The flight back to Genovia was bittersweet for Clarisse. The throne was secure but leaving her granddaughter in San Francisco was proving very difficult. The weeks spent with Amelia made them create a very strong bond and Clarisse felt a tightness in her chest and sadness knowing that they would only be together again during the summer holidays, when Amelia traveled to Genovia for the first time. Clarisse smiled as she imagined the turmoil her granddaughter will cause in the Palace. But her thoughts turned to Pamela and Frederica, who were returning with her. That morning, a man tried to shoot Pamela, but luckily he failed and was immediately detained by their bodyguards. The man shouted that Genovia should not have an American heir. Pamela and Frederica were scared and Joseph was sitting next to them talking. Of course, Clarisse was not at all pleased with Frederica's constant presence at the Palace, but after what had happened in San Francisco, it was impossible for her to refuse to allow her mother and sister to stay at the Palace for a while. Pamela had taken a very firm stance in defense of Amelia , despite all the threats she had been subjected to and Clarisse was grateful for that. Genovia is a small country, ruled for centuries by the Renaldi family . And the Genovians were very conservative in relation to the Royal family. However, since it was made public that the Heir to the throne was only half Genovian , many voices have turned against Amelia . And that Clarisse couldn't accept. She was also only half Genovian , although this was a secret she intended to keep. If some people challenged Philippe's daughter in this way, what would they do if they knew that the Queen was in the same situation...

"You're very thoughtful…" Clarisse turned around, startled by Pamela's voice. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me. I was focused on a few issues…"

"Can I sit down?"

"Of course."

"I have an important matter to discuss with you… At least for me it is very important." Clarisse furrowed her eyebrows. Important matters with Pamela meant trouble. "You don't need to be apprehensive. It's good for me but I want to share my happiness with you."

"I think you'd better get straight to the point, Pamela."

"What can I do to make you call me mom, again?"

"Please, I will not discuss this, again. That's certainly not what you want to talk to me about."

"No, but it hurts me to hear you call me Pamela. Well , a few months ago… I fell in love again. And I got married!" Clarisse couldn't hide her astonishment.

"I think I should congratulate you. But when? And with whom?"

"I got married a few days ago, in San Francisco. It was a welcoming, very intimate ceremony."

"And who is the noble gentleman who made her stop being a widow? Is it American?"

"No. He is a nobleman… From Genovia … Arthur Mabrey."

Clarisse was sure that if she wasn't already sitting, she would have to sit down.

"Mabrey? Are you out of your mind?"

"I beg your pardon ?"

"Did you marry Mabrey? One of the staunchest opponents of the Renaldis remaining on the Throne. A vile and unscrupulous man?"

"Now, Clarisse. Arthur is a charming man, who fell in love with me…"

"Pamela, he is using you for something. Everything this man does is with ulterior motives!"

"Absolutely not. He has no ulterior motives. He just wants the best for Genovia . And he fell in love with me. Why is it so difficult for you to understand? Or are you jealous?"

"Jealous? Please, Pamela. I wouldn't marry him even if my life depended on it."

"You don't need to worry because he married me and not you. In fact, from what I understand, he doesn't like you very much…"

"The feeling is mutual, don't worry."

"I'm not worried but there are things we have to discuss."

"Such as?"

"Two of your secrets…"

"Two of my secrets? I don't understand…"

"The first is linked to me and the second to your sister…"

Clarisse felt her blood run cold. Of course she knew what Pamela was referring to…

"If the Genovians are so against your granddaughter being half-American, imagine what it would be like if they knew you had been deceiving them all your life…"

"I was the one who was deceived my entire life!"

"And you think they'll believe that you only found out the truth a few months ago?" Clarisse was about to respond but chose to let her continue. "The other secret is called Joseph. You certainly don't want to deal with a scandal of this magnitude. The Queen and the bodyguard… The newspapers and television would love it…" Pamela laughed so loudly that Joseph raised his head and looked but Frederica resumed the conversation and he paid attention to her again.

"I really think you have completely lost your mind. Are you insinuating that there is something going on, other than a professional relationship, between me and Joseph?"

"I'm not insinuating, I'm stating. And you didn't rest until you took him away from your sister. Your unhealthy jealousy towards your sister will be your ruin."

Clarisse took a deep breath and smiled.

"Pamela, I truly think you are being influenced by Mabrey's conspiracy theories. You will make a wonderful couple. Two twisted minds… Me and Joseph…" Clarisse shook her head and laughed.

