I looked at Maximus when I felt him intertwine our fingers together. We were inside the car, on our way to Santino.

"Are you okay, mi hermosa?" A forced smile appeared on my lips upon hearing the worry in his voice.

"I don't know. All I know is, I'm so worried right now. What if Iñigo—"

"—Shhh. Don't think too negatively. I'm sure he's fine." He said, trying to make me feel better.

"I hope so." I muttered. Last night, I received Amelia's message, informing me that Iñigo was in the hospital. Apparently, while they were on their way home, a speeding car suddenly came out of nowhere and blocked their way. She didn't go into details but I knew that those people hurt them.

Because of so much worry, I decided to go home to see my little brother and thankfully, Maximus agreed. After two hours of travel, we finally arrived in our destination.

"Are you going to be okay here? Want me to come with you?" Maximus asked with a tinge of worry. I touched his cheek with my hand.

"You know that you can't do that, dolce metà. It's too dangerous. Besides, in the eyes of the law, you're still a wanted fugitive." He sighed.

"Damn it. This is so difficult. Why do I even need to hide when—"

"—Just a little bit more and I'm sure that everything will be okay. You promised me that, right?" I said and his face softened. He cupped my face and then leaned his forehead against mine.

"Yes, and I intend to keep that promise." Then our lips met for a delicious sensual kiss. It was just for a couple of seconds but it didn't fail to take my breath away.

"I'm going to miss you for sure, mi hermosa." He whispered when our lips pulled away. I chuckled.

"Me too but don't worry because this is just temporary." He heaved a sigh.

"Yeah, you're right. I'll just be nearby, watching and protecting you. You know what to do if in case something happened." I nodded my head. We kissed one more time before I finally decided to go out of the car.

I knew that we would be separated temporarily but I couldn't help but to feel sad. If this didn't happen to my brother, I would stay with him until everything would finally be over.

When Maximus left, I entered the hospital full of worry. I was wearing a bull cap and dark shades while trying to avoid making eye contact with other people.

"Good morning. I would like to visit Prince Iñigo." The nurse looked at me with eyebrows creased but when she probably recognized me, her eyes widened. She stood up and then curtsied towards me.

"Good morning too, Your Royal Highness. His Royal Higness Iñigo is in the VIP room number 1." I smiled and then thanked her. I was about to go when I remembered something.

"One more thing..."

"Yes, Your Royal Highness?"

"Don't tell anyone that I'm here." I requested and she nodded her head.

"Yes, Your Royal Highness. You can take this way to avoid many people in the hallway." She answered as she pointed at the right wing of the hospital. There was a sign that says no one was allowed aside from the staff.

I thanked her and did as I was told. I marched my way towards there as careful as I could but determined to see my little brother as soon as I could.

After about a couple of minutes, my steps came to a halt when I saw the room. There were four guards and two policemen at the door whom I got their attention upon arriving.

The surprise looks on their faces were evident upon recognizing me.

"Your Royal Highness." They uttered politely and then bowed their heads with their hands on their chest. I was about to say something when the door opened and Celeste came out. Her face contorted in anger upon seeing me.

"You! You're the reason why my son is in this state right now!" She yelled angrily and raised her hand, probably wanting to slap me when one of the police came to my rescue.

"Signora Celeste! Stop in the name of Her Majesty, Queen Isabella, if not, I would arrest you and face the consequences of your insolence towards the Princess!" Captain Colombo warned as he warded of Celeste's attack.

"Maledetto, Captain Colombo! You don't have the right to treat me like this! Have you forgotten that I'm the mother of Prince Iñigo?!"

"I haven't forgotten that, Signora Celeste, but I haven't forgotten my sworn duty either. Aside from protecting the people of Costavia, my most important duty is to protect the crown and the Royal family. I am just doing my job." Celeste's face contorted in anger even more.

"I don't know why you're angry at me like this, Celeste, but I am not here for you. I am here to see my brother so if you don't mind, step aside." I said with a formal and stern voice as I stared straight into her eyes, silently giving her warning.

She gritted her teeth as she met stared at me as if trying to intimidate me but I stood my ground. Upon seeing the fiery in my eyes, she was the one who got intimidated. She eventually stepped aside with her hands balled into fists.

I then looked at Captain Colombo. "Thank you, Captain Colombo."

"It's my pleasure to serve and protect you, Your Royal Highness." I smiled at him before walking towards the door. I was about to knock when one of the Royal Guards came.

"Please, let me, Your Royal Highness." He said and then knocked before speaking in a clear voice but at the same time, trying to be so loud. "Her Royal Highness, Princess Athena, has arrived."

After a couple of seconds and then door finally opened. It was Sita. Her face brightened upon seeing me. She then curtsied.

