Page 155 of American Royalty

Epilogue

“Ask me for a feature?/ Who are you without me?”

—Duchess, untitled work in progress

On the nightstand, a phone covered in a glittery rainbow case vibrated against the hard surface. A second later it happened again. And again. And again.

What the fuck?

Samantha Banks raised her head from the goose down pillow and reached for the offending device. A list of notifications littered her locked screen.

People: “Is She the One? Prince Flips for Duchess!”

Us Weekly: “‘Duchess for Real?’ Will Duchess Give Up Her Career for the British Monarchy?”

TMZ: “Breaking News! Duchess Has Caught Herself a Prince!”

Bossip: “Palace ‘Sky High’ over Duchess and Real-Life Prince. #RoyalSwirlLove.”

The phone buzzed again in her hand and a text from her manager appeared. Opening the app, Samantha saw what looked like an embedded video and clicked on it. Over an image of Prince Jameson and Duchess, still in their clothes from the event and standing at the bottom of steps that led up to a private plane, lights and cameras flashing, the announcer said:

“If you’re just finding out about this, where have you been? The clip already has a million views on Instagram and YouTube. A royal love story between His Royal Highness Prince Jameson and American Royalty Duchess, rapper and entrepreneur. After the closing ball of the weeklong Royal Tribute in Honor of Prince John, the prince professed his feelings for his unlikely love.”

“I love Duchess. She and I are involved in a very serious relationship, of which the Palace has full knowledge, and members of the family have given us their blessing.”

“How long have they been dating? Where does the new couple go from here? How does the queen feel about them? Nothing has been announced yet, but we’ll be following this story closely. They didn’t take questions, but Duchess did have a message for her fans.”

Duchess’s face filled the screen, and Samantha hated to admit that she looked gorgeous as usual.

The bitch.

The rapper smiled. “You guys have been so supportive! Thank you! Meeting Prince Jameson and participating in this event has taught me a few things. One, it’s important to stand in your truth. Two, if you put good into the world, it’ll be returned tenfold. And three, own your shit. Do your own work. It’s a rocky ride surfing the coattails of others.”

She winked.

Anger filled Samantha as the taunt hit its target. Throwing back the duvet, she hopped out of bed and wrinkled her nose as she pulled on her dress from last night. She needed to get back to her hotel, shower, change, then call her manager. There had to be a wayto capitalize on all of this. To use this new attention to shore up Samantha’s own brand. Sliding on shoes and throwing on her coat, she went on social media to see what people were saying.

#PrinceLovesDuchess was trending.

“OMG, a real-life Duchess! Or Princess!!”

“What a role model!”

“Lissen, Samantha Banks needs to stop sweatin’ Duchess. Periodt!”

Arghhh!!!!

Head in her phone, as she switched from Twitter to Instagram, she opened the front door, engaged the lock, and exited the townhouse.

“Oh my God! Is that Samantha Banks?”

Although she didn’t look her best, the excited utterance lifted Samantha’s spirits. She loved meeting people who recognized her and low-key coercing them into asking her to take a selfie. She lifted her head with a ready smile only to freeze when she saw the group of paparazzi blocking her path, cameras at the ready.

“Did Samantha Banks just walk out of Prince Julian’s private flat wearing her ball gown from the evening before?”

Samantha winced and closed her eyes. Fuck! She’d been so focused on the news about Duchess she hadn’t followed Julian’s established protocols, which included calling the number he’d given her to alert his protection detail that she was ready to leave and exiting the home from the back entrance. On that brisk, cloudy London morning, the camera lights were bright and the shouted questions rang loud in the quiet neighborhood.

“Are you involved with Prince Julian?”

“Quite a walk of shame, Samantha! What would your Sparkle Sammies say?”

“You know he’s married? How does it feel to be the other woman?”

“Did you hear about Duchess and Prince Jameson? Are you trying to get your own royal?”

“When can your fans expect new music?”

THAT AFTERNOON, BUCKINGHAMPalace issued a statement:

“It has come to our attention that rumors are circulating about His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and his involvement with an American entertainer known as Samantha Banks. Prince Julian is a married man and denies the existence of such a relationship. Any claims to the contrary can only be seen as the machinations of someone desperate to haul herself into the ranks of British society. There will be no further comment.”