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I've only seen Stonehenge from the car before, but seeing it up close is weird. I imagine it's a tiny wonder compared to when you see the Pyramids or something. The stones are absolutely massive, though even we're not allowed up close. The Dahlia Festival is among the smaller stones the National Trust allows people to touch close by, and spreads across to the visitor centre inside.

Kai told me on the way here that the Crown Estate owns Stonehenge, but it's managed by the National Trust and English Heritage.

I follow him around the festival, looking at each display of dahlia flowers and arrangements, including a trilithon made of dahlias and greenery – the shape of the stones, Kai explained – and watch on as all the visitors and flower experts stare between the show and us.

The whole area smells sweet and fragrant. When I looked it up on the information sheet they gave us, it read some people sometimes mistake a dahlia scent for jasmine, and I can see it. I think it's the honka surprise that has a fragrant note. Some of them don't have any scent at all, which they've put in a different part of the festival, so people with allergies can go to one specific part of the festival.

"We'll get headdresses soon," Kai whispers. "They're making them now."

I grin. "Really? Won't they be heavy?"

He shakes his head. "No, they'll be more like flower crowns for us. Don't worry."

"I like this one." I point out a small arrangement of different dahlias in pink and purple. "The waterlily one is my favourite so far."

"You're thinking for the hero award thing?"

"Yeah, it looks cute. Waterlilies also mean birth and new starts, just like dahlias. It's to do with their ability to grow from the water. Could be worth noting in the speech," I say.

He meets my gaze. We know why I'm saying it; when we award the hero dahlia thing, Kai plans on announcing the pregnancy, so my idea fits quite well.

"I'll keep that in mind, Peach. Not just a pretty face after all," he jokes.

"Shush. By the way, I want a photo with you under the dahlia arch."

He grins and nods. "Noted."

I let him go and gesture to the other part of the festival further towards the stones. "I've never been to see the stones. Can we?"

He nods. "I'll be there in a minute."

I smooth down my cardigan a little, careful to not show too much. There's a small bump growing, but only in certain-shaped clothing. For these types of engagements, Kai told me jeans were fine, so I paired them with a nice yet slightly baggy blouse and a cardigan. The cameras are basically on us the whole time here, making it hard to be as normal as possible.

I stand by the small rope they put up to keep people fifteen yards away from the stones and stare ahead. They look spectacular up close, and though I've never really been one for history and archaeology, something is humbling about being even this close to them.

I know the press is following me, or at least the photographers are taking pictures behind me.

"Mila! Mila!" one of them yells at me.

I'm actually unsure if I'm meant to be speaking to them, but I know for a fact it'd be worse if I appear awkward and stand-offish, especially in a laid-back moment like this. I turn around to see a man with a TV camera in front of me. Oh, wow, they love to get in your face.

"Hi," I say with a smile.

"How are you settling into royal life now you're engaged to Prince Kai?" he asks.

I smile and try to keep this simple. "It's definitely different from the life I had before! But worth it."

"How are you finding life as a newly working royal?"

"Fun. I've never been to Stonehenge before like this – only seen it in passing, and seeing all the beautiful displays here is wonderful."

The interviewer nods and smiles. "Have you met the King and Queen yet? Do they like you?"

"I met them a while back; this question was asked in my engagement interview I think. King Hugh and Queen Charlotte are lovely."

"When can we expect the wedding?"

I laugh, though it's a fake laugh, I hope it seems genuine. "Not sure yet. We're hoping to set a date soon. Lots to prepare and plan for, I imagine."

"Was it a quick romance with Prince Kai?"

"I—it probably seems like it on the outside, but when you know, you know!"

Holy shit, I hope Kai is on his way over.

"Any funny stories? The prince was seen out recently drunk on the streets of Windsor. Any insight into that? The palace has wiped those stories off under the carpet."

I turn to properly face him. He's on about just before I was moved to Windsor when Kai hit the headlines for being drunk. "That's none of my business, and I won't be answering questions on my fiancé's behalf."

"What attracted you to Prince Kai?"

A laugh escapes my mouth. "Well, he's attractive, funny, charming, and he puts up with my clumsiness."

He nods and turns to gesture to the stones. "You say you've never been here before?"

"No. It's like when I first saw Windsor Palace up close; bit of a star-struck moment. It's like being in a Disney movie, you know? When Cinderella goes into the castle for the first time. Things like this don't happen to people like me; a girl from the coast becomes a royal family member! I still don't understand what he saw in me, but here we are."

