Ethan's POV

The setting sun of England pierced through my eyes the moment my mother walked into my room and drew the curtains, rushing me to get ready for my father's press conference that was to be held in Linsdon town. Being the young lord, or might I say, the son of a Duke, meant that I had to stand behind him during such events. The Duke of Sussex: Edward Coleman. He set the bar high but maybe it was because he knew he'd have a son that enjoyed a good challenge. But living my life to the expectations of my royal family didn't always seem to flow so well in my veins.

I was always searching for something different, something thrilling, something with multiple meanings behind it than just formality and politics.

"How could you be taking a nap at a time like this when you should be getting dressed, my dear?" My mother looked at me with some form of disappointment. "What can I say? I needed the extra rest before being subjected to standing for hours behind the big man," I responded. She stood still and looked closely at my tired face. She smiled and turned away quickly. That's the expression she gave me when something was wrong. I sighed as I got up from my bed and walked up to her, "what or who seems to be bothering you?"

She ignored my question and went straight to my huge walk-in closet, moving in haste. "Let's get you some nice body-fitting black trousers, a white shirt and this black…"

"MOTHER! What seems to be the problem?"

She turned around and looked at me in shock. "Honey, I saw the magazine, your face was in that magazine," she said. I was puzzled, it wasn't anything new to me, I was the young lord, and of course, my face would make an appearance in the magazines once in a while. "It wasn't just your face, you were with some blonde woman at a cheap restaurant," she lowered her voice as she spoke.

"What of it, Mother?"

"There was an image of you walking into a cheap hotel with her! And there are more explicit ones!"

"Oh! For crying out loud, I am an adult now, Mom. Why can't I leave my life in peace before I have to take the position of the big man? You are so concerned about what he's going to say every single time!"

She walked up to me and held my face, "Dear, it isn't your father that I am concerned about, it is you, it always has been. I have always believed that you deserved a woman of elegance and poise. I don't want you to cheapen yourself with some hooker..." I put my hands up to signal for her to stop talking. I tried to assure her that the lady she was describing as a hooker was just an old friend of mine that I reconnected with, sort of. She shrugged, "that's not how the magazine wrote it."

She noticed that I was getting tired of the conversation and changed the topic. She went back to picking my outfit. Reminding her that I was old enough to pick up my clothing wasn't something I wanted to get into. Besides, I had a tiny hangover from the previous day with that blonde hooker.... and also, it was a good time. I just couldn't get that nagging thought out of my head. How did I get caught with her when I tried to be as discrete as possible?

I managed to get ready with three hours to spare before the conference. Of course, I hadn't worn my mother's suggestion, except for the body-fitting black trousers, I wore my favourite black turtle neck, a dark blue Swede coat and leather Chelsea boots- yes, I looked appealing enough to feel alive but I didn't look forward to the event that was yet to unfold before me. My father requested my presence in his office. I had only hoped that it wasn't about the magazine.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Ethan! Come in, I wanted to ask you one more time, what you think about my plan..." I walked in just as his butler opened the doors to his office for me. I stood and boldly said to him, "Father, I still think this was a hasty decision to be made in the poor town, but what does it matter what I say? You'll do as you please anyway."

My father laughed and raised his hands, " Exactly! My boy, that is the true definition of power, you stand by the decision you make, ha-ha!". I nodded my head lightly and let out a smirk, the man was beginning to sound like the person in my head and I wanted so badly to disagree... but I couldn't.

"Edward, we need to get ready quicker than this. Stop forcing our son to agree with every single idea you have." Mother walked in whilst holding the tie to be placed properly around my father's neck. "Nonsense, Merilliona. The boy is too soft and it is only because you treat him as such," he replied.

"If I may, Father, the reason why I disagree with your plan is that the fertilizer industry will do more harm for the people in that town than good." I didn't intend to speak, but I was tired of Mother defending me in front of him. I was 29 years old, and that was enough of a reason for me to mature. I only decided not to move out because my mother begged me to, who said I still didn't have a place of my own?

Father began to defend his reasons for the industry. He said he was giving the town a more helpful reason to exist rather than always mooching off from the rest of Sussex district. "I'll get a head start and drive to the town. Let me know when you get there," I didn't want to further disagree with him, it was not my debate. I walked out of the office and let my mother continue to defend me. The drive from Wadhurt to Linsdon took me about an hour and thirty minutes. That was enough time for me to calm down from the events of the afternoon.

Since I am regarded as some sort of counsellor and my father was a stubborn man, I took a long breath in shock at the gentle, sweet, and tranquil atmosphere in Linsdon. I also knew that one day I might be held responsible for my father's decisions. His not bringing up the magazine issue also made me feel better. I took the magazine out of my cupboard because I wanted to see for myself what all the excitement from Mother was about. Yes, I bought it on the way here. My face was on the middle page of the magazine, though it was hazy. The corner page had another image of me with the lady I was with, only that this time, I wasn't walking into the hotel, I was already in it.... in the room and on the bed. Who took this photo? This person is a sniper of some sort. I realized that my thoughts were complimenting the mysterious person's work.

"WHO WANTS TO BE DEVOURED NEXT?"

The title of this piece was shocking. I crumbled up the magazine and tossed it in my backseat. I parked my car somewhere hidden. I stepped out and walked to go and admire the beautiful waterless fountain in the middle of the street as I took a smoke. I sniffed up a sensational aroma. Was it the roses? I looked around me to identify them. No... It was a woman, wearing a short and flared off-shoulder red velvet dress. She looked as though she was in a hurry. The sound of her softly running in her suede platform heel booties gave it away. But that feminine floral scent, oh! it was captivating. I hadn't noticed that I had started to follow her until she took a turn to the next road. My phone started to ring in my pocket, it was my mother notifying me of their arrival. Damn it! The conference was about to begin.

I was standing behind my father as he spoke to the press and addressed the people around them. The flashing lights were not doing my headache any justice. One woman in the crowd put her hand up and held the mike to father, " What do you have to say to the people of Linsdon that will lose their homes because of this industry?" There was silence for a minute, it was as though everyone had that same question.