Page 3 of Modern Romance September 2025 5-8

‘I can offer you security,’ he said, as if he could see into her soul.

‘Loyalty. Support. Companionship. Children. Not love, I’m afraid.

I haven’t the time for that and can’t afford the distraction.

Nor am I remotely interested in the drama it can cause.

I’m not interested in drama full stop. But I would give you everything else that’s within my power.

You and I would be a partnership of equals, Sofia.

We would rule together. Side by side. In harmony.

A united front to secure the future of the monarchy.

You could continue to work, if that is what you wish.

Beyond the requirements of the role, you could do anything you please.

I am aware that this is a sudden decision, and one born out of necessity, but I’m nevertheless convinced it’s the right approach.

I believe we would do very well together.

I have to spend the rest of my life with someone, and I’d like it to be you. ’

Ivo stopped and sat back. Sofia reeled, her chest so tight she was barely able to breathe.

Well, that was deeply unfair. How was she supposed to keep her head when he promised her so many of the things she craved?

And how had he known which buttons to push when, before today, their interactions had always remained strictly professional? A crystal ball? A lucky guess?

Whatever it was, it was badly shaking her resolve.

He painted an alluring picture of a full and fascinating life.

Alarmingly, she was beginning to think that she could do a lot worse than a drama-free partnership based on mutual respect and common interests.

How he might go about giving her those children was certainly sending her imagination into overdrive.

She could practically feel his mouth on hers.

The thought of his hands slowly stroking over her skin as they explored her body electrified every nerve ending she possessed.

So, could what he offered be enough? Was she content to enter into such a one-sided relationship just to be with the man she adored?

No.

Absolutely not.

What was she thinking ?

Everything about this was ludicrous. Her brain had gone so awry that she ought to be getting up right now and walking away before she lost what was left of her marbles.

Potential sexual fireworks aside, marrying him would be a disaster.

A one-way ticket to misery. Although, to be honest, she’d been feeling pretty wretched recently anyway.

She’d always recognised the need for his marriage—from his perspective as well as hers—but she hadn’t liked it.

Whenever she thought of some other woman sharing his bed, she seethed with jealousy.

Her heart physically ached at the bleak reality of resigning and never seeing him again in person.

But now, in light of this frankly bizarre conversation, none of that need happen. If she accepted his proposal, she would no longer have to worship him from afar. Wistfulness and pining would be a thing of the past. She could be the one in his bed and in his life. She could have it all.

Well, nearly.

She’d have to keep how she felt about him to herself, of course.

Presumably, unrequited love was exactly the sort of drama he strove to avoid.

But it wouldn’t necessarily turn into bitterness and resentment.

It would be up to her to manage that. And despite his assertion to the contrary, who was to say that over time he wouldn’t develop some sort of feelings for her?

Her parents might have more or less ignored her, preferring to indulge their toxic feelings for each other instead, but that didn’t mean she was completely unlovable, did it?

So perhaps she was being a tad overdramatic about this.

She did value the monarchy—he was right about that.

She cared about it deeply. She’d been fascinated by the mystique and glamour of the royal family for as long as she could remember.

Daydreaming about what life in the palace might be like and putting herself right in the middle of it had provided a mental escape from the emotional turmoil of home.

She’d been so enthralled by the idea of it that when she left school and embarked on a career in PR, she’d done so in the hope that one day she’d end up there, which she had.

The day she’d started working directly for Ivo—both the man and the King—had been the most thrilling of her life.

Did she really want to be responsible for the collapse of an institution that had survived for five hundred years?

Its future hung in the balance. Time was running out so fast for him that he’d sounded as though he was very close to begging.

She knew how he felt about his second cousin taking the crown, and even though she couldn’t understand why he hadn’t set about finding a wife sooner, she loved him too much to let him down.

He’d worked so very hard to keep the peace and build on everything his father had achieved.

And so had she with her unerring support.

