"My Runaway Prince..."

"Together..."

Lucian:

We sat opposite his father. I held his hand tightly in mine, afraid he'd bolt out of the door if I let go of him.

"You were supposed to end the marrige."

"We were. We tried. We couldn't." I answered for both of us.

"What happened?"

"I fell in love." Hope murmured.

"And does he share your feelings?"

"I'm right here, sir. And to answer your question, yes I do. I love Hope."

He ran his hand up and down his face briskly, like he was trying to wake himself up from a dream.

"You're old enough to decide for yourself, son. If this is what you truly want, then go ahead. I give you my blessings." He sighed.

I felt Hope's body relax.

"Truth be told, there was nothing Hope could have done anyway. Even if he succeeded in dissolving our marriage here in your country, it would still remain intact in my kingdom since it was blessed with the Royal Seal."

"Royal Seal?" His father asked confused.

"The king has a Royal Seal embeded in his ring. It is in the possession of our permits and licensing department, housed in our records division at the Moratovia Castle. The other seal, also embeded in a ring was handed down by the Queen Regent Leonora, to her son the Prince... Lucian."

I took the ring out of my breast pocket, and placed it gently on Hope's ring finger.

"This marriage is legal, and binding. This ring, the seal it holds, and all of my kingdom... ties itself to you... my beloved Hope."

👑👑👑

Hope:

"Wait! You're a prince? You stand in line to inherit the throne? To rule a kingdom?" I was drowning in the realization.

"Yes. And I shall rule it, with you by my side." He smiled, expecting me to just say yes.

"Are you crazy?" I couldn't control my anger, he lied to me.

He knew all along that even with my best efforts this marriage was water-tight and could not be dissolved, and yet he let me go through all the planning, misleading me, pretending all along.

"What makes you think I would be able to accept you now, after knowing the magnitude of your responsibility. I can barely keep this family from going under, how can I keep an entire kingdom from collapsing?"

"The responsibility will be shared my love. You have me. We have advisors. We have people to help us. We are not alone in this."

"And what about heirs? Your bloodline will die and wither with me! Do you think my conscience can accept that? I would doom your lineage, and pollute your precious name."

"There are surrogates. Modern methods to... why are we even discussing this? The important matter is we love each other! Any hurdles that come our way will be easy to overcome, as long as we stick together."

"No." I sighed, taking the ring off my finger, and depositing it in his large, warm hand. "Your parents would be crushed if I took you away from them, from your responsibilities, from your kingdom. I cannot live with myself if I did that. You belong to your crown... I would only tarnish your reputation, and ultimately bring you down." My heart ached with the truth. "I am not worthy, my prince."

"Hope, please. Think about this first."

"I wish to be set free. You are the prince of Moratovia. After hearing the facts of how our marriage was a random act of ignorance by an incompetent office clerk, you alone have the power to dissolve this union. This marriage... was never true to begin with."

"I resent that!"

"And I resent you lying to me. Was it a prank? Something to amuse you before you took the throne? A last hurrah of some sort to keep you busy while you wait for your turn to rule! What am I to you? A joke?"

"I love you!"

I was silenced.

"Please. You are mad. I am sorry. I love you. I do not wish to lose you. I will give you time to think. By tomorrow morning..."

"I will have moved on. You will be nothing but a memory to me. I will be free of you."

"Is that what you truly desire?" His eyes held unshed tears. And I nodded slowly.

I watched him walk, shoulders hunched, defeated back to my room to retrieve his belongings.

"Thank you for your kind hospitality. My stay here in your loving and charming home has been the best experience I've ever had in my entire life. I will never forget you... all of you."

His steps were slow, his movement shaky. As he reached the door and stepped out into the darkness, I let the torrent of tears I was holding back fall one after the other.

I had my chance... but I wasn't brave enough to take it. I will forever be... a coward.