Chapter 218
Amanda Butcherson shifted her attention to Princess Aurora. She smiled gently at the princess, as though she could sense the young woman’s heartache.
“What about you, Princess Aurora?” she asked, raising her interlaced fingers to prop her chin on her fist. “How do you feel about your relationship with Alpha King Andrew?”
Princess Aurora sniffled. She raised her hand to her eyes and dabbed the tears away with her fingertips, and she avoided looking directly at either Amanda or the camera until she had collected herself. When she had finished, she turned her attention to Amanda and gave her a wide smile, though it quivered at the corners.
“Andrew is the best friend that I could possibly ask for,” Princess Aurora said, her tone completely genuine but her voice cracking with emotion. “I could not have asked for a better guide to this strange new world that I find myself in, and I will never be able to thank him enough for everything that he has done for me.”
“So, you two are just friends?” Amanda asked.
Princess Aurora hesitated. She glanced at Andrew, who smiled at her to hide the anxiety that he felt in waiting for her response. Then she looked back at Amanda and nodded.
“If Andrew says that we are just friends, then we are just friends.”
Andrew could hear the sadness and resignation in Princess Aurora’s tone. He mentally kicked himself for hurting her, but he reminded himself of how much this entire situation had already hurt Crystal. He owed it to both of them to be honest with them and the world.
Andrew’s attention was drawn back to the present by Princess Aurora’s sniffling.
“Princess Aurora, Your Highness, are you okay?” Amanda asked.
“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” Princess Aurora replied, brushing the matter off with a wave of her hand.
“Are you sure?”
Amanda picked up a box of tissues on her desk and handed them to Andrew, who passed the box on to Princess Aurora. Princess Aurora graciously accepted the tissues and used one to dab the tears around her eyes.
“Yes, I’m fine. Please, continue with the interview,” Princess Aurora insisted.
“If you’re certain,” Amanda said, though she didn’t sound entirely convinced. “Well, Andrew, while I have you here, I wanted to dive a bit more into the status of your son-in-law’s arrest.”
Andrew mentally sighed. Of course, she wanted to cover that.
“Now, I heard that it was your current girlfriend, Crystal Blanchard, who called the police on Bob. Is that true?”
Princess Aurora’s sharp gaze cut deeply into Andrew, as though to ask him how he could love someone who turned in his own son-in-law. She didn’t know the whole story, though. No one did.
“It’s a fairly complicated story, Amanda, and I cannot say for certain whether it was Crystal who called the police on him,” Andrew answered truthfully. He did not know if it was Crystal or Noah.
“But there was a fight between you that multiple people witnessed after the arrest—”
“All hearsay, Amanda,” Andrew insisted. “Yes, we had a disagreement, but that does not mean that Crystal had anything to do with that arrest.”
“And what about rumors that you two have been constantly fighting since that night?”
Princess Aurora shot Andrew another look before she started sniffling again.
“Well, Amanda, we have had our tiffs, just like every couple…”
The rest of the taping was relatively drama-free. Princess Aurora did her best to hold herself together, though she did get plenty of use out of the tissues that Amanda had given her. Andrew tried to ignore her, but he could not help glancing at her every few minutes to check on her.
Then came the end of the shoot.
“Remember to join me tomorrow morning, day-walkers, when I’ll be giving you an inside look at Lady Charlene’s infamous masquerade club,” Amanda began to wrap-up the show. “Until then, it’s time to go raise some hell!”
That parting catchphrase always caught Andrew a little off-guard, but he was too preoccupied with Princess Aurora’s mental state to really care. He watched her carefully as the camera panned on the ecstatic crowd giving Amanda a standing ovation.
“And…we’re clear!” the producer exclaimed.
Before one of the P.A.s could come remove Princess Aurora’s mic, she ran off the stage and toward the exit.
“Princess Aurora! Wait!” Andrew yelled.
Andrew ran after Princess Aurora, ignoring the P.A. calling after him to come back. He reached her before she could get to the door and ran in front of her, blocking her closest exit.
“Get out of my way,” Princess Aurora commanded, playing every bit the princess in that moment.
“With all due respect, Your Highness, I won’t,” Andrew said, remembering that she was still a visiting dignitary.
Unshed tears glistened in Princess Aurora’s eyes as she glared up Andrew.
“Why not?”
“Because we need to talk.”
“I have nothing to talk to you about.”
Andrew’s voice grew softer as he replied, “Princess Aurora, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Well, you did.”
He reached for her arm, but she quickly pulled herself away.
“Do not touch me!” she snapped.
Andrew withdrew his hand, putting it limply by his side.
“I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression—”
“Gave me the wrong impression? You did more than just give me the wrong impression! I thought…I thought…”
Princess Aurora covered her eyes with her hand as the tears flowed freely. Her shoulders heaved up and down, and her breath caught in her chest. Despite her previous warning, Andrew tried to wrap her up in his arms, only for her to rip herself out of them.
“I thought you loved me, Andrew!”
Andrew didn’t know what to say. He didn’t think that he had done anything to give Princess Aurora that impression. He had thought that, at worst, his actions could be interpreted as harmless flirting, but how did she think that he was in love with her?
“I’m sorry, Princess Aurora. I love Crystal.”
Princess Aurora lowered her hand to glare at Andrew.
“Yes, you have made that perfectly clear. Although I do not understand how you could love the woman that was described out there.”
“You don’t know Crystal. Don’t start badmouthing—”
Princess Aurora huffed.
“And don’t start acting like her knight in shining armor, my handsome prince.”
She stepped around Andrew and stormed out the exit. The slam that it made behind her echoed throughout the studio.
Andrew sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He had no idea how he was going to repair this relationship, but he hoped that he had at least made progress in repairing his relationship with Crystal.
Feeling a sudden buzzing, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was a text from Dennis.
What have you done now?
Andrew followed the link that Dennis had sent. It led to a series of social media posts about the segment of Wake Up, Day-Walkers! that he and Princess Aurora had just been on:
How dare Andrew break Princess Aurora’s heart! one read.
Who does Andrew think he is?
He chose Crystal over Princess Aurora? Is he stupid?
I can’t believe he broke the heart of the People’s Princess!
Andrew cringed and mentally cursed. How could this possibly get any worse?
