I was left speechless while watching the news on the TV. I couldn't believe that someone actually took us pictures and even informed the media about it. We thought that no one saw us that time because all the people around ran away because of the gunshots, but we were wrong.

Even though I didn't have any evidence, I knew that the enemies of Maximus were the ones who were responsible of this. I gritted my teeth. They really wouldn't stop until they succeed on destroying Maximus totally. They didn't succeed on killing him that's why they continue destroying his reputation in people's eyes.

"Oh, my God! I can't believe that they actually believed that you're the one in these pictures, Your Royal Highness." Mrs. Cuesta said while shaking her head in disbelief. She looked like she didn't believe what was on the news but her co-workers didn't say anything. They were just staring at me, confused.

"Why are you quiet, everyone? Don't tell me, you believe that that was Her Royal Highness Athena?" She asked with a hint of frustration when no one commented on what she said before looking at me. "You're not that woman, right, Your Royal Highness? Please, tell—"

I heaved a sigh and a small smile appeared on my face as I interrupted her. "—Mrs. Cuesta, that's enough. There's no need to take this news seriously because this is surely an attempt to destroy the reputation of the Royal Family. Don't worry because the truth will always prevail in the end."

"I'm sorry of my reaction, Your Royal Highness. I just couldn't control my anger when I saw that. My sister was one of the victims of the bombing at the palace that's why when I saw the face of that person, even though he was wearing disguise, I couldn't help but to remember the pain of losing a loved one.

"But then, I realized that this is Princess Athena that they're talking about and there's no way that you would betray Costavia. You've always been good to us and I'm sure that there's an explanation to any of these. At least, that's what I want to believe. I choose to believe in you, Your Royal Highness." It was Sofia, one of the social workers in the orphanage.

"Me too, Your Royal Highness." To my surprise, the others finally spoke and what they said made me emotional yet happy. If only everyone thinks like them, everything would be a lot easier to prove that Maximus was just as victim too.

"Thank you, everyone. I didn't expect this. Don't worry because just like what Mrs. Cuesta said, there's an explanation to any of this. Soon, you will know the truth." I answered and finally, the smile on their faces were back.

Even though I was happy because they chose to believe in me, I couldn't help but to be worried and scared. Scared not for myself but for my family and Maximus.

I knew that these bad people were desperate now and would do everything they could to get what they want to stay on top but I would never let that happen. Maximus would never let that happen.

After that, we went back to the program.

"What happened? Where have you been with the others?" Aria asked me upon seeing me. I forced a smile.

"Something happened."

"Why? What happened?" She suddenly looked worried.

"You'll know soon. Let's concentrate on the program first." She sighed and then nodded her head. That was what we did. We finished the program and then went home after spending time with the children.

While we were on our way home, Amelia gasped in shock upon seeing the news on her phone.

"Oh, God! Is this true, Ath?" She asked me as she showed me the screen on her phone. Aria's forehead crinkled.

"What's that about?" She took Amelia's phone and read the article.

"What the hell is this, Athena?! Is this true?!" She asked with a loud voice. She looked mad. I released a breath.

"We'll talk about it when we arrive home. I'm sure, nonna and the others are already home, waiting for us." I answered dismissively. I released a harsh breath as her jaw flexed. No one dared to speak until we finally arrived home.

Aria got out of the car first and entered the palace briskly. I could feel her anger already. I sighed and followed her.

Some of the helpers saw us and greeted us but I could feel the weird look that they were giving me. They probably saw the news too.

"My God, Ath. What have you done again? Looked like you messed up big time this time." Amelia said, obviously nervous, while we were walking. I took her hand and held it.

"Don't worry, everything will be okay." She heaved a sigh.

"I hope so." We entered the palace together. When we reached the living room, I was right. Everyone was already there, waiting for us.

They had that serious look on their faces and no one even uttered a single word. We curtsied towards our nonna quietly.

"Let's talk in my study room." Nonna said and then led the way. Antonius quietly tapped me by my shoulder before following our grandma.

"Seriously, Ath. Just when we thought you finally changed." Aris said and while shaking his head. He doesn't look mad though. More like, disappointed.

"I—" I was about to answer but he interrupted me.

"—Save that for later. Let's go." I nodded my head while Aria and Amelia remained quiet behind me. When everyone was already inside our nonna's study room, the silence was deafening. I bit my lower lip. They're my family and didn't want them to get mad at me.

I didn't want our relationship to go back to the way it was after our mother died.

"Since no one seems to want to start, I'll be the one to talk first." It was Aria. She looked worried, mad and disappointed at the same time while staring at me and it made my heart ache.

"Are those photos authentic, Ath?" I looked down and then released a breath before slowly nodding my head.

