“You know me simply as Marco,” he said, sitting up in the wooden chair. “But the rest of the world knows me as 'Prince Marco of Orsino Island'.”
He held his breath after speaking the last sentence. He waited for the repercussion of the news, figuring that Sabrina would either jump for joy or pass out from shock. She did neither. Instead, a hesitant smile crossed her face. “You're joking, right?”
“I would never joke with you about something like this,” he said, standing up from his chair so that he could sit next to Sabrina. “I realize this is probably not what you expected, but it is the truth. I'm from a royal family.”
“Prince Marco?” she said, her expression still a bit suspicious.
“My father is the King of Orsino,” Marco stated. “My stepmother, the one whom I was just speaking with on the phone, is his wife, Queen Magdalena. She's the one who scheduled his surgery and she's the one who decided to have a ball in his honor the night before.”
“Is this for real or am I on some kind of hidden camera show?” she asked, as she scooted away from Marco. She glanced around the room, looking for hidden cameras.
Marco gently took her hand in his and gazed into her eyes. “Sabrina, I would never lie to you. I didn't tell you before because I wanted my identity to remain a secret for this trip. There's no better way to keep a secret than by not telling it. But, I'm telling you now, though. I promise not to hide anything from you ever again.”
“I'm just in shock right now,” she said, her eyes welling with tears. She took three deep breaths that got shorter and more panicked with every inhale. “Marco, you're a prince for crying out loud. Do you know who I am? I'm a poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks in Memphis, Tennessee. What business would I have being you? I just... I don't know. I don't know about any of this anymore.”
He squeezed her hand reassuringly. His heart ached as he heard her speak, because her doubts resembled the same rationalizations that had come from Magdalena's mouth. She'd said similar things about commoners and royalty not being suited for each other, but to hear it from Sabrina's lips pained him much more.
“Look at me,” Marco said, putting his fingertips on her chin.
Sabrina turned to face him and he noticed that the tears had begun to fall down her cheeks. He loved this girl more than anything and seeing her cry made him hurt.
“You have to understand that I care about you,” Marco said. “I realize we haven't known each other for very long, but that doesn't change the facts. I want to be with you and I don't care that we come from different walks of life. That doesn't matter to me.”
She sighed and wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. “That's sweet of you to say, but I'm not stupid, Marco. This is real life. Look at me. I'm barely fit to clean your throne, let alone be with you on it. How would I possibly fit into the world that you come from?”
“You'd fit in, because you're beautiful in every way,” he said. “I know where you're from, Sabrina. And it hasn't stopped me from getting close to you. Do you think I care where your clothes come from or how much they cost? It means nothing to me. I care about you and your heart and your dreams.”
His words were able to get Sabrina to finally smile through her tears. “I just can't believe you're a prince. I've been hanging out with a freaking prince for the past few weeks. I guess it explains quite a bit, though. I suppose that's why the paparazzi chased us that day, because there was royalty sitting there eating beignets.”
Marco smirked and lifted his shoulders into a shrug. “Your guess would be as good as mine as to why they'd want to film something like that.”
Sabrina laughed and playfully pushed Marco's shoulders. “This is a lot to absorb. I'm sorry to act so overwhelmed, but this was the last thing in the world I thought you would have told me this morning.”
She paused and the two of them sat silently for a moment. Then she looked over to Marco once again. “I hope I'm not stepping out of line by asking this, but if something happened to your father then you'd become...”
“King.” Marco finished the sentence for her. “And in fact, nothing has to happen to my father for that situation to take place. He's stepping down from the throne after his surgery, though the public doesn't know this yet. But when he does, I will take the crown.”
“You're not just a prince, you're going to be the king in the near future?” Sabrina brought her hand over her mouth and her eyes widened with shock. “I'm sorry, but this a lot to take in this early in the morning.”
“Don't be sorry,” Marco said, touching her hand reassuringly. “It is a lot and I'm sorry to deliver it all at once. But you need to know who I am if you are to come back home with me. I'd be a terrible person to not tell you.”
“I'm glad you're telling me, honestly,” Sabrina said. “In fact, I planned on asking you more questions to find out about you. But really, I'm sitting next to a king right now?”
“Just a prince, at the moment,” he said, with a boyish smirk. “But yes, I will be king soon. It's been my destiny for as long as I can remember.”
“Are you nervous?” Sabrina asked. “I mean, I'd be nervous.”
“I've been groomed to be king my whole life,” he replied with a shrug. “I've already taken over many of the responsibilities, but the formal passing of the title will happen soon.”
“King Marco, huh?” Sabrina bit her lip, and shook her head, still processing his words.
“Yes, King Marco.” He smiled at her. “That's part of the reason that my father's sickness has weighed so heavily on me. And also why I decided to take this vacation in the first place. With the news of Father's cancer, it became clear that time may not be on his side, and that I will likely become King sooner than later. I wanted to see some more of the world before my royal duties took over.”
“And that woman, the one you were on the phone with... you said that was your stepmother,” Sabrina said. “So that means you were arguing with the Queen of Orsino?”
Marco chuckled. “Yes, even though we are a royal family doesn't mean
that we don't quarrel. She's a very difficult person to deal with.”