Chasing The Crown

Chapter 11

Belle

"He just texted me saying he is on his way" I say to my sister's friend,Kate who runs a cafè.
After seeing the article that my sister showed me from whichever foreign country,I kind of felt bad for Andrew so I wanted to cheer him up. So I had to make sure that he isn't seen by any paparazzi. That's why I asked Kate for a favour and this whole place is closed right now.
"Let me check on Fridah in the kitchen" Kate says.
My sister offered to cook us a nice meal,even though I told her that it's unnecessary. I take my phone and sit at the booth at the back. Honestly my feet hurt and I feel exhausted but here I am going out of my way to entertain a foreign prince that is leaving tomorrow. I sigh. I hope my face doesn't show how tired I am. After gym I went to my place to freshen up and I'm dressed in a white tank top with boyfriend jeans and sneakers. No makeup and my hair is let lose. I busy myself with chatting to Mandla about the Miss Universe preparations.

"Welcome your highness" I hear Kate say.
When I look up she is welcoming Andrew. He is with his bodyguard from last night. I stand up from where I'm sitting so that he sees me. He looks at me and smiles. He thanks Kate and heads in my direction. He is wearing jeans,with a large hoodie and a cap. He looks even more handsome like he just stepped out of Vogue,his mother was surely taking her vitamins when she was pregnant with him.
"Good evening Belle" he says taking my hand and placing a soft kiss.
I feel a blush creep on to my face.
"Hey Andrew" I reply after a minute.
He looks at me and smiles.
"I thought this place was closed" he says as he sits down across me.
"I told you that you thought wrong your highness" I say with sarcasm.
He laughs. Oh lord he looks even more beautiful when he laughs.
"How was your day?" He asks.
I can't help but groan and lay my head on the table. Causing him to laugh again,this guy surely likes laughing.
"How about you tell me about yours?" I say with a smile.
He nods his head and goes on about how fun his day was with the kids from an orphanage I once visited. As he is talking about his day my sister comes with our food. How yummy! Dumpling and tripe,a South African cuisine.
"I hope you haven't had dinner" I say to Andrew with a sheepish smile.
He looks at me and smiles a genuine smile seeing the plates that my sister puts in front of us.
"Thank you" he says to my sister and the waiter who brought water to wash our hands.
"Uhm... Andrew this is my sister Fridah" I say to him.
He stands up to kiss the back of her hand.
"Nice to meet you" he says.
"And Fridah this is Andrew whom you already know" i say rolling my eyes.
After her little blushing moment she turns back to me with a death stare.
"Nice to meet you too your highness" she says with a bow of her head.
"Oh please you don't have to do that" he says.
"Can you please bring another plate for Andrew's guest" i say to my sister showing her the guy sitting at the corner with my eyes.
She nods at me and goes back to the kitchen.
"So what are we having?" He asks looking at the plate curiously.
"Well you can't leave this country without having tripe,that would make me a bad person" I say as I wash my hands and nod at him to follow my lead. He also washes his hands and tastes the dumpling with tripe. He pops his eyes out. Oh yes my sister is a great cook.
"This is amazing" he says after a minute.
I can't help but smile.
"Well the trick is to eat it while it's warm" I say giving him a heads up.

After our delicious meal we had cupcakes and coffee for dessert. Andrew told me about his life in the military and how being a prince is a pain in the butt. In exchange I also told him about my university days and how being Miss South Africa has changed my life.
"Wow and I only thought that beauty pageants are a waste of time" he says.
"Yeah many people think so when they truly don't understand the pageant world but honestly speaking these pageants open doors for a whole lot of us and being crowned changes your entire life" I say shrugging and taking a sip of my coffee.
He looks at me and nods his head in understanding.
"At least there is a crown out the that changes people's lives for the better"  he says looking down at his cup of coffee.
His face seems alright but I can't help but notice the pain in his eyes. My hand immediately holds his over the table,I squeeze his hand and he looks up at me.
"Sometimes we just have to make lemonade out of the lemons that life throws at us. Find the silver lining in every dark cloud you know" I say.
He looks at me and nods seeming deep in thought. He looks like he has the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. By reflex I squeeze his hand to comfort him and he looks back at me.
"Thanks Belle you are such a kind soul" he says squeezing my hand also making me smile.
"I know we don't know each other that much but anytime you need to talk please know that I'm here whether it's day or night,you don't have to deal with everything alone" I say.
His emerald green eyes have so much pain in them that I feel like I can't breathe.
Life is funny,we think that the rich and successful people are happy only to find out that they  are the ones who struggling mentally the most.
"I feel like I have known you for all my life" he says with a genuine smile.
I can't help but blush causing me to look to the side. The sun is kissing the sky good morning. Meaning we stayed up all night talking.
"Oh my word! What time is your flight?" I say standing up.
He chuckles.
"No need to worry about that" he says standing up.
Oh! Who am I kidding his family probably has private jets. I laugh at myself.
"Thank you so much for a great night Elle" he says giving me a hug.
I smile at the nickname he has given me.
"Until we meet again" I say as we step out of the hug.
He looks at me for a minute and nods his head with a smile. Then he turns to leave. My heart breaks at seeing him leave,I might not understand his life but one thing I do understand is that this life is toxic for him.

NOT EDITED!!!