"Sorellona!" A smile appeared on my face upon seeing Iñigo happily running towards us just as we got out of the car. He and Amelia were at the part of the garden that was nearest to the entrance of the palace, busy chatting when we arrived.

We just came home to the palace and I didn't expect him to be here. I gladly opened my arms and gave him a warm embrace when Maximus put me down in my wheelchair. Since he's so tall, he had to bend over to hug me back.

"I missed you. I'm glad you're here." I said.

"I missed you too, sorellona." He then pulled away from me but not before I kissed his forehead. He pouted as he squatted before me while holding onto my wheelchair.

"C'mon, sorellona. Stop treating me like a little kid. I'm already a grown up." He complained and I couldn't help but to laugh.

"Really now, cucciolo? For me, you're still a kid though." I then ruffled his hair which made him pout even more. He was about to say something when someone spoke.

"I'm glad you finally decided to return, Ath." It was Amelia. As usual, she has that gentle smile on her face. She approached me and then gave me a hug.

"my vacation is already finished. Besides, I wanted to see that man and talk to him." I answered, referring to the man that the police have captured the other day who apparently was responsible of the failed assassination months ago.

Her face instantly filled with worry upon hearing what I've said.

"Are you sure it's okay for you to go and see him? What for? We shouldn't interact with him in any way because it won't surely do us any good."

"I want to hear everything from him. I want to know who's behind all of this. I know for sure that they're the one who targeted me last week. Thankfully, Maximus was there to save me." Amelia gasped.

"Oh, God. What happened?!" I took a deep breath and was about to answer when Maximus cleared his throat and that was the only time that Amelia noticed him. He was standing behind me. He still had bandages wrapped around his shoulder because of what happened.

Thankfully, it wasn't that serious. I got so scared when I saw the blood coming from his shoulder and I thought, I already lost him.

I was crying in fear while waiting outside the emergency area together with my grandparents. Thankfully, everything eventually became fine.

My annon called the police right away and sent the guards to chase after the assailant but unfortunately, they couldn't catch him. They did their best together with the police but it looked like that person was as slippery as an eel.

"What happened to your shoulder?" She asked Maximus. Maximus bowed his head towards Amelia first before answering. Iñigo remained quiet while staring at us full of curiosity. He then stood up quietly, obviously waiting for Maximus' answer.

"While we were at the garden, I noticed that the birds on the big tree near the gate flew away as if they got threatened by something. That's when I noticed that person aiming his gun at our direction, at Athena to be exact. Thankfully, my reflexes were fast and managed to save her in the nick of time."

"Oh, my God! These people should get apprehended now before they manage to kill one of us. Thank goodness because nothing bad had happened to Ath here." She embraced me once again as if she got relieved over something.

"Thank you for saving my sister, Mr. Vázquez. I'm glad you were there with her because if you weren't, she might—" She couldn't finish what she wanted to say because her voice cracked as turned emotional.

"You don't have to thank me, Your Royal Highness. It's my job as her PRB. I only regret that I couldn't go after that person because I got shot. But at least, Princess Athena is safe." While saying that, Maximus gazed at me lovingly and I couldn't help but to smile at him. If no one was here with us, we surely have kissed by now.

I could see the love and longing in his eyes while staring at me. Well, we came home straight to the palace when he got discharged of the hospital that's why we didn't have time to be alone.

He stayed in the hospital for three days and I couldn't even stay in the hospital to be with him even if I wanted to because of my condition. Because of that, my determination to be able to walk again doubled.

I realized that in times like this, I should be able to be there with him and take care of him. I promised myself that I would push myself harder so that I could walk again soon.

I heard someone clear their throat and that broke the magic spell between us.

"We're still here, in case you two forgot." Amelia's eyebrow was cocked up but I could see the amusement in her eyes too.

My cheeks heated up in embarrassment. I knew Amelia. She would never say anything to nonna and the others even if she discovers about Maximus and I's relationship but I couldn't help but to feel shy for some reason.

Maybe because I've never opened up about my relationships to them. Maybe because my ex and now, Maximus aren't Royals that's why I chose to keep it a secret. Well, my family discovered about Warren and I's relationship though that's why everything that happened, happened.

Now, with Maximus, I want to make everything different. I don't want to keep him like my dirty secret. One of these days, I will surely tell about our relationship to my family.

