In Bed With Her Shithead Boss (By Ellie Wynters) novel Chapter 351

She couldn't argue with that. Since her grandfather had ensured she received the finest education befitting a wife of any royal. She spoke five languages fluently, understood the intricacies of international relations, and could navigate the most complex social situations with grace. She was, as her etiquette instructor had once noted, "perfectly designed for royal life." She hoped she wouldn't be expected to become a Stepford wife.

The one thing no one could do for her was make her love Prince Niko. She was prepared for a loveless marriage. Hated the thought but prepared.

"When will I meet him?" she asked, returning to practical matters.

"Prince Niko is in America with his brother Prince Alexei. So, I would say on his return."

One Week Before Wedding

The following weeks passed in a blur of preparations. Amelia's measurements were taken for her wedding gown, royal protocol instructors arrived from Wystovia to refine her courtly manners, and countless discussions about the ceremony filled her days. Yet beneath the flurry of activity, a hollow feeling grew in her chest. The instructors made her feel ill-prepared. What was she doing?

At night, when the house fell quiet, Amelia would stand at her bedroom window overlooking the vast grounds of her grandfather's estate. The same gardens where she had played as a child now seemed like the borders of a gilded cage. Beyond them lay a world she had barely experienced, adventures untaken, choices unmade. She hadn't lived life in any real sense. She had been kept a virgin to make sure she went to Niko pure. Anyone would think she was living in the wrong century.

"Would it be so terrible," she whispered to herself one evening, tracing raindrops on the windowpane, "to simply disappear?"

She turned away from the window and caught sight of the royal crest of Wystovia adorning one of the many preparation documents on her desk which included a photo of her future husband. Prince Niko's face stared back at her from a formal photograph handsome in a severe way, his dark eyes revealing nothing of the man behind them.

"I hope you're as trapped as I am," she whispered to his image. "At least then we'd have something in common."

She also hoped he was kind. She had never experienced cruelty from any man before and she didn't think she could live the rest of her life with a bastard.