Chapter 134

The next morning, Pearl woke up and checked her emails. Dylan and sent her a cute little poem he wrote about a girl who went to Italy to find herself. He wanted to make sure she was safe and she emailed him back, telling him she was good and that she missed him and wished he was there and that she would tell him all about it when she got home. Nothing from Rhys. Could he just leave her and not ever try again? Did he ever love her at all? The whole thing was insane. Their romance. His light and wonderful attitude, how she thought he was the answer to everything and she was sure he was in love with her and would be good to her. She was certain she had made the right choice. Now she didn't know. She was left with his silence and her questions without answers.

Her phone rang. It was Iris. "How is it going? Do you love the villa?" She asked Pearl.

"It's perfect thank you so much." She told Iris.

"I'm glad. Everything is good here. We are still staying at you house until you get back. I'm sure you know Rhys moved some of his things out and went back to LA." Iris told her. Pearl knew he was going but didn't know that he had moved his things out. "What did he take?" She asked

"Just clothes mostly. And some books that I could see. He seemed pretty angry. He didn't even say goodbye to Blake and I when he left." Iris told her. Pearl put her head down. He just gave up. He gave up when things got a little rough for the first time. If he acted like this now, imagine what he would act like if something major happened. It was awful to think he could just throw it away. Her thoughts went to Fi and what she said about him being conditioned. Celebrity relationships were different from what Pearl was used to. This kind of thing was more common for them. She held back tears and told Iris she would call her in a few days and to keep her updated by email.

As she hung up, the maid knocked and told Pearl she had a guest in the foyer. A guest? Only Iris and Dylan knew exactly where she was staying. She walked to the front entrance to find a familiar face waiting there for her.

"Fi! Oh my god! What are you doing here?!" Pearl exclaimed, hugging her and inviting her in.

"I practically had to water board your assistant to tell me the name of the house you were staying in, but she gave up the info and here I am! I wanted to surprise you. This house is incredible!" Fi looked around and touched the furniture and told the maid to bring the wine and keep it coming. "I can only stay for a couple of nights but I thought with everything going on, you could use a friend. It sucks being alone in this romantic city. I'm no Rhys but I sure can drink with you! Saluti!" Fi said as she tipped her glass and smiled. Pearl was so happy to see her. She showed her around the villa and offered her a room of her choice. She chose the room with a similar view that Pearl had and after she got settled, they had dinner on the terrace.

"My Pearl. Whatever are you going to do about this mess that is your marriage?" Fi said as she moved hair away from Pearl's face to her ear. "Matt and I tried to talk to Rhys but he is being so hard-headed right now. He's never like this and we can't figure out why. He is still blaming you for everything. It's wrong." Fi poured another glass of wine. "But I'm proud of you. You stood your ground and left him to come to this beautiful place. Alone. That took balls, kid." She said. Pearl nodded. She told Fi that Rhys being the stubborn asshole he was made it easy for her to come to Italy to be alone. It was better than being with a man that was disgusted by her. He was gaslighting her like her ex husband used to do. Pearl's main focus on this trip was to find out why men offered her the world, just to take it from her after she gave herself to them. They liked to control her and make her out to be the crazy one. The worthless one. She learned her lesson the first time and she wasn't going to allow Rhys or any other man to do it to her again. This is his first and only strike. Either he admitted what he was doing and worked on fixing it or she was done. Fi nodded in understanding and told her she was doing the right thing. Fi acted like there was more she wasn't telling her but Pearl didn't pry. Some things I don't want to know tonight, Pearl thought. She was enjoying this beautiful view and city with her lovely new friend. It was a perfect day.

The next morning, Fi came to Pearl's room and told her to gear up. They were going to Florence for the day and night. Pearl jumped out of bed and got ready. She wore a short sundress and hat and when the sun hit her skin, it sent warmth and a feeling of contentment through her.

Their day consisted of museums, cafes and other little shops and things to experience. And shopping. Pearl had never shopped so much in her life. When the sunset and the car was packed full of things they bought, Fi had the driver take them to a luxurious hotel in the heart of the city. "There is a rooftop club here. I want to dance!" Fi said as they told the driver they would be a awhile upstairs.

The place was classy and stylish. Modern for such an old city and Pearl could tell this was where people with money came to enjoy themselves. It was crowded and Fi led them to a long white couch along the wall of the roof. They sat down and Fi told the waiter she wanted two bottles of their best red wine. "I don't care what you bring, it's all amazing here. Just make sure it's red." Fi told him. Two men approached and asked to sit next to them. Pearl could tell they were Italian and Fi was quite cordial to them. Pearl had no interest in talking to them so she excused herself to go to the restroom. As she passed a table, she overheard two women speaking English, talking about a party happening there later and that they were happy they got a table. "Is he really coming? This is insane! I can't believe it!" She heard one of them say. Pearl came back to the couch to find the men gone but Fi talking to another extremely handsome Italian man. Pearl sat and drank her wine, listening to the voices blending together and amidst the candlelight and glitter of the beautiful venue she was sitting in. It was magical. A few minutes later, several staff members began cleaning up and clearing a space for what looked like a large party. Several guests left or where asked to leave. Pearl and Fi seemed to have made the cut. "What is going on?" Pearl asked Fi.

"I have no idea but it sounds like we are in the right place at the right time." Fi said.

Finally, the large party seated across the roof from them began to arrive. Men in suits that looked like secret service agents came in and stood along the wall and in walked an entourage of people around what looked like 6 or 7 people. Pearl and Fi couldn't make them out because they were standing and Fi and Pearl were sitting. "They look important, eh?" Fi said, pouring another glass of wine. "Maybe it's the bloody president of the United States." Fi joked. The crowd parted and Pearl's heart began to pound in her chest.

Erik.

Sitting there with his family, she recognized his little brother, also a prince and also his cousin, a duchess. The whole frickin youth of the royal family was 20 feet away from them and Pearl had spent a night with the most important one of them all, the crown prince and heir to the throne. What was he doing there?? Stalking her again? No way. He wasn't that kind of stalker. Was this just a fucked up coincidence? This is just my luck, she thought.