"In any case, at the end of the week, Arthur will live with me… In the Palace! It's the condition I impose not to tell the truth about your mother… But believe me I'm going to say that you've known all along!"

"Mabrey will not live in the Palace!"

"Think about it, my dear. Do you really want to risk your beloved granddaughter's throne? You have two days to think and give me an answer. If your answer is no, I will leave the Palace… And I will tell everything to the newspapers! And it's easy for people to believe me. You can't imagine how easy it was to simulate the protest, the pseudo attacks… Even you believed it!" Clarisse felt sick. It had all been a hoax... And she had believed it. In fact, everyone believed it.

"Unfortunately, I can't stop the plane to leave you in the middle of the Atlantic. You are, in fact, the perfect match. I don't know which of the two is worse. Now get out of here. And I ask you not to say another word to me or I won't answer for myself. I will give you my answer within two days."

Pamela rose triumphantly and joined Frederica and Joseph, with the most innocent of smiles. She winked at Frederica and sat down. Almost an hour later, Joseph excused himself from them and approached Clarisse.

"Good afternoon, Your Majesty . Can I join you?"

"You can but I'm not in the mood for conversations."

"What's wrong?"

"Absolutely nothing."

"Clarisse, I can see you are upset. You've been alone most of the travel. You're making me worry."

"Nothing happens. I'm tired and I want to take advantage of the rest of the trip to rest."

"Can I keep you company?" Clarisse looked at her watch.

"You've been talking for two and a half hours and only now you've realized that I spent most of the time alone? I thought you were more observant…"

"You are being deeply unfair. Your sister and your mother are scared. And they are in this situation because they defended your granddaughter!"

Clarisse let out a laugh.

"Fool. This was all a hoax."

"Clarisse! I know that you don't like Pamela and you're jealous of your sister but…"

"Enough! Not another word. And just so you know, Pamela is married to Viscount Mabrey and, in two days, he will also be spending two months at the Palace."

"The hell he will!" Joseph nearly exploded. "You can't allow something like that."

"I can't? It's either that or your beloved Pamela is going to tell the truth about me and she's going to say that I always knew."

Joseph looked at Clarisse in awe.

"Pamela would never do such thing. She adores you and she adores Amelia ."

"The worst blind person is the one who doesn't want to see!"

"I don't believe she would be capable of doing something like that. You must have said something nasty to her and she said that, just to pressure you. You don't believe it but she actually loves you."

"Joseph, leave me alone. You can believe whatever you want! I want to rest."

" Of course , Your Majesty ."

Joseph got up and returned to Frederica and Pamela. As soon as they saw him get up, they stopped talking and both had a desolate expression.

"But what is wrong with the ladies on this plane?"

"Oh Joseph…" Pamela grabbed his hands and looked down. "Joseph, I think I really upset my oldest daughter."

"You really bothered her, mommy. You shouldn't have done it."

"But I had to tell her, darling."

"But what is going on? Do any of you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"Joseph, I'm going to tell you a secret that only Frederica knew but that I just told Clarisse… A few months ago, I fell in love with a gentleman and he fell in love with me. We've been together ever since, but a few days ago, he came to me in San Francisco, asked me to marry him and… we got married the next day. You have absolutely the wrong idea of Arthur Mabrey. He is a gentle soul, who only wants the best for Genovia ." Joseph began to feel his blood boil with fury. "I'm going to be at the Palace for two months and it's normal for him to want to be with me. But Clarisse doesn't understand that. She was absolutely furious when I told her I had married Arthur... Honestly, I thought she was jealous... She thinks Arthur might tell our secret. Joseph, you know me. In the last few weeks we have been talking to each other for hours. You know that the only thing I want is to regain my eldest daughter's love. I went through hell to defend her granddaughter... In fact, Clarisse doesn't even believe it. She says the attacks were my invention!" Pamela started crying. "How could I invent such a horror, Joseph?"

"Take it easy, Pamela. Her Majesty is under great stress. I am sure that when she calms down, she will realize the nonsense she said."

"Try to make her understand, Joseph! I want so much to make up for the lost time. I want to be part of my great-granddaughter's life… Because for me, Amelia is my great-granddaughter."

Frederica approached Joseph and patted his back.

"Please, love . Make my sister understand that we only want the best for her. It's been terrible, scary days. Do this for me, please."

"I don't have the influence on Her Majesty you think, lady's . And Her Majesty is an intelligent woman, with a very strong personality and very clear ideas. She is not a person to be influenced."

