Felicity's P.O.V.
That morning, my mind was still spinning with everything Mom had said. The word royal echoed like a drumbeat in my head. What did she mean about Dad living in a world of secrets? Why now? Why drop that kind of revelation just when my life was already spiraling into a messy rom-com with bonus trauma? Why tell me this when my life was already complicated enough?
I was confused. I felt like the ground had been yanked out from beneath me.
I got to campus early, hoping to find peace in the quiet hum of routine. The sun was barely peeking out, and the halls held that sleepy silence before the rush of classes. But peace wasn't on the schedule today.
When I walked into the lecture room and spotted Chris already seated, my heart skipped a beat. I didn't even have time to prepare myself, no time to rehearse how to act cool or aloof. He looked up and gave me a soft, uncertain smile. I hesitated for a second, then took the seat beside him.
It was awkward. Like, painfully awkward.
We both said, "Hi," at the exact same time and gave those weird, polite little smiles like we were strangers pretending we hadn't kissed or cried or burned for each other in silence.
We sat in silence, our eyes flicked between our notes, our hands, and anything that wasn't each other. The air between us buzzed with everything we hadn't said since last week.
And then—because the universe wasn't done messing with me—a new student walked in.
She looked like she just stepped off the cover of Vogue—long dark hair, radiant skin, the kind of poise that made heads turn. Effortless grace. She entered the lecture hall like she owned the place. And to my utter disbelief, she made a beeline straight for us.
"Christopher!" she said, her voice sweet and excited, her accent a little too polished to be from around here.
Chris stood up, stunned. "Mia? What… what are you doing here?"
"I just registered. Oxford finally got me," she said, glowing. "And of course, I missed you."
She threw her arms around him like a scene from a romantic reunion film. He hugged her back. Stiffly, if you ask me—but still.
I blinked. 'Who is she? And why is she all over Chris? Hmmmm? I thought bitterly.'
Chris glanced my way like he just remembered I existed. He gently pulled away from Mia, cleared his throat, and gestured toward me.
"Mia, this is Felicity. Felicity, Mia."
Mia turned to me with a warm smile. "Nice to meet you," she said sweetly.
I forced a smile through clenched teeth. "Sure. Same here."
But inside, I was fuming. Jealousy curled around my ribs like smoke. My brain was already scripting dramatic soap opera betrayals.
Before I could spiral any further, our phonetics lecturer, Mr. Morgan, walked in. He adjusted his glasses and clapped once to get our attention.
"Alright class, excellent work on last week's performance drills. You all did well," he said, nodding.
Everyone sat up straighter
"But four students stood out. Felicity and Penelope. Christopher and Joshua. Your delivery was exceptional. I'd like both pairs to come up and recite your poem lines from last week."
Wait. What?
Chris and I exchanged a look—A spark flickered of surprise, nerves, and something deeper.
We rose from our seats and made our way to the front of the class. Our shoulders brushed briefly and for a moment, I felt that electricity again.
"Ladies first," Chris said gently.
Penelope and I stepped forward. I took a deep breath.
"Penelope and I wrote a poem called The Maybe Between Us."
—
"The Maybe Between Us" by Felicity & Penelope.
Love is not gentle when it lives in me—
It's wild, it's want, it's lightning in the rain,
A touch that trembles, words that bruise and heal.
I bloom in chaos, soft and fierce and free.
If love must burn, then let it burn through me
I'll rise in ash, and love eternally.
He lingers in the corners of my mind,
A thought too loud to leave, too soft to chase.
He never says too much. But when he does,
I feel a truth I may not want to know.
I tell myself it's kindness, nothing more—
A moment, not a meaning. Just a breath.
And yet I catch my heart outside the door,
Following his footsteps—half to life, half death.
I do not know if this is love I feel...
But if it isn't—why does it feel so real?
I've loved before... and look what that love cost.
So why does he feel different—yet the same?
And why can't I stop whispering his name?
Is it just friendship? Or something much worse?
A maybe, a moment… or is it a curse?
I see you in the corner of my thoughts,
like a whisper I never meant to keep.
Your smile lingers longer than it should,
and your name settles softly in my sleep.
But I've stitched armor over old wounds,
built walls from the ache of before.
My heart doesn't leap—it flinches now,
when you knock so gently at the door.
You make me want to risk the fall,
but I still remember the crash.
I don't know if it's love—
or a shadow of something I can't quite grasp.
So I stay here, in the maybe,
half a breath away from you.
I'm not sure if I love you.
But I'm terrified… that I do.
—
When we finished, the class was silent for a heartbeat, then erupted into applause. Mr. Morgan smiled.
"Wow. Just… wow," Mr. Morgan breathed. "That's what I call emotional resonance. Now let's hear from the boys."
