the beginning.” She opened another packet, flicking through the pages. “The image we are putting out there will be shaped and cultivated by us. Not the press. You will no longer do any posting yourself. We will be doing everything for you now.”
My life was no longer my own.
“Theo mentioned to you that I want to get my own flat?” I swallowed back the lump building in my throat. I needed even the tiniest bit of freedom.
“He did,” she answered curtly, not going on as she turned to the side. “Thomas?” She addressed another employee. “Is her new mobile ready?”
A guy in his mid-twenties with pasty skin and glasses unhooked a phone from his laptop. “Yes.” He slid the device to her. “Downloaded and ready to go.”
Chloe picked it up, tapping at it before handing it over to me, open to a calendar. “This is your official RH mobile. It is protected and programmed. Please use this for all your communication. Your latest changes in your calendar of events will be updated there.”
I nodded, noticing how packed the dates already were, especially after the gala where we were officially coming out as a couple. Almost every day was filled with something. The walls moved in around me; the need to run outside into the fresh air itched my limbs. The desire to go riding, to gallop across the green rolling hills, burned the back of my throat.
“I’m in the process of interviewing an assistant for you, but she won’t officially be hired until you and the prince are engaged.” She flipped through a folder, her words nonchalant. The tension in my gut braided up my spine. “Until then, they will be acting as an informal aide, keeping you on task and message.”
Message?
My relationship with Theo didn’t feel real, like we were two dolls being moved and dressed in the way the royal house wanted.
“All the things in red are events you must attend. Orange is for charities Theo is part of, and it would be beneficial if you were with him. Yellow are events and activities Prince Theo must attend, and again it’s good if you would show a united front. The starred ones are meetings, fittings, private dinners, and instruction.”
“Instruction?”
Chloe touched her flawlessly smoothed blonde hair. Not even a strand would dare come out of the low tight bun. She was tall and lean, dressed in a knee-length black dress and heels with a red blazer. She was picture perfect for the “message” of the royal house, meeting the same standard as the Queen and Eloise. Conservative, elegant, and reserved. So many things I didn’t feel I was. Maybe those on the outside would disagree, but I preferred animals to people, jeans to dresses, riding boots to heels, pizza to lobster, and loose, long tangled hair to being perfectly coiffed.
“I know being raised as a baroness you’ve had some instruction on manners and etiquette, but the royal house is another level of traditions and customs. Things that have been in place since the establishment of this kingdom. Protocols a novice could break without even knowing.” She tugged at the edges of her jacket, pressing her red lips together. “Dinner etiquette will start later this afternoon after your fittings. Dresses will be picked for you for the formal events. We want your introduction at the gala to be seamless.” She moved to Millie, handing her a few files. Without a note of instruction, Millie took them with a curtsy and left the room. “Your world is here now. Your message will be the same as Theo’s until you become duchess, then you can start thinking of charities of your own you want to be the voice for. Of course, only if they are first approved by the royal house.”
The walls cinched down on me, strangling air from my lungs. Stay strong. Think of Theo.
Chloe went on about my schedule as perspiration glided down the back of my neck, stirring me in the chair. My own family, the people here, everyone was trying to control my life and every choice of words from my mouth, ripping my voice away.
“I have to go.” The sentiment popped off my tongue before I even realized it as I rose from the chair.
“Spencer?” I heard Chloe call after me, my legs already taking me out of the room and down the hall. I had no direction or care, I just ran, my only desire to get out of this cage and feel the fresh breeze