Upon opening my eyes, I saw someone standing in front of me but I couldn't see his face because he has his back on me. My heart throbbed. His frame looked achingly familiar. I swallowed hard as my heart started beating faster.

"W-Who are you?" I asked with a trembling voice. My emotions were beginning to get out of control. Seeing him for the first time in a long time brought me unexplainable emotions inside. I tightened my fists.

"Did you really forget about me, mi hermosa?" I gasped in shock because of that endearment. I felt like it has been so long since the last time he called me that and it made my heart skip a beat. But at the same time, my overwhelming anger and resentment surged within me.

He then slowly turned around and when I confirmed that it was indeed him, mixed of different emotions ruled my whole system. I didn't know what to do. I felt like I had a lot of things to tell him but nothing came out of my mouth.

Then, I felt my eyes water. My whole body was shaking and I didn't know if it was because of my anger and resentment towards him or because of something else that I didn't want to acknowledge.

Then, he began sauntering towards me.

"Don't come near me!" I said with a stern voice but he didn't listen. He continued approaching. He lifted his hand and I almost moan when the warmth of his palm touched my cheek.

"I missed you so much, mi hermosa. You don't know how much." I wanted to yell at him and slap him because of the things that he did in the past but I felt like my whole body turn into a statue. Our gazes met and I saw the overwhelming longing and sadness in his tantalizing hazel green eyes.

My throat was already aching because of trying my best not to let my emotions burst. It was too much.

"Stop telling lies." I finally gathered enough strength to say something. A sad smile appeared on his face as he continued caressing my cheek lovingly.

"I might have done a lot of mistakes in the past but my love for you was the truest thing that I've ever showed you. Please, don't doubt my love for you because that's the thing that kept me going of those times that we weren't together. I love you so much, mi hermosa. Always remember that." Somehow, the tears that I've been trying my best not to let it fall, fell upon hearing those things that he said.

"Shhh. Don't cry because it hurts me double seeing you cry like this because of me. Don't worry because everything will be okay soon. I promise you that." He uttered those words while wiping my tears with his thumbs.

"W-What do you mean?"

"You'll know soon, mi hermosa. For now, I have to go." My heart clenched painfully of the thought of him disappearing on me again. I've been resenting him ever since he left, but now, just thinking that he's going to disappear on me again made me panic inside.

I felt scared and the urge to stop him was overwhelming me. He drew his face closer to mine until our lips met.

It was just a soft peck on the lips and it left me wanting more. I was so confused that I couldn't react nor say anything. He then turned his back on me and then began walking away.

"W-Where are you going?" I asked before I could even stop myself. He looked back at me and that sad smile on his face hurt me like hell.

"Goodbye for now, mi hermosa." He then continued walking away.

I shook my head. "No...Stop! Don't go!" I said and tried to run after him but as my speed increases, so was his.

"Don't go! Stop!" He didn't look back and just walked briskly as if a ghost was after him. The anger inside of me resurfaced.

"Damn you! If you leave me again, don't ever come back! I hate you, Maximus! I hate you!" I shouted full of anger but sadness at the same time. I embraced myself as I felt the emptiness within me. It felt so cold and chilly inside as I watched him disappear on me.

My tears continuously fell. I felt like the pain that I've felt when the first time he left me came back again. It was too much. I sobbed...

"Ath, are you okay? Please, open your eyes." I groaned when I heard that voice. I slowly opened my eyes and saw Amelia's face. She looked so worried while staring at me. I looked around, looking for Maximus. I sat upright.

"Where is he?" I asked, looking for him but he wasn't there. All I saw were Aria, Amelia and Iñigo. They all looked so worried and confused at the same time.

"Whom are you looking for?" Aria asked confusedly.

"Max—" Before I could utter him name, I stopped myself. "W-was I dreaming?"

"I think so. You were mumbling things a while ago. Are you okay?" She answered. I bit my lower lip. I really thought it was real because the voice of Maximus while talking to me in my dream sounded so real.

I smiled bitterly. "Don't worry. I'm fine." I then uttered.

"What happened in your dream? Why were you crying?" My forehead crinkled as I touched my eyes. Yes, my eyes were wet with my tears.

"N-Nothing. It was just a silly dream. Anyway, what happened? How come, I'm already here in my room?"

"Aris was the one who carried you out of the big dome. What happened anyway? Why did you lose consciousness? It was dangerous, you know? People were panicking everywhere. Thankfully, Antonius saw you right away and told Aris to get you." It was Aria.

I heaved a sigh. "I don't know what happened. I felt a sudden blow behind my neck. I'm not sure if someone just accidentally hit me or something but thankfully, someone caught me before I fell down." Aria and Amelia looked at each other with knitted eyebrows.

"What do you mean? You were alone on the floor when big brother Aris went to get you, sorellona." Íñigo spoke for the first time.

"What? No one was there with me?" I asked confusedly. I knew that it wasn't a figment of my imagination because I felt his arms as he caught. I didn't clearly see his face but I knew what I saw.

