Taming A Billionaire

The third point of view:

Isabella was grateful for the fact that those little troubles - Allen, Ailee, and Neon- had left them alone. She loved them but God, they were so exhausting. Had Niklaus felt that same way with her when she was younger, Isabella doubted it. Compared to the twins, she was more quiet and sensible. 

Aside from that, she needed time with Pedro. It's been so long since she had a one on one date without the company of others ever since they came to Lincolnshire.

So when Akim suggested they take a tour of the palace during their free time, Isabella had accepted without hesitation - that was the fastest way to lose the kids. 

As expected of the palace, it was ridiculously large with a large mass of land and a total of five hundred rooms. Doing the calculation, Isabella couldn't help but shake her head. So many resources. 

The palace had its own forestry, farming, and a whole lot of others. Isabella was happy when Neon decided he was going to visit the garden. She knew her siblings had unconsciously formed a bond with Neon and would soon follow after him - they were always together. That meant the kids were gone, leaving Anabelle and Julie. 

Isabella didn't have to worry about Julie at all - they both can't stand each other. Compared to him, Anabelle was a tough opponent to get rid of - the girl was clingy as hell. 

"So what now?" Isabella asked when they came to the end of the tour at the stable. 

Yes, she craved to have a ride on one of the horses but that will be with Pedro by her side, not the other couples. Moreover, she didn't have a clue if Anabelle had horse riding lessons - she wouldn't want anyone falling off the horse and bawling her eyes out. 

"Is there anywhere else you want to visit?" Isabella intentionally threw the bait knowing Anabelle would inevitably take it. Sometimes, it was a relief to have a less bright person in the family - she even couldn't fool the twins easily. 

Anabelle shook her head thoughtfully, "I don't think so,"

Isabella's smile widened, "That's means we should call it a -"

"The royal collection room!" Akim said before Isabella could finish the rest of her sentence.

Isabella gritted her teeth, she was tempted to teach her royal cousin a lesson. Can't someone get alone time with their boyfriend here?

"The royal collection room?" Julie puckered his face, "That sounds like boring,"

Oh, thank you for once, Julie, Isabella breathed a sigh of relief. She wanted to be away from Anabelle's claws. No offense but Anabelle's stressing was like a leech that sucks blood and never benefits the host. 

"Oh no, I think it's going to be interesting," Anabelle said and Isabella felt like dying at that spot.

"Isn't that right, Izzy?"

"Huh?" Isabella was distracted from her thoughts.

"The collection room, wouldn't it be an interesting place to visit?" Anabelle added immediately, "I mean think of the number of pictures we could see and learn about Lincolnshire's history as Jacqueline wanted. Don't you think so?" 

"Of course," Isabella found herself conceding," It's a good thing to know about the royal lineage, it could help us in the long run," she added. Damn it. 

Honestly, Isabella could outrightly reject coming along with Anabelle, but something was charming about Anabelle's eyes. Once she focuses those orbs on you with a hint of tears, shit goes down real fast. You can't resist her. 

Perhaps, that had always been the reason she had allowed her - Anabelle - to follow her when they were young even though she - Isabella - disliked her. Isabella couldn't reject her while looking her in the eyes. 

"Yes!" Anabelle rejoiced while Isabella was dying inside. 

"You're the best, Izzy!" Anabelle said, throwing her arm around her as she hollered, "Let's go!" 

Isabella had no choice but to fake a smile, keeping up with her cousin's enthusiastic steps. This would surely pass, she willed herself to believe that. 

Just like every other room in the palace, the collection room was spacious and lavishly decorated. The roof was vaulted with gold leafing and the walls painted golden as well. Then on the walls were numerous oil paintings. 

Upon their arrival, some employees were dusting the frames of the painting. Upon seeing the prince, they all stopped whatever they were doing and bowed to him as a sign of respect. 

"It sure feels good to be a royal. You even get to command adults," there was a hint of jealousy in Isabella's tone. 

"I can ask grandma to make you a princess by title - you'd get the same treatment as I do," Akim innocently offered. 

