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The one with the reality - 27

A

When she arrived home, she didn't know how she did it. All throughout her trip, her mind was blank of any thoughts other than those of Michelle. She can remember the shock on her face that turned to confusion, and that single tear that left her eye as she told her that she loves her. The opening of her mouth but then closed it because she couldn't say anything.

Anntonia was just crying, as the helicopter flew away from Michelle's building, while she was just standing there looking lost. Michelle didn't move an inch, until Anntonia could only see her as a small dot, her last image of her. It broke her.

Anntonia remembers her brother trying to console her, but to no avail. She feels like nothing could ever make her feel better than Michelle herself.

As soon as she arrived back in Thailand, she was escorted to the hospital wing of the palace and saw her dad. Thankfully he was not seriously injured. "My apologies for pulling you out earlier, my princess" He said as she gave him a hug, not being able to say something more.

The days passed by rather slowly but at the same time fast. Anntonia really did worked hard to capture the terrorists who attacked the motorcade where his dad was that led to his injuries.

After a week of searching, Anntonia included in the operations, of course with a lot of palace staffs, even his dad and brother's objection, Anntonia was adamant to do it herself. 

She supposedly had 7 more days with Michelle, and they are the reason why she was pulled away from her. On top of that, they were the same reason why her mother died. All the reasons of her happiness are now gone, because of them and Anntonia took that personally.

They were able to find the place where these terrorists stayed. They wanted to abolish the crown and the royal family but if they can't they just want everybody dead, they said.

Another week has passed, she went around the country to visit her people, assuring them that they are safe again. Everyone is excited for her coronation but she couldn't say the same thing.

She worked day and night, only sleeping for a few hours to not think of Michelle. She tried. But her mind keep on bugging her.

She's not sure what will happen anymore, and she knows she couldn't leave the country again. Her plan of abdicating the throne is not possible anymore, she can't tell it to her father and her people. Her plans hasn't started yet, but she can't continue it anymore. This breaks her.

Her dad talked to her one time, telling her the planning for her coronation will now start. And in 1 month time, she will be crowned as the queen of their country. She also should start finding her future husband from nearby kingdoms as well.

That struck a nerve. It pushed the button for Anntonia. 

For the first time in her life, she broke down in front of her father, the same person who taught her to be strong and not show other people her weakness.

She didn't say anything, but she just cried her heart out.

She realized, after two weeks of over working, she cannot forget Michelle because every waking second of her, she thinks of her. When she is sleeping, she dreams of her as well. It's a never ending cycle, and Anntonia is getting tired of it.

Whenever she's sad or confused, when she can't seem to find the reason to go on, she look at the photos of her mom. She always look back to those happy days she used to have.

She always sleep, laying down the bed that felt empty, holding on to the necklace Michelle gave her.

What she didn't expect is to see a photo of a kid. It's been a while since she saw the photo. It's her first crush, her first love, her friend from Siargao. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw a striking resemblance to the person who her heart beats for right now.

Lucky for her, Michelle has a famous family and her childhood photos are readily available on the internet. So after a few seconds, she confirmed that the first person who let her heart beat, is the same person she loves dearly now.

She decided to upload the photo. A last plea for Michelle to come and go to her because she cannot anymore.

She knows it's selfish of her to hope Michelle to go to her, after everything she has done and all the pain she cost her. 

But she still can hope.

The GSI proposal was one of the things she focused on for the past week aside from touring. She wanted to send a message across. The thai people behind it who works in the Philippines, is definitely the two people she was with in the elevator said that they will be sending a delegate in two weeks time.

She felt sadness because the coronation's preparation is full blown by that time. It will be too late for them.

She heard a knock on her door, and it revealed her brother who gave her a weak smile.

"How are you holding up?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Back to my old programming. Overworking myself so I can forget"

"But Chris, I cannot forget. When my eyes are open, I see her. When I close my eyes, I dream of her" Anntonia added. "I love her so much, that it hurts"

Chris can only envelope her with a hug. She gave her a soothing motion on her back. "You tell me what to do, I will do it for you"

—

The morning came and Anntonia silently cursed to herself. Her eyes and face looked so swollen from crying the night before.

She is scheduled to go to Bangkok today, to end her royal parade. It's a welcoming of some sort, but she also wants to show the people of her current victory against the terrorist.

She wore this royal blue, off shoulder gown. Of course, there's this slit on her left leg for a small knife. To show people her status, she also wears her crown. And of course, the necklace Michelle gave her. 

The necklace that has a photo of both of them. Her favorite photo of them. She always stare at it for a few minutes like it is the only thing that gives her an energy to continue.

As she always does, she waves to the people, who is eager to see their future queen. She's on top of one of their royal cars while doing so.

When she said that she's in her programming, she can do things physically, in perfect movement while her mind is flying around in different places, thinking of other things. 

This time, her mind is thinking about the same person that her heart beats for as well, who she knows is thousands of miles away from her.

So imagine Anntonia's surprise, that her knees weakened, when the person she's thinking about is standing among the crowd, a smile plastered on her face, her camera on her hand and looks like she just finished taking a photo of her.

Their eyes meet for a few second before the car needed to move again.

Anntonia had to pinch herself because what she saw is too good to be true. 

Her heart beats fast, and for the first time in weeks, she felt alive. She felt like she was back in her true self.

"Chris" She called on her radio. "Please get my girl for me"

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A/N: To those people who keeps on commenting every chapter, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all! Reading your thoughts warms my heart. For those (if there are) silent readers out there, comment naman kayo oh! hehe. Happy reading everyone!