Cover art by JenPotato
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Prince Bright Guntithanon is betrothed to Dara Kittiyangkul. Well, sort of bethrothed. She has the option to dissolve the union. But Bright is handsome, char...
It has been a long day. I know that sitting through meetings is hardly manual labor but I swear if I tilt my head a little to the right my brains would spill out of my ear.
It's a little past seven and although I wanted nothing more than to run home exhaustion nailed me to my chair.
Donations dwindling. Less orphans helped. More aggressive competition from pre-schools. Graph after graph of lines going down and numbers in red. These things are normal in a business and should stop stressing me out but they still do - too many depend on my job and I am not prepared to let any of them down.
My stomach grumbles so loudly I feared even people in the next building could hear. It snaps me to my feet. If there is one thing more important than not moving it's not getting hungry.
My stomach wins every time.
I walk outside our small office space and get in the building's glass elevator. As it slowly descends I stare out into the Kingdom.
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It's an amazing view.
You can see in the west the collection of castles and manors - where "my kind" resides.
But I have always felt more myself in the Kingdom's city center. Where the buildings are - all steel, concrete, and glass and where nothing from the 16th century exists.
Not that the castles weren't beautiful. I just never felt like I belonged.
My mind wanders to the Royal Gardens. The trees, the flowers, the lake... I haven't been there in so long, I didn't realize how much I missed it.
I guess I had to thank Bentley and Cartier for breaking their leashes and escaping.
I mean, it was pretty fun. Added bonus of running into Prince Bright. Because you know, I got to disrupt his date with Dara.
Tss. Date.
A picnic date of all things - how cliché can a man get?
Sure, it's romantic in an obvious way and sure, sandwiches hand made by a Prince was kind of impressive. But it's too textbook romantic! How uninspired. Besides, shouldn't Bright and his staff of bethrothers (it's a wordddd) know that Dara hated romance? I'd always have to bribe her with fries whenever I wanted to watch a romcom with her. I'm the romantic. Not Dara.
I hear someone clear their throat. I look up. I am startled to find I am already in front of the cashier at the ground floor convenience store. When did I even get here?
"Sorry," I mumble as I hand over the paper bill I find in my hand. I am not even sure what food I bought. It feels like I snapped out of a trance.
"It's ok," shrugs the cashier. "You always do that when you're here late."
I blink. What does that mean? "What does that mean?"
"Whenever you come here late at night, you tend to stand still and stare at the hundred Gunti bill for a really long time."
