Page 20 of Royally Matched

Chapter Six

Gunfire could be heard across the open field. Max and Lily stood side-by-side as they watched the soldiers in the Class “A” formal uniforms firing their weapons into the air.

When the 21-gun-salute was finished, the king took to the podium in front of the freshly built Triolan War Memorial. The tall, black, granite monument listed hundreds of soldiers who died during wartime from the creation of the country five hundred and fifty years ago to the present.

Two rows of the crowd were filled with the families of fallen soldiers who were there to hear their family member’s name read.

The king took the front of the makeshift stage set up in front of the memorial. “Welcome, my fellow Triolans. On behalf of the royal family and the Triolan government, I want to thank all of you for coming out today for the official unveiling of the Triolan War Memorial. I know that many of you have lost loved ones in the past wars our country has been involved in. Today we honor those soldiers for their sacrifice. I know that all of you are used to me speaking at events, but today, I thought you might want to hear from your Crown Prince, Maxwell Gerard Beaumont.”

Silence greeted Max as he switched places with his father. At least they weren’t hurling insults at him as they had last week. He adjusted his coat firmly around his body, took in a deep breath before he spoke.

“Most of you know that my younger brother, Prince Gregory, was killed when his airplane went down during the war in northern Europe five years ago. Not a day goes by that I do not miss my brother, and his loss is felt by the entire royal family. I hope, however, to honor him by serving our country as king one day, supporting our military, and never forgetting the sacrifice Triolan soldiers have made to keep our country independent. Today, this memorial stands as a reminder of that ultimate gift.”

Respectfully, the crowd clapped as Max stepped back, took the giant scissors from one of the nearby workers, and cut the ribbon tied around the memorial.

Next, the king stepped forward and slowly read the names out loud of the fallen Triolan soldiers. As each name was read, Max could feel emotions stirring inside him. Between losing Lily, and then two years later his brother, Max had kept moving, not wanting to care about anything or anyone ever again. But as the names continued to tumble from his father’s lips, Max realized he wasn’t the only one who had suffered a deep loss. In his grief, he had acted foolishly, focusing on numbing the pain rather than dealing with it.

Once the ceremony was officially over, Max stepped down from the stage and made his way over to the widows, widowers, and orphans of the men and women who had lost their lives in service of the country.

“Thank you for your family’s sacrifice,” Max said, taking the first woman’s hand and shaking it.

“Thank you, your Royal Highness,” the woman said, tears pooling in the corner of her eyes.

Max made his way down the two rows of families, greeting each of them personally to thank them. By the time he reached the end, the crowd had dispersed, and people were walking around the memorial looking at the names on it.

Lily found Max staring at the name of his brother. She reached out and placed her hand on the side of his arm. “You did a great job speaking during the ceremony. I also noticed you talked with the families afterward.”

“It was the least I could do,” Max said in a quiet whisper.

“Are you all right?” Lily asked with concern.

Slowly, Max nodded. “I’m fine. I just didn’t expect today to be as difficult as it was.”

“It’s understandable, considering your brother and how he passed away. His loss was felt by all of us, but I know you were especially close to him.”

Max turned to face Lily and tried to force out a smile, but the gesture didn’t change how he felt inside. There was a hollowness. He had tried to fill it with partying, women, and expensive toys and vacations, yet none of it had worked. Now that he understood why he had behaved the way he did, Max realized he needed to make peace with the reasons that caused him to act out in a negative way.

“It’s more than just the loss of my brother. I’m realizing there’s a lot of things I haven’t dealt with.”

“If you ever need to talk about any of it, I’m here for you, Max.” Then she added softly, “We could also pray together. I know you’ve never been much for religion, but God cares too.”

“Thank you for the offer. At the moment, I can see Patrick waving to us. It must be time to go. My father has plans for me to go over some legal documents this afternoon.”

He could see the disappointment on her face, but somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to pray. The guilt over his past decisions was plaguing him. He didn’t feel like he deserved God’s mercy or forgiveness, though from his childhood years of attending church, he knew God offered both of them freely.

Max pushed the thoughts away and guided Lily over to join the rest of the royal family before heading back to the palace.

* * *

Lily couldn’t stop thinking about her time with Max at the war memorial ceremony two days ago. She had seen a side to him that confirmed what she witnessed at the children’s wing opening. Max cared about people; however, he had become an expert at hiding it. Yet, the more time he spent in Triola performing his royal duties, the more the kind side of him was emerging, and the playboy was taking a backseat.

Now that he was letting the real Max out—the one she knew was always there below the surface—she could see a happy future with him. The more time she spent with Max, the more she realized she wanted things to work between them.

Today was a great step in that direction. It seemed her prayers had been answered. She had been happily surprised when Max agreed to go to church with her the day before.

As she dabbed on her perfume, she turned to look in the mirror. Lily wasn’t sure when it happened, but she wanted her appearance perfectfor Max. The plum knee-length dress she was wearing would be a hit with Max.

Rather than travel to the church separately, Max had offered that Lily, along with her family, travel with them via the royal limo. Her parents had been pleased, wanting nothing more than to blend the two families together.

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