healthy children and a healthy wife. Today scared me, Querida."

"You've never called me that."

I pick up the salad bowl from her bump before grabbing the plate with the rest of the steak and grilled veggies. "What?"

"Querida."

I didn't even notice that. "My Papa used to call my Mama that. Especially after they fought and he apologised." I guess seeing that green juice evoked memories I didn't realise I had.

She runs her fingers through my hair, "I overreacted. I'm too hormonal."

And I'm too afraid to lose them. "Can we finish our dinner together then?" I ask as she brushes her thumb over my lips.

"We won't loose them." She whispers to me and I can feel chills going down my spine. She can read me like second to none. "We'll have two wonderful girls."

"I still believe we're having at least one boy."

"I'm right. You'll see." She smirks before she kisses me softly. "Let's finish our dinner."


Exclusive: The Clarence's pull out! Royals cancel their tour for a babymoon on their private island!

After announcing the cancellation of the first royal tour of Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Clarence, it has now become public that the couple is off to an unknown location for a babymoon it seems. According to the statement, the couple has decided to put a brake on all public engagements due to the doctor's advise. The royal tour has been criticised by many as another holiday disguised with the royal crown. While Oliver has been meeting with countless locals and bonded with schoolchildren over football matches, met homeless people and cooked for them, Josie had to stay quiet due to her doctor's recommendation. The couple is expecting their first children this summer, which left many questioning why they're embarking on a royal tour in such a late state of pregnancy. It was allegedly Josie who insisted on having this tour, ignoring all medical advice. It looks like this plan backfired on the couple, who has now decided to hide in an unknown location.


Oliver

The first things on my mind are my twins and wife when I open my eyes the next morning. I roll over to my side and stare at my wife and her huge bump. She's laying on her side with the large pastel pink coloured pregnancy pillows between her legs. She's still asleep so I watch her for a while before I decide to get up. I decide to take a quick shower to wash off all the stress from yesterday. The cold water feels good on my skin and for a moment the worries vanish. After my shower, I check on my sleeping wife once more before I get dressed and walk out of our master suite. I stop in the open living room where my MacBook is still laying open on the coffee table. I sit on the couch and wake up the computer. Josephine's words still ring in my ears as I read the words on the screen: Private Pilot License.

We talked about it last night. I felt relieved that Josephine focused on something other than Rothschild's book. She said she had never seen me as excited as when we had or first helicopter ride in Rio and now again when visited that aircraft exhibition here on the Bahamas. I guess my vehicle of choice is a yacht while yours is a plane. She winked at me when she said those words. I never dreamt about flying, simply because it had always been out of my league. But Josephine... she opened up worlds to me I didn't even dare to dream about.

Like having a PPL.

Josephine wants us to make the best out of the next couple of months. As the babies are going to be born here in the Caribbean, I might as well start taking flight lessons and get at least the written exam out of the way. Once the babies are born, they need about a month or two until their immune system is strong enough for us to board a plane, even if it's a private plane. We might as well stay here a little longer until I'm done with my PPL. We even looked for planes online yesterday. While I am not a fan of a Cessna or Robinson, I did fell in love with a Bonanza.

A C35 from 1952 to be exact.

But before I get an aircraft, I need to learn how to fly one.

The incoming Facetime call rips me out of my thoughts. I stare at the name His Majesty and gulp. We haven't had a chance to talk to him yet, but I guess it's now unavoidable.

I run my fingers through my hair to fix my hair a little before accepting the call. "Good morning, Your Majesty!" I put on a smile as my eyes move over to the clock on the screen. It's almost seven in the morning, which means late afternoon in London.

"Oliver, I hope I didn't wake you!"

Shit, I look horrible. "No, you didn't."

"How are you?"

I lick my lips. I don't even know where to begin. "Our trip has come to an end sooner than we wanted it. Our team has informed us about a book that Edward Rothschild is writing about Josephine, which has caused Josephine to develop high blood pressure. And this, in turn, has caused a rupture of another blood clot… which means, we won't be coming home for at least five months." I explain shortly.

"I have been informed about the book as well and we're already taking care of it. The publisher has been contacted and has agreed to not publish the book or anything other written by him. Additionally, we have decided to call out all British publishers and inform them about the delicate situation that is Rothschild. His medical records show psychological treatments he went through after Josephine ended the engagement, but he hasn't seen a doctor in a couple of months. I assume that's why he held the interview and wrote the book."

"But the book could still be published by a publisher that's not based in Britain." RELX Group might own the biggest publishers, but there are still tiny ones scattered all over the world.

"No, together with my senior advisers we have come up with a plan to avoid that. We have pulled all royals strings to build an umbrella of protection. All royal households over the world have contacted their nation's publishers to inform them about Rothschild's book."

He did what?! "But… but what about America?" There are no royals there, are there? Shit, he totally blindsided me!

"Most publishers based in America are past of the publishing division of Bertelsmann AG, which is based in Germany."

And Germany has royals. And these royals still have some power left. They have a say in such things. The late Prince Phillip was of German and Greek decent. And the French publisher Hachette Livre owns another bunch. "What about Thomson Reuters and Wiley?" I ask as my eyes stop at the list I created yesterday with Josephine. We started looking which were the largest book publishers in the world. Reuters is Canadian and Wiley is American based.

