Mateo mindlessly rubbed the back of Maia's neck as she slept against his side while he scrolled through the comments under the pictures Maia posted of them on her Instagram page.

Mateo had a hard time sleeping on the flight. His stomach was in constant turmoil over the fact that he was going home. He knew this day was going to come, but not like this. Not with so much fanfare over his engagement. He'd been keeping up a brave face for Maia, but in truth, he was terrified of being in the limelight again.

Looking down at Maia, a smile tugged at his lips at her sleeping against his side with her laptop open and the cursor blinking beside the last sentence she wrote of what he assumed was the beginning of their story. She might've been nervous when they left, but the moment they boarded his family's private plane and he introduced her to their team of bodyguards, she was almost giddy to start writing about this experience.

At least she was happy and maybe being in the spotlight again wouldn't be so terrifying with her by his side this time.

Mateo closed her laptop and slipped it from her lap. He hooked his arm under her legs and gently picked her up from the couch before carrying her to the small bedroom at the back of the plane. Tucking her under the plush white comforter, he placed a kiss on her forehead and quietly left the room.

"Don't you think you should get some sleep too, Your Highness?"

Mateo shook his head at Willem, the graying brown-haired bodyguard and deputy head of security. "You know I never sleep well on flights. I'll be fine."

"Mm, well I wanted to talk to you about a few things anyway," Willem said as he poured two glasses of bourbon. "Join me for a drink?"

"Sure." Mateo sighed, taking the offered glass before he slid into the seat across from Willem. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Miss Jefferies is taking all of this very well."

Mateo smiled. "She is, but we're not in Oost den Burg yet." He sighed. "I've told her life in the royal family can feel like a cage and I'm worried the demands of this life are going to affect her ability to write. You know how my mother is, she'll want to thrust her into managing charities and hosting fundraisers."

Willem nodded. "The queen has already drafted a hefty schedule of meetings and luncheons for Miss Jefferies to get her acquainted with her role as a future princess."

Mateo grimaced as he took a drink. "I don't want that for her. Maia needs time to adjust and space to write."

"I'm sure that can be sorted out, but you have bigger issues than Miss Jefferies' schedule," Willem said as he slid a folder across the table to him. "Sven Fontein has been meeting with Prince Jorien and Princess Gesina fairly regularly since he arrived a few days ago."

"That doesn't surprise me," Mateo said as he flipped through the pictures of Jorien and Gesina meeting with Sven at a restaurant. "Sven has made it clear that he intends to save Maia from being used by me."

"Yes and Prince Jorien seems to be buying that narrative." Willem smirked. "He's spoken with the king on a few occasions since the announcement of your engagement and after meeting with Mr. Fontein."

Mateo looked up at Willem. "What has he been saying to him?"

"He's under the impression that the only reason you're coming back with a fake fiancée is because you believe the rumors about him sabotaging your right to the crown and now you want revenge."

"Of course he does." Mateo shook his head. "Has my father told him the truth? That the council has reservations about him becoming king?"

"The king hasn't been telling you the truth either," Willem said, dragging a hand over his face. "And I'm sorry I have to be the one to tell you, but after what you've been through, Lars and I felt it was best if one of us told you the truth."

"What are you talking about?"

Willem took a drink from his glass before topping it up again. "There's a divide amongst the council. Those loyal to your father and loyal to your brother. Prince Jorien and his loyalists have been making deals with a few questionable business conglomerates to use the kingdom of Oost den Burg as a tax haven for the wealthy and a weapons dealer for any military who needs them."

Mateo jaw clenched as he curled his hand into a fist. "And my father wants me to challenge Jorien for the crown to stop this?"

"Precisely."

"No. I won't do that," Mateo said, shaking his head as he leaned back in his seat. "The only reason I'm coming back is because my father forced me to with that bullshit announcement. I'm assuming he lied about the people despising Jorien too."

"No, he didn't lie about that. Since the rumors started, the people's approval of Prince Jorien has been dismal. They want you to come back."

"I don't want to be king and Jorien's new vision for Oost den Burg is none of my business. My father created this problem for himself. I shouldn't be the one to fix it or drag Maia into this mess either."

Willem's brown eyes grew dark as he slammed his glass on the table. "It is your business." He seethed. "The people will suffer under this new vision. They won't be able to afford to live in Oost den Burg if Jorien gets his way. Don't tell me being away from home has changed you this much. That you don't care about the people anymore."

