Prince Ezra
"Thea please," I begged her as she cried trying to get a grip of herself, "please, we'll talk about it later."
"It's always later with you," she grabbed a tissue from the tissue box and dabbed it under her eyes so that it didn't ruin her eyeliner and mascara. "Everyone is allowed to grieve Ezra, not all of us can just put a lid on our emotions the way you were able too."
Her words felt like a slap against my cheek as I flinched away from her. Her words sat heavy with me as if I didn't already feel wound up about tonight.
"I don't know what you want me to say," I frowned.
"To show that you're hurting. That you're just as miserable as all of us are. It kills me to see you sleep. You're always panicking and you have nightmares, yet you wake up like nothing is wrong, when clearly everything is wrong," she sniffed.
"I'm trying my best Thea but the world moved on," I brushed her hair behind her ear. "The world moved on and I had to find my own way to move on as well. I know I came late when you already knew them both so well. Maybe that's why I'm struggling to grasp on my emotions because I barely knew them for a year. It's different for me."
She pressed her lips into a hard line and looked away from me. "I wish all of us found it as easy as you do."
I let out a sigh and pulled away from her realizing that I wasn't going to win tonight. Thea could be stubborn when she wanted to be and I didn't want to go back and forth with her. We would be arguing about it the entire night to the morning and I just wanted one day where I wasn't confronted by the ghosts that were always following me.
"Please just stop crying. It won't look good if we arrive and I've already managed to get you to cry," I ran my fingers through my hair not necessarily caring that I was messing up the gel keeping my curls at bay. The stylists worked hard to make sure tonight I didn't look like a raging lion. Their efforts were already down the drain. "I'm sorry Thea. Please."
She nodded and let out a shaky sigh. "You drive me crazy."
"I know," I relaxed back in the seat. "I know but you still stay with me."
"Not like I have much of a choice," she softly smiled. I rolled my eyes but chuckled.
That was how we always were. A roller coaster of emotions that could change so quickly in just five minutes.
The moment the limousine came to a stop Thea had retouched her makeup and looked nearly as perfect as when we left the hotel. The flashing cameras around us were dimmed due to the darkly tinted windows and the shouting a bit at bay.
"Let's at least try to make it out of this with our minds perfectly intact," I sighed looking up at the grand hotel.
"As long as you watch your tongue, maybe we will," she smiled.
The doors were pulled open and I stepped out first, thanked the guard and went around to help Thea out. My arm already snaked around her waist as we stepped onto the red carpet. The reporters all seemed to shout at once as we briefly stopped for pictures as we went down the red carpet.
This was one of the few things I would never get used to no matter the amount of years. I swore all my suits looked the same. I didn't know what was so special about getting different pictures of me looking no different than the same.
By the time we made it into the venue my cheeks were hurting so much from fake smiling that I felt my nerves twitch. Not that Thea was any better. She hated this as much as I did.
"Why did we agree to come again?" She groaned as we made it up the stairs to the ballroom. A large diamond chandelier hung above us.
"You mean why did you force me to attend?" I snickered. "I was having a wonderful time in London."
"You hate the prime minister, don't try to act like I didn't save you," she laughed, "and Cloud will be overjoyed to see you."
"I know he will," I smiled down at her.
When we arrived at the doors of the ballroom you could already hear the chatter of guests and the band playing. The atmosphere was light and joyful which I was grateful for. It would have been worse if it was filled with tension.
"Announcing the Minister of Military and Defense, Prince Ezra of the Nomikos family of Kommos with Lady Anthea of the Katsaros family," the announcer hailed as soon as we appeared in the doorway.
There was no slipping in unnoticed as a royal.
Instantly multiple pairs of eyes were on us as the announcer bowed as I greeted him. Before we could take a step fully inside we were already bombarded by politicians, celebrities and humanitarians.
"You look so much like Adonis," a woman praised, "what happened is such a shame it still haunts all of us up to this day. The kingdom has never been the same."
Thea must have felt me tense as she spoke on my behalf, "We are trying our best to put our best foot forward."
"When will the wedding be! There hasn't been a royal wedding in forever. Especially considering Iris decided to marry privately. We understand the circumstances."
This woman must have had a list of all the things to say that could personally piss me off.
"We're still figuring that out," Thea gently placed her hand on my chest. "Ezra is always so busy. Hopefully we'll find the right time soon."
"May I see your ring?" She squealed, "the news definitely didn't portray it correctly. I could see it glimmering from the moment you stepped into the ballroom."