"They have been taken care of as well. You don't have to worry about this book any longer. All you need to think of is your wife and your babies on the way." he shows me a soft smile.

"Josephine's still asleep, otherwise she'd be here as well."

"She needs all the rest she can get." he nods at me. "I have to make another phone call. I wish you all the best and a safe delivery. I hope the next time we speak, it's going to be because of the babies."

I smile at him, "Have a great rest of the day, Your Majesty."

He smiles at me before he hangs up. I stare at the screen for a moment before rising from the sofa and walking into the open kitchen. I grab an apple before picking up my iPhone from the island and calling the room service to order breakfast. I decide for a savoury breakfast for me and something fruity for Josephine. She's been craving sugar first thing in the morning in the last two weeks.

"With whom did you talk to?"

I turn around at the sound of my wife's voice. She's standing across me in one of my grey shirts. It would normally reach her knees, but with the bump it barely reaches her thighs. Her chestnut curls are all over the place. She looks absolutely gorgeous! "Good morning." I greet her with a smile on my lips. "I talked to the king."

"He called? Why didn't you wake me?"

"It was a quick ten minute call. He expressed his worries and wished us all the best. He also said that the book is officially gone. He has mobilised all royal families in the world and they have built an umbrella to protect us. No publisher will publish this book. Even the smallest ones. It's officially no longer a problem."

"He did this for us?" Her eyes widen at my words.

I nod, "Yes. I couldn't believe it at first as well."

"I'm glad he did this for us. It would bring a lot of bad publicity to the monarchy and we don't need that. Especially now, we have just joined the family less than half a year ago and have been severely criticised ever since. Rothschild would be the final nail in the coffin."

"As I said, he is no longer a problem."

She runs her hands up my forearms. It gives me chills. She's the only one who has ever had so much control over my body. She runs her hands down again before grabbing my hands and placing them on the huge bump that's between us. "Did you order breakfast yet?"

The twins start kicking in her belly. "Yes. I ordered something savoury for me and a large fruit plate for you. I know you can't eat a lot at a time now-"

She kisses me softly, "Thank you."

I run my fingers through her curls, "Always."

"Nate woke me up. He just texted me the date of their flight. They'll be on French Cay in a week."

"The whole family?"

She nods, "Our puppies will stay with my parents until we're back in England. And if they decide to come to French Cay around the time our twins will be born, they will be watched by Rory and George. They'll move into Chestnut House and look after the cats as well."

"The cats feel quite good with the empty house. Flora just sent me an email with photos."

She smirks, "They're not attacking her, yet?"

I chuckle, "No, they love having the whole house to themselves."

"I'm glad we decided to not locate them to Della's home. I don't think they would have gotten along with Lily and Luna. Persian cats might seem cute and sweet, but they can be very protective of their territory."

"But they do get along with our puppies." I remind her.

"Right… anyways, I'm very happy with our arrangements and I hope they won't be too pissed when we come home in about three months."

"Hope dies last."

She chuckles before she leans forward so her forehead rests against mine. "We'll be alright."

"We will." I agree with her and get lost in the bright blue of her eyes. My heart starts beating quicker in my chest and I notice that her breathing quickens as well. Our bodies start reacting to each other and our hearts start beating in sync. I can feel her warm breath against my face as my lips brush against hers. Normally, she'd already be sitting on that island with me between her legs.

"I'm heavily pregnant and here we are still as horny as two teenagers." She reads my mind like she always has.

I chuckle at her words. "I guess our desire dies last as well."

Her full lips stretch into a grin, "I never believed in fairytales and our live is far from being one, but in moments like these... I swear, we're pretty fucking close."

"Pretty fucking close." I agree with a smirk on my lips. I love my wife's dirty mouth.

She runs her fingers through my hair and leans back. The bump still touches my stomach but it doesn't dig into it any more. "I have to take a shower."

"Do you want comp-"

"Alone." She interrupts me with a grin on her lips. She turns on her heel and stops when she sees the open MacBook on the coffee table. "Have you thought about your PPL?"

"Yes. I think I'm going to book a discovery flight to get a feel for it... and then start studying for my written exam."

"You're such a workaholic." she rolls her beautiful navy eyes at me, before her full lips stretch into the most gorgeous smile, "I'll be your first passenger."

Her trust in me makes my heart skip a beat. "I wouldn't want anyone else sitting in the plane with me for my first flight after I got my PPL."

"Having a license to fly is so much better than one to drive!" She thinks out loud.

She's jealous? Of me? Of my plans to do a PPL? "Why didn't you do your PPL?"

Josephine shrugs, "I was busy with other things in life. It was never a priority. Not like sailing or horseback riding."

And she aces in both of them. "You promised to show me the world and now I'm going to fly us all over the world."

She smirks, "I can't wait!"


I hope you all had a wonderful start into 2023!
I apologise for not posting early. Life's been very, very busy lately and it looks like it's not going to change in 2023.

I'm working on a new chapter for A Million Times More as well. :)

As always, please leave a review. Tell me what you think of Rothschild's book. Will it be leaked?

In gratitude,

Nicole