"Welcome back, Your Royal Highness."

"Thank you, Sita. How have you been lately?"

"I've been doing fine, Your Royal Highness. Thank you for asking. I just hope that you're the same." I smiled. I was about to say something when she opened the door wider.

"Come in, Your Royal Highness." I entered and Sita closed the door before ushering me towards my brother's hospital bed. I couldn't hold back my tears when I saw my brother lying on the hospital bed. He had a lot of bruises on his body. There were bandages wrapped around his forehead and right arm.

"Fratellino..." I wiped my tears angrily and looked at Sita.

"What happened to him?"

"A group of unidentified men intercepted their car while they were on their way home from school. They beat him up including his driver and bodyguard. Thankfully, they didn't harm them more than this." I gritted my teeth in anger.

"What happened to those men? Did they get caught already?" She sadly shook her head.

"Unfortunately, not yet, Your Royal Highness." I closed my eyes for good three seconds, trying to calm myself down.

"Where is everyone? Haven't they visited Iñigo yet?" I then asked after.

"They were here this early in the morning, Your Royal Highness. I stayed because Princess Iñigo's attendant is sick right now." I knew that my nonna was the one who asked Sita to stay in the hospital because she trusts her a lot. After what happened, nonna wouldn't entrust Iñigo to anyone.

"How's Iñigo now?" I then inquired as I carefully took his hand and held it. My heart was aching so bad seeing him in this state. I couldn't believe that those people would hurt a kid who's gentle and loving.

"He's out of danger now, Your Royal Highness. Thankfully, he didn't suffer from internal bleeding." I sighed in relief.

"What about his driver and PRB?"

"They're both okay now too, Your Royal Highness." I nodded my head and then stared at me brother for a couple of seconds. Thank goodness, he's out of danger now. I gently kissed his forehead and then released a breath.

"I need to go home, Sita. I want to talk to nonna."

"Okay, Your Royal Highness. I'll just call your personal driver to come pick you up." I nodded my head and thanked her. Sita went a couple of feet away from us as she contacted my driver. That was when I heard Iñigo groan as he woke up.

"Fratellino." I called for him and then held his hand again as I sat on the chair next to the hospital bed. He slowly opened his eyes and then our gazes met.

"Sorellona..." My eyes watered again upon hearing his faint voice. Even though he looked so weak, I could tell that he was happy seeing me.

"Yes, it's me. Are you feeling okay? Do you want me to call the doctor?" A small smile appeared on his face. His hand that I was holding touched my cheek.

"I-I'm fine, Sorellona. I'm g-glad that you're finally home and s-safe."

I shook my head. "Yes, I'm fine. Don't think about me. For now, you should think of yourself and concentrate on your medications so that you would be fine in no time. Don't worry because the Royal police are surely doing their best to catch those people who did this to you." I bit my inner cheeks in order to prevent myself from crying in front of him. The last thing I wanted was to show him my weak side. I didn't want to worry him.

We talked for about twenty minutes more before I needed to go. The visitation hours were over. When I went out of the hospital, two of the Royal Guards accompanied me until my driver finally arrived.

I got surprised when someone got out of the car wearing a PRB uniform and bowed his head towards me. The driver did the same.

"Good afternoon, Your Royal Highness." They said in unison. My lips parted in surprise when I recognized him.

"Greco?"

He smiled. "Yes, Your Royal Highness. I am your new PRB. It's my pleasure serving you." Even though I was confused of what was happening, I nodded my head and then got in the car. He closed the door for me before getting onto the shotgun seat.

When Lucca told me that Greco got accepted at the palace, it never occurred to me that he would be my next PRB. Well, maybe it is better like this because Greco is my best friend's boyfriend.

"How's Lucca doing, Greco?" He turned his head to look at me.

"He's fine, Your Royal Highness. He said that he misses you already." That made me smile.

When we arrived in the palace, the first thing that I did was go to my nonna's study room but she wasn't there. My siblings weren't home too.

I looked around. I didn't expect that I would miss the palace. When I was younger, I hated being part of the Royal Family. I couldn't do whatever I wanted to do like ordinary people out there that's why I ended up being rebellious in a way.

I sighed and then decided to go to my room. I just fished freshening up when I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in!" I said and the door opened. It was Aria.

"Oh, my God! You're finally home!" He rushed towards me and then hugged me. "What happened to you?!" She then asked and pulled away from me after that. I could hint the anger and worry in her voice.

"Were you worried about me?" I asked with a hint of amusement, wanting to tease her.

"Of course! What kind of question is that?!"

I chuckled. "I was just kidding." I sighed. "I've been doing well these past two weeks."

"Where have you been anyway? I couldn't believe that you actually didn't show up at your own wedding."

