Chapter 5 Goodbye Letter

• Daniel
• I sigh. “Little Am-- Annie. Please open the door.” I remember what she said, and even though I feel something scarily similar to pain when I say her real name instead of her nickname, I respect her wishes. I have the key, I don’t need her to open it. Once again I could just barge in, but I don’t want to do that. I want to respect her space.
• I wait a few minutes. “Okay, I’m coming in.” I turn the key in the lock and enter the suite. Everything looks about the same, even though just hours before this suite was nearly a warzone between us. Nothing is out of place. The flower centerpiece that’s replaced every day by palace staff is still on the counter, the same counter that brings an evil grin to my face every time I pass it. I run my fingers over the smooth service as memories of filthy experiences flash in my mind.
• “Annie?” I call out as I round the main living area. No answer. I frown. I enter the bedroom and two things stick out to me.
• One, is the shoes and dress Annie was wearing earlier that have been discarded on the floor, and two, is a folded piece of paper in the center of the bed.
• My heartrate spikes and not for a good reason as I approach the paper like it has some kind of contagion. I know I have to read it, but I don’t want to. I slowly grab it and feel it between my fingers. When I lift it up, the engagement and wedding rings fall out onto the bed. I stare down at them with wide eyes. On the outside the note says a single word in the loopy handwriting I recognize from the signed contract that currently sits in the drawer of my desk.
• Goodbye.
• I open the note and begin to read and with every word my chest begins to feel tighter and tighter until it’s almost difficult to breathe.
• Daniel,
• I’m not writing this to scorn you. That is something I won’t do. Even as I sit here, writing this final note I feel nothing but love for you. I love you more than anything, and that isn’t something I’m going to apologize for. I won’t take back my feelings, but I recognize when something is so broken that it just simply can’t be fixed. So this is goodbye. By the time you read this I will be gone. I’m going home. I don’t care about the money in the contract and you can have the rings back. Sue me if you want, nothing matters anymore.
• I hope you find whatever you’re looking for and I one day hope to see you sitting on that throne because despite everything, I know you’re going to make a wonderful King.
• Goodbye forever,
• Annie
• It’s like the wind has been knocked out of me. My knees suddenly can’t hold my weight anymore and I fall clumsily onto the edge of the bed, holding the tear stained note in my hands. I stare at the space in between my two expensive dress-shoe covered feet, completely lost. For some reason, I find myself re-reading the note, almost as if I’m expecting it to change into a better message-one I’d actually want to hear. One where Annie says she needs some time and wants her space, not that I’d give it to her, but it’s sure as hell preferable to “Goodbye Forever”.
• The shock of her words hit me like a punch to the gut.
• Goodbye forever.
• According to this note, she’s gone. Annie’s left, she’s given up, and she has no intentions of coming back.
• That’s something that I don’t like. I just got used to not only having her around, but enjoying her company, and she just up and leaves? No, I don’t accept this, I won’t accept it.
• Before I can really think the idea through, I’m already back on my feet after having stuffed the note into the pocket of my slacks, and heading towards the door. I walk through it and then head to the end of the corridor where I see the two guards chatting it up and having a grand old time. I’m already in a weird mood, so this just pisses me off more. “My wife. She left earlier, yes?”
• At the sound of my voice, the two of them practically jump into the air. The one on the right, a baby faced brunette who looks no older than twenty quickly puts his phone back into his pocket and stands to attention. “Y-Your Royal Highness!”
• I roll my eyes and tap my foot impatiently. I’m already mad, now I’m about to explode. “My. Wife. Where. Is. She.” I emphasize every word with a growl.
• The second guard, a raven haired boy, nods so much I almost reach out and grab his head to physically stop him. “Y-Y-Your Highness. S-She left.”
• In fact, I do explode. The sound of me yelling “What?!” echoes throughout the palace.
• The brunette speaks up. “W-we asked h-her a-and she said s-she had your permission.” I glower at him. “Y-Your Highness!” He adds, trying his best to placate me. Too bad, I’m too far gone.
• Well, my wife may be gone, but I know one thing Annie is going to get a hell of a spanking when I have her back here, that’s for sure.
• “Where did she go?” I know the answer, but I must ask anyway. Perhaps these guards aren’t as incompetent as I originally thought.
• “D-Don’t know, Highness. S-she didn’t say.”
• Or perhaps not.