I walked into my apartment, more dazed in my head with the excess of the night. The conference, the humiliation in public and all was a haze. The one thing that I could sense was the tightness in my chest, the suffocating weight of defeat bearing down on me. My kingdom is going to be in shambles if care isn't taken . I walked into the living area, I stood still in shock. Serena. She was sitting at the table, her eyes bright but guarded. Food already out on the table, a wispy cloud of steam hovering over the plates, and yet I couldn't help but wonder how I'd gotten it all wrong. How I'd pushed her away when all she ever did was love me, even in the chaos. I stood there for a moment, my throat constricted, too shocked to talk. She looked at me, as if waiting for me to come out of it.