Joshua and Chris stepped forward.
"Our poem is titled She is My Forever."
His voice was rich and full of feeling as he began.
—
"She is My Forever" by Christopher & Joshua.
Love lives in silence when it lives in me—
A steady heat that waits behind the wall,
It's eyes that linger where they should not be,
A soul that rises every time I fall.
I crave not ease—I crave what fate forbids,
A stolen smile, a touch the world would bid me to forget.
But still, I stand, I stay—
Her shadow is the light that shapes my day.
If love must ache, then let it ache for her—
My vow, my fire, my truth I can't deter.
Destiny had other plans.
I love her not in ways the world permits—
Not in the open, not in golden light.
My love is forged in silence where it sits,
A shadow sworn to guard her every night.
For nothing else can hold my gaze but she—
Her laugh, a flame that sets my soul alight.
How every touch I never feel is sin,
And every glance denied is hard to bear.
But if she asked, I'd throw the crown away.
She walks like a verse I never wrote,
yet somehow always knew by heart.
Every glance she gives me
pulls the earth and stars apart.
She doesn't see the way she glows—
how her silence speaks in flame.
She doesn't know that I would burn
just to whisper her name.
They ask me why I love her,
as if love is something you explain.
But how do you define the ocean
to someone who's never touched rain?
She is not perfect—thank goodness for that.
She is real. She is raw. She is light.
And even when she pushes me away,
I would choose her every night.
Even if she never says she loves me,
even if she never understands—
my heart is hers to ruin
and to hold within her hands.
Oh my Beloved, when I met you
It changed my whole world, I can't live without you.
When I look at you, my heart melts like a thousand pieces.
This secret I hold is killing me.
You're mine…. and I will make you mine.
Oh my Beloved
My heart still beats for only you.
—
The class fell into a stunned silence before bursting into applause. Even Mia clapped, though her eyes lingered on Chris like she was trying to solve a puzzle.
The professor nodded. "Excellent. That's what I call emotional range."
I glanced at Chris. And for a moment, we weren't just classmates with a complicated past. We were something more.
As our voices filled the room, something shifted. The awkwardness between Chris and I thinned, replaced by something electric. Real chemistry. Even Mia noticed. I caught her watching us with a calculating expression.
When the boys finished, the class applauded again. Mr. Morgan grinned.
"Now that is how you speak from the heart. Class dismissed. Oh, and please welcome our new student, Mia Harrison. See you all next week."
**********
Christopher's P.O.V.
As we sat back down, I couldn't stop stealing glances at Felicity. My thoughts were spiraling again.
'How should I leave without you? How do I choose duty over love? What am I supposed to do at this point? I wish I wasn't a prince. I wish I was just a guy. A regular guy who could fall in love without consequences. It would all be so much easier.
I made a stupid bet. One month to make her fall for me. Then I'd break her heart.
But now... now I can't even breathe without her. I can't. Not anymore. Because now, I'm the one who's losing.'
I was jerked out of my thoughts by the sound of her voice.
"Helloooo? Where is your head at?" Fel asked.
"I'm so sorry, what were you saying?" I asked, blinking.
"I said I want to talk to you."
"Rain check, please. I'm in a hurry. I'll talk to you later, okay? Take care of yourself," I said, kissing her hand before walking away.
That evening, I returned home. It had been months since I stepped foot inside the royal estate. The marble floors gleamed. The chandeliers sparkled. And yet everything felt... colder.
And I knew why I was really here. I hesitated to go inside. To face it. To face them.
The moment I arrived, the servants greeted me. My siblings hugged me. My mother smiled. But my father—he just stared, then turned to his study.
He summoned me in.
"Good evening, Father," I said stiffly.
He nodded without looking up.
"She's already arrived. She and her parents will be here shortly. Go upstairs, change, and come greet them properly."
"Who?" I asked, though I already knew.
"Mia."
I exhaled slowly. "I met her already at Oxford." We talked and she registered here. But I'm not marrying her."
His eyes snapped up. Fire and ice in one glare.
"What did you just say?"
"I said I'm not marrying her. My heart belongs to someone else."
The silence that followed was thunderous.
Then—
SLAP.
The sound cracked across the room. My face stung.
"You will marry Mia. This isn't about your heart. This is about your duty to this family. Responsibility to the crown." he snapped.
I swallowed the burn in my throat.
"I never asked for any of this." I whispered.
"You were born into it," he growled. "You don't get to choose. I already forgave your childish rebellions. This time, you will do your duty as a crown prince."
I said nothing more. I turned and left the study.
But as I crossed the hall, past the portraits of kings and queens who gave up love for thrones and power, I knew something for certain.
I wasn't going to be like them.
Because no matter what anyone says...
My heart is already hers.