"Oh please, don't," She rolled her eyes, "I'll go crazy being a royal, so boring," 

"I wouldn't mind being one," Anabelle said to him. 

"Of course, you wouldn't, you're already driving me crazy," Isabella muttered under her breath. 

But Pedro heard her and smiled. He reached out and drew her closer to his side, rubbing his hand up and down her arm in a soothing manner. 

"Your highness," One of the employees said, looking at them questioningly. 

"Ah, You don't need to worry about them, they're my family members," Akim took responsibility, having understood the hidden message. 

"Wait a minute, does she think we're going to steal the painting?" Julie at once understood the secret messages passed between Akim and the employee. 

"More like ruin it," Isabella hinted that he was careless. 

"This is not the first time someone tried to," the employee said this time, "But I can assure you that every single painting in here -big or small - has a tracker in it. You won't go far. Don't try to ruin it either, the cameras are watching," she dipped her head in the direction of the surveillance cameras in the room. 

Julie said with a haughty tone, "Don't be so proud, I bet those paintings cost just a few million. I can even buy -" 

"Billions," Isabella was quick to correct him with a smirk. She loved putting him in a tight spot. 

"B-billions?" Julie choked, "That single painting?" he cleared his throat awkwardly, "Well, the royal family does have a lot of worth," He bit more than he can chew. 

The others snickered at Julie's embarrassed face. 

"As I said, no stealing nor touching. Have a nice exhibition," The employee said and left. 

Although they were alone, they were not fools to think they were not being watched, the surveillance camera was enough proof. 

"So where do we start?" Anabelle was the most enthusiastic. 

"We start with our culture!" Akim instantly led them to a section of the room that featured a collection of native Lincolnshireans and their skills. 

"We, Lincolnshireans," Akim began, 

"are kind, hard-working people. Unlike other kingdoms, we didn't abandon our culture for westernization, rather we welcomed and blended it into our culture, and now, here we are. Our people are recognized for their kind spirit, gentle soul, and creativity…" He went on about their traditions and contrary to Isabella's earlier thought, it wasn't boring at all. 

It was almost like stepping into a new world. A world so similar yet different from hers and one she didn't know existed, until now.

It dawned on them why the queen wanted them to learn about Lincolnshire culture. She wanted them to feel welcomed and recognize their oneness - they weren't so different. Besides, there was nothing wrong with learning something new and the truth is, it was actually thrilling. 

Akim treated them to more tales about Lincolnshire as they passed painting after painting. Not long after, they stepped into the section for royal ancestry. But to their shock, it was empty. Not really empty, but there were few pictures compared to the others. 

"Isn't the royal ancestry supposed to be traced from one generation to another? Why are there just three paintings?" Anabelle asked, confused. 

"Because it was destroyed," Isabella said, her eyes focused on a picture at her left. 

Stunned by the revelation, they all followed Isabella's gaze and it rested on the painting of a man piercing a spear into the back of another man with blood forming a puddle around his feet. There was something melancholic yet creepy in a way it sent goosebumps down one's spine about that painting.

Whoever painted that piece must have witnessed the event because it was laid bare with blood-chilling details. The strokes of his brush were descriptive; the horror on the face of the fallen and the nauseating gratification on the face of the attacker. 

"We call them the invaders," Akim explained, his eyes trained on the painting, "They had settled in Lincolnshire in the early years and our people welcomed them with open arms -" 

"Like a sheep welcoming a wolf in their herd," Isabella butt in. She looked at her little cousin, "Your people might need to work on their kindness," 

Akim smiled, "My grandmother the queen told me that was painted by my grandfather, the late king, as a gift to his son, my father, Kai, just before he was sent away for his survival. Queen-mother had made sure the painting survived while the others were destroyed by the invaders,"

"It's a beautiful painting," Anabelle felt for him," A sad, beautiful painting, "

"It's a call for survival, " Pedro mused. 

"Never repeat the same mistake twice," Julie said. 

"Betrayal must never be forgotten," Isabella gave her own view. 

Akim turned to them, "That's why we can not have more war. Not only does war take away lives, it erases history as well," 

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