XLV

(A/N: Wow, we're already in the 45th chapter! I know, I have a lot of wrong grammars in this story. I'm so sorry. I'm not that good in English because English is not our primary language. But, I'm going to edit this, with the help of a friend, after I finish writing all the chapters. Thank you so much! Enjoy reading!)

XLV

New day. Back to work.

Yesterday's events were like a nightmare. After a troubled conversation with Leilanie, words from Princess Emily became my new confusion.

I sighed. I was still thinking either I wanted to know what she meant or it was better if I did not mind it at all. But I could not do the latter. What should I do now?

Of course, I would take care of Alexander because he was my husband. That was already given. But, why did she say that in an affectionate way as if they were blood related or something more? If she was Alexander's sister, it was alright to say that. However, she was his sister-in-law and saying it in that way would give someone an idea that they had a deeper relationship.

I ran my hand through my hair and leaned back on my chair in the office. I could not start working because of these things playing in my mind.

Instead of continuing my year-end report, I opened the computer's browser and went to Google immediately. I typed "Princess Emily" and click the search button.

A lot of links for different articles and pages showed up. I did not know why I was doing this, but searching in Google was more convenient than asking someone, because a person might think that I was already paranoid or even crazy.

All the articles were about the charities or state visit of the princess. It would not give me any answer to the questions forming in my mind.

Maybe, sanity left me for a while and I added Prince Alexander after the name of Princess Emily in the search bar.

Several pictures showed up as well as few articles, but these were all about how the two being in-laws. I was not satisfied and even me got confused with my instinct. I looked for more links and even visited some forums.

Then, there was a link entitled "Rumor: Ex-girlfriend of a Prince, soon to be a Queen". My heart pounded faster and my hand shook to move the mouse to open the link, but...

The telephone on my table suddenly rang and I accidentally closed the window of the browser. I answered the telephone while massaging my forehead. I was really out of my mind.

"Hello, this is Shirley Woodman of Accounting Department. How may I help you?"

"Hi Miss Woodman!" a British accent man responded in the other line. His voice was powerful, yet it seemed like it came from an old man. "This is Diego of the King's office. Miss Williams told me that you can get the hard copy of Prince Alexander's report in his office. I'm sorry to bother you, but since she is not around, I hope you can do me a favor."

Clarissa went to New York to accompany my husband. They needed to meet the directors of charity there to cover up the happening a few days ago.

"Okay, Diego. I'm going to bring it to your office in a while," I answered then asked, "By the way, what report do you need?"

"The report of Prince Alexander to the King about the military, I think it was kept carefully because of the confidentiality. So, you're the only one trusted by the prince to get it in his office," he explained in a low voice as if he was hiding a secret, "Prince Alexander is too busy in New York that we have no chance to talk to him. I hope you won't bother him by calling and ask about the report."

"Uh, okay, don't worry, I'm going to look for that report," I responded, thinking that the command was from the King.

"Thank you, Miss Woodman," I could hear his smile in his words.

-----

I went to my husband's office with same things swarming in my mind. Luckily, I had the spare keys for his office he had given me a few weeks back.

I took a deep breath for like a thousandth time, before slipping inside a familiar large room with the same expensive furniture. I was not able to go here since I came back from our wedding, but nothing changed in the office since the first time I entered here. The time I caught him doing something with his mistress.

That memory flared my nostrils. Thinking he did it with other woman how he did it with me, I wanted to punch him right now. I suddenly remembered his lips-oh, those lips-worked all over my body and those breathtaking muscles flexed every time he moved. I found myself touching my cheek. It was confirmed, I was already crazy...crazy in love with that playboy prince.

I went to his table and look for that report. There were a lot of folders and papers on the prince's table so I had no idea what report the King's office needed. I read the writings pasted on the folders, but none pertain a document about the military. If that was an important report, he would not just put it here outside because of the confidentiality. I rummaged the drawers under his table to see if the report was hiding there.

The drawer, just below the surface of the mahogany table, was locked. But, since I had the spare keys of this room's locks, I tried all the small keys one by one. Luckily, after the fourth try, the lock clicked and I got a chance to look inside that drawer.

I was right. The report for the king was hiding there. The label 'Confidential-Military' outside the envelope made me jumped to a conclusion that this was the report they need. However, it was not the only thing I found in that drawer. After I took it out, several pictures, also hiding in that room, had been revealed.

All of the pictures were printed in a small rectangular glossy paper, which had white boarder in each side and a wider boarder below the picture for captions. I was sure that these were taken by an instant camera. Not Photoshop-ed.

With my bigger eyes because of shock and trembling fingers because of anger, I got one picture and looked at it carefully. I might misunderstand the picture. It might have a differ meaning, but I possibly jumped in a wrong conclusion.

My heart thumped faster. It was harder to breathe than to jump from the cliff.

I swallowed when the picture of them riding on a boat got near my face. They both smiled at the camera. Both wearing an orange life vest, the man was topless while the other had her bikini underneath. They looked young here as if in their early twenties. They looked so in love and so happy.

The caption says, '@Kota Kinabalu with her'. If I did not know who they were, I might find this picture was as sweet as sugar.

Probably, they just took picture because that was normal. When people were together in an outing, they took pictures without malice. They might have company, like Prince Nicholas, who possibly took this picture.

To prove that I was only paranoid, I got more pictures and observed it one by one.

There was this photo where Prince Alexander had his arm draped in Princess Emily's shoulder, which was taken in front of the Eiffel tower and like the first picture their expressions were natural, non-comical. They were just happy to be together. The small writing below the picture was, 'Christmas eve in Paris!'

Princess Emily was younger in the next picture. She was alone this time. She looked like a teenager. And, I just looked like her. But, she was more beautiful. Her features were more précised than mine. Her blue eyes were like a sea under a beautiful summer sky. Her smile was very innocent, unlike the smile she had in the present. She wore a simple dress and her brown hair bun above her head. I was sure that the young Prince Alexander wrote the caption below the picture, 'My beautiful Em.'

More and more pictures of two of them squeezed my heart. If there was really something between them in the past, maybe they already forget about it and already moved on. But, why I felt so hurt even though I was reminding myself that I was his wife now? And, question rang my mind, why was he still hiding these pictures?

I broke down when I saw the last picture. I could feel the hurt inside my chest. The two of them kissing, like there was no tomorrow. She was in his lap while his arms surrounding her. The two of them looked perfect and I felt betrayed. He did not - or no one told me - about them.

The way they looked at each other in the hallway that day, and how he reacted when Prince Nicholas greeted me. I found it strange, but dismissed my thought immediately. I kept on insisting in my mind, it was only a misunderstanding. But no, they had their moments in the past and I did not know what happened after that.

She ended up marrying Prince Nicholas. Was that answer why they looked a happy couple in front of the public, but cold inside the palace? Did she really love him or she still had the feeling for Prince Alexander?

Yesterday, she told me to take care of him. I knew she still had the love for him, but she was a good actress hiding it like how she acted her relationship with Prince Nicholas.

Now, I knew why Victoria was angry to her. The ex-girlfriend of your brother marrying another brother was not a good idea. Nevertheless, even she did not tell me about the past. I did not know how I would react if I knew these things in the first place, but maybe, I was not this hurt and infuriated.

I was not hurt and infuriated because they did not tell me. I had these emotions because deep inside, I knew that Prince Alexander became attracted to me because I resembled her. And there was also this feeling that the reason I was here, because I looked like her so much.

Did he love me for who I was? Or did he love me just because of this face?

I was too drowned with my questions that I did not notice I was not alone in the office anymore.

"Shirley, what are you doing?"

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