Your Majesty

Nicholas The worst day of my life started out like any other. It was Sunday, and my family sat around the large dining room table. My mother, Queen Camila, was dressed impeccably, as she always was. She never went to the grocery store, but if she did, she would go in a dress, matching heels, and with her hair and makeup done to perfection. I never missed an opportunity to tell her that she was doing too much. However, my wife and my mother were similar in that way. They always dressed to impress, even if their only audience was the family and staff that lived in our palace. My father, King Albert, sat at the head of the table. His night time nurse was beside him. This was the first time a member of the staff was allowed in the dining room with us for Sunday dinner. It was necessary though, because my father's cancer had spread, and worsened. It seemed that his condition deteriorated by the hour. At the moment, he was hooked up to oxygen. Thank goodness that he was, because what happened next would knock the air out of everyone's lungs. My sister, Princess Alessandra, sat across from my mother, and to my left. She was impatiently tapping her fingers against the table. I was sitting at the end of the table, across from my father. There was symbolism behind this, as I was to take his place soon. I was his heir, and soon to be the man of my family, when my father passed. "Do you want to go check on Natalia?" My mother asked. Natalia was my wife, who was notoriously late to absolutely everything. Her habitual lateness drove my family, my mother and I in particular, insane. "She should be down soon, maybe she needed to use the restroom," I said confidently. I didn't feel so sure of that though. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't seen Natalia since this morning. Suddenly, the double doors to the dining room opened with a loud bang, as the door hit the wall behind it. We all looked behind us, and as soon as I saw Samira standing there, I couldn't help but shrink in my seat. "Dutchess, what are you doing here?" My mother asked, a look of bewilderment on her face. Samira gave me a challenging look, as if she was daring me to speak. Domenico, the head of Palace Security, stood behind her. "Is this guest welcome, Queen?" Domenico asked. "I-I don't think so," she said, looking from me to Alessandra. "Don't hurt me, Natalia sent me," Samira said loudly, the smile on her face was devilish. All eyes were on me now. "What is this woman talking about, Nicholas?" my mother demanded. I felt heat creep up quickly on my neck and my cheeks. "I don't know, I don't know her," I said. I stared intensely at the empty plate in front of me. "Liar!" Samira's voice echoed off of the walls. "Tell them, Nicholas. Tell them why your wife sent me," she continued. "Nicholas. Go check on your wife. That is an order," my mother snapped. My mother hated spectacles, and this was the first one that had taken place in the palace in years. "And Domenico, escort this crazy woman out, alert the authorities to her unwelcome presence," she continued. "I wasn't unwelcome when your little prince sought me out for s*x," Samira spat. I shot her a look, and she smiled in return. "For God's sake, Nicholas," my mother scolded. I didn't dare look at the exasperated look I knew was on my mother's face. I'd f****d up, royally, and now my dirty laundry was out for everyone to hear. Domenico pushed Samira out into the hallway proceeded to lead her out. "No wonder, your wife hasn't joined us," my mother continued. I snuck a glance at Alessandra, who had the biggest smirk on her face. I moved my chair back, and got up to leave, feeling the disappointment in my father's eyes as I walked away from the table. "Go to her at once. I think we will go ahead and enjoy our meal as best we can in your absence," my mother said to my retreating back. I stormed upstairs, to get to the bottom of this whole situation. I'd met Samira through a mutual friend of my family, and figured a one time f**k with someone whom I thought didn't give a s**t about who I was would be enough to tide me over until my wife was ready to quit rejecting me. Natalia was now eight months pregnant. Throughout her pregnancy, I tried night after night to seduce her to no avail. She had side effects of the pregnancy, she was exhausted, she needed to rest, the list of excuses went on. My family had made sure that we had someone to wait on her hand and foot since they found out she was pregnant. Even more so, once they found out that she was carrying a boy, as he was to be my heir. Natalia didn't do much but rest since we broke the news to my parents. Besides resting, she spent a lot of time with my father. They'd created a special bond, the two of them. They were the only ones home most of the day, aside from the staff, and she'd always shown him kindness, especially in the wake of his disease. My father couldn't do anything for himself anymore. He was incontinent, wheelchair bound, and very fragile and weak. Natalia would read to him, sit with him, watch television, and have tea with him. She'd won over the hearts of my entire extended family, because she spent this time with my father purely because she wanted to. She genuinely loved my family like her own, and it showed in her actions, and the love she showed us all. I knew I was a very lucky man. It was extremely rare for a man in my position to fall in love, and be able to marry the love of his life. So many strings were pulled for me to be able to marry a commoner. I had been set to marry a Princess of another country, to bring another alliance to our kingdom. However, all of that changed when I saw Natalia. I first saw her at the Christmas Festival at the Palace, an event my family hosted every year. The front of the palace would transform into a Christmas Market for three to four days, with a large Christmas tree in the center, and whoever wanted to come and celebrate with us was welcome. The commoners loved it. Vendors would line the streets in front of the palace, selling food and all kinds of trinkets. The commoners got to light the tree on the first day, and my family would mingle with everyone that was vetted by security, and able to come through the gates of the palace. It was a good look for the royal family to mingle with their subjects, my mother had told me that every year for as long as I could remember. "Merry Christmas, Prince Nicholas," I heard someone say behind me. I'd turned around and that was the moment I first laid eyes on Natalia. It was her eyes that I'd noticed first. They were dark brown, but with a light brown sparkle. Her pale skin was a sharp contrast with her dark black hair.She had a mug of hot chocolate in her hands. "Merry Christmas, what's your name?" I responded. "Natalia Arias," she said. Her fingernails were painted a bright red, and there notably no ring present. She was wearing a red dress, and white stockings. She was took my breath away. "Natalia Arias, I'll have to remember that," I managed. She smiled, and turned around as an older woman came up behind her. I'd