The Crown Prince's Love
Chapter 71

"Randy, please," the queen pleaded. "We are trying to make sure everything is done perfectly so we don't regret anything."

Randy sniffled, rubbing his eyes. "You have no idea what I faced in that fantasy world. I thought I might never see any of you again. It would have been hard for me to leave if only Desmond hadn't called me out. Must I disappear for you to let me and Desmond be?" he yelled angrily.

The queen started sobbing silently as she moved closer to the door. "I don't know what to do anymore. I'm sorry, my son, but this is beyond any of us. Coming out must have been hard for you, and I appreciate you for doing that, but we can't change the minds of others. If they want to do what they want, who are we to stop them?"

Randy sighed, sliding down to the ground.

"So I'm a disgrace, right?"

"No, no," the queen moved to his side and sat down beside him. "You are a strong, courageous young man who chose to accept who he is and show the world. I'm proud that you're my son, Randy, always and forever." She hugged him. "Your father loves you very much, but it's hard for him, just as it's hard for you because they're forcing him to cancel you as the prince. You won't just lose your position as the crown prince but also be removed from the royal family!"

A gasp escaped my lips, and I fell to the ground, burying my face in my hands.

It was my fault, too. Everything was my fault.

If only I had told him.

Bursting into tears, loud enough for everyone to hear, I repeated, "It is my fault."

The tears streamed down my face, and no matter how hard I tried to stop them, they wouldn't. "I am sorry, Your Highness," I bowed my head, hitting it hard on the ground repeatedly while ignoring the pounding in my head. If hitting my head on the ground would make amends, I was ready to repeat it.

"I am sorry," I repeated.

"What are you doing?" Randy shouted, rushing to my side and raising my head from the ground. "None of this is your fault. Is being my lover such a bad thing?" he yelled, raising my head to face him. "I need you to stop crying, please." He wiped the tears from my face.

I sniffled, staring into his teary eyes. "I am..." I sniffled again. "None of this would have happened if only I had told you that I was going to die, and we could have continued to live in secrecy. You wouldn't have to be canceled, called a disgrace, all because of me."

"Desmond!" he shouted my name, placing his hands on my shoulders. "I want you to look at me and not take your eyes off me, please," I begged him. "I am going to set everything right as long as I have you close to me. We are going to do it together," he said, pulling me into his arms. "I don't care about anything else except to be with you."

The king cleared his throat, and at the same time, the door leading to the room burst open with the royal beta Kilan and an unfamiliar man walking in.

"Hello there, my godson!" the unfamiliar man said.

Randy raised his head to look at the man, gasping when their eyes met. I stared in awe at the smile on his face, considering he had been crying a moment ago. Curiously, I looked at the man, and our eyes met. "This must be little Desmond, who's not so little anymore."

Did he know me?

But how?

I pondered as I stared at the unknown man.

"Uncle Marcus!" Randy jumped to his feet and rushed to hug the man. "What are you..." he paused, looking behind at his parents. "Why is Uncle Marcus here?" he questioned.

"This is the best decision for you, son, and I hope you see that we're trying to ensure everything is alright for you. And also," the king paused for a moment. "Until we resolve all of this, you shall go to his kingdom." "You... you are sending me away?"

"No," the queen replied. "We are sending you to where you will be safe and accepted until all of this is over."

~Randy~

I couldn't believe my ears when my mother made the announcement. It felt like they were turning me away. "What do you mean by that? Are you trying to tell me that I can't be a part of this family anymore? Is this your way of telling me to leave?" I shouted.

"Sending me to his kingdom is your way of..."

"Protecting you," my father replied.

I chuckled and moved away from Uncle Marcus. "You're so ashamed of me to the extent that you want me gone!"

"Randy," Uncle Marcus tried to say something, but I cut him off.

"You have no idea what I have faced ever since I came out. My parents wouldn't even accept me because they are ashamed of me!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, moved to the nearest wall, and hit it repeatedly until I felt Desmond's hand on my back.

"Stop acting as if the world was taken away from you!" My father shouted at me.

I chuckled. "You act as if the world is not truly taken away from me!" I retorted. "Do you have any idea what it means to be sent away?" I asked him, and when he didn't say anything, I laughed out loud. "That is what I thought," I said. "Do you think I will be happy if I can't have what I want? You think that I would be glad to be away!" I said this aloud for them to hear. "I don't want to abandon my family, my home, and everything that is here."

"You could have thought of that before you risked everything by coming out!" My father responded. "You," he pointed at me.

"You were truly stupid when you revealed everything and that has made you useless and unable to see anything because you broke a huge promise!" he yelled at me and then moved closer to me.

My heart pounded in my chest as he headed towards me, not out of fear but of what he would say to me. I feared what he had in his mind. "Newman, please go easy on him. He is still a child."

"Gina, please," my father shouted at her, and I saw the way his eyes changed. That was the first time my father would ever shout at my mother in years.

I had always known them as the best couple and hoped to emulate their love, but now, they were both fighting all because of me. I was the cause of their fight, and I couldn't believe it.

I burst into tears again and fell to the ground, hitting it repeatedly. "This isn't what I wanted. I just want to be with Desmond and not get all the hate that everyone is giving me. Can't I just be happy with him?" I cried.

My father moved closer to me and grabbed me by the collar of my clothes, pulling me up. "Stop talking like an idiot and listen to me!" he yelled at me.

"I don't want this. I don't want." I suddenly went mute when a slap landed on my face.