Princess Hope

chapter twenty-nine

<>

Iris almost screamed at everyone to empty the room so the Princess could use it as a receiving area for the Prince. For propriety's sake.

Andra pulled on her cuffs nervously as she waited for Joachim to enter the drawing room.

The door opened revealing Iris first. "Prince Joachim of Belgium, Ma'am."

Andra sighed. She couldn't avoid him forever. That she was sure of as soon as she agreed to do the tour.

"I'll ring if I need anything, Iris. Thank you very much." She dismissed her.

Iris warily looked at Joachim who only gave her a small smile.

"You've got one fiesty overprotective secretary. Whatever happened to Vivian?" Joachim asked as the door behind him closed. Break the ice. He repeated in his head.

"She's on leave. Vivian got married last year and now, she's about to give birth to her first child."

"Quite exciting," he commented.

"What are you doing here, Joachim?" Andra burst his bubble. "I know you aren't here for small talk."

"I just... I wanted to talk." He put his hands inside the pockets of his slacks. "We didn't really get a chance to talk... after what happened."

Andra blinked twice. She thought she would feel something, anything. But the emotion she could only feel was nostalgic. Which was a shock because she always thought that she would still have feelings for him. "Joachim... it's not an issue anymore."

"I know. But I feel like we need to talk about it face to face."

"If you're feeling guilty about the text, it's really not a problem with me anymore."

"But it's still an issue to me." Andra was taken aback by that. Who would've thought that she would hear that from the first guy who broke her into pieces?

"I hurt you."

"That's an understatement."

"I know."

"But it's in the past, Joachim. It's already been, what, 6, 7 years?"

"Six years, three months, and nine days." He said with a sigh. "I counted."

"Joachim..."

"I'm not telling you this for pity, Andra."

"Then, why are you telling me this?"

"I hated the way we ended. I'm sorry will never be enough to express my apologies for how I chose the cowardly way out. I thought then that it was the best way to face the problem, realizing now that it was not. I couldn't face you because I felt that if I told you face-to-face, all of my fears would come true. That you also thought I wasn't for you."

Andra looked at him, unsure how to react to his confession. She felt his sincerity and his emotions. To even admit that he was at fault was surprising enough.

"I'm not saying this to ask you back. I'm so happy that you found someone who's strong enough to be beside you. I'm saying this because you needed to know the reason why I suddenly left."

Joachim watched her heave out a sigh. "We were both young, but I was immature. Weak. You were a rock. You were everything I wanted. But I couldn't bear being not enough for you because, in the end, no one ever will be enough. They'll simply be doing their best to be good enough.." He continued.

"Things have gone the best they could, haven't they?" She walked to a nearby window to look out at the surroundings.

Joachim followed after her. Noticing the small smile on her lips, he exhaled the breath he'd been holding. "I'm sorry for the way things ended."

"I'm sorry too, Joachim. You know, I thought it was going to be us so it hurt when you thought differently." Andra admitted, her hand clasped. "But everything worked out fine. I have to thank you for making me see the person right in front of me."

"I'm glad you found the one." Joachim chuckled

"How about you? Anyone you fancy?" Andra curiously asked.

"I'm dating around. Enjoying the bachelor life," he said.

"You really took every one of Harry's advice to heart." She smiled. "Thank you for telling me why you had to give me up, Joachim."

"You deserved an explanation in person. Face to face. And, we were friends before anything else, Hopey."

"Friends before anything, Joachie."

"Also, you don't have to tiptoe around my family. They love you very much. Still." Joachim smiled. "So, I'll probably see you at the state dinner."

"Yes, I'll see—" she was cut off by a ring from her phone.

Grove. The screen read.

A wide grin instantly shaped Andra's lips. She looked at Joachim, apologetically. He shook his head with a laugh. "I'll go now. It was nice seeing you again, Andra. Say hello to Grosvenor for me."

Joachim left just as Andra answered the call.

"Wind!" Hugh cheerily greeted. He has been doing the same routine since the tour started, calling as soon as she arrives in a city that's part of her tour to kind of debrief her and help her cope with the stress.

"Grove!"

"Are you okay? Feeling fine?"

"I felt nervous when I got here. Meeting them was pretty awkward with the history and all, but it all went fine in the end."

She heard his breathing. "...did you see him?"

"Yes, of course."

"How was it?"

"It went well. A question was finally answered, and a chapter officially closed forever. No more what ifs, Grove."

Hugh sensed the relief in her voice. She was free from what was holding her back.

"I love you, Grove. Most ardently, as said in Pride & Prejudice." Even Andra was surprised by her sudden expression of affection.

"I love you too, Wind. Marry me?"

Andra laughed. "Ask me again when we see each other, then I'll think about it seriously."

"Well, you better think about it now." Andra whipped around when she heard his voice from behind. "Hello, love."

"Oh, my God! You're here?! Don't you have a conference in... oh, my God! You are here."

"In the flesh," Hugh closed the gap between them and locked her into a tight hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Andra hugged him back.

"So, marry me?"

Andra laughed against his chest. "Sure, I'll marry you. Someday."

"Anytime, anywhere." Hugh chuckled.

<>