"Oddio, Athena! Do you even have any idea how this could totally destroy our reputation?! First, you disappeared and didn't attend your wedding even though it was your duty to come and now, this! Aren't you really going to stop?!"

"You don't understand."

"Yes, I don't understand! I could tolerate the fact that you didn't attend your wedding because I didn't want you to get married either of the mere reason that it as your responsibility. But what about this is?! This is a different story, Ath!

"That guy was the one who planted a bomb here in the palace almost two years ago! Have you forgotten that many died because of what he did?! Not just that, he did the same in Nuevo Imperio too! He's not just a killer but a member of a notorious terrorist group! Let me just remind you that this is not about you! As one of the Princesses in this country, protecting the people is our utmost priority!" She was already breathing hard because of anger.

"Can you at least listen to me before you get mad at me?" I asked, trying to calm myself down. I didn't want t match her anger because I understood where she's coming from. Of course, she would get mad because everyone thought that Maximus was the bad guy.

"How can you expect us to listen to you after what you've done?! Now I understand who was that fiancé that you were referring to. It was him, right?"

I met her gaze. "Yes, I was with Maximus the whole time I was gone." I admitted and my heart tightened when she shook her head as disappointment and resentment flooded her face.

"I'm so stupid of trusting you. I really thought, you've changed for the better, but no. You're still the same Athena that I know. The Athena that caused the death of our own mother." I felt like my heart broke into tiny pieces upon hearing what he said.

"That's unfair, Aria. What happened to mamma wasn't my fault." I answered with a trembling voice as my eyes watered. The pain of losing our mother came back to me again but I knew that I needed to be strong. This wasn't the time for me to be weak.

"Yes, it wasn't your fault but—" Whatever Aria wanted to say was cut short when our grandma finally spoke.

"That's enough."

"But—"

"—No, buts, Aria. You already told whatever you wanted to tell your younger sister and now, it's time for us to talk about what happened." Nonna said with an authoritative tone before heaving a long deep sigh.

"Antonius, Aris, I want you to do everything you could to fix this. You already know what needs to be done." She then instructed our brothers.

"Aria, you're going to face the press people and tell them that Athena was sick during that time so it's impossible for her to be there."

"What?! You want me to lie, nonna? We all know that those photos were authentic!" Aria burst in anger. Our nonna's eyes went into slits.

"And what do you want us to do? Tell people the truth so that everyone would get angry at the Royal Family? Not only that. The other Royals are going to use this opportunity to totally destroy our reputation so that they would have a reason to remove us from power. Is that what you want?" Aria was at a loss for words.

"N-No. That's not what I want." She then answered with an almost inaudible voice after a couple of seconds.

"Then do what you need to do."

"What about Athena, nonna? She should be the one to fix her mess not me!" To everyone's surprise, nonna pounded her fist on the table.

"Aria! Just tell me if you want to do what I told you to do so that I know what I'll do next!" Aria's eyes brimmed with tears as she threw me a glance full of resentment.

"Fine. I'll do it." She answered before rushing out of the study room.

"Aria!" I was about to follow her when nonna spoke.

"Athena, stay. Amelia, follow your sister. Make sure that she wouldn't do something stupid out of anger."

"Okay, nonna." Amelia went out of the study room in a hurry. I suddenly felt guilty. I didn't mean to hurt Aria and I felt so bad for that. I bit my lower lip and looked down.

"Ath, you don't have to worry about Aria. She's just upset right now but I'm sure that she'll understand you sooner or later." I was surprise upon hearing that from Aris.

"Y-You're not mad at me?"

"Why would we get mad at you?" It was Antonius. My eyebrows knitted together as I looked at the three of them. They weren't actually mad. I didn't expect this.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I didn't attend the wedding?" I asked quietly.

"Whatever your reason was, I know that you just did what you thought was right back then. Besides, I really don't like you to be wed to that guy." It was Antonius.

Aris scoffed. "Me either." I knew it.

"Antonius, Aris, you may go. I want to talk to Athena alone." Nonna then instructed. My two older brothers tapped me on my shoulder as if comforting me before they went out.

"Are you mad at me, nonna?" I voiced out my thought. She heaved a sigh.

"No, I'm not, passerotta. I'm just worried."

"About what?"

"About you. Prince Franco and king Giuseppe will come and—" Her sentence was cut off when we heard a knock on the door. She released a breath as she looked at the direction of the door with her eyebrows furrowed.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Your Majesty." Dante, an equerry of the Royal Family.

"Come in." Dante came in and then bowed his head before speaking.

"Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, the Parliament is calling for an emergency meeting." He informed. I looked at my grandma worriedly but strangely, she looked calm.

"I already expected this. Tell them that we'll be there shortly, Dante." She answered formally and then stood up.

