With the way she stole precious glances and longing gaze at the crown prince, Luke could guess that Sophia Keller might have miscalculated her move. That the unexpected attendance of the farmer as consequence of her honesty was unprecedented. The actress’ jealousy was the gray overcast that shielded her better judgment leading to a gross misjudgment of her rumored lover’s reaction. Introducing a third party to the already complex relationship appeared to be a good plan when she first thought of it. Luke was notoriously possessive and protective of what he thought was his. By introducing a third party, who was equally accomplished and charming as the blue-eyed prince was, she should have accomplished to activate his possessiveness, which in turn would result with him fighting the odds to buy time for the two of them instead of secretly dating and sharing his space with the farmer. 

Sophia’s countenance was politely attentive of the exchange between the Alec, who she had met a few years back when she was travelling, and Luke’s pet. She was a professional actress anyway. The muscles on her face, her body language, was hers to command. A small smile on her red lips and a gentle hand on Alec’s forearm caught the man’s attention. He smiled back. “Oh! Sophia, I’m so sorry.” The businessman’s brows shot up, he shook his head slightly then chuckled nervously. “You are a celebrity, but yes, it is not polite to not have proper introductions. Again, accept my apologies, your highness and Ms. Black. I’m sure you both know Sophia Keller, award-winning actress and singer.”  

“I’ve had the pleasure of being acquainted with our crown prince,” Sophia put a lot of meaning behind her words, which one could interpret through the flirtatious girlish smile and sidelong glance at the royal. “But it is the first time that I have met you, Miss Black. May I call you Rhiane?” 

“Miss Black will be fine, Sophia,” Luke answered before his amiable fiancée humored the actress. The last thing he needed was for the two to feign a friendly relationship that was grounded on the fact that they both acknowledged the other as the enemy and would rather keep her close. He did not need that kind of drama in his life. Oddly though, his plan might be working. “Mr. Wescott, corporations like yours surely has a budget for corporate social responsibility as your video loop repeatedly boasts. Our kingdom also has an allocated sum of money for such initiatives promoting the health of our citizens, especially the children.” He eyed Rhiane as if to tell her that yes, there is a budget that will subsidize her pet project. “Unfortunately, it is something that I don’t find myself getting involved with, but I may be able to help endorse the project. Please constantly remind me to make calls to the right people, Rhiane.” 

“I understand, your highness. We will certainly get in touch. However, the only way such endeavor will be profitable from a marketing stand point is if the media will cover it.” Friendly as he might seem, Alec Wescott was still a businessman, whose end goal was to push their products to the market to improve the turn-around time of the stakeholders’ capital. He was not running a charity institution, therefore when he proposed to open a discussion with the princess elect, he had hoped to take advantage of the perceived low education level of the woman and make her advocacy a [i]strategic[/i] partner of Evolab. “It is possible with your help, Ms. Black. As Prince Alessandro’s future wife and this kingdom’s future queen, there will be no lack of media coverage once you spearhead this project. It’s a win-win scenario for both you and I. My company gets its desired return-on-investment and you get to boost your public image as a compassionate ruler.”

Luke had a ready answer at the tip of his tongue, but he stopped himself from uttering that single syllable that would surely earn Rhiane’s disapproval. He was not being sensitive to her preferences. The gentleman kept his lips sealed because he wanted to see how the princess elect would answer this smart businessman’s proposition. There were rules governing him as a royal, which would be the same set of rules that she had to follow once they were married. But those rules technically did not apply to her at that moment. Unlike him, she could, if she chose, endorse a brand. He would be firmly against it, but she could do it for the sake of the cause she was fighting for. 

If she would look to him for his opinion on the matter, as if his opinion ever mattered for her, he would just shrug.