Sebastian knew it wasn’t wise to jump to conclusions in a serious matter like this. He needed to think about things in an unbiased and calm manner.
"So, to summarise, the suspects for this case are the same as the ones for my mother's murder," he said.
Daniel nodded.
“I was taken aback by the similarity. There’s royal staff involved, you’re involved and so are the two princes. This attempted murder could be connected to the murder case.”
Sebastian felt like everything had become more complicated now that the suspect list was the same. He was barely able to sit to table with suspects for his mother’s murder, it would be even harder to sit there like nothing was wrong with people who had potentially plotted the murder of his husband.
“Am I a suspect in this incident?” he asked.
The police officer looked amused by the question.
“I don’t personally suspect you as a suspect in thi
Edward felt reassured by the vow. “I’ll protect you as well,” he promised. “Pinky promise?” They shook their pinky fingers and Edward smiled widely. They could get through this latest crisis together. “I think we should seal it with a kiss,” Sebastian said with a glint in his eye. Edward was of the same opinion and they indulged in a long kiss. He could tell that Sebastian was being careful with him as he was normally more passionate when kissing. “The royal doctor is perfectly happy with my condition,” Edward said when they parted. “The gauze and bandages can come off soon.” “That’s good,” Sebastian said and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “What did you want to do now?” Edward looked at him in confusion. He had assumed Sebastian’s willingness to stay with him the previous day despite being busy had been a one off. Now it seemed like it wasn’t. “Are you sure you’re okay with missing out on valuable paperwork filling in ti
Edward returned to the car with a triumphant feeling in his chest. After his initial bad luck, he had aced everything else.Sebastian walked alongside him with a fake smile on his face. Edward had been so wrapped in his work that he hadn’t noticed Sebastian having trouble with the children he had been working with. It turned out that one of them had smeared liquid glue into his hair. They got back into the car and Sebastian’s smile immediately disappeared.“Why did I get the difficult children?” he complained. “Please spare me the critique Bernadette, I can see you checking the photos.”Bernadette smiled guiltily.“Edward, you did a fantastic job. Your photos came out brilliantly. King Sebastian, given the circumstances, you did do a good job. Would you like to see the photos?”Edward eagerly took the offered tablet and viewed the photos that had been taken of them. He looked better than he had been e
Sebastian realised that it would be a good time to let go of Edward. There were plenty of people around and if they remained hugging, it would look suspicious.“I now feel that my present to you isn’t going to live up to the same standard,” he said and let go of him.He took a look at the photo frame again and knew that he could find a good place for it. Christmas was often considered a time for families to gather and knowing that this was his first Christmas without his mother had felt sad.It appeared that Edward had been able to perceive that and had decided to give him a family photo of his new family. It was a perfect present.He put the photo frame down carefully and passed over his present to Edward. It was the camera lens Edward had asked for.“It is still a good present,” Edward told him. “It was what I wanted.”The rest of Christmas day went without any issues. Vincent and Conrad didn&rsquo
Edward smiled at his future husband and gave him a light kiss. Sebastian responded quickly. “Did you want to stay for a little longer?” Sebastian asked. “I do want to look like I have had some sleep,” Edward replied. “There’s only so much that makeup can cover up.” He got off the bed and shared a brief kiss with Sebastian. It was tempting to stay, but he knew they could be more open about their relationship after the wedding. He walked back through the secret passageway. Now that he had gone through it so many times, he didn’t pay much attention to what direction he was following. He had a rough idea of where he always was. Edward came to a stop when he picked up the sounds of someone talking. It was an odd time for people to still be up talking. He put his ear to the wall in an effort to pick something up. It worked to some degree, he was able to hear some words. “....Cathedral… sniper… vows… fire escape… assassination…”
Sebastian watched in horror as the bullet hit Edward’s chest and his prone body sank against him. Sebastian caught him immediately and laid him on the ground with care. He didn’t care who was watching anymore.He heard lots of shouts and screams that sounded like they were coming from far away. Edward’s eyes were closed and his breathing was laboured. Sebastian feared the worst.Their happiness couldn’t end on their wedding day.Someone in a paramedic uniform moved him gently to the side and a group of paramedics formed a circle around Edward. Sebastian could only stand and watch as Edward was moved to a stretcher and was rushed back up the aisle.This wasn’t how their wedding day was supposed to go.“I’ll take you to hospital,” a voice at his side said.Sebastian turned to see Bernadette next to him. She always knew what to do so he let her lead him out of the cathedral. There were still crowd
Edward cleared his throat and managed to speak.“...Don’t cry…”He tried to move his hand and found that there was an IV in his arm that was preventing him from moving his hand without feeling pain.“I’ll stop in a moment,” Sebastian promised him. “I need to tell the doctors that you’ve woken up.”Sebastian pressed the button above his bed and Edward assessed the situation from what he could see. He was hooked up to a heart monitor, there was an IV in his arm and another tube that he was unsure about. He must be in intensive care. That made sense, he had been shot after all.A team of doctors quickly arrived and took control of the situation. Edward lost sight of Sebastian and was poked and prodded by the doctors and was asked a lot of questions that he did his best to answer with his croaky voice.Eventually the examination came to an end and Sebastian was able to sit at his
Edward stared at Sebastian in surprise. He hadn’t been expecting this at all. “Why are you giving me this choice?” he questioned. “I drew you into a dangerous and unfair world when I went to the government office to get my match last year,” Sebastian told him. “You’ve been threatened and have received serious injuries because of your association with me. I can’t sit here and let it happen again. You didn’t have a choice last year, but I will give you one now.” The silence between them was long. Edward didn’t know how to answer the question. When he had first been forced into the complicated world of the royal family, he would have loved to have a chance to step away from it. Now that he was much more deeply involved, he wasn’t as willing to leave. He appreciated that Sebastian wanted to give him the choice now. If the situation was reversed, he would have done the same for Sebastian. If he stepped away from royal matters now, he would
The next week for Edward was mostly about his physiotherapy sessions in the morning and resting for the rest of the day.His bullet wound was healing up well and the royal doctor had told him that the scar would heal well.He enjoyed his peaceful time, but he was also aware that it was like living in a bubble. He had no idea what was going on outside of the palace.For all he knew the media was trashing the royal family. The arrests of the two princes would not have been good PR for the royal family. He wanted to know what was happening outside of the palace gates. Despite his desire to know, he was deliberately avoiding looking up anything on the internet in case his name was involved.Bernadette walked past the sitting room and he sprang up. She always had answers to all PR related questions.“You want to know about how the royal family is doing in the news?” she asked after he told her his troubles. “But you’re worried ab