Chapter 142

"And now, on behalf of the polo association and the 37th annual charity ball of Rome, we would like to introduce his royal highness, Prince Friederike Pilsen-Chamberlain, the crown prince of Wales and future King of England." The crowd roared and clapped.

"I'll just be a sec, darling." He smiled and said to Pearl, leaving her side for only the second time that evening.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the annual charity polo match and ball, I thank each and every one of you for the time and effort you have all put into this evening to raise money for such noble causes. One of those causes being the New Hope Foundation, a charity incredibly important to me. It has become an international success in it's assisting women of all nationalities with becoming independent of abuse and trafficking and allowing them the ability to achieve a better life for themselves and for their children by providing housing, education, counseling and grant money to help them find strength to live on their own. A little over a year ago, I heard a woman speak on this matter and it touched my heart in a way nothing else has, which made me even more intent on making this charity a priority. She chose to speak of her personal struggles with abuse at an event we held in the US with several companies there. She bravely stood on stage without and preparation and said, I'll never forget it, "One of the basic human rights an abuser takes away from you is the right to be angry with him. No matter how badly he treats you, he believes that your voice shouldn't rise and your blood shouldn't boil. The privilege of rage is reserved for him alone. When your anger does jump out of you—as will happen to any abused woman from time to time—he is likely to try to jam it back down your throat as quickly as he can. Then he uses your anger against you to prove what an irrational person you are. And you are so torn down inside, you believe it. Abuse can make you feel straitjacketed. It can make you feel small and scared and unworthy of love, both giving and receiving. You may develop physical or emotional reactions to swallowing your anger, your pride, such as depression, nightmares, emotional numbing, or eating and sleeping problems, which the abuser may use as an excuse to belittle you further or make you feel crazy. And you have to work so hard to find any value in yourself whatsoever, let alone enough to crawl out of the ashes left of the life you thought you had, to finally break free and stand on your own. This charity could help so many women become the Phoenix they were always meant to be by giving them a much needed light at the end of a very dark tunnel. I know. I was one of those women for years and I saw my mother be one as well. If I or many others like myself would have had access to something like this, we could have saved so much heartbreak and fear and damage we now carry for the rest of our lives."

Pearl felt her chest might collapse. It was her exact speech from her company charity event. She could feel and hear her heart pounding. The emotions that were building inside of herself felt like they may make her faint. To hear her words, her raw and pained words spoken in this place. To these people by him. By the prince of England. It was too much.

"And that woman is the beautiful woman that has been standing beside me all evening. Ms. Pearl Clarke." He motioned to her in the audience. Everyone turned toward her. "A woman that became a Phoenix and rose from the ashes and is now the owner of a Fortune 500 company and a signed recording artist with Sony Epic records. The pride we should all have for this incredible woman is insurmountable. So please, find it in your hearts to give to this or any of these important charities this evening. Make a difference. Be the difference. Thank you again and I wish you a wonderful evening. Thank you." Erik took a bow and the crowd applauded and cheered.

Erik took a few moments shaking hands and speaking to people both on stage and in the crowd. She was thankful for his delay, she needed the time to compose herself.

He returned to her finally and she started to speak. "Erik, I..."

"I told you that it meant something to me. And that because of it I wanted to find out more about you, had to find out more about you. I memorized that speech. Hearing your small and exhausted voice saying it all. I'm glad you could be here tonight to hear me retell it and applaud the woman whose words were so incredibly moving." He kissed her hand.

"Let's have another drink, shall we?" He said. She started to speak again. "And you're welcome." He said with a smile, taking her hand and leading her around the room again to newly adoring faces, even more eager to meet her.