Another Choice; the second epilogue

Amelia's POV
Twenty Years in the future

It's funny how fast time flies in this world. One minute, I'm finding out I'm pregnant, and the next, she's turning eighteen. Really, I should be happy for such an occasion. She's growing up, and I do have three other children.

It was Beckett's idea.

Sighing, I watch as Analisa, my oldest child, walks up with such maturity, picking up the youngest of the four children, Anden. He's barely three years old, but even now, he's Beckett's twin.

Anden is my boy, my sweetheart, but he's not my only son. No, my third oldest child, Avalon, is very much a boy and very much my son. Though he's only fifteen, I do think that he has a bright future, though any Prince does.

And then there's Anden's twin sister, who is me. Solstice, being the youngest of the five, is always racing through the halls with her twin, both equally problematic.

My second child and daughter, Novalee, has been seventeen for almost a month now. She is practically me when it comes to looks. Same brown hair, only her eyes matched her father's dark blue eyes.

Analisa looks much like him, though, matching his blonde hair but inheriting my bright blue eyes. Though I must admit, their personalities is anything but similar. Soon, she'll be holding her selection, only 35 suitors will come to compete for her hand, which will be much different.

I smile as I reach for Beckett's hand as we sat on a bench in the garden, staring at our blessed children. It's funny what one decision can make.

I chose to sign up for the selection.

But I never chose to fall in love. No, that was something that was beyond me. But that first decision--the decision to sing up for the selection--changed everything. Now, I lived at the palace. Now, I was married. Now, I had a family.

"I think she's in denial," my husband comments as he stares at Analisa.

I furrow my brow. "Me, too," I say. Ever since she was a child, Analisa had liked to look at handsome guards and gossip about foreign princes. Now, she would be soon married, and I knew that it would be different for her.

"Do you think that she'll actually choose a husband?" he asks as his eyes flicker to mine.

I nod my head. "She's nothing if not obedient," I said, adding, "but who knows how long it'll take? She tends to be indecisive."

Beckett chuckles. "Yes, she does."

The longest she would keep the boys would be a year, but I doubt that she'd wait that long. Soon enough, she would fall in love, and by then, she'd be happy to send the rest home.

"There's just a lot of pressure on her," I say. "I just wished there was a way to... release it."

Beckett nods. "When the time came for my own selection, I just wanted someone to share the responsibility with, you know?" he asks. "It's very stressful."

During his words, a lightbulb went off on my mind. "Did you say you wanted to someone to share the responsibility with?" He nods. "You mean, like another person to hold the selection with you?"

"I guess," he states. "I mean, it would've made it easier to send girls home and--"

"That's it," I murmur.

Confusion flashes in his eyes as he says, "What are you proposing, Amelia?"

I laughed, pecking his cheek. "You're brilliant," I say.

"What?"

I grin. "Analisa doesn't need to carry the burden of the selection by herself, she can have a... coworker!"

"I don't understand," he says. "Are you saying that we ask another princess to come to Illéa and hold a selection?"

I shake my head. "Of course not, Beckett. That's absurd." I roll my eyes. "But what about a princess that already lives here?"

By now, he knows what I mean. "She'll never like it," he says.

I smile. "It'll help her."

My eyes dart towards Novalee. "Are you sure?" Beckett questions. "I don't know if it's the wisest idea, love."

I shake my head. "No, it's utterly stupid, but so was having four children."

He snorts. "Right you are."

Silence settles, as does my anxiety. This is a big jump to take, asking her to do this. Well, demanding her to do this...

I bit my lip. "How do we tell her?"

He grins, and I can already tell what his next words are.

"The best way to announce anything, love," he says, "is with a surprise."

How will Novalee take the news?

Find out in... Another Heir, the book about Analisa and Novalee's selection!

Find it on yabookaddiction