Mateo yawned, shuffling out of his bedroom while he messaged the young ranch hand he employed to look after his animals while he was gone. He tucked his phone into his back pocket and peeked his head into the guest bedroom on his way to the kitchen on the off chance Maia managed to drag herself to bed and wasn't surprised to find the room empty.

He padded into the kitchen to start the coffee maker before he moved on to the office where he found Maia rubbing her temples and his heart clenched at the tears streaming down her cheeks. "Maia, what's wrong?"

"I...I hit a wall," she cried into her hands. "I don't...I don't know where this story is going."

"Hey," Mateo cooed, crossing the room and crouching down beside her. "It's alright."

"No it's not," she said, angrily wiping her tears away. "I wrote one chapter and it doesn't even make sense."

"I think you need to get some sleep," he said, rubbing her back. "Do you want me to take you home? Maybe staying here wasn't a good idea."

"No, it's not that. I can write anywhere, but I..." her lip trembled as she looked over at him. "I can't get the words out," she said, bursting into tears again.

Mateo's heart sank at the anguish in her voice. The words will come to you," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "You had a hard day yesterday and you're exhausted, Maia," he said, massaging the back of her neck. "Let me take you to bed."

"No," she sobbed, clenching his shirt between her fingers. "I'm going to f-fall behind again."

"You can't write while you're upset like this either," he said, hooking his arm under her legs and lifting her up from the chair. "And I'm taking you to bed."

"That's not going to help me," she said, pressing her face against his neck as her tears dampened his skin. "I lost my flow. It's gone."

"You're just tired," he said, carrying her down the hall to the guest room. "It's not gone," he said, lying her down on the bed.

"It is," she said, covering her face with her hands. "This book is going to be terrible just like my last one."

"You put a lot of pressure on yourself," Mateo said, pulling the blankets back and tucking her in. "Your last book was good and this one will be too."

She sniffed, hugging the blankets to her chest. "How would you know?"

"Because I read your last one and I loved it," he said, sliding his hand to her cheek and wiping away her tears. "And if you want, I'll read what you've written so far if it'll make you feel better."

"Would you?"

"Yes, as long as you promise me you'll get some sleep."

She sighed. "I'll try."

"That's good enough for me," he said, leaning away from her. "I'm going to get you some water and some tissues."

"Thank you," she murmured. "I'm sorry I'm a mess."

"It's alright. I understand," he said, standing as he padded into the ensuite bathroom. By the time he came back with a glass of water and a box of tissues, Maia was curled up under the blankets fast asleep.

A smile tugged at his lips as he sat the glass and tissues on the bedside table and he leaned over her to brush a wayward curl from her face. "Sleep tight, liefje," he whispered.

Mateo slipped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him and heaved a sigh. He had a feeling she wasn't in the right headspace to work last night, but Maia was good at putting on a brave face.

He saw it when he helped her out after Sven left her stranded. She did it at the cabin and again when they were in the grocery store, but she just pushed through as if she wasn't fazed by it and it finally caught up to her last night.

Shuffling into the kitchen, Mateo made himself a cup of coffee before he went outside to do his rounds. It burned him up inside to see her so upset like that and even more so that Sven was the fucking catalyst for it.

He sighed, gathering the eggs from the chickens. There was a way he could keep Sven from getting near Maia, but that would involve him telling her who he was and forcing him back into his old life.

He shook his head as he closed the coupe. No. Maia's situation didn't call for that nor was he ready to be a prince again, but if there was ever a moment he needed to make that call, he'd do it to protect the peace she needed to write.

For now, he'd just do whatever she needed to make sure she finished her novel on time.

Mateo checked on Maia again before he took a shower and settled down on the couch in the living room with her laptop and got lost in Donny and Tati's love story.

He didn't know much about the publishing world and he wasn't the best person to review fictional writing. His specialty was in legal documents, but he couldn't for the life of him understand why Maia thought her words weren't flowing. Naturally, there were some spelling and grammar mistakes, but he could feel the tension and emotion of Donny's love for Tati dripping on every page.

