I rolled down the window of the car to satisfy my eyes to the picturesque beauty of the countryside. We're now in the car going to the De Falco farm. It felt like it has been so long since the last time I came here even though that was only around a year ago.

When the finally reached the huge gate, the excitement within me intensified. I didn't expect to be excited like this of coming back here.

The huge gate opened automatically when our driver pressed the remote control, and we drove past it. That remote was given to us by our grandmother about three years ago.

"Wow! This place is like a paradise." Sita said in awe while looking outside. We could already see the huge plantation of grapes, wheat, etc. of the farm.

"You're right, Sita. It looks like what I've heard was right. De Falco farm is indeed a beautiful place." Maximus agreed.

"What? Where did you hear about it?" I asked him quizzically. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I first watched the documentary 'Prince Alessandro and his commoner wife' when I was still 8 years old. I think, there's no one here in Europe who doesn't know about them because Prince Alessandro was the first male Royal here in Costavia who chose to marry a woman who wasn't a Royal Blood. According to the documentary, they chose to reside here in De Falco farm until the whole Royal Family finally accepted them as a married couple. When they stayed here, De Falco farm was talk of the town." My lips parted in surprise.

I couldn't believe that a normal Spanish guy like Maximus has a lot of knowledge about the Royal Family of Costavia. Most ordinary citizens from other countries doesn't really care that much about Royals.

I grew up hearing things about my mother and father's love story and it always brings me pride and joy, but now, everything was different. My heart clenched painfully upon remembering them. I tried my best not to turn emotional in front of them.

I took a deep breath to calm myself down and was about to look outside again to distract myself when I noticed Maximus' stare. He looked weird. I averted my gaze and chose to be quiet until we finally arrived at the De Falco manor.

Yes, my mother didn't have a royal blood in her but they're not poor either. My grandparents are businessmen and until now, their company is still one of the country's top corporations.

Even though it was like that, people still judged her when she married my father. She received a lot of backlash just because she didn't come from a royal family.

Just like on the plane, Maximus was the one who carried me out of the car while Sita took out my wheelchair from the car trunk.

"You shouldn't make that face, mi hermosa. It doesn't suit you." I glared at Maximus upon hearing what he just uttered while carrying me.

"And what do you mean by that?"

"You look so sad and I don't like it." He answered full of seriousness. My heart skipped a beat, but I ignored it.

"Mind your own business. You can put me down now." I uttered with an almost inaudible voice because I didn't like the way my heart was reacting upon feeling Maximus' body against mine. He didn't oblige.

"I won't put you down until you smile. I've only seen you smile when you saw your younger brother at the palace. You should smile more often because you're more beautiful everytime you smile."

"Maximus!" I hissed. My cheeks heated up when I noticed the smile on Sita and our driver's faces while watching us.

"I love seeing your cheeks blushing." He whispered to my ear huskily. I was about to smack him on his muscled arm when we heard a voice.

"Cucciola!" It was my grandma, Elena De Falco. She had that happy look on her face as she approaches. I almost sighed in relief when Maximus finally put me down in my wheelchair.

"Oddio! You finally came to visit us!" She said when she pulled away from me from the tight hug that she gave me. I couldn't help but to smile. She aged a little alright, but she still looked younger than her age. She's really the older version of my mamma Angelica.

"Mi dispiace, anonn. A lot has happened and—"

"—Shhh. Capisco, cucciola. You don't have to say sorry. At least, we got to be together 6 months ago." I could see the sadness in her eyes upon saying the last sentence. My heart clenched. (I understand.)

"Anyway, let's not think about it for now. The important thing is you're here." The sadness in her voice was gone now.

I forced a smile. "I missed you, anonn." I looked behind her. "Where is unonn?"

"He has a meeting with someone. He will be home later. Anyway, I missed you so much too. I just wish that your siblings are here too."

"Amelia wanted to come but she had to fly back to England for school. Aria is in Switzerland with nonna. Aris and Antonius were about to go somewhere too but cancelled their flight due to what happened this morning." She sighed.

"Yes, Antonius already informed me about what happened this morning. You unonn and I were so worried. Thankfully, no one got hurt." She then looked past me. "Anyway, who's this handsome gentleman behind you?" She asked curiously.

I bit my lower lip. "He's Maximus Vázquez, anonn. My new PRB."

"Oh, is that so? I think he's the most handsome man that became your PRB."

My eyes widened. "Anonn!"

"What? I'm just telling the truth."

"It's nice to meet you, Signora De Falco." Maximus said and then bowed his head.

"You don't have to bow to me, Mr. Vázquez. I'm not from the royal family." To my surprise, they shook hands. My grandma has that teasing smile on her face when she looked at me and my cheeks blushed.

"I'm glad that you came here as well Sita. Thank you for always taking care of my cucciola."

"It's my pleasure, signora." Sita answered with a smile. After that, we all went inside the house and ate lunch. While we were in the middle of it, my unnon arrived.

"I'm glad you decided to have a vacation here, cucciola. Your anonn and I have been missing you and your siblings, but we know that you're all busy, so we understand why you don't come here often like before."

