His Royal Love For Her

Ophelia and her mom were in the hospital for the seventh time today in the past two months due to her father's critical condition. It has been a never ending cycle for the past five years. Her father was diagnosed with Melanoma five years ago when he just collapsed at work. He had been working at the four seasons hotel as a gardener for 10 years of his life. The pay was excellent and the treatment was outstanding. His boss was just one of a kind. Unfortunately his illness wasn't detected in time, so he had to quit his job because the diagnosis showed that he had skin cancer. He had to reduce working in the sun so he served his resignation letter with immediate effect because his job wouldn't benefit his health anymore, it would just worsen it, like it already is. It wasn't as though he had a choice. Him and his daughter were the only ones that brought money home. Now they had to depend on her because his father couldn't work anymore. His dad's savings went straight to his constant consultations and the treatment he received and still does for the cancer. After five years of paying hospital bills his savings depleted and they depended on Ophelia's salary alone. With concern, her eyes darted towards the tube on her dad's arm. "Papà how are you feeling?" Ophelia asked with sadness in her voice. His dad palmed her daughters cheek lovingly. "I'm feeling okay tesoro,  the doctors said I'm going to be okay despite the relapse." He hated seeing her daughter and his wife so sad. He turned to his wife and held her hand then kissed the back of it. "il mio amore non sembra cosi triste." He said to his wife in a tired hushed tone. His wife shared a tear because she couldn't help how she felt. Even though he didn't want her to feel sad she couldn't cast that feeling aside. He was still the love her life. She put up a brace face for him and small strained smile. "I'll be strong for you il mio amore." She replied. That afternoon they stayed with their knight in shining armor, despite him being in a hospital bed, until visiting hours were over. Ophelia's mom wished to stay longer but that wasn't possible. The walk home felt draining because their hearts and souls were with Mr. Brambilla even though their soulless bodies were with them. "Mamma, are you okay?" Ophelia asked stopping her mom's wheelchair as soon as she heard sniffling sounds from her. She came around and kneeled in front of her. "I'm okay cuore mio, I'm just saddened by your fathers sudden relapse again. I thought that after five years of trying to fight this he'd get better but-" She choked on her words then exhaled a stifled sob feeling like her throat was closing up. "Mamma, I'm sorry but papà will get better. Please don't be so disheartened. Everything will be okay." She assured her mom wiping off her tears. "I'm going to buy you your favorite ice cream." She smiled at her mom. "cuore mio, you know that we don't have the luxury to be surrendering to our sweet tooth's at a time like this." Her mom said feeling a little guilty. She has always wanted them to save every cent for the important stuff. "Mamma, please let me do this for you just this once. I haven't seen a smile on your face for weeks now. I worry too. I don't like seeing you like this." Ophelia said to her. "You're an angel you know that. I'll you let you buy me that ice cream just this once." Then Alessia flashed a genuine smile for her daughter. She was delighted about this small gesture that Ophelia wanted to do for her. Ophelia's heart melted at once, when she saw her mother's smile. She steadily and carefully pushed the wheelchair, crossing the road heading to the ice cream shop and bought her a vanilla ice cream cone with caramel syrup and chocolate sprinkles just the way she likes it. She bought herself an Oreo ice cream. They sat by the window looking at the traffic and people parading the streets of Italy, while conversing here and there. It made Ophelia feel better to see her mom in a better mood. A few hours later they arrived home. Aunt Giada had just finished making supper for the family. They let her and the twins know how Mr. Brambilla was doing. They were relieved to know that he was in a stable position. They ate their supper and afterwards, Ophelia went to wash the dishes with her twin sister and brother. She momentarily went to the comfort of her bedroom after finishing the dishes. She crawled on her bed with her clothes and shoes still on. She was exhausted. exhaustion then came from every misgiving in her life. She felt oppressed in her chest. She yearned for freedom and a little feeling of contentment in her life. She needed her family to have a much decent life without struggling so much but where can she ever get that? This was her life, she had to make the most of it and cherish what she had at this moment in time. She couldn't sleep though. So she switched off her side lamp and faced the fake stars that glimmered