I gingerly took it and looked at it, checking if it was the real deal. I've been wearing it ever since I was a child and it felt like I got reunited with my other self.

I knew every detail of it and I couldn't be wrong. It was authentic. My Royal Chastity necklace!

I couldn't believe that I was finally holding it again. I was right all along. It was Maximus who took it without me noticing it. But why? What was his purpose?

I suddenly remembered what happened the night after we shared our very first kiss before we parted ways. He gave me his necklace and then said;

"I give you my heart, mi hermosa. Take care of it."

"What's this for?" I remembered me asking.

"You'll know when the right time comes. I already got yours, so this is already a pact between us." My heart started racing as what he said echoed in my head.

"A pact between us?" I uttered with my eyebrows furrowed. Before, I didn't really give any meaning to it. But now, after everything that had happened, I could tell that there was a meaning behind his words that I needed to know.

I must talk to Maximus about it before leaving. But it I was already running out of time. I groaned inwardly. I decided to give myself one last chance to be with Maximus and make love with him one last time before disappearing on him for good because I would marry Franco, but now, this happened.

I stood up and was about to go out of that room when I heard a ringing sound. That was my ringtone!

I followed where it was coming from until I found it inside the walk-in closet. It was still in my bag. I quickly took it out and then answered when I saw who the caller was.

"Pronto."

"Thank God, you finally answered, Ath! Where are you right now? We've been worried sick about you since you disappeared the other day! We couldn't even sleep properly!" It was Amelia. She sounded so worried. I bit my lower lip.

"I'm sorry for making you all, worry. It's just that; something happened that was out of my control."

"What do you mean? What happened? Today's your wedding day but you're not here yet! Franco had been looking for you desperately since he came back here yesterday." I groaned inwardly upon remembering about the wedding.

The entire nations of Costavia and Nuevo Imperio were looking forward for this day and I couldn't disappoint everyone, especially my family.

"What about nonna? Where is she right now?"

"She's in her room, still sleeping, but surprisingly; she has been so calm about all this. I don't know what's happening anymore. Are you coming home now? Your wedding is in three hours!" I released a breath and was about to answer when somebody snatched the phone away from me.

I snapped my head to the direction of the one who did it and gasped in shock upon seeing Maximus with his signature serious face. He was just wearing his boxers.

My eyes inadvertently looked at his muscled body and my lips parted in awe. Damn! He's undeniably a hunk. He looked so strong and—what the hell are you thinking at a time like this, Ath?!

I mentally shook my head and gathered myself together.

"Tell everyone that Athena is not going to marry that guy because she's with her real fiancé right now." He told Amelia while gazing at me without any emotion on his face.

"Maximus! What do you think you're doing?! Give it back!" I rebuked and was about to get the phone back from him but he already ended the call and turned the phone off.

"Why did you turn it off?! I wasn't—"

"—Why are you here?" He asked instead, ignoring my question and anger. Then, I caught his eyes widen when he finally noticed the necklace that I was holding. He looked at the hidden drawer underneath the bed and his eyes widened even more when he saw that it was open and all his gun collections were at full display.

"You look shocked. Why? Because I found out about your collections here? Not just that. I found this too." I said with a sarcastic remark and then showed him my necklace. "Why did you steal my necklace? What are these guns doing in here?" Yes, I was mad but a part of me was scared too.

Half of me already believed of what he said that he wasn't the one who was responsible of the bombing in the past even though there wasn't enough proof of his claim. But discovering all these guns together with my necklace gave me unexplainable fear; fear that he was just lying after all.

I couldn't help but to get paranoid.

He was left speechless for a couple of seconds. He then looked up and then took a deep breath as he raked his fingers through his hair. He suddenly looked tired.

I grew impatient of his silence. "If you don't want to answer my questions, then don't. I'm going home without hearing your explanation then." I put my necklace on and walked past him when he stopped me by hugging me from behind full of possessiveness.

"Please, don't leave, mi hermosa. Let me explain." I gritted my teeth and then forcefully unwrapped his arms from me and then faced him.

"Then, explain! I've been demanding explanations from you since we got reunited again but all you've been saying were vague things! You said that you weren't the one who was responsible of the bombing in the palace and in Nuevo Imperio but what are all these guns doing in your room if you're not doing something bad?! Why is my necklace here too?!" I was almost shouting in anger and frustration.

I felt so tired about all these and it was beginning to drain me mentally but at the same time, a new-found determination to know the truth rose within me.

"I already told you, mi hermosa. I wasn't the one who was caught on the CCTV footages. I didn't really go into details because until now, I haven't had any solid evidence of what really happened; of how they managed to copy my face. We managed to get a copy of the footages and we learned that they weren't tampered." My body went still upon hearing that.

