21. Mistaken Identity [2]

[Luke]
"Fine, but I'm sorry to tell you that Megan is waiting for you in your quarters." As soon as the words left his mouth, I groaned inwardly, just how much of a pain in the rear, had today decided to become.
"Why is she here?" I asked him angrily.
"Your father's orders," He said and looked like he wanted to say more but hesitated.
"Go on." I urged him.
"He prepared a romantic dinner for the both of you in your chambers, she's already there, waiting for you." He said.
"He couldn't just help himself, could he?" I fumed. "I'm not going there, you go there and tell her that the dinner has been canceled, make up an excuse, anything, I don't want to have dinner with her."
"I can't do that, Luke, she's staying the night in your chambers." He said.
"Let me guess, dear ol' King's orders." I clenched my teeth angrily.
"Yes." He said. "You have to go, it's impolite to leave a young lady waiting, besides I don't see why you're rejecting her, she's young, beautiful, successful, of royal blood and nice, there are not many people of status like her anymore."
"Don't you ever miss my mother?" I asked him out of the blue.
His eyes turned misty and his breath uneven, he looked down and then back up before responding to my question.
"Everyday." He said and cleared his throat.
"She'd not let this happen if she were still here, you know?" I said and he hummed in agreement.
"She'd want you to fulfill your duties as the future King of Denmark though, and that means getting married to a woman of royal blood like she was and having an heir like she had you." He said.
"She'd want me to marry for love, to have a marriage like she and father had." I was overwhelmed with emotion.
"Father?" He said and turned misty-eyed again.
"The King." I corrected him.
"Indeed she'd want you to marry for love, but when she first met your father, they were not in love, they fell in love before marriage, you still have the chance to make that happen with Megan."
If only he knew that my heart wasn't empty any longer if only he knew that another was already plaguing my dreams and giving me sleepless nights.
"You have a way with words, I have to give it to you Tom, I'm just not interested in Megan, I see her as a friend, you remember when we used to be best friends?"
"It can still be love if you give it a chance." He said and tapped me on the back. "Go to her now, you've kept her waiting for too long, don't prolong the inevitable, you've known for a long time that she'll be your bride, connect with her and give love a chance, let love bloom between you too." He advised. "I'll take my leave now, your highness." He curtsied and left me standing alone in the hallway.
Mr. Thomas was very wise, but that meant that he had one way of looking at things, once he believed in something, there was no way to convince him of the existence of another.
It was either black or white with him, there were no gray areas.
***
"How long has the lady been waiting?" I asked the guard when I got to my door.
"She has been waiting for quite some time, your highness, Mr. Liam was here earlier too and he has also been waiting for you." They replied.
"Liam?" I was confused.
"Yes, he said you sent for him." The guard said, his voice trembling slightly.
"Yes, I did send for him," I remembered that I'd asked Franz to get him for me, I needed to talk to him about Claire and how I could get her to forgive me now.
"Yes, Sir." The guard let out an air of relief.
"Both of you should leave for the night, and resume back tomorrow morning," I said and they looked at each other strangely.
"Am sorry, your highness, but the—"
"The King's orders." I finished his sentence and he nodded his head.
"Don't worry, I was just with Sir Thomas, the King is fine with this, he'd like me to enjoy my time with the lady undisturbed." I lied.
I needed them to leave so that it would be easier for me to send Megan back home.
"Alright, Sir, we'll report back in the morning." They said and I watched them leave before I turned to open the door silently.
The image before me shocked me to my core, Liam was having dinner with Megan as me, he was having dinner with Megan in place of me.
I smiled as I saw his hand on hers and I closed the door back gently.
I was thankful that I'd sent the guards away, I needed to tell Liam to send Megan to the guest room and to inform me when the dinner was done.
I couldn't call him so I texted him, then I sneaked off to the water tank and I sat there talking to my mother. Everything I couldn't say to Sir Thomas, I said to her and though she couldn't respond, I still felt much better after ranting to her.
.
.
[Liam]
"I'm having dinner with you, why would I need any camouflage? I trust you to keep my identity secret." She smiled after I said this and she relaxed around me.
"You seem like you're two different people." She whispered.
"What do you mean?" I asked her cautiously.
"No, I mean you're sometimes warm and most times cold to me, the last time you were this warm was during the parade when you have just returned, ever since then, you've been so cold to me." She explained.
"I'm sorry, it's just the pressure of coming back home, the King is putting a lot of pressure on me, my schedule is so packed, I rarely have time to breathe." I guess it was quite right anyway, only my father wasn't a King, he was a simple man who lived a simple life.
"I understand." She said and her eyes turned sad. "My mother is also pressuring me too, she wants this relationship to work more than I do." She confessed.
I didn't know what to say to her so I took her second hand in mine and rubbed softly.
"Would you like to go on an unofficial date with me, we could get to know each other more, without interference from the media or our parents, we could go somewhere private," I said, I wanted to see her again, to go on a date with her again, I loved listening to her talk and her hands felt so soft under mine.
I wondered what more parts of her body were as soft.
She looked shocked then she pulled her hands out of mine softly, I felt a pang of pain in my chest when she withdrew her hands from mine and I wondered if she would reject me.
"I'd like that." She looked at her hands shyly and I smiled.
She agreed.
"I'm supposed to spend the night with you." She said and I nearly choked on my drink.
I didn't know how to respond to that, luckily for me, my phone dinged and I took it out to see a message from Luke.
—Don't let her spend the night in my room, send her to one of the guestrooms, text me when you're done with your romantic dinner.
He finished the text off with a winking emoji and I nearly smiled.
"I want you to be comfortable with me first, you don't have to spend the night here," I told her.
"Our parents, they won't allow it." She looked at me, her cheeks stained the color of red.
"They don't have to know, you can use one of the guestrooms then come here early tomorrow morning, so they'll think you spent the night," I said.
"What if she asks about—" She was blushing so hard.
"We're taking our time, I want our first time to be very special." I chuckled.
What exactly do rich mamas put in the head of their daughters?
I could not believe that her mother sent her here to have relations with Luke when they weren't yet married and the King seconded it.
It wasn't uncommon to have s*x before marriage in Denmark, but in the royal family, it was frowned upon.
It was almost a taboo, so I wondered why the King was supporting it.
He probably was just trying to get Luke to accept his relationship with Megan.
"I beg to take my leave then, your highness." She stood up and curtsied before me.
"Good night, fair Megan." I pecked her red cheeks. "Ask any of the female servants for assistance and don't forget to tell them that the Prince would have them punished if they gossiped."
"Alright then, good night."