her whole room, making her feel close to the sky. This always comforted her and surprisingly it helped her sleep most sleepless nights. So she closed her eyes and few minutes later she went into her slumber. Sleep was her only escape because when she wasn't sleeping she would constantly think about money. Ophelia did make more than her father, the pay was still good and the benefits were good too but they still needed a second salary to survive. She couldn't afford to take care of her parents critical conditions, to finish paying for their house, her fathers hospital bill, her twin brother and sisters school fees and her aunts gambling debt. Ophelia would reach her thirties soon. She had hoped that by now she'd have a place of her. Her privacy but she was still trying to help her family get by. She didn't mind helping out her family but when her aunt came with this burden home, their world fell apart. Her aunt didn't have anywhere to go though, so she came to seek refugee under their household, making their ends difficult to meet. Family is family, you can't turn your back on them, plus she didn't have any children and her husband died 6 years ago in terrible car accident. Her gambling debt came with a lot of problems for the family though. It came with terrifying men coming to their doorstep demanding that her she pays them. They would pound and bang their door relentlessly, scaring everyone, especially the twins. Ophelia didn't want her little brother and sister to go through those terrifying moments ever again so she decided that her aunt would go to everyone she owed and asked them for a reasonable due date to pay them, as well as a reasonable payment plan from them. So that's how they manage to pay off her debts. But now it seemed like Ophelia would have to look for a part time job in meantime while she's submitting her qualifications in other broad schools. Her kindergarten teaching salary wouldn't hold them for long. She needed to make a plan fast. The next day she got ready and walked Aurora and Aureliano to the bus stop. "I need you two not to miss the bus today, okay?" She asked them sweetly. The two 9 year old's have been staying after school, watching after school activities missing the bus for the past two days. Ophelia had to go all the way to their school and fetch them because the next bus comes very late. So they had to use a cab which costs more than the bus. "We promise not to miss the bus." Aureliano said holding his sisters hand. "Thank you my meatballs. I love you, okay? Enjoy your day at school." She said to them giving them hugs and kisses. They just chuckled and ran to the line since the bus was coming. Ophelia walked to the kindergarten school were she teaches. She went straight to the stuff room when she arrived since there was a brief meeting with the principal. "Buongiorno a tutti." He greeted them. "Good morning Mr. Lombardo." Majority of the staff greeted him back. "Thank you all  for coming to this meeting. This isn't a very productive meeting like all the previous ones. I have bad news for you." Once he said that everyone started whispering, wondering what bad news did he have for everyone. You all know that our school haven't been getting a lot of children these past few years and that meant that we lose money in the process because there are a lot of teachers and less students. So management has decided that we should reduce anything that gets us off budget. So we decided to reduce staff, the management has already decided who to retrench. So during the process of the day you will be called upon and you'll find out whether you still work here or not." Then everyone started chanting because they couldn't believe their ears. This stressed out Ophelia a lot because she couldn't afford to loose her job, not now anyway but she consoled herself that maybe she wouldn't get fired because she has worked here almost all her life. This was her dream job. She went to study teaching immediately after graduating high school and managed to score her first job interview, then a few weeks later she was called to be told that she was hired. She had never been happier in her life and now she was about to loose her job. The meeting was adjourned and Ophelia went to prepare for her class. She didn't mull over what has happened yet. Her little cute learners came in class and as usual they ran towards Ophelia, giving her warm hugs and cute smiles, as she returned the gesture. Her heart always melted when she was with them. She has always loved children. "How was everyone's weekend?" She asked them. "Monte raised his hand very high before everyone else. "Yes Monte?" "I had the best weekend ever. My dad took me fishing and we got plenty of fishes." He replied with a huge grin on his face. He looked pleasantly cheerful. "Wow that's- Ophelia was cut off "I went to visit my grandma and grandpa in Scotland. We flew in a plane with my mommy and daddy." Evelina shouted