"Yes. Thankfully, you didn't get hurt. The people panicked because of the gunshots and many got injured. Thankfully, there were enough exits that people easily got out. I was worried that there might be a stampede because of the panicking people but thankfully, it didn't happen." Amelia answered.

"What about the gunshots? Where did it come from?"

"We don't know anything yet because Antonius and Aris told us to go home right away. He and Aris together with nonna were still there."

"What?! They should've told nonna to come home too!" I couldn't help but to raise my voice. Worry surged within me. Our grandmother shouldn't be there because she might get stressed and worst, they would target her again.

"I know but she insisted on staying there. Don't worry because Antonius and Aris assured us that they would protect nonna no matter what happens."

"Don't worry about nonna. Remember that she's the queen of Costavia. She's a strong woman and she knows what she's doing." Aria commented and I heaved a sigh. Then, I remembered something.

"What about Prince Franco? Where is he?" Aria looked at the other way and rolled her eyes but I still saw it.

"He's with them too." Amelia answered. I nodded my head and looked at my twiddling fingers on my lap. Somehow, what happened a while ago kept on repeating inside my head. I absent-mindedly touched my nape.

I could still feel that blow that was inflicted on me. It still hurt a little bit. If someone really intentionally hit me a while ago, was it the man who caught me before I fell down? But why would he ask if I was okay if he was the one who did that? Who was he anyway?

I groaned inwardly. I suddenly felt my head ache. There were a lot of questions in my head but I couldn't find any answer.

"Are you feeling okay now, Ath? Do you want us to call our family doctor?"

"No need. I'm fine." I answered.

"I'm glad to hear that. For now, let's just stay here and wait for the others to come home." Aria said and I nodded my head.

Then, evening came and Antonius, Aris and nonna together with Franco finally came home. According to them, the gunshots that we heard during the event came from two different group of unidentified men. The police found three dead bodies outside the big dome and until now, they're trying to know the identification of those men.

"The media all over the world are going crazy because of what happened today. Now, other countries think that our country is dangerous because of these recent events. I can't believe this. Ever since the tragedy that happened here in the palace more than a year ago, everything has been quiet here in Costavia. I thought, things were starting to fall into place but this happened again." Nonna said. She looked tired and stressed.

"Do you have any idea of who those men are, nonna? I mean, does the police have any suspicion?" I asked. We were currently eating dinner.

She heaved a sigh. "For now, they still don't have any clue. The men that they recovered after that shooting incident were already dead."

"Pardon me, Your Majesty, but is there any chance that the people who were responsible of what happened here in the palace more than a year ago are the ones behind what happened today too?" It was Prince Franco.

We invited him for dinner before he flies back to Nuevo Imperio later.

"We don't know anything yet, Prince Franco. For now, I don't want to speculate things. I want proof. Let's just wait for the result of the investigation for now."

"You're right that we need proof, Your Majesty. It's just that I can't help but to think like that because Costavia has been always a quiet country. You don't have any enemies aside from that group who attacked the palace. Until now, that man is still at large."

"Every country has their own enemy, Prince Franco. Even if Costavia is a quiet country, I know that there are people out there who still want to bring chaos in it just to obtain whatever objective they have." I butted in. I didn't know why but that came out of my mouth in a spur of the moment.

For some reason, I felt irritated that he was already assuming things even though there wasn't any evidence yet.

"Athena is right, Prince Franco. I am proud that our nation is peaceful but I can't deny the fact that there are some isolated cases that's happening in it just like what happened earlier today. "My nonna heaved a sigh. "For now, let's not talk about that and just concentrate on eating. I don't want to spoil our dinner talking about such things in front of the food." She then added dismissively.

Everyone agreed and just talked about different topic. Prince Franco dominated the conversation. My siblings were just answering with monosyllables as if they weren't interested in what he was telling but didn't want to appear rude at the same time. Nonna was the one who was conversing with him most of the time while I on the other hand, remained quiet.

After our dinner, I told Franco that I wanted to talk to him before he leaves and he agreed. We went to the living room.

"What do you want us to talk about, Princess Athena?" He asked with a smile but I remained serious.

"I just wanted to ask why you pulled that stunt during the event earlier today. Why did you have to do that?" His forehead crinkled as if he didn't know what I was talking about. Then, he finally remembered after a couple of seconds.

"You mean, the proposal?"

"Yes. We didn't talk anything about you doing something like that in front of everyone and it surprised me. I hate surprises like that." He sighed and then took my hand.

"I'm sorry about that, Princess Athena. I just wanted to make everything official. I don't want us to just push through the wedding just like that without going through the tradition. I mean, you deserve the best and I know that every woman dreams of the moment where the person they want to marry asks their hand for marriage. I want to give that to you.

"Besides, was it wrong for me to shout to the world how I feel about you? This is my first time feeling this way towards a woman and I wanted everyone to know that you belong to me. I am proud to shout that to the world." Franco answered.

"What do you mean by that? Don't tell me, you were serious of—"

"—Yes, Princess Athena. What I've said during my proposal were all true. I've been in love with you since the first time I saw you that's why when I discovered about the pact, I was so overjoyed because truth to be told, I didn't know how to approach you.