She couldn’t allow her self-centredness to cause him— them —to fail, for all that immense effort to come to nothing. She just couldn’t.

And then there were the children he was promising. She’d always wanted those. They could make a start on the line of succession right away and within five years or so, assuming all went well, she could have the happy family she’d longed for ever since she’d realised how dysfunctional her own was.

It was funny how life could turn on a sixpence, she thought a little dizzily, as what remained of her resistance and her brain crumbled to dust, and excitement swooped back in.

Twenty minutes ago, she’d been mentally sticking pins into Princess Amalia.

Yet now, here she was, unbelievably about to agree to take her place, positioning herself at the very heart of the royal family, where she’d always dreamed of being, married to the man she worshipped.

It was more than she’d ever thought possible.

But it wouldn’t do to throw caution completely to the wind before diving in headfirst. This partnership couldn’t just be about what he deemed important.

Thanks to her parents’ tumultuous relationship she had her own list of requirements, designed to guard a heart that was all too easily broken.

The risk of that happening seemed even greater when he did not feel the same way about her as she did about him.

Therefore, she had to take extra care to protect herself—and any offspring they might produce, because no child of hers would ever suffer the way she had.

‘You’re asking me to give up my freedom,’ she said, channelling a cool sort of thoughtfulness, as if her pulse wasn’t thundering and her emotions weren’t whipping around inside her like a tornado.

He nodded. ‘Some of it, yes.’

‘My life would never be the same again.’

‘That’s true,’ he agreed. ‘But it could be better.’

Yes, well, she’d do everything in her power to make it so, starting with giving herself a fighting chance of levelling the playing field. ‘I’d need some things in return.’

His jaw lost its rigidity and a spark of triumphant relief lit the depths of his mesmerising eyes. ‘Such as?’

‘Fidelity.’

‘You’d have it.’

‘Communication.’

‘Not a problem.’

‘Conflict must be avoided at all costs. I’m not a fan of arguing. Any disagreements will be dealt with in a civilised fashion, and in private. Always.’

‘Agreed.’

Good.

Right.

So what next?

There was more she should demand. Sofia was sure of it.

The devil was always in the detail. But she was damned if she could think of anything else.

The sheer force of her emotions was obliterating the contents of her brain.

And so this was it. The moment she either stepped back from the cliff edge or threw herself into the void.

The moment she had to choose between the security blanket of the known and the wild unpredictability of the unknown.

In the deafening silence that had fallen, the voice of reason implored her to see sense.

If they married and it all went wrong, she could get badly hurt and there’d be no escape.

The constitution prohibited divorce so she’d be tied to him and misery until her dying breath, and she knew from experience how devastating the fallout of that could be.

But despite her very real concerns, reason didn’t stand a chance against the thrilling possibility that on the other hand, if she took the risk, she would have him . A family. A calm, steady, grown-up relationship, free from the selfish passion and explosive chaos that would eventually destroy it.

How on earth could she give that up?

She couldn’t.

And it wasn’t as if she’d be going into this with her eyes closed.

Ivo could not have been clearer about what their marriage would and wouldn’t involve.

However much she might yearn for his love there was no guarantee she’d have it.

She had to accept that being by his side to enable him to continue to do his duty might have to be enough.

Her head would have to rule her heart. She must never forget that this was all about convenience and fall into the trap of believing it was real.

She must never want more than what he offered.

At least she was used to being put second.

For nineteen years her parents had prioritised their corrosive relationship over the emotional needs of their child.

She’d cared too much, they’d broken her heart and she’d sworn it would never happen again.

As long as she kept her position in the hierarchy at the forefront of her mind at all times and kept a firm lid on her feelings, she could do it. She knew she could.

‘All right, then,’ she said, nevertheless hoping to God that she wasn’t making the biggest mistake of her life, that she was opening herself up to the bright shiny future she’d dreamed of and not decades of heartbreak, trauma and despair. ‘For the sake of the monarchy, I accept.’