"Rosalie, don't call her a bitch. She's not a bitch at all and don't say you love me. Don't say things like that," he told her.

"Why not Paulo? It's the truth. I can't help how I feel. I'm in love with you!" she said more loudly.

"Shhh. Keep your voice down," he told her. "Someone will hear you."

"I'm sorry. I can't help it," she said, with her voice starting to tremble. "I just get emotional talking about it. Do you have any idea how hard it's been on me this week? Sitting there and watching you marry someone else, knowing that you're gone on a honeymoon with her doing who knows what?!" she whisper shouted.

"i'm sorry you've been having such a hard time Rosalie. I really am and I feel bad for you. I do. You're my best friend and always have been and I hope you'll find someone that will make you really happy."

There was a pause and then she heard Rosalie sniffle before choking out, "You're the only one I could ever be happy with. I don't want anyone else. I love you."

Then she heard Rosalie sobbing.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I know this may be hard to hear but I've always just seen you as a friend. You're funny and crazy and being around you is always a good time, but I don't have those kinds of feelings for you Rosalie."

Eva's heart leaped and she had to hold back the scream of excitement she wanted to let out.

There were no words being said, just Rosalie's sobs until finally Paulo broke the silence and said, "I'm really sorry," and Eva heard his footsteps walking her way.

She panicked and saw a statue next to her in a little cutout section of the wall and she ducked behind it before he rounded the corner and walked past.

She exhaled with relief when he was gone and she waited to make sure Rosalie was gone too before she came out of her hiding spot. When she got back to the bedroom Paulo was standing there with wet hair like he just got out of the shower, wearing just a pair of boxer shorts and looking at her strangely.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk. How about you? Did your walk help you clear your head like you hoped?" she asked.

"Yeah. A little bit. I'm still just in shock that he's gone," he said, sadly and she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest and gave him a hug. He put his arms around her too and she heard him exhale deeply, letting out a sigh.

He stood there holding her for a minute before he asked, "Are you ready for bed? It's been a long day."

"Yeah," she said softly, looking up at him.

He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss before releasing his hold on her and walking over to the bed getting under the covers. She slipped off her bathrobe and slippers and got into bed on the other side, pulling the cord of the lamp so that they were in total darkness.

She felt his arms reach around her and pull her against him, snuggling his body close to hers and he whispered into the back of her head, "Thank you for being there for me today."

"You're welcome," she whispered back. "I'll always be here for you."

Laying there wrapped up in his arms, being held by him, and knowing that it brought him comfort to hold her made her feel good. Today had been a horrible day, one of the worst ever but hearing him turn down Rosalie had been such a relief. She loved him and she hoped that eventually he could love her too. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Eva was awakened by a loud knocking at the door. She opened her eyes slowly and blinked and she was cuddled up against Paulo's bare chest and he had his arms wrapped around her. She pushed against his arm to lift it and he groaned as he started to open his eyes.

"Who is it?" he called out hoarsely in his just waking up voice.

"It's your mother!" he heard from the other side of the door.

Eva's eyes shot open. "It's your Mother! The Queen! And I'm in my pajamas and you're in your underwear!"

"Hold on! We're not dressed!" Paulo called out and Eva smacked his arm in disbelief.

"What? She'll probably be thrilled by that," he laughed.

Eva got up and slipped out of her nightgown, grabbing a random dress out of the closet and putting it on. She came out to see Paulo zipping up a pair of blue jeans, wearing a bright white t-shirt.

He walked over and opened the door.

Queen Victoria walked in and said, "Good morning. There are some important things to discuss so I wanted to come here and tell you personally instead of sending a messenger."

"Sure Mom. Come on in and have a seat," Paulo said as he walked over to the sitting area and sat on the love seat. Eva came and sat next to him and Victoria took a seat on the chair across from them.

"I've been speaking with our royal advisors about a smooth transfer of power and they think we need to act immediately. Spain is without a King currently so we could be seen as weak at the moment which could make us a target for attack. They want to do the coronation ceremony today to crown you as King and Eva as Queen while Parliament is in session. That's at 1:00. Paulo, I've already got the royal barber on the way to give you a haircut and shave and one of my royal beauticians will help you with your hair and makeup Eva."

Paulo took a deep breath and let it out. "Wow. The coronation's going to be today? I'm going to be crowned King?"

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands. "It's all just happening so fast. I'm still trying to process the fact that Dad's gone and now I'm going to be King and be in charge of ruling an entire country."

"You've been preparing for this your whole life Paulo," his mother said softly, reaching out and laying her hand on one of his.

"I know," he said with an exhale. "I just thought I had more time."

She gave him a weak smile and said, "I know. We all did."

He sat back on the couch and let out an exhale. "I still can't believe Dad's really gone. The people loved him so much. I don't know if I can fill his shoes."

Eva took his hand and said, "You don't have to fill his shoes Paulo. You're a different person and a different King than he was. The people will love you just as much as they loved him if you think about what's best for them with every decision you make. Put yourself in their shoes and think about what impact your choice will have on their lives. If you do that, I guarantee they'll love you."

The Queen nodded and said, "Eva's spot on. You can do this son. I know you can. You're a good man just like your father was and I know you'll make the right decisions for Spain."

Eva looked at her and said, "You were right when you said our enemies might see Spain as weak right now. When a new King is crowned, sometimes their enemies will do something to test the new King to find out how strong they are and what they can get away with, to figure out what kind of ruler they'll be."

Paulo nodded. "We need to put the army on high alert and be prepared for that. We need to make sure we're seen as strong during this time if an attack does happen. I'll meet with the Chief of Staff after the coronation to discuss it. You can join me if you'd like," he said to Eva.

She smiled and said, "Yeah. I'd love to."

Paulo leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the lips and laid his forehead against hers, letting out an exhale. "I'm so glad I have you by my side to help me through this."

"I'm glad I'm by your side too," Eva said, holding his hand and letting out an exhale too.

They heard the Queen sniffle and Eva raised her head to see her eyes filled with tears.

"I wish your Dad could've been here to see you two so happy and working as a team like this. He would've been so happy for you," she choked out before getting up and walking to the door. She turned around and said, "I'll see you two at the coronation," before closing the door behind her.

Paulo looked down at his hands and said, "I still can't believe we're going to be crowned today. It's all happening so fast," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm going to be the King and you're going to be the Queen Eva," he said, looking over at her with nervous eyes. "Today."

"Wow. I'm going to be the Queen today," she repeated, not even believing the words herself. "I thought we would have more time. A lot more time."

"So did I," he said. "I'm only 22 and you're only 21 and we're going to have an entire country depending on us."

She thought it over as she rubbed his back and then said, "You know it sounds scary right now, but I think you're going to be a great King Paulo. I have no doubt. Like your Mom said, you've been preparing for this your whole life and so have I. We can do this."

He looked over at her and said, "Thank you. I needed to hear that," and he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss before letting out an exhale and wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into a hug.