"I was with my fiancé the whole time." I admitted. Her eyes went wide as saucers.

"Fiancé?! What are you talking about?!" I winced and covered my ears.

"My, God. I'm not deaf, in case you forgot." She rolled her eyes.

"Just answer my question! My God, Ath! Prince Franco and King Giuseppe were obviously mad because of what you did. I mean, they didn't say anything bad I could tell just by looking at their faces during that time."

"It wasn't like I intentionally didn't attend. It just happened. Besides, did you really want me to marry Franco in the first place?" She shook her head right away.

"I did not. Even our siblings felt the same even though they weren't vocal about it." She admitted and I couldn't help but chuckle. I knew it.

"Anyway, who's this fiancé of yours that you're talking about?"

"You'll meet him soon, I promise. For now, I want to ask you something." Her eyebrows furrowed.

"About what?"

"Do you have any idea where is Franco right now?" I asked.

"I don't know. As far as I know, he and king Giuseppe left Costavia after the cancelled wedding but before that, they had a private talk with nonna in her study room."

"What did they talk about?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "No idea. Nonna has been quiet about it. Why do you look so interested about it?" I bit my lower lip.

"For now, let's be careful because we're in danger." I said without answering her question. She huffed.

"We've been in danger for as long as I could remember, Ath. Speaking of danger, you should get a new PRB now."

"I already have one. Apparently, nonna appointed him just recently." Her forehead wrinkled.

"Nonna appointed him? When? How come I didn't hear about that?" She queried confusedly.

"I have no idea. That's what Greco told me."

"Greco? As in Lucca's boyfriend?" She already met Greco once before.

"Yes." Her lips parted in surprise.

"Really? That's strange. I didn't expect that. I never thought that he had any interest in working here."

"Me too. Lucca called me yesterday and mentioned that Greco applied for a job here at the palace and got accepted but he didn't tell me what job was it."

She nodded her head. "I'm really hoping against hope that Greco is serious about Lucca."

My eyebrows knitted together. "Why? Don't you think so?" She shrugged her shoulders again.

"I don't know." She sighed. "Anyway, what do you plan to do now? Prince Franco didn't really cancel the wedding yet. He just announced that you were ill but the wedding would eventually take place soon."

"I'll talk to him about it."

"I just hope he'll listen and could understand you."

I sighed. "I hope so too." She tapped me by my shoulder.

"Don't think about it. Everything will eventually be okay. Anyway, it's the anniversary of the Orphanage that you used to go to tomorrow and they invited us. Nonna, Aris and Antonius can't come. What about you?"

I smiled upon remembering the kids at the orphanage. It has been a while since the last I went there and I missed them already.

"Of course, I'll come." Aria smiled.

"Great! We'll go together then. I think, Amelia will come too." Later that day, when the rest of my family arrived home, they were surprised to see me as expected. But the thing that surprised me more was the reaction of my nonna.

"I'm glad that you're okay and finally decided to come home." She hugged me and then kissed me on the forehead.

"Aren't you mad at me, nonna? I'm sorry for—"

"Let's not talk about it. The most important thing right now is you're safe and finally here with us." I nodded my head and then hugged her again. I honestly expected to get scolded by her but surprisingly, her reaction was the opposite.

I wanted to tell them what happened but I didn't want them to worry about me. All I could do right now was to try not to involve them further.

I wanted to ask her about why there wasn't any news about Maximus' impostor after the bomb threat incident at the mall. We left him there and we were sure that the police surely got a hold of his body. But then, looked like this wasn't the right time to discuss about it.

The next day, Amelia, Aria and I went to the orphanage. The kids happily welcomed us and I felt happy seeing them again. Then, the program started. There were even games for the children and we participated too. It was fun.

But then, an unexpected thing happened. While we were in the middle of playing with the children, Mrs. Cuesta suddenly approached me.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, Your Royal Highness, but you need to see something." She said with a low voice.

"What is it?"

"You'll see, Your Royal Highness." I nodded my head and then went with her inside her office. Upon arriving there, some staff of the orphanage were there too and everyone's attention was on the TV.

I looked at the TV with furrowed eyebrows and my eyes widened upon seeing myself there. It was a flash report with a title 'Princess Athena is a protector of one of the most wanted criminals in Costavia?'

But the thing that shocked me more was the news was accompanied by a couple of pictures of mine and Maximus while hugging each other. My heartbeat became faster and started to worry about the news.

Looked like someone managed to take photos of us during that bomb threat incident outside the mall after Maximus and Joaquin killed Maximus' impostor. Maximus hugged me that time. Yes, we were wearing masks, dark shades and caps but with the close-up shots, it was pretty obvious that the people on the pictures were us.