Chapter 5 An Idea

• Daniel
• I walk out of my father's office feeling like I'm on cloud nine. Things are finally falling into place and it feels like for once, things are going to be okay. I will be King, Annie as my Queen, and our children will one day rule the nation as I will rule. I never thought I'd be here, especially with a wife and twins on the way.
• As I walk through the halls feeling nothing short of a King (which I now am), my thoughts travel to Annie and our life together. I never thought I'd be using the word our when describing my relationship with a woman. I always saw them as playthings, but Annie isn't just a toy. She's my partner, and I know that I wouldn't be in this spot without her. She really turned my reputation around with everything she did to help people in the kingdom. If it wasn't for her, I doubt I'd be crowned King.
• I find myself thinking about how my life would've been if she didn't walk in on me back then, and I grin at the memory. I pass by the main lobby area of the palace. My mother calls it the media center as there's a large television playing the news and I quickly glance at it out of the corner of my eyes, but what I see causes me to pause and pay closer attention. On the most popular news station they're playing a story about Annie and I. It's an advertisement for a miniature news segment airing later this evening.
• "Prince Daniel and Princess Annalise: A Real Life Cinderella Story"
• I chuckle and see footage of us from the first time we went out together up until the wedding, when we, as customary to Verilian tradition, stood out on the west balcony and waved to the public as I introduced my wife to the world.
• I see the both of us at our wedding, smiling and laughing, looking every bit the lovestruck couple that we were portraying and instead of feeling joy, I feel disgusting--slimy even. I look at the huge ring on her finger and the feeling worsens because unlike the news anchors who gawk and coo at how adorable we look together, I know it's a sham. Annie only agreed to marry me because I threatened to blackmail her. She wasn't saying "I do" because she loved me. In fact, I bet at the time, she hated me.
• And that fact alone makes me feel nasty.
• But it also gives me an idea.