The Hidden Prince

Chapter 3: Between Love and Lies

                                 ~3~

The weight of the truth lingered between them long after Leo’s confession. Amelia couldn’t help but feel like she had crossed a line, one that, no matter how delicately approached, was going to change everything between them. Still, there was a strange sense of relief that came with knowing the truth. It wasn’t just curiosity anymore—she had been drawn to him before she knew he was a prince, and that hadn’t changed. But now there was a new layer of complexity, one that she wasn’t sure how to navigate.

The sun was setting as Amelia finally prepared to leave Leo’s cottage. The sky was painted in shades of pink and orange, casting a warm glow over the quiet village. Leo stood by the door, his hands in his pockets, watching her with a mixture of concern and something softer, something unspoken.

“I’ll be back,” she said, offering him a small smile that she hoped conveyed more certainty than she felt.

“I’d like that,” Leo replied, though there was a distance in his voice now, as if the truth had forced a wall between them. He hesitated before adding, “Be careful, Amelia. If word gets out about me…”

“I won’t say anything,” she interrupted, her voice firm. “I promised you I wouldn’t, and I keep my promises.”

Leo gave her a grateful nod, though his eyes still held a hint of worry. “Thank you.”

As she left the cottage and walked back to her car, Amelia felt the weight of everything that had happened settle over her. She had come here expecting a simple profile story, but now she was caught in something much bigger. Her instincts as a journalist told her that this was the kind of story that could change her career—exposing a missing prince, the hidden heir to a throne, would be a global sensation. But her heart wasn’t in it. The thought of betraying Leo’s trust, of exposing him to the world after everything he had done to escape it, made her stomach turn.

She had to figure out where she stood—both as a journalist and as a woman who was undeniably drawn to him.

---

Over the next few days, Amelia threw herself into her work, trying to distract herself from thoughts of Leo. She filed the stories she had been working on, attended editorial meetings, and even accepted another small assignment to keep her mind occupied. But no matter how hard she tried to focus, her thoughts kept drifting back to him. To the look in his eyes when he confessed his identity, to the quiet sadness that seemed to follow him wherever he went.

It wasn’t just the mystery of him anymore. It was him—the man beneath the title, the one who had chosen to leave everything behind in search of something simpler, something real. She wondered what it must have been like for him, to walk away from a kingdom, from a life most people could only dream of, and live as an ordinary man in a small village. And she wondered what it was that had made him do it.

She found herself driving back to Eldermere without really thinking about it. She needed to see him again, to understand him better. Maybe she needed to understand her own feelings better, too.

---

Leo was outside, splitting wood when she arrived. He hadn’t heard her car pull up, so for a moment, she just watched him from a distance. His movements were fluid and precise, the axe coming down with a steady rhythm as he worked. There was something calming about watching him work with his hands, about seeing the man who had once been a prince immersed in such an ordinary task.

When he finally looked up and saw her, he wiped his brow with the back of his hand and gave her a small smile. “I wasn’t expecting you today.”

“I wasn’t expecting to be here,” she admitted, walking toward him. “But I guess I couldn’t stay away.”