Shall we, my dear?

"I'm so sorry, baby," Maria slurred in her Brazillian accent while lying facedown on the neatly spread queen-sized bed. "I've doubted you twice today without listening to you first."

"It's cool, mom," Adele flatly responded as she unbuckled her mother's heels. She was still irritated that she had to pull her mother away before she could see what else she would do while drunk.

"No," her mother sharply refuted with a frown. "I should've talked to you first before getting angry." She continued, "If Governor Harold hadn't explained everything, only God knows what I would've said or done to you."

Since the governor was seated beside Adele, he could see all that she and Prince Elliot were doing, none of which was what they were being accused of. However, he couldn't help but believe that Adele intentionally misled everyone into thinking she was being intimate with the prince at the dining table.

'What a problematic woman,' the old governor amusingly thought. Adele's mischievous behavior only made him want her even more, and he was prepared to do whatever was necessary to ensure she would become his wife.

Fortunately for him, he's already spoken to her mother.

"Prince Elliot," Governor Harold called as he approached the young prince leaning casually against the wall across from Maria's room with his eyes glued to his phone.

Elliot looked up from his phone, and his lips immediately formed a frown when he saw who had called him. He was never fond of his uncle's friends.

"Harold," Elliot flatly responded before returning his attention to his phone.

The old governor pursed his lips as he reprimanded the twenty-five-year-old prince, "You may be a prince, Elliot, but I am still your elder. Did your late mother teach you nothing about respect?" His nostrils flared as he demanded, "You will address me as Governor Harold."

Elliot only hummed in response, his attention remaining solely on his phone. He was not interested in talking to this governor; he would've already walked away if he wasn't still waiting on Adele.

His uncle's friends never usually bothered with him. After the incident six years ago that landed him in rehab, his aunt and uncle, the king and queen, had never even looked at him.

Only hushed words would linger behind him as he passed them. Their eyes would never meet his eyes, much less his face, but for what reason? Elliot never spoke to them since the death of his parents; he didn't care to know why they avoided him.

"Your aunt and uncle won't be pleased with you if they find that you haven't addressed me properly," the old governor dared to threaten.

Elliot rolled his eyes, "Are you that desperate for a hello?" His silver eyes landed on the red-faced man, "Don't bother me without reason."

"How dar-" Governor Harold was about to start but was interrupted by Adele opening the door they were standing in front of.

Adele's brows shot up as she looked between both men whose eyes were already trained on her. "What are the both of you doing out here?"

"I was waiting for you," Elliot responded while tucking his phone in his pocket. He offered her his arm, "Shall we go?"

Governor Harold stepped between them. "Actually, Adele," he started. "I have been speaking to your mother since evening, and she agrees it would be a good idea if we got to know each other more."

'Of course, she agrees,' Adele thought as she subtly rolled her eyes.

The old governor smiled immaculately, showing two rows of purely white dentures. "She told me of your fondness for alcohol, so I went ahead and booked the best bar in this hotel."

Adele pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes as she thought, 'A full bar all for me? And I can drink as much as I want with my mother's blessings?'

It was like a dream come true for Adele, but why wasn't she more excited? Rather, why wasn't she excited at all?

An eighty-year-old governor is the last person she'd want to spend her evening with, but the opportunity to drink as much alcohol as she'd like without her mother breathing fire down her neck would definitely be enough to ignore her distaste for Governor Harold but...

Adele hooped her arm with Elliot's. "My sincerest apologies, Governor Harold, but I've already made plans with Prince Elliot, and it would be quite rude of me to back out last minute."

The smile immediately fell from Governor Harold's face, and an irritated expression took his features. "Is that so?" he grimly muttered.

Adele only nodded with a forced smile, wondering when would be the best time to walk off; fortunately, Elliot said, "If the governor has nothing else to say, we'll be taking our leave."

Adele and Elliot had already turned to leave when Governor Harold said, "Just a moment, Prince Elliot."

The old governor wasn't the type to take no for an answer, nor was he the type to not get what he wants, which is currently Adele.

The youngest prince clenched his jaw in irritation before whispering to Adele, "I'll be right back."

Adele only hummed in response as she watched the two men disappear around the corner. She sighed as she muttered, "I wonder what that's about."

Shortly after, Governor Harold returned from around the corner with a bright and pleased smile on his face. He offered her his arm, "Shall we, my dear?"

Adele narrowed her eyes as she looked at Governor Harold's arm before meeting his eyes. "Where's Elliot?"

"There's an old friend he needed to meet," the governor responded as he took Adele's hand and put it on his arm.