She knew there was likely a good reason for it that had nothing to do with her specifically, but rather with everything going on in Dellisole. Between his mum's health and getting ready to take over the day-to-day business of the country and who knew what else, he likely just hadn't had a chance to get back in touch with her.
The knock on the door of her hotel room surprised her, but Victoria looked through the peep hole then opened it. "Cap?"
The family's head of security stood outside the room. He tipped his head toward her. "Good morning, Your Royal Highness. I need you to come with me please."
Victoria nodded and went to put shoes on. Grabbing her purse, she left with Cap.
"You know everything, don't you?" she asked as they entered the elevator.
"Yes, ma'am." He didn't elaborate or pass judgment on her actions, just confirmed his awareness.
"Does anyone else? My brother?" Victoria looked up at him as the door slid closed.
"I haven't told him anything, ma'am. Not since you began your travels." He stared straight ahead.
"Nothing about why I left?" That was something she'd kept very close to the vest. She knew they would disagree with her anyway.
"It's not my place to tell him things he doesn't need to know for the safety and security of the family or country." Cap still didn't look at her, but kept his voice level.
Victoria didn't ask anything else. It only took a couple of minutes to reach the SUV waiting for them. As they traveled through the streets toward the palace, she stared out the window but didn't really see anything as it went past.
Fifteen minutes later, they drove through one of the side the gates of the palace. She didn't want to have this conversation with her brother or her mum or the PR team or anyone else.
It would have been easier if Enzo was with her, but instead she'd be doing it alone. Could they video chat with him so she wasn't completely on her own?
The vehicle came to a stop in the garrison. They wouldn't want her arrival to be publicly visible.
Instead of going to her brother's office, she was shown to her mother's. "Where's Frederick?" She looked around but didn't see him anywhere.
Her mum stood up from behind her desk and greeted her with a hug. "He's still recovering from his appendectomy. He does want to see you, but won't be able to today. He's not even here just now. I'm not sure what the plan is after that, but he likely won't be told about any of this just yet. We'll be keeping all but the most urgent things off his plate for the next couple of weeks."
It still stung a little bit that no one had officially informed her of the surgery. She hadn't known anything except what Enzo told her. Looking it up online would have given her answers, but she didn't want to get the media-filtered version or even the official statement. She wanted to hear it directly from her family.
They took a seat near a small table.
"Want to tell me more about this fiancé of yours?" Her mum picked up her cup of tea. "You didn't say much the other day, but I need to know more now. Since your brother is unable to be a part of this at the moment, it's up to us to figure out how to release this information the best way. Who is he?"
"His name is Enzo."
"You told me that."
“He's from Dellisole." She stared into her coffee cup like she had done the day before.
"What does he do for a living?"
Something about her tone made Victoria wonder if her mum already knew more than she was letting on. "He's in the family business," she hedged.
"Victoria." The warning note in her voice said her mother wouldn't allow her to get away with it.
With a deep breath, she took a sip of her coffee before speaking. "His name is Vincenzo Gianni Raphael, and he's the next king of Dellisole."
Her mother didn't look surprised at all. Was it because she already knew or because she was that good at schooling her reactions?
"I see. Does his family know?"
"He was supposed to talk to his mum the other day, but we haven’t had time for more than a few quick texts." That bothered her. A lot. "I know there's been a lot going on with his family, so I'm not overly surprised."
A flash of something crossed her mum's face. "Is everything all right with the queen?"
