Eva stood there holding her breath, looking at King Ferdinand and hoping he would take his son's offer.

King Ferdinand looked calm and collected and told him, "Son, I didn't make this choice lightly. I took a long time to find the perfect woman that I want by your side, helping you rule Spain and raise my grandchildren, the future rulers of my country. The reason I chose Eva isn't because she's so beautiful on the outside. The reason I chose her is because she's well known for her patience, kindness, generosity, and for being a very strong, intelligent woman. That's the kind of Queen I want by my son's side when he takes over my throne. Many months went into this decision and I have no doubt I've made the right choice. Trust me. You'll be thanking me for this marriage one day."

The hope she had that he would give in slipped away and she felt like crying. Paulo looked just as disappointed as she was.

Her father, King Hans, chimed in and said, "Ferdinand is right. You two may not agree with our choice right now but one day you'll understand that this was the best thing for you and for the future of our monarchies. Our decision stands and you two WILL be married tomorrow," he said in a firm tone that she knew meant he wouldn't be changing his mind. His decision was final.

Eva was fighting back the tears that burned at her eyes as she said, "Yes sir," and hung her head as she walked back over to the grand piano feeling defeated. She sat at the piano and leaned forward resting her head on the top of it and exhaling deeply, closing her eyes as a single tear rolled down her cheek and onto the keys.

"Hey," a deep voice said and she sat up and opened her eyes, wiping her tears away as she looked up and saw Paulo standing there. "Can I sit?" he asked.

"Sure," she said quietly with a sniffle, scooting over.

"My Dad saw you crying and told me to come over here to cheer you up," he said as he sat down on the piano bench next to her with an exhale. "Apparently that's what fiance's are supposed to do." They both sat in silence for a minute, with their heads hanging low.

"Hey," she said softly and he lifted his head and looked over at her with his hazel eyes. She wiped a tear away with a sniffle and said, "It was a nice try, what you did over there. I'm sorry it didn't work."

She couldn't help but notice how handsome he was and sitting this close to him made her heart beat a little faster.

He took a deep breath in and let it out, before saying, "I don't think either of our Dads are budging. Especially now that the official engagement announcement has been made and broadcast to the entire world. I guess we'll just have to try to make the best of this bad situation, like your brother said."

It hurt to hear him say that having to marry her was a bad situation. Even though she didn't want to marry him either, some part of her deep down felt insulted and almost wished he was happy about being paired with her. That obviously couldn't have been further from the truth. He had made it clear marrying her was the last thing in the world he wanted.

"I guess you're right," she said, taking a deep breath in and letting it out. "It looks like we're stuck with each other."

She couldn't believe she was being forced to marry a man that didn't want her, not at all, not even a little bit. She reached out and laid her fingers on the keys and started playing a very slow, sad song that matched exactly how she was feeling right at that moment.

She felt heartbroken for the future that might have been, for the true love she would never experience, for the dream wedding filled with love that would never be a reality for her. As she played the piano, Paulo stood up and walked away with his head hanging down and his hands stuffed in his suit pockets before he went out the door.

He looked as sad as she felt and she could relate. She felt the same way. Maybe her brother was right. Maybe all those years of watching romantic movies and reading romance novels set her up to be unhappy for the rest of her life because life could never be like that for her. She was stuck marrying Paulo and she was sure he would probably never love her. He was out of her league and was probably used to dating supermodels and now he was stuck marrying her.

She got up and sat next to her mother on the sofa and listened to the women as they discussed the wedding plans in front of the fireplace and sipped red wine. She couldn't help but zone out. The wedding was the last thing she wanted to think about right now.

After a while, the royal page came in and informed the family that it was time to head downstairs for the Constitution Day parade. When they got downstairs there were three horse drawn royal carriages decorated with beautiful garlands of white and pink apple blossom flowers lined up in front of the tall wrought iron gates.

"Where is that boy?" King Ferdinand asked impatiently, looking around for Prince Paulo. He got his phone out and called but there was no answer so he sent a text. Eva thought it was funny that his father still referred to him as a boy even though he was 22 years old. Her family was the same way. They treated her as if she were a little girl, even though she was 21. Being royals gave their parents an unnatural amount of control over their lives still even though they were both grown adults.

Her father's head of security said, "Ok it's time to get into the carriages. Princess Eva and Prince Paulo will ride together in the first carriage. Kristoff and Princesses Isadora and Bella are going to ride in the second carriage, and then the Kings and Queens will all ride together in the third carriage to show unity between the rulers of our two countries."

Everyone started climbing into the carriages and Eva got into the front one by herself and sat down, admiring the beautiful pink and white apple blossom flower garlands. After waiting several minutes the carriages started to move slowly forward and she started smiling and waving at the crowds of people as she passed by.

"Mommy! Is that a real life princess?" a little girl in the crowd asked and when her Mom said yes she gasped and her eyes and mouth opened wide in shock.

She looked at her in awe. She probably wished she was in her place but if she only knew what it was really like she'd never want to be a princess. Being a princess wasn't the fairy tale most people thought it was. It meant you had no freedom and your life wasn't your own. You had to live for everyone else's happiness.

A couple minutes later she saw Prince Paulo running up the parade route towards her and he hopped on to the steps of her carriage and climbed up, plopping down in the seat next to her out of breath.

She looked over at him with his piercing hazel eyes, and his straight, brown hair falling over his strong eyebrows. In the sunlight she noticed how smooth and clear his skin was and how perfectly chiseled his jawline was. He had the good looks of a model or a movie star, and looking at him made her start to feel nervous again. She couldn't help but glance down at his full lips and wonder what it was going to feel like to kiss him at the wedding tomorrow.

"What?" he asked, and she raised her eyes and looked into his. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Her face flushed red and she looked away, muttering, "Sorry."

They rode in silence for a minute before she finally asked, "Where did you go?"

"Why? Were you worried about me?" he scoffed. "Or did you miss me?" he asked sarcastically.

She looked away and felt silly for asking that question and it felt like he was mocking her for it. He didn't like her and he didn't want this marriage so why should she care where he was.

"I was wondering what could've possibly been so important to be late for the parade in front of all these people? That makes you look bad and if you look bad I look bad."

"I had to make a phone call to someone back home and it took longer than I thought it would."

She studied his face for a second thinking and then curiosity got the best of her and she asked, "Who did you have to call back home?"

He turned and looked at her with his eyebrows scrunched. "I just had to call somebody. Is that okay with you princess? What is this? An interrogation or something?"