Forbidden Love

Chapter 3

*Maxon's POV*

"Everything. Everything that you deserve to know about me." It's been over a year. She deserved to know the truth, even if it meant I would never see her again. If she hated me, I had to accept that, but I couldn't think like that. I had to hold to hope that she would still love me for who I really am. "Starting with my name."

"Your name? You haven't told me your real name?" I could sense that she was already starting to get nervous.

"I have. My name is Max Calix. But it's just not my full name."

"Okay, so what is?"

Here it is. This was it. This would change everything. "My full name is Maxon Calix Schreave."

"Schreave? As in the royal..."

"The royal family. Yes. I am the second prince of Illea and the youngest son of King Clarkson and Queen Amberly."

"Wh..wh...why...why did you not tell me? You had so many chances to tell me the truth."

"I didn't want you to look at me like a prince. I wanted you to see me as a person. I wanted everyone to just see me as a person. When I leave those palace walls, I am not Prince Maxon, second in line for the throne of Illea. I am just a regular guy with a camera."

"So why didn't you tell me, Max? I understand not telling me when we first met, but we have been seeing each other for a year. You have been to my house, you've met my family. More than that, you have formed a relationship with my family. I have let down every single wall down with you and you didn't do the same for me. You intentionally kept this from me. WHY?" She wasn't nervous anymore. She was angry. 

"Because I enjoyed the peace. When I am with you, I feel free. I am free to be any person I want to be. I am free to be exactly who I am. Telling you who am I ruins that. You stop seeing me as Maxon and you start to see me as a prince. It changes everything."

"So why tell me now? Why not just keep up the lie?" I hated seeing her like this, but I couldn't turn back. I let the can open and now the worms are spilling out.

"Because I love you and respect you too much to keep you in the dark. My feelings for you have gotten stronger and I am ready to let all my walls down with you. I want a life with you, a real life. One where we live together and see each other everyday and we talk about our days at the dinner table. One where I wake up and the first thing I see is your face. Someone I can travel and explore the world with. When I realized that is what I wanted, I also realized that in order to have that, I had to be completely honest with you and accept whatever consequences came with that."

"I don't believe you."

"America, don't say that. Please, you have to believe me. I know it's a lot to ask but you have to believe that I love more than anything else in this world and I'm telling you this because I didn't..."

"No, I believe that you are telling the truth now. What I can't forgive is that you lied to me for a year about who you were. Even if you never outright said a lie, you intentionally kept the truth from me. How am I supposed to know if you aren't keeping anything else from me?"

"Because that is the only secret I have."

"But am I supposed to know that? I didn't know about this for a year and now I am not sure what to believe. It feels like everything in our relationship was a lie. It took quite a bit of time for me to let my walls down with you and with you I felt safe and protected, but it only took seconds for me to build them back up again."

"So, give me the chance to prove to you that I can break them down again. That I am worthy of your trust. My walls are finally down for you. I want to let you in. I want you to see all of me. Please Mer, you have to give me the chance to show you that I am still the same person you fell in love with."

"But you're not. It's not because, you are a prince, I could care less about that. What I care about is the fact that you lied to me and kept such a huge part of your life from me. And I am not sure if I can trust you anymore."

"Mer, please..." I reached for her hands but she pulled away.

"No, I'm sorry. I...I have to go. I have to think things through." And with that she turned and walked away. I will never forget the look in her eyes. The look of betrayal. Maybe I did keep this from her for too long. I so was scared to lose her and now I fear that I have. I traveled back to the palace alone, instead of with the girl I love by my side.