Annalise Stark, orphaned after losing her parents in the military, is desperate to find a way to pay off her sister's medical debts. She finds work at the palace, home to the infamous Prince William. Despite her efforts to ignore him, Annalise soon...
"Her love is rare, and all she's ever wanted was someone who understood that." ~R.H. Sin
Annalise
Will stared in me quizzically as I began. The words tumbled out of my mouth in an undignified mess.
"I didn't dislike Lorraine only because I didn't trust her," I confessed, staring my wringing hands, unable to look Will in the eye. "... I don't know when it happened, but the day you said you had a date with Lorraine, my heart shattered. I realized I wasn't going to be the only girl in your life anymore, and I was jealous of what you two had. I don't mean in a way that I wanted a boyfriend in my life. I meant I was jealous of her having you. I'd admitted it out loud to Mia and James that I liked you as more than a friend, but I still hadn't really admitted it to myself because I always thought I never had a chance with you. I'm a commoner; you're a prince. It doesn't happen unless you're Kate Middleton. Besides, I thought you didn't love me the way you used to. I gave you an opportunity to ask me out on a date the day Lorraine called you for the first time. You asked me point blank if I liked you, and in true 'me' fashion, I said I wouldn't tell you even if I did, but I told you to ask me and find out. I stupidly thought you would, but you said I'd just shoot down your ego if you did."
I was bumbling through my words at this point, jumping in all different directions, but I needed to finish what I'd started, no matter how embarrassing it was to me, or how vulnerable it made me. "I wanted to respond to all your calls and texts the second I got them."
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"Even right after it happened?" Will asked in surprise.
"Okay, maybe not the first week because I was thoroughly pissed and upset, but I constantly thought about them. But I knew if we made up, I'd have to deal with Lorraine... As selfish as this sounds, it hurt to see you happy with her. Of course, I wanted you to be happy. I always want you to be happy, but I wanted to be the girl making you happy, not her, and it's why I ignored you. I couldn't bring myself to let you back in and risk my heart getting broken again. For the longest time, I convinced myself I no longer had feelings for you, even when I saw you at the hospital when Walt had his heart attack. Then you kissed me on the head after you saved me from your dad, and I realized all those feelings for you were still very much there and present and deep. It's why I reacted so horribly when you started pushing me away and ignoring me when you were searching for Lorraine's dad, and-"
"Annie-"
"Please, just... let me finish. I promise I'm almost done rambling," I said, taking another deep breath and wiping a tear off my cheek. "We missed our chance because of me. We loved each other at different times. I'm sure after having me ignoring all those phone calls and texts, you lost any romantic feelings towards me, and I know you're doing everything you are to make up for what happened between us, but you've more than made up for it. I don't want what I'm saying to change anything between us because I finally got you back in my life. We're finally back to where we were before, if not closer, and I don't want to ruin it. I promise I won't act on these feelings, but I'm telling you this because you deserve to know that your feelings weren't always one-sided. I'm sorry to only be telling you this now. I was terrified my feelings wouldn't be reciprocated because I've never dealt with emotions like this before, and by the time I came to my senses, it was too late."