"As you wish, Your Majesty." He then went out quietly. Oh, Gosh. This is it.

"Don't give me that face. You already did what you did so you should be prepared of the consequences of your actions. Don't worry, I'll be there with you."

"Do I really need to go too?" I asked.

"Of course. They're surely going to hear your side of the story directly from you. Remember that you're Princess Athena of Costavia. Raise your chin and face this bravely." I released a breath and then nodded my head. Hearing that gave me courage.

The handsome face of Maximus appeared on my mind and I remembered the importance of this to him. I need to do this for him.

"Okay, nonna. I'm ready. Let's go."

She smiled. "That's my passerotta."

When we arrived at the House of the Parliament, everyone was already there. I looked around and noticed that my siblings weren't there. Everyone greeted us before they started.

"As everyone already know, Princess Athena is currently being involved in a controversy where Mr. Vázquez, a fugitive from Nuevo Imperio, is involved also and the whole nation is in shock because of this. Now, every member of the Parliament wants to hear the side of Princess Athena, Your Majesty." Lord Del Gatto, the leader of the House, said.

My hands formed into fists as I heard what he said about Maximus. It hurts me knowing that everyone is accusing him of something that he didn't even commit.

My nonna scoffed. "Do you really believe that Princess Athena was there? She has been ill these past weeks and didn't even leave the palace. She couldn't even attend her own wedding because of this unfortunate event. Whoever put those pictures publicly obviously had a hidden agenda. They wanted to destroy the reputation of the Royal family."

I was surprised of what my nonna said. Of course, she wouldn't tell the truth to everyone because it would tarnish our reputation. Not just our reputation in the whole Costavia but in the eyes of the world too.

"Pardon me, Your Majesty, but was it really? According to the media, those pictures were authentic." My eyes turned into slits when I saw who said that. It was Diego, the husband of Celeste and step-father of Íñigo. Even though he's one of the members of the parliament, I didn't expect him to be here especially that Íñigo was still at the hospital.

"Of course, they would say that, Mr. Gallo, and I can't believe that you believe them. Why would Princess Athena be with Mr. Vázquez?"

"Well, I heard that the Princess was once in a relationship with Mr. Vázquez before while he was her PRB, Your Majesty." Everyone gasped in shock upon hearing what Diego said. I felt like my blood went into a boil.

"Is that true, Your Royal Highness?" Lord Del Gatto asked me. I clenched my fist in anger and was about to tell it to their faces the truth when I felt my nonna's hand hold mine, silently telling me to calm down and let her handle everything.

"That's nothing but rubbish. Whoever told you that was obviously lying. Just because you saw people being close to one another doesn't mean that they're in a romantic relationship. I can't believe that we're talking about this here."

"Let's say that Princess Athena was not the one on the pictures but what about her wedding? Why didn't she show up and stood up Prince Franco? Is her alleged relationship with Mr. Vázquez was the reason?" Another Parliament member spoke.

"Just like what Prince Franco has said before, Princess Athena was ill that's why the wedding got cancelled." I bit my tongue in order to restrain myself from telling the truth. My grandma was still holding my hand and I knew that she didn't want me to talk yet.

"Then, why would the Imperial Family of Nuevo Imperio asked us to pay our debt to them because Princess Athena didn't abide with the pact of Costavia and Nuevo Imperio, Your Majesty?" I looked at my grandma in shock.

"What debt is he talking about, nonna?" She didn't answer nor throw me a glance. Her face was void of any emotion. Then her lips opened, signifying that she was about to say something when we heard someone spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let's not dwell with that topic for now. The wedding between my son, Prince Franco and Princess Athena will be held soon anyway so the debt of Costavia to Nuevo Imperio will be considered paid. That was written on the pact, right?" King Giuseppe said which shocked me.

I didn't know that Costavia has a debt to Nuevo Imperio. I really thought that I had to marry Franco because of a pact between the two nations but no one mentioned about debt to me.

"Even if the rumor that Princess Athena and Mr. Vázquez was true, my son is still willing to accept Princess Athena. That's how much he loves her." I felt a cold shiver ran down my spine upon hearing what he said. Love, my a*s!

"Now that Princess Athena is finally feeling okay, let's push through the wedding the sooner the better. That was the initial plan anyway, right, Your Majesty? But if you have already changed your mind, you can just pay Costavia's debt and everything of this will be forgotten like nothing has ever happened.

"But then, I hope not, because my son really wants to marry Princess Athena. I'm sure, we don't want to complicate things here, right? I know that Costavia has a word of honor." I gritted my teeth. I couldn't believe that he's resorting to this. This man is really cunning but I will not let him wrap me around his little finger too.