"Kidding aside though. I think, it would be better if you just rest for now. Forget about that guy. It will not do you any good to go there and see him now, I'm telling you. At least, he got caught." She continued.

"Sorellona Amelia is right. Just let the Royal Police handle that guy." Iñigo commented for the first time. Just like Amelia, I could tell that he was worried about me too.

"Her Royal Highness Amelia and His Royal Highness Iñigo are right, Your Royal Highness." Maximus agreed. I huffed, too angry to that assailant. I was about to answer when we heard another voice.

"Oh, the favorite Princess of Costavia has arrived." It was Aria. As usual, she sounded sarcastic while staring at me without any emotion on her face. Her arms were crossed across her chest while leaning against the door.

"Of course. The one and only, sorellona." I answered a little bit tauntingly as I smiled at her. She rolled her eyes and then walked towards us.

"It's been so peaceful here ever since you left for vacation so make sure not to do anything that could cause trouble to all of us again." I cocked up an eyebrow. She's starting again.

"Aria, stop. Whether Ath is here or not, the Royal Family is still in constant danger and controversy. She's not the only one who breaks the rules of the Royal Family so we should not point our finger at her." Amelia defended me and Aria glared at her.

"Yes, you're right, but I'm not talking about petty and simple rules here. She—"

"—Stop it, Aria. You should not bring out what happened in the past again. Your sister is doing her best to move on from that so you should too. No one wanted what happened." Everyone of us looked at the one who spoke. Our nonna.

Aria and Amelia curtsied while Maximus and Iñigo vowed their heads towards her.

"Why can't I talk about it, nonna? I was just trying to tell the truth." Aria then reasoned out.

"Aria! Have you forgotten that Athena here is your younger sister?! How could you treat her like that?! Everyone of us got hurt of what happened but that's not enough reason to put all the blame on her. You're older than her so you should be mature enough to handle everything not to worsen the situation!" Aria looked stunned of our nonna's anger.

Her eyes suddenly brimmed with tears. She threw me a sharp glare.

"Aria—" I was about to reach for her hand but she turned her back on me and walked away. My nonna sighed.

"That girl." She muttered in disbelief while shaking her head before approaching me and then hugged me. "Welcome back, passerotta. Don't mind your sister. You know that she loves you. She's just frustrated and mad because of what has been happening lately."

I heaved a sigh. If this happened before Maximus and I became a couple, I would've surely cried and start blaming myself even more than I already had. But everything's different now. Maximus helped me to be a strong person.

Even though I haven't told him about what really happened in the past, I knew that he already has an idea. Knowing him, he knows a lot about the Royal Family. But even so, he hasn't asked any question about it. He remained quiet, probably giving me time to talk. I knew that he's just waiting for me to confide everything to him.

But even though I learned how to be stronger, I couldn't help but to get affected hearing what my sister just said. I haven't felt this way ever since I left the palace to go to De Falco farm but now, it's happening again.

"I'm used to it, nonna." I couldn't help but to sound bitter. Aria was not like that before. In fact, we were close before that accident happened which destroyed our relationship as sisters. Ever since that day, she changed a lot just like me.

If I've been staying inside my room most of the time and didn't want to go outside the palace after what happened, Aria was the opposite. She became wild that she even goes to the club to party with her so called friends which she never did before.

The sweet Aria disappeared.

"Just forget about what she said, sorellona. I'm sure, she doesn't mean to hurt you in any way." It was Iñigo as she held my hand, comforting me.

"Your brother is right. C'mon, let's just go inside. I'm sure that you're already hungry." My grandmother suggested and I nodded my head.

While we were eating, everyone did their best to lighten up the mood even though Aria remained quiet on her seat. Aris wasn't with us because he flew to Paris this morning while Antonius on the other hand was still at work.

When we finished eating, I was about to tell them that I wanted to go to my room when Antonius arrived. He greeted everyone with a serious face. I was about to tease him for being so serious all the time when I noticed that his expression was weird as if something bad happened.

"What happened? You look weird." Our nonna asked him worriedly. He ran his hand over his face. He looked stressed out.

"Someone killed that man." We were shocked but confused at the same time.

"Whom are you referring to?"

"The one who attempted to kill us. He was found dead in his cell a while ago." I gasped in shock. Just when I thought that everything was finally starting to fall into place because that guy finally got caught. But now that he's dead, we have to start from zero again.

