The Princess Choice

Chapter 4

Analise walked into their meeting place and sat there feeling her hands shake for two months, she had been here every day, but not on one, and her heart broke more each time he did not show up. This was their bubble come snow, rain or shine they were never late and never forgot about each other, but for two months Francis had proved that you could be forgotten even when that someone swore it was impossible.

"Princess, please do not cry..." Ana rubbed her back helping her stand.

"Every day Ana, every day I come and wait for him, and he does not show up. He does not show up or send word... he says nothing. Could I honestly mean so little to him?" she cried feeling the butterflies in her stomach crumpling "I thought I mattered to him..."

"Oh, princess, the ball is tonight; I am positive he will be there..." Ana smiled kindly feeling pain for her princess knowing heartbreak is the worst thing you can go thru.

...

Annalise walked into the ballroom again laughing with her ladies around her she felt good for the first time in a while she was laughing and enjoying herself. Richard had her laughing the whole night and had stepped away to handle a situation but promised to rush back to her so she would not be thinking about the fact that Frankie had not come.

She looked around the ballroom for Richard when her eyes met his, and her breath caught feeling heartbreak course thru her making her feel pain like never before. Francis was standing at the entrance of the ballroom with his father to his right and a girl hanging off of his arm as if she owned his heart and not her. They made eye contact, and her breath started coming out quickly and she realized that she was having difficulty breathing, she needed to get outside and now. She felt a tear run down her cheek and quickly wiped it watching how the girl looked at him with love and lust and her heart shattered as she realized they had been together. She hated the freedom they had to hold each other and look at each other with the love she never had that opportunity and realized they were fools to ever think it would happen. Nothing was ever that easy for them because they were always hiding because of the hatred surrounding them. Their titles had kept them from being intimate, but clearly, that did not stop him from being with her; after all this time she realized that he could never have truly loved her. 

She stood for a beat longer, starring at him, and ran out to the balcony, trying to calm herself, but the tears kept coming, and she tried and tried to take a deep breath; she needed to calm down before her father saw her because he would be angry and would cause a scene demanding answers she could never give him.

"Why are you out here by yourself instead of inside with..."

"Leave me...alone, please... Prince Phillip..." she tried to calm her breathing down but could not control her breathing her whole body ached with her heartbreak.

"No... why are you crying... and I will always be Frankie to you..." he stared at her back wanting to just kiss her and run his hands down her hair. He would give anything to hold her on the dance floor and make her realize that there was nothing and no one besides her that he would always love her and pray for the day he could hold her in front of the world.

"Prince Phillip leave me alone please and go back to your date..." she wiped her tears and tried to calm her breathing down taking in deep breaths.

"No Izzie because besides what has happened I still love you... and I want to know why you are crying..." Francis looked at her frustrated.

"Why do you care?" she felt rage in the pit of her stomach at this game he was pretending to be something with her.

"Because I love you..." he looked at her with sincerity in his eyes and that only angered her more.