A smile graced his lips at the scenes they worked out together and he found himself laughing at her description of Donny teaching Tati how to shoot a rifle. He didn't realize she was going to use that first lesson he gave her when she missed every target, but managed to shoot a damn bird flying by.

The twinkling ring of his phone sitting on the coffee table tore him from the humorous scene and he frowned, checking the name scrolling across the screen before he answered it. "Eline, shouldn't you be in class?"

"Hello to you too," his little sister huffed. "And no, I don't have classes this week. I'm doing wedding stuff with Adrie."

"Oh, right. How's that going?"

"Eh, it's boring, but mom says I have to help. We just picked out all the flowers." Eline sighed. "When are you coming home?"

"When I have to. Jorien doesn't want me around for obvious reasons and I'm pretty happy where I am."

"Yeah, Jorien has been such an asshole lately. Mom had to put him in his place after he yelled at Adrie for using the same church as his coronation," Eline said. "Are you sure you don't want to be king? You'd be so much better at this."

Mateo let out a bark of laughter. "Fuck no," he said, shaking his head. "And don't let Jorien hear you say that."

"God, I know," she said and Mateo could almost see Eline rolling her eyes. "He's so afraid you're going to take that crown from him."

"Mm, no kidding," Mateo murmured. "How, um, how's dad?"

"He's fine, but he misses you."

Mateo's heart clenched. "Did he say that?"

"No, but he asks me about you all the time. He won't say it, but he doesn't care about what happened."

"Yes he does." Mateo scoffed. "I embarrassed our family. You know that's all he cares about."

"That's not true. He cares about you, Mateo. You two just need to talk."

"Yeah," he said, dragging a hand through his hair. "The last time I tried to talk to him he told me he had nothing to say to me."

"Well, you should try again. You and dad were so close and I'm sure he'd like to hear from you especially with everything that's coming up."

Mateo smirked. "I'm sure he just wants to make sure I won't ruin Adrie and Jorien's special occasions."

"Stop. No one's even talking about that stuff anymore. Seriously, call dad and make amends. He misses his best friend and I know you miss him too."

"Alright." Mateo sighed. "I'll try talking to him again."

"Before you're forced to come home."

"Yes, Eline. Before then," he said as a heavy knock sounded at his door. He frowned, getting up from the couch to peer out the window at Sven standing on his doorstep. "I've got to go. Give Adrie and mom my love."

"Alright, love you and don't forget to call dad."

"I won't. Love you too," he said, hanging up before he trudged to his door and opened it. "Can I help you?"

"I'm worried about Maia," Sven said, looking around him to see inside. "She's not answering my calls and I know she's here."

"She is," Mateo said, stepping outside and closing the door behind him. "But did it ever occur to you that she doesn't want to answer your calls or the barrage of texts you send her? And maybe she's happy without you in her life?"

"I don't care." Sven scoffed. "She shouldn't be with someone like you."

Mateo raised an eyebrow. "And why's that?"

"Because you're no one and that's dangerous. You may have this town fooled," he said, stepping up to him. "But it's not normal that I can't find anything on you."

"Excuse me for valuing my privacy, but that doesn't make me dangerous. Now you, on the other hand, have clearly stalked me, harassed my girlfriend for two days and trespassed on my property to find her. That's dangerous and quite frankly, idiotic behavior in a state that grants me the right to defend my land as I see fit," Mateo said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Shall I go get my shotgun?"

Sven's eyes grew wide as he took a step back from him. "You wouldn't."

"You really want to fuck around and find out?" A deadly grin curled over Mateo's lips. "Wait here."

"Fuck you," Sven said, scurrying down the driveway, tripping over his feet as he ran to his car parked beside the road. "I'll figure you out asshole! I'll ruin you!" He yelled, slamming his car door shut.

Mateo laughed, shaking his head as he went back inside to check on Maia. He wanted to make sure she wasn't disturbed by any of that ruckus and was glad to find she was still resting peacefully.

Sven's weak ass posturing told him one thing: he didn't care about her at all. He wasn't worried about her happiness or her well being because if he did, he'd leave her alone and let her move on with her life.

Closing the bedroom door, Mateo tugged his phone from his pocket, but if Sven was going to attempt to 'ruin him', he needed to make sure there was no possible way for Sven to link him to his royal background.

