Echoes of an Obsession

The man's hands trembled as he stared at the video on his phone, heart pounding. The young woman caught up in some scandal looked eerily familiar - so much so that it bordered on impossible. 

Could it really be...Princess Natalia?

He squinted, studying her features intently. No, it couldn't actually be Natalia herself, not after over 20 years had passed. But the resemblance was uncanny, from her delicate bone structure to those unmistakable eyes. A daughter, perhaps? 

His frown deepened at the thought of Natalia having a child with the man she had abandoned him for so long ago. To have started a family with her commoner lover while he remained trapped, obsessing over her from afar.

So consumed was he in his bitter reverie that he failed to notice his wife entering the study, a tray of food in her hands. She paused, taking in the intense look on his face as he watched the video replaying over and over.