Prince Player(20)

As soon as we pull into the castle’s main entrance, and I realize that I’m going to go in through the main doors, I suddenly think of Britta. She’s going to flip her shit when she realizes that I just married into the royal family.

“Holy crap,” I say out loud. Britta might be actually get really angry with me, now that I think about it. She knows that I don’t take any of this royal stuff seriously at all.

“Miss?” Thomas looks at me questioningly.

“Uh, nothing,” I say.

He stops the car and climbs out. He opens the door and gestures for me to follow him. “This way, miss, I’ll show you to your room.”

“Erm, should I get my bag?” I ask him.

“Someone will get that for you, miss,” he says, waving his hand. “Come this way.”

I follow him in through the main doors, which are reserved for nobility and other ceremonial functions. Sometimes photographers sit outside and take pictures of anyone that goes inside. Today, there are only two paparazzi, but they only look at me with confused stares. Clearly they have no clue who I am or why I’d be going through the main entrance and not the side doors like everyone else.

Thomas leads me through the halls and I can’t help but look around with a new perspective. I’ve walked the castle a few times now during my time as a maid, but I never really looked at it. Before, this castle was just the place I had to clean and work in, but now it’s something more.

Now I live here, at least for a little while. At least until the prince gets me pregnant.

The thought sends a chill down my spine, and I have to force myself not to think about it.

The castle has a simply beauty to it that I never really appreciated before. There are signs of wealth all over the place, of course, but the Polovian castle doesn’t go overboard with it. There are paintings and beautiful real gold accents adorning everything, but the architecture is straightforward and almost simplistic. It’s a conventional place, built for a purpose, without too much excess. I’m sure the Polovian rulers that built this place could have made it as ostentatious as they wanted, but they chose to make it this way instead, and I actually really respect that.

We head down through the castle and finally Thomas brings me to the room directly next to the prince’s.

“Here you are,” he says. “Your chambers.”

I can’t help but smile at that. I’ve never had “chambers” before.

“Thank you, Thomas.”

He nods. “My pleasure.” He opens the door for me, and I step inside.

I stand there, totally stunned, as the door clicks shut behind me.

I’ve cleaned this room before. It isn’t new to me, not really. I’ve seen every bit of it before.

But I’m looking at it with a new perspective. I take a step forward and bite my lower lip.

This room is mine. I live in this room now. I find it genuinely hard to believe that all this space is for one person, but here I am, standing in the middle of it with my personal steward waiting just outside the door for me.

The rooms in this wing are large, with an open living room and kitchen area. Everything is sleek and modern, but decorated in a more traditional fashion. It looks like what you’d think a royal room would look like, but there’s also a comfortable couch and a big-screen TV. It’s functional while still being ceremonial.

I walk further into the room, touching everything. I’ve never, ever stayed in a place like this before. I’ve cleaned it, of course, but now someone else will clean up for me. I won’t have to be down on my knees scrubbing this place anymore.

I walk back and look at the big bedroom and bathroom, and for a second, I feel like I’m going to cry.

I don’t come from money. I never had much. Money has always been something of a struggle for me. I got lucky and saved up to come to Europe, but I did it on a budget, and I ended up getting robbed and going broke anyway. But here I am in one of the richest rooms I’ve ever seen in my life, at the height of luxury, and I don’t have to worry about money ever again.

“Overwhelming, isn’t it?”

I turn around, surprised. Nolan stands in the doorway, smiling at me.

“A little,” I admit, getting myself together. I don’t want him to see me crying.

“What do you think so far?” he asks, gesturing around him. “Not bad, right?”

“Beats my hostel,” I say.

“And the steward, how was he?”

“Fine,” I say. “Stewards are…” I trail off, not sure what to say.

“Stewards are weird,” he finishes for me, grinning.

“Yeah, they really are. What’s with that?”