We knew that someone just paid him to do the job and we wanted to know who's the brain behind all these by making him confess but we're already too late.

"How come this happened? What were the Royal Police doing?!" My grandma asked exasperatedly.

"I don't know, nonna. Apparently, no one saw what happened. When they tried to rewind the CCTV footage, they discovered that a part of the recorded videos was already erased. Not just that. Some members of the Special Police Force were killed too."

"I can't believe this! Whoever is behind all this, it's very obvious now that they're just lurking nearby, waiting for the right moment to execute their plans. Who knows, one of these people are actually close to us, pretending to be our friends but will stab us in the back when they get the chance."

"You're right, nonna, so we should be careful at all times. Whoever did this to that guy is only making sure that he won't spill the beans. Don't worry because I will talk to the SPF and make sure that they'll double or triple their effort in investigating about what happened. This case has been taking so long to get solved and I'm getting impatient already.

"These people are mocking the Royal Family and I want to give them what they're looking for. They messed with the wrong people and I'll make sure to give them their own dose of their medicine." Antonius was dangerously calm and I knew that he's more dangerous in this state.

About two hours after that, everyone went out because they had special engagements that they needed to attend to.

"Do you still need anything, Your Royal Highness?" Sita asked me after she helped me clean myself and get dressed.

"You can go now, Sita. I'll just rest for a bit." She nodded her head before she went out of my room. I sighed the moment I was left alone and then closed my eyes. I just remained sitting in my bed , leaning my back against the oversized headboard, while trying my best to remain calm even though I couldn't help but to get affected of what has been happening these past few months.

I've been trying to forget what happened to my mother these past few months and lately, I learned how to live happily but now that I came back here to the palace, it felt like that heavy feeling inside my chest was livening up again.

I could see the resentment in my sister Aria's eyes while staring at me and that made me realize that I've been being selfish lately. I've been so happy being together with Maximus that I forgot everything while my sister on the other hand was feeling the opposite.

My eyes watered until my tears finally fell down my cheeks. Even though my eyes were close, tears still fell.

I was about to wipe my tears when someone did it for me. I slowly opened my eyes and the worried face of Maximus greeted me.

He looked like he wanted to ask me a lot of questions but he remained quiet. When he sat on the edge of the bed, facing me, that's when I threw my arms around him and sobbed on his chest. I felt his strong arms tighten around me as he kissed my forehead, comforting me.

"Shhh. Just cry everything out, mi hermosa. I'm here for you." He whispered. He was gently stroking my back while I was crying silently against his chest.

I poured everything out, all that heavy feeling that has been residing inside my heart for almost 1 year already. I didn't know how long I was crying like that until my tears finally stopped.

"I've been restraining myself into asking you about your past because I could tell that you weren't ready to talk about it yet and didn't want to force you into opening up to me. But now that you're crying like this because of it, it made me want to know more about it. I'm your man and I want to share your pain. You don't have to deal with it alone anymore because I am here for you. I hope that I am enough though for you to feel okay even if it's just for a little bit." I gazed at his handsome face and then gently caressed his cheek.

"You don't have any idea how much you helped me deal with all the pain ever since you came into my life. Because of you, I've become stronger and learned to change my belief regarding life. After what happened to mamma almost a year ago, I already lost my will to live that's why I decided to just stay the way I was, bound to a wheelchair. But because of you, everything changed.

"You don't know how thankful I am because you came into my life and taught me how to live again. You're the best thing that ever happened to me." His eyes turned somber but it was just for a second or two.

"I feel the same. You're the best thing that ever happened to my life that's why I want nothing but to give you the happiness that you deserve. When I saw the pain in your eyes while you were talking to your sister, my heart clenched painfully because I saw that raw pain inside of you that you've been trying to hide. I wanted to help you but I can't do that if I don't have any idea of what causes you to feel that kind of pain." He leaned his forehead against mine as his fingers caressed my cheeks.

His eyes were staring at me pleadingly and all my hesitation to tell him everything disappeared.

I sighed in defeat and then cupped his face. "You're right. You're my man and I shouldn't keep any secrets from you. We should deal with this pain together because you deserve to know about it too." A small smile appeared on his face.

"That's my woman."

Later on, I found myself telling him about what happened in the past that caused my entire family to almost fall apart...