C/J

When they arrived at the Palace, Clarisse retired to her suite and told Charlotte that she didn't want to be disturbed by absolutely anyone, as she needed to rest. The idea of having Mabrey live in the Palace echoed in her head, over and over again. How could she allow a situation like that? But preventing Mabrey's presence would mean having to deal with a scandal that could have harmful consequences for Genovia , for her and especially for Amelia . Pamela is indeed a Machiavellian woman. How long have she and Mabrey been hatching this plan? Clarisse sat on the couch and closed her eyes. A feeling of panic began to run through her body. She felt unable to get out of this web that Pamela had set. And Joseph... The only person Clarisse trusted blindly... The only man she truly loved... Joseph was on Pamela and Frederica's side! How was it possible that he believed more in two women with whom he has only known for six months than in her, whom he has known for decades? The woman he said he loved more than life itself? Clarisse got up and went to her room. Her feelings were the least important thing right now. Mabrey and Pamela would have her full attention. Clarisse wouldn't be able to stop Mabrey from coming to the Palace but she would certainly find a way to make his, Pamela's and Frederica's stay as short as possible!

C/J

Normally, the day after an intercontinental trip, the morning meeting between Clarisse, Joseph and Charlotte would be delayed two hours but today Clarisse insisted on keeping the normal time. The earlier the day started, the better. When Clarisse arrived at the office, Joseph and Charlotte were already there.

"Good morning, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." Clarisse said, going around the desk to sit down.

"Good morning, Your Majesty ." Joseph and Charlotte said at the same time.

Charlotte picked up the clipboard to start listing the topics of the day but the Queen interrupted her.

" Dear , today we only have one thing to talk about!" Charlotte looked at her in amazement. Joseph remained silent. "Pamela married Viscount Mabrey and they are going to live in the Palace for two months!"

"What?" Charlotte was in disbelief. Joseph stood up angrily. "You've got to be kidding! I already told you that this man doesn't come in here!"

"I didn't ask for your permission, Joseph. In fact, you know perfectly well that I am only allowing it to avoid an even greater challenge to Amelia ."

"But I'm your Head of Security . And the presence of this man here is a risk to your safety! Therefore, I will not allow it. And I told you that Pamela will never do anything to put you or your granddaughter at risk."

"Enough, Joseph. It was Pamela who told me that the attacks were a hoax."

"That's a lie."

"I beg your pardon ?" Clarisse was shocked. Shocked and furious. Joseph was saying she was a liar?

"No, wait . That's not what I meant. Please, forgive me. I wanted to say that what Pamela said was a lie. I'm sure it was said without any meaning. I know you don't believe it, Clarisse, but Pamela and Frederica are really committed to having a good relationship with you and Amélia. Pamela would never do that. That's why I don't understand, nor do I accept the Viscount's coming to the Palace!"

"Joseph, I'm not going to argue with you about these two women. And I want Mabrey to come live here as much as you do. But I'm not taking any risks. I cannot, nor do I want to, put my granddaughter's Throne at risk. They manipulated the opinion of some, created a circus with these 'attacks', making it believe that both would be willing to sacrifice their lives for Amelia …"

"Clarisse…"

"Joseph, I already said I won't argue with you because of them. You are free to believe whoever you want." Charlotte looked now at one, now at the other. Really, life in the Palace was never boring! "I'm going to give in to Pamela's blackmail but… With some conditions and I hope you fulfill them, Joseph. They will not be able to use the private spaces of the Palace, they will occupy two rooms in the guest wing, they will not have maids to serve, nor can they give any order to the Palace employees, meals will be served in their suites, they cannot bring guests to the Palace, they cannot use the Royal House's cars or planes, they cannot ride horses, they cannot use the private Library, only the common one. These are some of the conditions that I will present to Pamela. If they don't comply, I want them out of here immediately. I hope you carry out my orders and that your men do too!"

Joseph listened to her in silence, with a cold and almost arrogant expression. Then he stood up, bowed to her and, looking into her eyes, said:

" Your Majesty , you will have my resignation letter on your desk within the hour and, tomorrow morning, I will no longer be here! I wish you all the happiness and I hope you don't regret your decisions!" Clarisse looked at him, in a mix of surprise and terror. Resignation?

"Joseph? But what does that mean? What nonsense is this? This is a joke, right? I will not accept your resignation!"

"We've known each other for too many years for you to know that I don't joke, Your Majesty . I will not be part of this! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other things to do. Your Majesty !" He bowed and left, leaving Charlotte and Clarisse in shock and unable to say a word.

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Maria