"Then, don't expect me to just fully believe in you if you don't have any evidence to show me. I am tired of all these." My voice was almost inaudible this time as I raked my fingers through my hair and averted my gaze from his.

He closed the gap between us again and then pulled me by the waist until our bodies pressed together.

"Yes, I don't have any solid evidence of what really happened yet but I have a lot of evidence that I was in another place during those times." He uttered and then placed a finger under my chin and made me look at him.

"And about these guns; I have it here because I need them to fight my enemies and to accomplish my goals. Without them, I wouldn't've any chance of winning against them." My eyebrows knitted together.

"W-What do you mean?" He smiled bitterly.

"You heard it right, mi hermosa. I have a lot of enemies and all of them doesn't know how to play fair. If I won't use these, I won't have any chance of winning too."

I bit my lower lip, still confused. "Tell me honestly. Are the rumors true that you're a member of the Horeeya group? How did you manage to get all these guns? Are they even licensed? Tell me the truth because I can't take this anymore!"

He cupped my face and stared into my eyes full of love. "No, mi hermosa. I am not a member of that terrorist group. Yes, I may have done a lot of things in the past that I am not proud of but joining them is the last thing that I would ever want. Never. And about these guns; I got them from a friend of mine." I released the breath that I didn't know I was holding.

"What about the necklace? Why did you steal it from me?" A small smile appeared on his face.

"Because you're rightfully mine from the beginning, mi hermosa. I took it because I was merely making sure that no one could ever take you away from me even if I wasn't by your side at all times."

"You seem to know a lot about the true importance of this necklace." I uttered in surprise.

"Yes. I know a lot about it."

"Then, you should know too that it's useless even if you took my necklace because you're an ordinary person. It will not have any power to change our fate. Whatever you wanted to happen would never happen and that's the fact that you must accept." I answered with an almost inaudible voice. To my further surprise, he smiled boyishly.

"Are you sure about that?" I gaped at him in shock upon realizing the possible connotation of what he just said. I suddenly remembered about his necklace that he gave me almost three years ago. My heart raced.

"Y-You mean—"

"Yes, mi hermosa. I am. You know yourself that you can't marry that b*stard because of the fact that you gave everything to me. Your heart, your mind, your body, your soul and lastly, your necklace. He doesn't have any right to you because the law clearly states that you belong to me and even if I wasn't a royal, I would do anything in my power to stop that fùcking wedding." His voice held possessiveness.

I swallowed hard as my heart skipped a beat. He was right but what he said lacked of one thing.

"But you're not a member of the Nuevo Imperio royal family." My voice was almost inaudible. The corner of his lips twitched.

"Believe me, mi hermosa. I have every right."

Before I could react, he already sealed my lips with a hot kiss which took all my strength away.

I couldn't believe of his revelation. But how come? If he was, how did he end up being my PRB? Why would some who's royal pretend to be an ordinary man and apply as my PRB?

There were many questions that were still floating in my head but my mind became hazy because of that delicious kiss. But one thing was for sure. If he was telling the truth, then he indeed has every right to claim me as his...

Maximus buried his face on the crook of my neck as he tightened his arms around me. We were both catching our breaths as we savor the post-coital bliss. We just reached our climax and my body was still twitching a little because of my intense org*sm.

"Ahhh." I couldn't hold back my moan when I felt his c*ck slid out of me. Gosh. I let my feelings ruled over me again and I wanted to smack myself because of it.

I began to feel even more confused. If Maximus was telling the truth, then I didn't have any deep reason to get mad at him. But what if he was just manipulating me into believing in him? But what if he was really telling the truth that he was also a victim of everything that had happened? What about Franco?

I threw a glance at the clock when I finally remembered about the wedding. I chewed on my bottom lip when I realized that it was almost 7 am already.

"I love you so much, mi hermosa." I heard Maximus say huskily as he planted butterfly kisses on my neck. Heat was beginning to rise within me but I knew that we had a lot of things to discuss about first.

"Let's talk." I answered seriously and he lifted his head from my neck and then gaze at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"Again? Do we have to talk about it right now? Can we just savor this moment first?" I took a deep breath as I closed my eyes for good three seconds.

"You know that we have a lot to talk about. Yes, you answered my other questions but everything is still vague for me and I can't just stay quiet about it."

"Later, please? I just want to enjoy this moment with you. I missed you so much and I just want to cuddle with you for a little bit longer." He begged. I clenched my jaw as I glared at him.

"Is this what you only missed?" He scowled at me.

"What?"

"Is s*x the only thing that you missed that's why—"

"—That's bullsh*t, mi hermosa! I missed you not because of this but because you're my woman. You belong to me and being separated from you for so long was hell. I missed everything about you. Besides, when did I ever have s*x with you? I told you before; you're the only woman I made love with and that's the truth. I just wanted to enjoy this moment with you because I feel like it has been so many years since the last time that we were together like this." I could hint the frustration in his voice.

