love unseen
727 Words
Her heart raced. “James, you can’t say things like that.”
“I can. And I will.”
---
But the palace was not blind.
One morning, soldiers arrived at the bakery—not to arrest Juliet, but to “invite” her to the castle. Fear coiled in her stomach as she walked through the vast halls, guided by a silent servant. In the grand audience room, Queen Eleanor sat waiting, her eyes sharp and calculating.
“You are Juliet,” the queen said, her voice like steel wrapped in velvet.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“My son speaks of you often. Too often.”
Juliet swallowed. “I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped—”
The queen raised a hand. “This is not about apology. It’s about understanding. You are a commoner. He is a prince. When the time comes, he will have to marry for the good of the kingdom. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“And when that time comes, I expect you to step aside.”
The words cut deep, but Juliet nodded. She left the palace with her heart in pieces.
---
For days, she avoided James, throwing herself into the bakery. But he came to her one evening, looking frustrated and hurt.
“Why are you shutting me out?”
“Because your mother is right,” Juliet whispered. “We don’t belong together.”
“I decide where I belong,” he said fiercely. “And it’s with you.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “You’ll regret it one day. You’ll look at what you’ve given up and wonder if I was worth it.”
He stepped closer, cupping her face in his hands. “Juliet, I would rather live a simple life with you than a royal life without you. I’ve seen the throne. I’ve seen the empty halls. None of it matters if I can’t share it with someone who sees me—not the crown, not the title, just me.”
And then he kissed her.
It was a kiss that carried defiance, longing, and the weight of impossible choices.
---
Weeks passed. Rumors spread—about the prince’s refusal to meet with his “intended bride,” about his frequent trips to Lavenworth. The tension reached a breaking point when James made an unthinkable decision.
At the next royal council meeting, he announced he would abdicate his claim to the throne.
Gasps filled the room. His father, the king, demanded an explanation.
James met his gaze steadily. “I cannot rule a kingdom while being forced to live a life that is not my own. I love Juliet, and I will not give her up.”
The court erupted in outrage. But the king, after a long, tense silence, simply said, “If you give up the crown, you give it up forever.”
“I know,” James said.
And he meant it.
---
The announcement shocked the kingdom. Some called him a fool, others a romantic. But James didn’t care.
He returned to Lavenworth that same night, finding Juliet in the bakery, sleeves dusted with flour.
“It’s done,” he said simply.
“What’s done?” she asked, confused.
“I’m no longer the prince. I’m just James now. James, the man who’s hopelessly in love with you.”
Juliet stared at him, speechless. “You gave up the throne… for me?”
“For us,” he corrected gently. “For a life where I can wake up beside you without wondering when it will be taken away.”
Her eyes brimmed with tears, but this time they were happy ones. She threw her arms around him, holding him as if letting go might undo everything.
---
The years that followed were not without challenges. James learned the rhythm of the bakery, burning more loaves than he cared to admit before mastering the oven. They traveled to the ocean, just as Juliet had dreamed, and sometimes, when the wind was right, they’d dance in the market square the way they had that night at the festival.
They had no crown, no palace—but they had each other. And that, as they both learned, was the only kind of love that truly mattered.
Love unseen by the world, but felt deeply by the heart.
- Writer
