To say I freaking out when I found out the news knew who I was and who I was dating was an understatement. I was scrolling through an article titled 'Five Things to Know About The Prince's New Girlfriend'.

My heart was pounding as Archie looked over my shoulder while I scrolled through the article.

"How do they know this much?" I asked Archie, "How in the hell did they find some of these pictures?"

He rubbed my back, "I have no idea but I'm gonna try to take care of it."

I fell into his chest, "How is this going to affect you though?"

Archie kissed the top of my head, "Don't worry about that, Lainey, I care about you. We'll get through this."

I nodded my head, "Ok."

Archie wrapped his arms around me and I could feel his phone buzzing in his pocket. I already knew who it was, it was probably the reason he'd been at my place for so long.

I started to pull away but he kept his arms around me.

"Wait, don't pull away - I want to hold you for a while longer." Archie spoke lowly, "You calm me down."

"How much longer is a while longer? If it's more than an hour lets go get in my bed because it's comfier." I said to him

Archie helped me off of the couch and we walked to my bedroom. We got into my bed and just cuddled with each other.

"Alena?" he spoke gently

"Yeah?" I responded

"Do you believe in soulmates?" Archie asked

I took a second to think about his question.

"Soulmates? It sounds dumb." I began, "We're definitely soulmates though."

I looked up at Archie, "Do you think so?"

"I know it sounds crazy to say but I do." Archie agreed with me, "I've been with a lot of girls and I've never got this feeling about anyone else or thought about someone so much."

"My future has you in it. Everything else is just a bonus." I said to him which caused his cheeks to turn a rosy color

"We've got something special, Lainey." he beamed, "And I know that there will be a lot of challenging days but I want you to know that no one will have your back more than me. I promise."

I sat up and kissed Archie, "I needed to hear that."

"You should get going, I don't want your Dad to be madder at us or you then he probably already is." I stroked his hair

Archie nodded, "You're right but I don't want to get up... I'm so warm beside you and you make me so happy."

"Just call me later tonight, ok?" I said as he got out of my bed and put on his shoes

"Of course, Lainey." he agreed

I smiled at that nickname, "You're the only person who calls me that and it's the cutest thing ever."

I walked Archie to his car and gave him another kiss before he left. I took some time to catch up on work and avoided going on any social media.

As soon as Sydney came home, she jumped on the couch yelling "Bitch!"

"You need to catch me up on everything! Are you guys actually dating?" Sydney frantically asked me

I nodded, "We are. It's been a whirlwind, to say the least."

So I gave Sydney the full rundown of everything that happened between Archie and me over the past week. She was shocked and surprised, but she said she saw it coming.

Sydney just looked blank and not as opinionated as she usually was.

"What is it?" I stared at her

Sydney shrugged, "I know that you really like him and you think he's great but I wouldn't do it because the British tabloids will destroy your life."

I sat up, "Sydney? What the hell are you talking about?"

"The British tabloids aren't like American tabloids, Alena. They really are a vicious pack of animals and then you're Black. They're going to rip you apart because you're a woman of color who is dating the man who is next in line to the throne." Sydney spoke, "I guarantee you that 99% of the country does not want to see a Black royal baby!"

"Hell, your reputation is so good that they're not going to be able to find dirt on you. So they're going to turn to lies and slander to destroy your name and reputation." my cousin continued

I didn't even know what to say to her.

There were so many thoughts running through my mind that I just got up and went to my room.

Maybe Sydney did have a point. But I didn't want to think about it because I loved that Man so much that I didn't want to think about not being with him because of tabloids.

Archie called me later that night to tell me that his Dad wanted to have dinner with me tomorrow. I was excited and nervous but I didn't want to stress about it too much.

For dinner, I decided to wear a black lace long sleeve skater dress with black heels. I put my hair in a low bun with a few curled strands in the front.

Archie came to pick me up from my apartment and he looked so nice in his dress clothes.

He held my hand as he drove, "Are you nervous?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't." I admitted

I watched as he kissed my hand, "As I promised you, I have your back."

"I know you do, Arch." I smiled at him

"Do you want to spend the night at my place tonight?" Archie asked me

I nodded my head, "Yeah, that would be perfect. Sydney and I need some space from each other. As long as you drop me off back at my place by five tomorrow evening."

