Chapter 20
Harald
Sunlight streams through the floor-to-ceiling windows, painting Daniel's skin in golden hues.
I've been awake for hours, unable to stop watching him sleep, cataloguing every perfect detail.
The way his dark curls spill across the pillow, how his hand stays pressed against my chest even in sleep, the slight part of his lips.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand - another message from Erik about palace business requiring my attention. I ignore it. This precious moment with Daniel feels stolen, fragile as spun sugar.
He stirs beside me, stretching like a cat before his eyes flutter open. A sleepy smile spreads across his face. "Morning."
"God morgen, skat." The Danish endearment slips out before I can catch it. Another small betrayal to add to my growing list.
Daniel props himself up on one elbow, studying my face. "You look worried. Everything okay?"
My chest tightens. How do I tell him that our love is both perfect and doomed? That each moment I fall deeper for him, I'm also deceiving him? How can I express this sinking feeling that everything we've found together could be ripped away in an instant?
"Just thinking about work," I deflect, running my fingers through his sleep-mussed hair.
"Mm, the mysterious Danish business empire?" He grins, clearly teasing, but the words hit like a physical blow.
I force a smile, hating how easily the lies come now. "Something like that."
Daniel leans in, pressing a soft kiss to my jaw. "Well, whatever it is, it can wait. You're in New York now."
If only he knew how complicated it really was. The Danish press will already be speculating about my absence. Father will be furious about me skipping meetings. Every minute I spend here puts my secret - and Daniel's privacy - at risk.
But when Daniel kisses me properly, warm and sweet and perfect, I can't bring myself to care about any of it. I pull him closer, losing myself in the feel of him, trying to quiet the voice in my head warning me that this can't last.
Daniel jerks away from our kiss as my phone's shrill ring pierces the morning calm. Ella's name flashes across the screen, and my stomach drops - she wouldn't call unless it was important.
"Sorry, I need to take this. It's my sister, it must be important. "Ella?"
"Harry, turn on CNN now!" Ella's trembling voice sends ice through my veins, dread settling in my stomach.
With shaking hands, I fumble for the remote, my heart pounding as I click through channels.
Daniel sits up, confusion clouding his features.
I can't answer him, can't find the words as my world threatens to shatter.
The bold text scrolling across the screen makes my fingers go numb, the remote slipping from my grasp. "Harald?" Daniel's concerned voice cuts through the rush of blood in my ears. "You're scaring me. What's wrong?"
I remain frozen, unable to look away from the devastating news that threatens to destroy everything we've built.
The anchor's detached voice fills the room, each word another nail in the coffin of my carefully constructed life.
I can practically hear my father's rage already, see the headlines that will flood every newspaper, all because I dared to find happiness with the man beside me.
I see footage of me punching Alex, our private moments now broadcast for the world to dissect. The anchor announces my identity as the first openly gay member of Danish royalty. More photos flash across the screen, each one another violation.
"Harald?" Daniel's voice cracks. "Crown Prince?"
I can't bear to face the betrayal in his eyes. "I was going to tell you," I whisper. "I just wanted a chance to be myself first."
Daniel's emotions crash across his features - shock, hurt, betrayal, anger. The warmth drains from his eyes, replaced by something cold and distant. The wall he'd torn down is suddenly towering between us.
"Everything was a lie?" His question hangs heavy, each syllable striking me like my father's harshest condemnations.
"No, Daniel, please-" I reach for him desperately, but he flinches away. My chest constricts as I watch him retreat, everything we've built crumbling.
"The mental health forum? Was that even real?" His words drip with venom, burrowing deep. "God, I'm such an idiot."
"The forum was real. Everything I told you about myself was real-" My voice cracks with desperation. "Every confession, every vulnerable moment - it was all genuine."
"Except the tiny detail that you're the fucking Crown Prince?" Daniel springs from the bed, pacing. "My face is all over international news. Everyone will see this!"
Horror dawns on his face, my stomach churning with guilt. I've exposed him to exactly the scrutiny I was trying to escape. The weight of my title has come crashing down on this innocent man who trusted me.
"I never meant for this to happen," I whisper, the words inadequate. "I just wanted..." My voice cracks. For once, I had dared to reach for something real, but even that has transformed into another royal mess.
"What you wanted?" Daniel's laugh holds no humor.
"That's all this has ever been about, hasn't it?
Did you ever think about what this would do to me?
" His words strike with devastating accuracy, each one a reminder of my selfishness.
The bitterness in his voice makes my stomach churn with guilt, knowing he has every right to his anger.
"You lied to me! You told me you wanted something real, that this was serious!
" His voice cracks, the sound splitting my chest wide open.
"Now I see you've been hiding who you are, and I can't trust anything you said!
Everything we built feels like a lie, and I don't know if I can feel safe with you anymore! "
Each word hits like a physical blow. My throat constricts as I watch him wrap his arms around himself - a protective gesture I recognize from when he talked about Alex. The realization that I've made him feel as vulnerable and betrayed as his cheating ex did makes bile rise in my throat.
I want to reach for him, to pull him close and promise that everything will be okay, but I've lost that right.