"Unnon, we miss you and anonn too. In fact, Amelia wanted to come with me, but she couldn't. Don't worry because they will surely visit you one of these days." I assured him and he finally smiled.

"Hearing that made me happy, cucciola." My heart swelled knowing that they're happy. After our lunch, Sita and Maximus took me to my room so that I could relax and rest for a bit.

I decided to watch TV and while at it, I called my brother, Antonius, and asked him it there's any news about what happened this morning.

"Don't think about it for now, Ath. Just enjoy your time there and let us handle everything here. Don't stress yourself out." I heaved a sigh.

"Okay. Whatever you say." I then ended the call and then maneuvered my wheelchair to the terrace. Sita was busy unpacking my things while Maximus went somewhere.

I looked at the scenic view outside. Suddenly,I felt melancholy.

"I wish you're here with me, mamma." I mumbled and the familiar pain surged within me. My eyes watered.

"This place is indeed a paradise, but it becomes even more beautiful when you're here." I gasped in surprise upon hearing that voice. I looked at the terrace of the room next door and saw Maximus. He was staring at me full of seriousness. He was topless!

My eyes involuntarily raked his body a stare. Gosh! What a hunk. Every muscle in his body was in the right places. It was my first time seeing a man with eight-pack abs in person and it gave me a weird sensation down to the center of my being.

I swallowed hard as my throat went dry.

"Stop gawking at me, mi hermosa. You're giving me a hard time." My eyes went wide when I heard what he said. I didn't even realize that I was openly staring at him! Gosh! What was I thinking?!

"I-I wasn't!" I denied and I almost face-palmed when I stuttered. He chuckled.

"You're not a good liar, mi hermosa." I sneered at him and decided to just go back inside my room. I quickly maneuvered my wheelchair inside. I clutched my chest while breathing fast. My heart was pounding like crazy.

"Are you okay, Your Royal Highness?" Sita asked me with knitted eyebrows. I quickly gathered myself together.

"I'm fine, Sita. Anyway, after you finish with what you're doing, you can have a break. I want to be alone."

"Okay, Your Royal Highness."

Just like what I've instructed, when she finished arranging my stuff in the walk-in closet, she went out of my room to give me privacy. While I was in my bed, I couldn't help but to think about Maximus.

I couldn't understand what he really wants from me. He left for a year and now, came back as my PRB. There's a lot of things that I've been wanting to ask him, but I couldn't.

I remembered my Royal chastity necklace. My family haven't noticed that it has been missing and until now, I couldn't find it. Even my brother Aris couldn't find it.

I wanted to ask Maximus about it, but I couldn't find the right time. Whenever we're together, he would always tease me and would tell weird things that distracts me.

I huffed when I realized that he's been occupying my mind since a while ago. I decided to just sleep it off.

'Boss, he's on his way here to Costavia.'

I gritted my teeth upon reading the text message that I received. I dialed the sender's number and he answered it right away.

"What do you mean by he's on his way here to Costavia?"

"I don't know the reason yet, boss, but according to my source, your father was the one who sent him here. I think, they're about to begin their plan." I scoffed.

"And he really thinks that it's that easy? I won't let him. I will be the next heir whether they like it or not."

"They're not aware that you're here in Costavia right now, boss." I smirked dangerously as I looked at the terrace next door.

"Of course, they're not aware. I already started my plans and I assure you that when he arrives here, there's nothing left for him." I laughed, taking pleasure of the thought of his loser face.

"Knowing you, boss. I am sure that you're going to achieve your goals in no time and when that happens, you will finally be recognized, and everyone will acknowledge you. When that time comes, everyone will surely be surprised."

I smirked. "I can't wait for that day to happen, Manuel. I can't wait. Tell your source to do everything he could to be updated of everything that's happening in Nuevo Imperio." I then ended the call. Manuel was just nearby but didn't come here to De Falco farm. It's better for him to observe from afar. We couldn't afford to commit a single mistake.

I looked at the terrace next door and saw Athena came out in her wheelchair. My eyebrows furrowed when I noticed her sad face. She mumbled something that I couldn't hear. For some reason, my heart felt heavy while looking at her sad face.

"This place is indeed a paradise, but it becomes even more beautiful when you're here." She gasped in surprise upon hearing what I've said. Looked like she didn't notice me standing in the terrace of the next room. To my amusement, her cheeks went red as her eyes raked me an appreciative stare.

"Stop gawking at me, mi hermosa. You're giving me a hard time." I said teasingly and her eyes widened. Looked like she just realized that she was already gawking at me just now.

"I-I wasn't!"

An amused chuckled escaped my lips. "You're not a good liar, mi hermosa." To my further amusement, she sneered at me and then went back inside her room. She really looked beautiful whenever she's blushing and mad like that.

When she left, the smile on my face disappeared when I realized what I was thinking. All the emotions on my face faded.

I shouldn't get distracted. This is my one and only chance. I shouldn't let it go to waste especially now that he's on his way too.