"What happened?" Archie wondered

I sighed, "Don't worry about it. I don't want you to stress about it."

"Alena I want you to be able to trust me." he sighed

I looked over at him, "I do trust you, Archie, but I know you and you're going to keep worrying about it."

"So I'm guessing it has something to do with me." his voice trailed off

I squeezed his hand gently, "She just told me to not be with you because the tabloids here will tear me apart."

"Oh." he got out, "I can't say that I disagree with her about the tabloids. But it might not even get like that, you're an incredible woman."

"I know and I want to be with you because I really cherish what we have and you make me very happy." I stroked his arm, "I know I wanna be with you."

He just looked at me, "I'm going to protect the hell out of you, Alena. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"I know, baby." I assured hin

We got to Buckingham Palace and went into the dining room that was set gorgeously. His whole family was already at the table talking but it all halted when we walked in.

"Nice of you both to finally make it!" the King spoke up as he stood up from his chair, "I have to say I didn't expect for you to come back like this."

I just let out an awkward laugh, "Thank you for inviting me over."

Archie pulled me away from his Dad and towards the table. He pulled out my chair and I sat down. Victoria was to my left and Archie was to my right.

Victoria turned towards me, "It's nice to see you again! In fact, I'm very happy."

"It's nice to see you again as well." I agreed

Archie looked at Victoria, "Don't scare her away."

"She's my favorite girl that you've dated!" Victoria said to her brother

I smiled to myself, at least one other person other than Archie liked me.

"So, Alena, I feel like I know a good bit about you." King Winston began, "Do your parents care for Archibald?"

"They were very fond of him." I answered his question

"And your siblings? Tell me more about your siblings," he asked me

I nodded, "My siblings loved Archie. My brother, Aaron, is twenty-six and my sister, Aubrey, just turned sixteen."

Alexandra's eyes lit up, "Oh my goodness, your sister is my age! That's so fun."

"She wants to come to visit someday, maybe I could introduce you two." I explained to Alexandra

She nodded, "That would be so fun."

His Dad cleared his throat.

Dinner went ok.

It was basically me getting slammed with questions and then there would be some moments that I felt like I was being incriminated or that I wasn't good enough for Archie. He would talk about all of the families that they grew up with and how excellent they were and how they would've looked wonderful on the paparazzi photos with his son.

Sydney's voice boomed through my head and I could see her point.

Archie and I left after dessert and drove up to his house in Hampstead. We didn't really talk about dinner and I didn't want to.

We got to his place showered and laid on the couch while eating dessert.

"Lainey, I wanna give you something." Archie walked back from the bathroom while I was in his bed waiting for him to come back to cuddle.

I sat up, "What is it?"

Archie sat down next to me and pulled out a black box. He opened it up to reveal a pendant necklace in platinum with a pear-shaped sapphire. There were diamonds surrounding the sapphire.

"Oh my gosh, Arch, it's gorgeous!" I exclaimed, "You seriously didn't have to."

"I know, I know, it just reminded me of you." he grinned, "Can I put it on you?"

I nodded, "Oh my goodness, of course."

Archie put the necklace on me and it was absolutely gorgeous. I was so speechless.

"It looks stunning on you." he complimented me

I put my hand on his cheek and kissed him, "Thank you, Archie."

Archie put his hand on my waist and pulled me closer to him. He put his lips onto mine and began to kiss me passionately. He laid me down and was on top of me while he kissed me. I tugged on his shirt as a signal for him to take it off and he did. I traced where I knew his tattoo was on the back of his shoulder.

"Do you want to?" Archie asked me

I nodded and kissed his neck, "Yes."

"Aw, you're so cute when you blush like that." Archie pointed out as he took off the shirt I had on, "Can't wait to watch you limp around tomorrow."

My jaw dropped, "Let's see how good you really are, Prince Charming."

And oh, Archie was a man who was true to his word.

I already liked it when he held me, but I liked it even more when we were naked.

"You're the most important person in my life, Alena." he whispered to me, "You make me the happiest man on Earth, I can't remember the last time I was this happy."

I couldn't stop smiling, "God, you're so precious. You're so cute when you're half asleep like this."

"I'm not half-asleep," he defended himself.

"I'm just really really really infatuated with you."