The forbidden prince

Prologue The forbidden prince Hailey My sister’s wedding was impeccable. She looks so beautiful and Jonathan... Even more beautiful. He’s always been very handsome and charming, but just as handsome and charming is the man I’m looking at during the party. He raises a glass of champagne when our eyes meet and my skin crawls. I’ve heard that he’s from the same group that Jonathan attends: those interesting stories about domination and submission that I’m so curious about. I turn my back on him to watch my sister dance with her fiancé. I feel so happy for her. At one point I hear a deep, beautiful voice behind me. “This is a very rare ring and I want to give it to you.” The man who offered me champagne a few minutes earlier hands me a beautiful ring between his thumb and forefinger. I frown, confused but smiling. “Is it now customary to give rings to unknown women at parties?” I ask. “It’s not customary. I just offer them to remember me by.” He holds out his hand, obviously noticing my interest in him. “Nice to meet you, I’m Andrew Clermont, but I’d ask you to keep this information between us” Clermont...Clermont... Is he from Monaco?! “You’re...you’re....” I’m speechless. He smiles. “A prince from Monaco, yes.” I take a deep, nervous breath. “So this ring lives on your finger to give to interesting girls at parties?” I try to be witty, playing with him. He laughs. “No, I must confess, I’ve never done that. It was a custom my father told me about. He told me, “It’s not usual, I’m just offering you to remember me” He holds out his hand, obviously noticing my interest in him. “Nice to meet you, I’m Andrew Clermont, but I’d ask you to keep this information between us” Clermont...Clermont... Is he from Monaco?! “You’re...you’re....” I’m speechless. He smiles. “A prince from Monaco, yes.” I take a deep, nervous breath. “So this ring lives on your finger to give to interesting girls at parties?” I try to be witty, teasing him. He laughs. “No, I must confess, I’ve never done that. It was a custom my father told me about. He told me, if you see a beautiful, attractive girl, don’t waste your time, Andrew.” He imitates his father. ”Give her a ring from your hand and make her keep it.” I laugh out loud. “He didn’t really say that, did he?” “He did, he did, not in those words” We laugh out loud. “So the ring symbolizes that I’m attractive?” He squeezes his eyes shut, looking at me with curiosity and fascination. “More than that, I think there’s something in your gaze, a certain curiosity about life... am I wrong?” I cross my arms, a little awkwardly. “No, you didn’t. Who told you?” “No one, Miss White.” We laughed again, after all he wouldn’t have known my surname if Jonathan hadn’t told him. How can you be so funny and so charming at the same time? A few minutes later Never would the balcony of that place encounter a couple as flamboyant as the two of us. We exchanged endless kisses, our bodies on fire with desire, even though we knew there was nothing we could do about it. The fact that Andrew is a prince makes me even more excited. A prince looked at me, noticed me, and moved closer. What are the chances of that happening to a girl? One in a billion? Unfortunately, we can’t stay there or leave. “I have something boring to tell you, Miss White,” he begins. “Yes?” I grab a lipstick from my bag to freshen up my lips after so many kisses. “I’ve got paparazzi on my tail the whole time. We can’t leave the party” I open my mouth and look at him seriously after applying the lipstick. “That must be boring, but don’t worry, it’s my sister’s wedding, I can’t go out like this” “I know, but I’m warning you because I’d like to meet her another day”. He stares at me, smiling, as he fixes his overcoat. In an attempt to process the fact that a prince wishes to meet me again, I find myself blinking incessantly. “Right, yes, that’s fine...” He smiles prettily, noticing my nervousness. “And we need to be discreet...” He points out, becoming a little more serious. “Of course I can be discreet. I’m discretion itself.” I smile. “Perfect, let’s go back to the party and honor your sister and my friend. After all, it’s not every day that people get married” We return to the party and continue our conversation about professions. He’s also a doctor and I’m finishing my degree and choosing a specialization. I can see my mother’s eyes from afar, wanting to know where I’ve been and what I’m doing. “Can you give me a minute to talk to my mother, Your Highness?” He looks up at me, as he’s getting ready to hold another glass of champagne, and smiles amusedly. “You’re not going to start doing that, are you, Hailey?” “Don’t we like what’s fun?” He rolls his eyes, laughing and nods positively that he’ll wait for me. I hurry past the people until I catch up with my mother. “Mom, it’s a prince” “What?” She widens her eyes. “You and your sister like millionaires, don’t you?” “He wants to see me another day, Mom.” “And you take care, miss, don’t disappear at a party again or they’ll think bad things about you.” I don’t care what people think. “All right, Mom, can I talk to him again?” “Go on, go on.” So I approach him again, noting that many women want to approach him too and he can’t agree that he’s in the company. I understand, but I feel very sad. We only meet again at the end of the party to leave. Andrew said goodbye to everyone and held my hand, looking at the ring. “Don’t miss it...” He said, looking me in the eye. “I won’t.”