"I do care about them, but that doesn't mean I want to be king or be dragged into something my father should've stopped a long time ago," Mateo said, crossing his arms over his chest. "He groomed Jorien for this all his life. I don't see why it's my responsibility to fix the monster he created."

"Because whether you like it or not, you're the rightful heir to the throne and the only one who can challenge Prince Jorien and stop what he's doing."

Mateo sighed, hanging his head in defeat. Willem was right. He could never leave his people to suffer under Jorien's rule. All the work he's done to ensure the taxes the residents paid to the monarchy was fed directly back to them in public services to enrich their livelihoods.

But battling Jorien for the crown was going to be difficult and messy. He was sure to always keep himself from getting pulled into the politics of the council and he didn't want Maia embroiled in it either. "I want to discuss this with Maia before I make any decisions. If I agree to be king, that changes everything we've talked about and I want her to have a choice if she still wants to be with me."

Willem's eyes grew wide. "I didn't realize it was that serious between you two. I thought this engagement was a farce."

"It is, but our relationship isn't," Mateo said, twisting his glass on the table. "And I promised her I wouldn't hide anything from her even if that means letting her go."

"Then I hope that's not the case," Willem said, reaching across the table to grasp his shoulder. "You deserve the love you thought you had with Miss Everdene especially with the woman who made you believe in it in the first place."

Mateo choked out a laugh as a blush burned up to his ears. "How do you know about that?"

"I've been your security guard for a long time. I'm paid to notice everything about you and you didn't start looking for someone to truly share your life with until you started reading Miss Jefferies' novels. I'm happy you found her," Willem said, leaning back in his seat. "Is she the reason you chose Colorado?"

"No, I didn't know she'd be out here," he said, shaking his head. "Meeting her and being her neighbor was pure luck."

Willem grinned. "Sounds like one of her novels and from what I've read of her dossier, it seems to me like you both deserve a happy ending," he said, finishing the bourbon in his glass. "You should try to get some sleep."

"I'll try." Mateo sighed. "But I doubt I'll be able to sleep after everything you told me."

"I know and I'm sorry, but you needed to know. It's good we'll be stopping in Amsterdam. It'll give you time to speak to Miss Jefferies and prepare yourselves for what's coming when we get to Oost den Burg," Willem said, dragging a hand through his hair. "This isn't going to be easy."

"It never was," Mateo said, getting up from his seat. "Whatever I decide, I just want to make sure that Maia is happy and nothing hinders her career because of me."

"That was never in question. Her agent made it very clear that her public image needed to be a top priority in all of this," Willem said, gettin up. "Which is why you need to get some rest. We don't need the paparazzi getting any sleep deprived photos of you."

Mateo chuckled. "Faye wouldn't be too happy with me if I look disheveled next to her sister."

"No, she wouldn't. I've got strict orders to make sure you two look the part."

Mateo raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you take orders from someone outside the royal family?"

"Miss Donahue is my only exception." Willem smirked. "She's a very convincing woman," he said, nudging Mateo's shoulder. "Now go get some sleep, sir."

"Alright." Mateo chuckled as he shuffled down the hallway to the bedroom. It wasn't like Willem to be swayed to take orders from a civilian, but then again, Faye didn't fuck around when it came to her sister's career.

Mateo sighed, shrugging off his sweatshirt before he climbed into the bed beside Maia. He pressed a kiss to her head as he wrapped his arm around her waist before he closed his eyes and tried to let sleep claim him, but his mind was plagued with the information Willem told him.

He always knew Jorien wanted to make a name for himself as king, but not like this. Not to the detriment of the people and Willem was right, Mateo couldn't let that happen.

His father let Jorien take things too far and as much as he didn't want this responsibility, it was his duty to protect the wellbeing of the kingdom and he was going to have to take his place as king to stop Jorien.

Mateo held Maia close, breathing in her flowery scent.

He just hoped she wanted to stay by his side.

A/N: So we're not in the Netherlands just yet, but we've got a bit more background on why Jorien is so desperate to keep Mateo from getting the crown and it seems like Mateo has no choice but to challenge his brother for the crown...Not sure Maia's going to be up for being a queen, but we'll see!