He rolled over and then lay down next to me.

"Isn't it enough that I wasn't the one who was responsible of the bombing in your palace and in Nuevo Imperio for you to at least wait for a little bit longer before I answer your other questions?" He queried while staring at the ceiling.

"All I want right now is to know the truth because I feel so guilty doing this with you knowing that you're an enemy of the state. I feel like I am betraying the people of Costavia right now, especially now that I cheated on Franco.

"He's my fiancé but I let you take me not just last night but today too. Do you have any idea of how bad I am feeling right now? I feel so stupid because you already hurt me in the past but I let you use me again for the second time. What do you really want from me? Tell me everything now because I can't take this anymore." A whimper escaped my lips as my eyes watered. I swallowed hard, trying my best not to cry.

He faced me and then looked straight into my eyes.

"Why are you still asking me what I want from you? Isn't it enough that I love you that's why I want to be with you? And to make you feel at ease; I am not a bad guy. I am merely trying to take back everything that the king of Nuevo Imperio has taken from me." My forehead crinkled upon hearing the last sentence.

"What do you mean? What does king Giuseppe have to do with all these?" I asked confusedly.

"Do you know why I took you here?"

"To try using me again." Pain registered on his handsome face.

"No! I took you here because I wanted to make sure that you would never marry that impostor." My eyebrows knitted even more.

"Impostor? What are you talking about?"

"That Franco. He's not the one whom you're destined to marry. I am." My lips parted in shock while looking at him, stupefied.

"W-What?" It was all that I could utter after a couple of seconds. A sad smile broke across his face.

"You heard it right, mi hermosa. I am the rightful heir to the throne of my late mother, The queen of Nuevo Imperio." I gasped in shock, unable to utter any word.

"Do you know why Giuseppe has been putting all the blame on me for everything that has been happening in Nuevo Imperio and including here in Costavia?" I shook my head, too shock to answer.

He chuckled bitterly. "Because he knew from the beginning that I was the rightful heir to the throne. He wanted to erase me so that he could achieve the position of a king and guess what? He succeeded.

"He ruined my life. When he failed on his first attempt to assassinate me when I was just 9 years old, he made sure that everyone in Nuevo Imperio forgets about me. He kept on sending men to capture me and kill me until one day, he almost succeeded.

"That was the time my protectors faked my death so that he would stop chasing after me. He made everyone believe in my country that I died in a car crash. According to him, the accident was too severe that they couldn't even find my body." He paused after that and then took a deep breath as if he was trying to calm himself down. I could see the overwhelming rage in his eyes and it sent me cold chills down my spine.

"About five years after that, he suddenly introduced Franco to the people of Nuevo Imperio and told them that Franco was the long lost son of him and my mother. Everyone rejoiced not knowing that the prince that they welcomed in the palace was nothing but an impostor, planning to take the throne away from me and my ancestors for good." I gasped against my palm, stunned.

I suddenly recalled that incident when I was still young. We went to Nuevo Imperio to attend the burial of the son of king Giuseppe. I could even remember my mother saying that she felt sorry for king Giuseppe because he just lost his wife, the queen of Costavia, and then shortly after that, his son followed.

"Oh, God." I uttered in disbelief.

"Yes, I grew up as an ordinary man but as the years went by, I've been preparing myself for a battle against Giuseppe and his son. I am merely taking back what's rightfully mine and I can't see anything wrong with that. I will never forgive them for ruining my life."

"T-Then, Franco is your half-brother?" I inquired, still shocked of his revelations. His eyes squinted in so much anger as his jaw clenched tightly. I could feel the radiating loathe from his body and it was scary. I've seen him get angry a few times already but this time was different.

I could see that he'd been harboring that unparalleled loathe towards king Giuseppe and Franco for so long that it was preventing him from thinking rationally.

"That was what I initially thought until I found out the bitter truth that Giuseppe wasn't my biological father. If that Franco was indeed my half-brother, maybe, I wouldn't fight for my right to the throne anymore but when I found out how that b*stard Giuseppe manipulated everyone, including me, I knew that I had to do something to prevent him from executing his dark plans against my nation and end his reign.

"He doesn't have the smallest right to the throne. He doesn't deserve to be called king. A murderer and power-hungry b*stard like him belong in jail. I will never forgive him of what he's done to my mother and I. Never. Now, they're eyeing Costavia too?

"Those fùckers. I won't let them have their way because there will be no wedding that will ever happen between you and that guy. Hell would freeze over before that happens." All I could do was to stare at him with my lips hang open. Shock was understatement. I couldn't believe that we've been seeing the situation differently until now.