out without being called upon. "That's really awesome Evelina. What did I say about our socializing skills though? Who can tell me the first one?" She asked them. "Yes Violetta." She called on her after she raised her hand. "Be kind to others." She answered wholeheartedly. "Good girl. What's the next one?" She asked them. A cute little Lorenzo raised his hand next. "Can you give us another one Lorenzo?" "Taking turns to use tools when they're limited." He answered just as enthusiastic. "You are so right Lorenzo. Can we have the one that I wanted you guys to learn and practice everyday?" She said to them and they seemed to have forgotten. "Come on boys and girls, you know this one. I know you don't forget that easily." She said to them trying to trigger their memories. Then Marcello quickly raised his hand wiggling his fingers in the air. "Marcello remembers, please tell the class what it is Marcello." She said to him. "Waiting to be called upon by our teachers." He said with passion in his voice. He seemed to be glad to have remembered. "Yes Marcello that's the one. We don't just speak without being called on. That's the most important one in class. It shoes respect and kindness. I need you to keep practicing this one, okay Evelina?" She said to her in a way that she understood and she nodded. "Well this week we're going to learn about health and safety but today we're going to talk about safety." She specified. "Let's start with the small basic stuff. "Let's have three volunteers. Who would like to come and demonstrate with me?" A few of her students raised their hands with excitement on their faces. "Let's take Violetta, Leonardo and Sofia." They walked towards their teacher. "I need you three to hold hands." She said and they did just that. "Now when you're walking together with your friends, your parents or anyone else near roads, traffic lights or carparks I need you to remember the first thing you need to do. The first thing you need to do is to stop, look and listen when you're near the road or wherever there's a car nearby, you should hold hands at all times." Now repeat after me. Stop, look and listen." She said demonstrating for them and they repeated after her  and showed her what she demonstrated.  "Good. Let's give them a round of applause everyone." She said and they clapped their hands together for Violetta, Leonardo and Sofia. The three eventually rejoined the rest of the class and Ophelia told the whole class to hold hands and demonstrate what she showed them. It took them a while to get it and say those three words but, eventually they got the hang of it. Her little cute preschoolers really enjoyed this lesson. Ophelia gave them a few lessons of how to obey traffic lights and even made them draw and color the pictures. Everyone drew their own picture and colored it. Fifteen minutes before her class ended she was called to the principals office by the school secretary. Ophelia began worrying because she remembered the meeting held in the morning, in the staff room but she kept her positive energy and walked to the principals office in short strides. It's like she wanted to delay getting there but eventually she reached her destination. She softly knocked on the door. "Come in." She heard the principal say and she slowly walked in. "Principal Lombardo you called me..." She softly said. "Yes, please take a seat Ms. Brambilla." He said and she took a seat obediently. "Thanks you." She said. "Well don't be so nervous, you're not getting fired today." The principal said with a smile and Ophelia thought she was dreaming when she heard that, she was so glad that she stayed positive. "In fact you're getting a bonus check for your hard work. You are one of few dedicated teachers in my school."He added. "I can't believe this. Thank you so much Mr Lombardo. You have no idea how much this means to me and my family." She said looking ecstatic. This was the best news ever. "You're welcome. One more thing. We have three more schools in three other regions and the the one abroad have been performing very poorly. The board thinks that we should promote you to teach abroad at that schools. It needs a teacher like you. Ophelia smiled in disbelief. Me? They're promoting me? Abroad?" She asked, her hands covering her mouth. "Yes, we believe in you. You have patience and love for these kids. You have a gift when it comes to helping these children reach their full potential. We think you're our only hope for that tschool abroad. If the school doesn't improve, by the end of next year we'll have to shut it's doors." He explained sounding desperate. "Wow that doesn't sound very good. It'll be a shame to see them close down but teaching abroad sounds exciting, then again , I'll be miles away from my family. Where is the school based?" She asked curiously. "Airomania." He replied. "Wait that's like 14 hours from home. Mr Lombardo- "I know, but we're not expecting you to rush this