"Your Highness, it's good to hear from you," Lars, his family's chief of security, answered in his jovial voice. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, but I need a favor. There's someone who might be trying to figure out who I am and I need to make sure that doesn't happen."

"Mm, that doesn't sound good," Lars murmured. "Tell me who this person is and I'll sort it out."

"Sven Fontein, he's an actor from Eindhoven, but he lives in LA."

"Right. I thought you were keeping a low profile. How'd you end up hanging around a celebrity? I thought you were done with mixing around in those crowds."

"I am." Mateo sighed, slumping back down on the couch. "This was out of my control. Can you just make sure everything that ties me to my mother's name is hidden and unsearchable?"

"Of course. I'll get the team on it right away. Is there anything else you need?"

"Yes, what's my father's schedule today? I...I'd like to speak with him."

"Ah, His majesty was just asking me if I'd heard from you. He's free right now. Would you like me to connect you to his office?"

Mateo's heart clenched as he nervously rubbed a hand over his thigh. "Only if he's in a good mood. I don't want to argue with him."

"He's quite happy today. You'll be fine."

"Alright, and let me know when you've done what I asked."

"Of course."

The phone beeped and Mateo gripped the fabric of his jeans as he waited for his father to answer the phone. He hadn't spoken to him in months and he was slowly losing his nerve to hear the disappointment in his father's voice again.

"Hendrik," his father answered with unusual relief. "I'm so glad you called."

"You are?"

"Yes. I've been meaning to call you and before you say anything, just...just let me get this out," his father said. "I miss you, son and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for the way I reacted to...to your indiscretions. It was wrong of me. You didn't have to leave and stay away for so long, but I understand why you did. You've always put our family first, but I should've put you first. I know now that what happened wasn't your fault or your doing."

Mateo was silent as he took in his father's apology. This was the last thing he ever thought was going to come out of his mouth.

"Hendrik? Are you still there?"

"Y-yes, I'm here," Mateo said, clearing his throat. "I just wasn't expecting that, but it was my fault. I let my personal life damage our image and I'm sorry too. I never should've put you or our family in the limelight like that," he said, rubbing his hand over his thigh again. "You had every right to be angry with me and I promise not to ruin Adrie's wedding or Jorien's coronation with my presence."

"That's what I need to talk to you about." His father sighed. "Things haven't been going well with Jorien. The people despise him and there are rumors spreading that he used that woman you were with to sabotage your right to be king."

Mateo raised an eyebrow. "But that's not true. He had nothing to do with what Saskia did and Jorien was always your chosen successor."

"Mm, that's not true either. That was a condition of my marriage to your stepmother and the council is urging me to postpone the coronation."

"Jorien's not going to like that." Mateo smirked. "How long do they want you to postpone it for?"

"For as long as it takes me to convince you to come home and take my place as king."

Mateo's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. He knew his father's apology was too good to be true. He needed him because now Jorien was the one putting their family's image into disarray.

He didn't want to be king. He never wanted the crown or the cage that came with it.

"Hendrik?"

"Tell the council no."

A/N: 😬.... Okay, *whew* I didn't foresee this chapter turning out like this! Lots to unpack here.... First of all, I completely relate to Maia's breakdown. I've been there, I've broken down after staring at a chapter for too long and thinking my writing is shit. I'm with you Maia! I love that Mateo just took her to bed too...I probably would've fought him a bit more, in fact, I have done that 😅 But he's right, sleep is the key and I'm so glad he took care of her. Second of all, Sven can go fuck himself and I cackled when Mateo threatened to get his shotgun!! But I - oop! What's this about Mateo...or Hendrik? becoming king? Love that we gotta a little more of Mateo's past. But what's this indiscretion about? Why does Jorien sound like an entitled twat? 🤔

Just an FYI: I'm going to have to take a mini hiatus next week to do some final revisions/cramming for the Life in the UK test that I'm taking next Saturday 😬😅 Wish me luck!!!

I'll be back with new chapters on 31st March! But if you can't wait, you can read ahead to chapter 22 on Patreon!