"You've always been so formal and distant that's why I didn't know how to profess my love for you without you getting annoyed at me. When you decided to accept marrying me, I just knew that I had to do something to show how much I love you.

"I don't like the fact that we got together because of our obligations in our countries. I want us to be official and I'll do anything to make you fall in love with me." He then kissed the back of my hand.

Yes, I agreed to marry him because it was my obligation to do so. He's been nice towards me and never showed me anything that I didn't like, but I couldn't understand myself why I couldn't feel anything special towards him.

Even after hearing those words from him, my heart remained beating normally. It didn't even skip a beat just like whenever I'm with...

"Are you still mad at me?" He was looking at me like a scared puppy and I didn't have the heart to lash out at him even though I was still mad. He's a good guy and I will be marrying him soon anyway.

I heaved a sigh. "No. It's just that—"

"—Really? You're not? Then, let's make everything official between us." He took off his necklace excitedly and then placed it on my palm.

"My heart is all yours, Princess Athena. What about you? Can you give your heart to me too?" He asked. I suddenly panicked. I've been hiding for so long that my necklace had been missing. Even if I would accept his proposal and take his necklace, I knew that I didn't have my chastity necklace to give to him in return.

"Franco...I—" Whatever I wanted to say was cut short when my phone rang. I almost sighed in relief.

"Wait. I'll just answer this. It might be important." I said and then gave him back his necklace. I took out my phone from my pocket and my eyebrows creased when I saw a private number calling. I answered it anyway.

"Hello. Who's this?" I said as I distanced myself from Franco who was staring at me with wrinkled forehead.

"Hello?" I grew irritated when no one answered. The person on the other line was just listening to me.

"Hello?" There was nothing but silence.

"Whoever you are, don't waste my time if you're not gonna speak anyway!" I hissed and then pressed the end call. I was about to approach Franco when I saw Aris at the doorway.

"Prince Franco, the car is ready. The driver is waiting you." He informed with a formal face.

"Oh, is that so? I'm sorry that you had to be the one to inform me."

"Don't mention it, Prince Franco. I wanted to talk to my little sister anyway that's why I came here."

"Okay. I'll be going then." Franco faced me. "See you soon, Princess Athena. By then on, I hope to hear your answer."

I forced a smile and then just nodded my head as a response. When he finally left, I looked at Aris and rolled my eyes.

"Little sister, huh? I'm not a child anymore." I uttered and he laughed.

"I know." I sighed as I looked at the doorway. Somehow, I felt relieved that Aris came because I didn't know how to respond to Franco's question.

"What do you want us to talk about anyway?"

"Well, that was just a lie." My forehead crinkled.

"What? Why did you have to lie?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I knew that I had to save you from that awkward situation." I bit my lower lip and averted my gaze. I heard him sigh and then put his arm over my shoulders.

"You decided to marry that prince but you act like you're about to get sentenced to jail. Are you sure you're going to push through this? What about your royal chastity necklace? How will you explain that to everyone?"

I bit my lower lip. "I don't know." I released a breath. "But there's one thing that must be done for now and that's for me to marry Franco."

"Damn it. If only Franco has a sister, I would marry her in a heartbeat so that I could save you from marrying a guy that you don't love. I feel so useless right now." I looked at his face and I caught that sadness and guilt that passed through his eyes.

My heart clenched. Hearing that from him made me remember that I don't love Franco. My eyes brimmed with tears but I looked up and didn't let my tears fall.

"Really? Are you sure about that? I thought you didn't want to get married?" I tried to sound as humorous as possible.

"Yes, I hate the idea of marrying but for you, Aria and Amelia, I will do it in a heartbeat." I hugged him.

"Knowing that you'd do that for me is enough, fratello." He kissed my forehead and that made me smile. Ever since our relationship as siblings went back to normal, it brought me a lot of help inside. It made me feel like I wasn't alone anymore and no matter what happens, I have them by my side.

"Sometimes, I wish that the old Athena will come back."

"Why? I thought, I was nothing but a headache back then?" I teased.

"Well, the old Athena would never agree to that marriage because she's hard-headed and stubborn. There's no one that could dictate her of what to do especially in things like this because if she says no, it's no and no one could make her say yes." I chuckled bitterly.

"That Athena is already dead, fratello. She died with mamma." I answered with an almost inaudible voice.

"Shhh. Don't say that because I saw a glimpse of that Athena more than a year ago." My body went still.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Ath. Even though you never said anything until now, I know because I saw how you changed because of him that when he left, you went back to the way you were before and it was worst." I gulped inaudibly as my throat tightened.

I thought, no one noticed but it seems like everyone knew about it.

"I will never forgive him of hurting you like that. Not just you but a lot of innocent people too. I will make sure that he pays." I could hint the rage in his voice. I bit my lower lip and decided to just not comment about it because my heart felt like it was being pierced by thousand needles.

I smiled bitterly. More than a year had passed but the pain was still fresh in my heart and I wanted nothing but to forget about him. Maybe, if I marry Franco, I would finally move on and forget about him for good...