decision. You still get to think about it, but, maybe this will change your mind." He handed her an A4 paper that showed her benefits and her new salary. Ophelia couldn't believe her eyes. She would be getting double of everything. Both the benefits and the salary. "Since Airomania is developed and prestigious the school is doing very well financially but academically it's very poor. Our teachers there are only slacking and in it for the money." He explained. Ophelia looked up at the principal without uttering a word. Working in Airomania would benefit her a lot and she'll be getting double her salary but what she worried about was her family. How will she take care of them physically when she's miles and miles away from them? Yes, the money was good but was it worth being away from them? "Mull it over then get back to me before the end of the week. I really hope your answer will be a yes." He smiled warmly. "Okay. Thank you very much Principal Lombardo." She replied. "Ohh before I forget. Here's your incentive." He handed her a medium envelope. She thanked him again and then left his office momentarily. She couldn't help smiling. Despite worrying about being miles and miles away from her family, teaching abroad would be a dream come true. It has always been her dream to work abroad and now the chance was presented to her on a silver platter. This opportunity couldn't have come at the worst time. She placed her envelope inside her side bag when she arrived in her class. Her classes continued until the school was out. She walked home to share her delightful news with her family. When she arrived she showed them her bonus check. She has never seen her mom and aunt so happy. She loved seeing them so happy and excited for once. "I'm going out to buy special ingredients to cook a decent yet fancy dish for you guys today and we're going to take some for Papà later when we go to visit him." Ophelia said to them. They didn't argue with that. She took her side bag walking to the bank while she listened to her favourite songs through her earphones, connected to her phone. She arrived at bank and managed to change her check. She withdrew a small amount of cash heading to the grocery store. She wasn't aware that she was being followed by two of her aunts debt collectors. She took off her earphones and cellphone, placing them in her side bag because she was approaching a high mugging zone. You needed to be careful when you were walking these part of the streets. She crossed the road and suddenly she was surrounded by these two tatted up huge men that always made her heart pound agaisnt her chest. A tall figure shoved himself in front of Ophelia. His back facing her. She wondered who was this man? Was he insane to just stand in front of these beasts that scared her to death? "I think you should stand back. The lady is with me." The tall figured man added. "You know what we think, boy? We think we should snap your little neck." One of them said and they both chuckled. Suddenly the two men were being surrounded by six bodyguard's who were twice their size. "We don't think so. If you touch him, you're dead men. Leave before we change our minds about letting you live for threatening our Prince." One of them said. Ophelia's mind was spinning. She had no idea what was happening right now and her conscience heightened when she heard the word Prince. Was this guy a Prince? The man that just saved her life was a Prince? This had to be some practical joke... The debt collectors surrendered. "You must have friends in high places Princess. We will meet again and when we do, you better have what's ours." They threatened her then left, walking away. Ophelia exhaled a sigh of relief once they were gone. The tall figured man turned to her and a smile formed on his face when she caught sight of her again. He had been shamelessly gawking at her earlier on when she was walking to and from the bank. The Prince was here for entertainment purposes since he renounced his place in Airomania. He thought coming to Italy would give him a chance to forget about his late wife. His mischievous acts had lasted for a short period of time until he saw Ophelia walking down the road. It felt like he couldn't breath, seeing her came as a shock but a good shock so he followed her discreetly in his limo, that's how he noticed those men following her. Now he was right in front of her. He couldn't believe that Amelia's lookalike was facing him. He wanted to touch her and feel her warmth on the palm of his hand and so he did. He slowly lifted his hand to touch her cheek and his heart felt warm when he cupped her cheek. It was like being caught in the eye of the storm. Ophelia thought he was checking if she was alright but he was reliving his dream. The woman he loved all his life was standing in front of him. He knew right then that he could never let her go. "Amelia..." He whispered loud enough for her to hear and she just froze.