My hands clench uselessly at my sides as I watch the man I love retreat into himself, building walls I'd spent weeks carefully dismantling.
The distance between us spans more than just the few feet of plush hotel carpet - it's a chasm of broken trust and shattered expectations.
"Daniel, please - I was terrified!" My voice cracks as emotions surge through me.
"Every person who's ever known who I am has treated me differently.
They see the crown, the title, the wealth - never just me.
Never Harald." I run my trembling hands through my hair, my chest tight with panic.
"I couldn't bear the thought of you looking at me the way everyone else does. "
The words pour out of me now, raw and desperate. "Do you know what it's like? Having every interaction, every relationship tainted by who you're born to be? I just wanted one person - one person who could see me for who I really am, not what I represent."
Daniel's eyes flash with hurt and anger. "You should have trusted me with the truth! I can't believe I let myself fall for you, only to find out you kept the most important part of yourself hidden! How could you do this to me?"
His words strike deep, and I feel tears burning behind my eyes.
"Important? Being Crown Prince isn't who I am - it's what I was born into!
The man who held you last night, who listened to your stories, who fell in love with your smile - that's the real me.
" My voice breaks. "The Harald who struggles with anxiety, who feels crushed under his father's expectations, who finally felt like he could breathe when he met you - that's who I am. "
I take a shaky breath, watching him through blurred vision. "I know I should have told you sooner. But every day I waited, I grew more terrified of losing this - losing you. For the first time in my life, someone saw me as just Harald, and I couldn't... I couldn't bear to watch that change."
The CNN broadcast continues in the background, each new photo of our private moments together driving home the magnitude of my betrayal. I see Daniel flinch as they show footage of our kiss on the Wonder Wheel, that perfect moment now tainted by my deception.
My heart races as Daniel retreats, when the door bursts open. Erik rushes in, disheveled and sweating.
"Harald! We need to go now! Your father is demanding you return home—the situation is out of control!"
The words hit me like a blow. Of course Father would demand my return - the scandal of his son with another man would be intolerable. My stomach churns imagining his rage and disgust.
Daniel's eyes widen at Erik's entrance. "Your secretary... more lies."
"Daniel, please-" I reach for him, but Erik cuts through my plea.
"Your Highness, there's no time. The press is surrounding the hotel. Security is preparing the exit, but we must move."
The title makes Daniel flinch. He backs away, trapped and betrayed. Seeing him pressed against the wall, trying to shrink, breaks me. This is what I tried to prevent - him feeling cornered, exposed, vulnerable.
My phone buzzes - Ella's number. Father must be livid if she's calling back so soon. The walls close in, trapping us in this nightmare of my own making.
Erik hovers, his mask cracking with concern. "Harald, please. We need to leave now."
"Daniel, wait!" I cry out, but my plea falls on deaf ears as he tears off the silk pajamas I'd given him - the intimate gift now a symbol of my deception. The soft material drops to the floor like discarded trust, my heart clenching as he roughly pulls on yesterday's wrinkled clothes.
His movements are jerky, desperate, like a wounded animal seeking escape. I recognize this behavior - the same defensive posture he described after finding Alex with another man. Only this time, I'm the one who's caused this pain.
The transformation in his face cuts deeper than any of Father's disapproving glares.
Those expressive eyes that had looked at me with such warmth now turn cold and distant.
His features shut down completely - a mask sliding into place that I recognize from my own royal training. The irony isn't lost on me.
"Daniel, please, just let me explain, don't leave like this-" I step forward, but Erik's hand on my shoulder holds me back. Daniel doesn't even look at me as he yanks open the door, his shoulders rigid with tension.
The slam of the door echoes through the suite like a gunshot, leaving behind a deafening silence broken only by the continued murmur of news coverage detailing our exposed relationship.
My legs give out, and I sink to the floor, my breath coming in short gasps. My fingers dig into the plush carpet as I try to ground myself, but the panic rises like a tide.
"Your Highness..." Erik kneels beside me, his voice gentle. "Harald, breathe."
I shake my head, tears burning my eyes. "I've ruined everything. He trusted me, Erik. He let me in, showed me his vulnerabilities, and I..." My voice breaks. "I betrayed him just like everyone else in his life has."
Erik's hand rests on my shoulder, steady and familiar. "You were trying to protect yourself. To have something real."
"And look what it cost him!" I gesture wildly at the TV still broadcasting our private moments. "I exposed him to exactly what I was hiding from. The press, the scrutiny, the judgment - I've thrown him into the spotlight without any warning or protection."
"We can help protect him now," Erik says softly. "But first, we need to get you somewhere safe. Your father-"
"To hell with what Father wants! When has Father ever given a flying fuck about what I want!" The words explode from me with surprising force. "I need to find Daniel. I need to explain-"
"Harald." Erik's grip tightens on my shoulder, his voice stern. "He needs time. And right now, you have responsibilities that can't wait. We need to go."
The weight of my title settles back onto my shoulders like a lead cape, suffocating and drowning me. But all I can see is Daniel's face, twisted with hurt and betrayal, as he realized the extent of my deception.