find out later that the woman was her mother. "Oh wow, Prince Nicholas! Thank you for allowing us to celebrate with you all," her mother had said. "Of course, it's our pleasure-" Suddenly, I was interrupted by my mother, grabbing my arm to lead me towards a group of women she was speaking to. "I'm sorry, excuse me," I'd said, before being whisked away, without being able to turn around and look at them again. It'd taken Domenico two hours to locate everything possible on Natalia Arias. There was only two of them in the country. One was 24, the other was 65. It was a no brainer which one I was after. He provided me with her phone number, address, and social media handles. I'd looked up everything. She had some selfies on her page, along with other photos, more photos of her dog than anything. The dog was a tan colored Pitbull, relatively small for the breed. "Just say the word, and I will bring her to you. I have never seen you show this much interest in anyone or anything other than soccer in your teen years," Domenico said. Domenico had worked for my family for as long as I could remember, and he was basically a part of our family. "If you bring her to me, I'll find a way to marry her," I told him. Domenico laughed, knowing how set my parents were on marrying me off to create an alliance. "Slow your roll, Prince. You don't rule yet, and may I remind you that your wife has been chosen." "Yes, she has been chosen. I choose Natalia." And I never regretted that choice. Natalia was beautiful inside, and out. Domenico had snuck her into the palace, and then into my room on multiple occasions. It'd been an intense uphill battle convincing my mother to allow me to marry her. I'd had to threaten to leave the country with her, and then to make it believable, I'd run away for maybe three hours with Domenico's assistance. I hadn't had any interest in any other woman until my moment of weakness. Natalia was an amazing wife. My every need was always met, until she got pregnant. She got very sick, and the maybe two hours of energy she had were in the middle of the day, during the time she normally spent with my father. By the time my work day was done, and I was able to retire to our wing of the palace, we would eat together, and then she would lay down for the night. We went from showering together, and spending our nights watching movies, talking, and making love, to her waking up nauseous and sitting in a bath for hours on end. The warm water relaxed her, she would say. She was either in the tub or sleeping beside me. When I would lay down, cuddle her, and attempt to make a move, she would tell me she didn't feel well, and this went on for months. However, it was no excuse for me to do what I did. She was giving me a son, an heir, and obviously that wasn't a burden I could take on for myself. I should've just continued to pleasure myself beside her in bed. But, I had a moment of weakness. We had argued over something so stupid that I can't even remember what the argument had been about, but it'd set me over the edge. I couldn't climax on my own like I could with her. I felt resentment because my wife wasn't acting how she always had. She wasn't as affectionate, and I felt she only worried about herself. Rightfully so, but still. I felt slighted, and I did the stupidest thing I could've done. I made a fake name, and messaged Samira on i********:. She'd hooked up with a couple of my cousins, and kept her royal escapades a secret, and she was known to get around among the nobility. She was decent looking, and all I wanted was my d**k sucked. I didn't want to physically enter any woman that wasn't my wife. At least I drew the line there, but that hadn't mattered in the end. Samira recognized me, despite the location of our meetup. I took an unmarked car, and met her in an alley. We'd done our business, I paid her, and she had made no mention of even knowing my name. That was until Domenico alerted me that I was getting an outrageous number of letters. Our mail was filtered by the authorities, so we didn't get any letters until they were cleared of threat. All the letters he gave me were from Samira, asking me to see her again. Telling me that she was in love with me. And the most recent, the one that had been flagged, threatening to tell my wife that I had been unfaithful. She specifically mentioned that she would mention the affair, if I didn't see her again. She'd put a divorce paper inside, one that looked like it was printed from google, and asked me to sign it, and send a picture to her number. This would be proof, she'd said, that one day the two of us could be together. "She's a f*****g lunatic," I'd told Domenico. "I can't help you, if you're not completely honest with me Nicholas. If I incarcerate this woman, and she has some kind of proof that ties you to her, this will blow up, and be news everywhere." And so, I came clean, and told Domenico of my mistake. "I'll try my best to get her off your trail. We'll offer her a large sum of money, in exchange for her silence. I'll consult with your father, but saving your marriage is of upmost importance, especially given that the Princess is carrying your child. She mustn't be stressed with this nonsense. I'll help you this time, more for her and your child than for you. You better never pull any dumb s**t again, Nicholas. I won't be so gracious next time," Domenico had said. I'd never heard him talk to me like that, but I deserved it and worse. I thought of Domenico as like an uncle, after all. "Yes sir, thank you." I thought that'd been the end of it, until now. Natalia was now just about ready to give birth. Her sicknesses had mostly subsided, and she was more achey and tired than anything. She got creative, but she met my needs nightly. Things between us were almost back to normal, as normal as they could be with her belly protruding as far as it did now. She was still so beautiful though, and everyone kept talking about the glow she had. She claimed that the glow came from her excitement to give birth, be a mother, and return to a sense of normalcy. At least, I reached the door to our bedroom. I swung it open, and the bedroom was completely empty. I walked towards the bathroom that was inside our room, and it was empty as well. The walk in closet light was on, and I looked inside to see that a significant amount of her clothing and shoes were gone. "No," I whispered, as my heart fell down to my toes. My stomach did a dangerous flip. "No," I said, looking at the rest of the disarray. Her makeup case and jewelry box were also gone. Her ring sat in the center of the bed, on top of a photo that had been printed out. The photo of the divorce paper that Samira had sent me. It looked like Samira had forged my signature on it, probably to make it more convincing. Natalia had signed it as well. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. Rage bubbled inside of me. I started pacing, then stared at the wall, before my fist collided with it. I punched the wall over and over, my knuckles were bloodied, but I couldn't stop. She was gone. My wife was gone.