"Oh, busy. I tidied up around here and went for a walk; then, I mostly waited for you to come home. Oh, this letter came for you today,” she said, handing the envelope to him.
“I’m just going to get a beer first. Are we going out for dinner?”
“I was hoping you would ask,” Vanessa answered with a smile.
Once he had got himself a beer, Albert sat down on the couch and opened the envelope. Reading the contents of the letter, he frowned then laid his head back against the couch, muttering something in German.
“Bad news?” Vanessa asked.
“Yes and no,” Albert said seriously, leaning forward. “I have never told you this, but I come from royalty. I am actually a prince, but I left Monaco because of the rules that I would have to follow had I stayed.”
Vanessa stared at him, suddenly feeling excited at the idea of dating a prince. "So, what was the letter about?"
“Well, my dear father has informed me that if I don’t return to Monaco immediately and marry, I will lose everything. He thinks he can control me through money.”
“How much money are we talking about?” Vanessa asked breathlessly, suddenly feeling rather nervous.
“Billions. My family is very rich. If I return and marry, I will receive a title along with my wife, a palace to live in, and a very healthy bank account.”
Vanessa shook her head, finding it hard to believe what she was hearing. It was like a dream. “So, if you are a prince and you marry, would your wife become a princess?”
Albert nodded. “Exactly.”
“Who would you marry?”
“Well, that’s just it. I don’t want to marry just anyone, and I certainly don’t want to marry for money. I want to marry for love,” he said, suddenly turning and looking at Vanessa.
Vanessa bit her tongue, scared that if she pushed to influence his decision, she would drive him away and lose her chance. She knew she had to be careful. “What are you going to do?”
Albert moved along the couch, so he was beside her. “How would you like to live in a palace and be my princess?”
Vanessa felt her heart skip a beat. “You want to marry me?”
Albert nodded. “Why not? We get along and have an amazing sex life. You would be pampered and never have to lift a finger. Besides, if you marry me, it will save my ass and me marrying you will save your ass because I know you have absolutely nothing right now.”
“Yes!” Vanessa cried. “I’ll marry you.”
“Wonderful. I’ll make arrangements with a priest and inform my father that I’m coming home with my bride.” Albert said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before head to his office to make the necessary phone calls.
Vanessa lay back on the chair, satisfied with the direction her life was leading. “I’m going to be a princess. Fuck you, Logan Darlington. You can have your Scottish whore. I have my prince.”
✽✽✽
Chelsea hadn’t heard anything from Logan since she had signed all the papers. She didn’t know if she had to leave and decided she needed to call him.
“Logan,” she said when he answered the phone. “What’s going on? I haven’t heard from you.”
“Chelsea, I was just about to call you. The sale didn’t go through,” Logan said. “He backed out at the last minute.”
Groaning in disappointment, in a quiet voice, she asked, “What happened?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that when I was getting ready to sign the papers, he backed out. Someone else will come along. Don’t give up hope,” he replied.
Chelsea hung up, laid her head on the table, and cried. The bills were coming in faster than she could open them. Taxes due, mortgage payments due, and, to top it all off, she had discovered the roof was leaking in the upstairs bedroom. She needed this sale to go through quickly and free her up.
Checking her watch, she realized the banks were closed. She’d wait until after the weekend to call them and see what she could do. If the place didn’t sell soon, her only other option was to walk away from the house and let the bank have it, and that was an option she hoped she wouldn’t have to take.
Chapter 19
On Monday morning, Chelsea slowly rolled out of bed, feeling the burden of what she had to do this morning weighing on her shoulders. She hated the idea of calling the bank and asking for a deferment.
The bank manager she dealt with had done everything he could to help her, but they had run out of options, and now she was faced with having to deal with the repayments.
"Mr. Carter, please," she said into the phone after dialing the number.
“I’m sorry, but he is in a meeting right now. Can I have him return your call?” a pleasant-sounding woman said at the other end.
“Yes, please ask him to call Chelsea MacDuff,” Chelsea said before hanging up.
She was thankful she had a very understanding boss. When she went in and spoke to her about everything going on, her boss didn’t hesitate at all and gave Chelsea the rest of the week off.
With the sale of the estate canceled, for the first time, Chelsea couldn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Hearing a knock on the door, Chelsea swallowed, hoping that it wasn’t someone with more bills. Slowly walking to the door, she opened it a crack and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her friend Marjorie standing there.
“Marj! What a surprise. What are you doing here?”
"I haven't heard from you in a while and wanted to check-in. How are you?”
Chelsea looked at her friend and shook her head. “Terrible to be honest. Come on in.”
“What’s wrong? I figured you would be on top of the world.”
“The sale fell through. For some reason, the buyer backed out at the last minute," Chelsea said, sitting down on the couch.
“What? How come?”
“I don’t know. Logan just said he changed his mind. The frustrating thing is, I’ve tried to get hold of Logan to find out what's going on, but he’s apparently out of town,” Chelsea said with frustration. “I don’t know what to think. To make matters worse, I know I have the bank on my ass asking for tax and mortgage payments. I wish my Dad hadn’t left me all this,” she gestured around the beautiful room, tears forming in her eyes.
“Oh, Chelsea. I wish there was something I could do to help, but I don’t have any spare money. I live paycheck to paycheck as it is.”
"Oh, thanks, Marj. I appreciate the offer, but don't worry. I think the only solution is to sell this place even if I have to take a loss.”
“What about my idea of opening a bed and breakfast?”
Chelsea laughed. “You know, I actually thought about it and looked into it. Then I found out I would have to make all kinds of updates and renovations. I can’t even afford to change a faucet right now.”
Chelsea heard her phone buzz and stood up. “That will be the bank manager calling me back. I don’t know what he can do for me, he’s helped me so much already, but it can’t hurt to talk to him.” She picked up the phone and hit answer. "Hello," she said, looking at Marj and crossing her fingers.