CHLOE

Guess It's Happy Ever After All

It took her several days of quiet contemplation, allowing her heart and mind to finally unite. The conclusion, when it arrived, was clear and surprising: she would stay. She felt genuinely welcomed here, like she belonged—not necessarily in the palace, but in the country as a whole.

Upon her discharge, she met with the Royal Family to announce her decision.

"I've decided I would love to stay in Liechtenstein," she told them, feeling a nervous thrill.

The reaction was immediate and overwhelmingly positive.

"Wonderful news!" the Queen exclaimed, reaching for her hand. "Then you must stay at the palace. We absolutely insist."

"And what will you do now?" the King asked, his eyes gleaming with paternal interest. "Tell us. Whatever career you'd like to take, we will support you. You only have to say the word."

Chloe took a deep breath. "I would like to take my masters and be a Psychologist."

Without a moment of hesitation or a single question, the Royal Family agreed, sponsoring her entire education.

Two years passed by quickly. Chloe was now living her dream life, a Psychologist in Liechtenstein, pursuing her doctorate degreehl and happier than she had ever thought possible.

Her next request was granted just as easily: her parents joined her. They were settled in a stately residence near Vaduz, well taken care of, and Chloe made sure to visit them every weekend for quality family time. "After all," she’d often joke, "they miss their only loving daughter."

And, yes, she was dating Prince Magnus.

"I am serious about this," the Prince stated one evening, as they were studying together in the palace library. "I want to get married. Soon."

Chloe placed a bookmark in her anatomy text. "We are not rushing, are we? Absolutely not." She looked at him sternly. "You have to wait a little while longer, until I turn 28. That's two years from now."

"Two years!" he groaned. "That's a lifetime!"

"By then," she continued, ignoring his complaint, "I will have finished graduate school and will be a full time professional. I want to make my parents proud."

He hadn't changed completely; he was still a douchebag in his own unique, possessive way. Since they attended the same university, he simply followed her around.

"Prince Magnus, is that really necessary?" she hissed one day, watching his security detail politely but firmly escort a classmate away from her study table.

"Yes," he replied instantly, a smirk playing on his lips. "It is my duty to protect what's mine. Besides, I am the obsessed stalker I was talking about. I'm well aware."

Despite the royal favoritism, Chloe preferred to stay low key at university. During palace parties, while still able to do what she wanted, the agreed-upon limits made socializing with the aristocrats far less suffocating.

Every weekend, after visiting her parents, she still went to the city to wander off and find inspiration. You see, she was writing a novel.

Hah, she thought, closing her notebook with a satisfied sigh. "I guess the story that I will be telling my future kids and grandkids will be my own."

It might not have been a typical fairytale, with Duke Adlers and elopements, but this messy, beautiful reality—the story of her simple life turned upside down by a Prince— was the closest thing.