Immediately, I know I'm too chatty. Kai will kill me. I'm way too casual, way too, well, me. This is what the media wants, though.

"What's your favourite part of the festival so far?" he asks.

I see Kai standing behind the camera and watching me. How the hell long has he been there? Fuck!

"I'm being told I get a dahlia headdress soon, so I think that will be my favourite part. When I was a child, my dad used to make me little daisy crowns, and I'd run around pretending to be a pixie."

"Will we see that today?"

I laugh. "I don't think so, somehow! Maybe if I've had one too many to drink—" I stop immediately.

Kai is standing there giggling behind his hand, turning bright red.

"Well, I don't think you'll be seeing that, either!" I add in, feeling the bright red flush right through me.

The interviewer is laughing now, too. "Thank you for talking to us, Mila. Enjoy the rest of the festival."

"Thank you," I say. They turn the camera around so it's not on me, and immediately I slump and follow Kai out of their earshot.

"I'm so sorry. I was put on the spot. That's so awkward!" I whisper.

He's still laughing. "No, no, that was funny. You're new to this, and they know it. They're feeding off it, challenging you to see how you do. Classic British media. You did fine. A few faux pas, but again, you're new to this, and the first time you've been on the spot like that."

I narrow my eyes. "Why didn't you rescue me?"

"Because there will be moments like this, and you need to get used to it. Plus, it was fun seeing how you answered, Peach."

I cringe. "But I mentioned drinking and not knowing why you chose me, and running around like a pixie. Ugh, your parents are going to kill me."

Kai turns and puts his hand on my shoulders; a move he's explained to me is the acceptable way for a man in royalty to have contact with his partner. Apparently holding hands isn't acceptable, unless in exceptional circumstances. Despite our fake relationship, I find that ridiculous.

He leads me towards the visitor's centre, where we're going to get our flower crowns. "They're not going to kill you. At worst, they just remind you how to deal with interviews. At best, they'll just ignore it and pass it off as nerves. You are fine, Peach. Now, let's go get our crowns!"

"You know, the more you call me Peach, the more I wonder if I'm like Princess Peach. You know from Mario?"

He laughs. "I didn't even think of that, but maybe when we're married, we could change your name to that—"

"No!" I laugh all the same.

"I'll make you see it'll be worth it."

"I suppose I am like a damsel in distress, right? Prince Kai rescues Princess Peach multiple times. But in the big twist, I'm not really in distress and I can break the curse on the realm!" I throw a hand out in a mock spell. "Zap! Princess Peach saves everyone!"

Kai laughs. "You're something all right. Definitely not a damsel in distress." He's watching me closely as I pretend to put a spell on him to break a curse. It's this moment that feels perfect in a small way. Maybe I really did break a curse; the curse of the stress this situation has put on us.

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The speech is taking place on the grass by the main exhibit of dahlias, and it's just before lunchtime. According to Kai, we're going to make the speech – or he is – and then leave. After we leave is when the picnics and cricket match are going to happen, and though we could stay, it's not within what they agreed for us, so we have to leave. Personally, I think the best part of the day was going to be lunch and cricket, but that's just me.

My dahlia crown is resting on my hair comfortably; luckily, I wore a ponytail as it's keeping it in place. The maker put one of each type on mine, and in mostly pinks and purples, while they did the same, but in blues and purples for Kai. He's taken his off for the speech.

The cameras are firmly on Kai on his little podium thing, while I'm standing off to one side with the leader of the dahlia society. I never saw the speech he wrote, but I know we decided on the waterlily dahlia as the winner, and the florist who made the display gets a certificate, five-hundred quid and a replica of their display made and shown in the visitor centre, and of course, bragging rights.

Kai takes a breath and continues his speech after his introduction. "...it's been a pleasure for myself and my fiancée, Mila, to be here to look at every one of the beautiful dahlia displays today. The National Dahlia Society and the many florists and gardeners have put on a wonderful display, and I speak for every visitor here, I believe, when I say it's made the nation proud to see the first one in over one-hundred and forty years."

Everyone claps, including me and the leader guy. If memory serves right, he said his name was Alan or Alistair. I can't remember which. Luckily, I don't have to speak.

I've done enough embarrassing mess-ups today.

Kai carries on. "Myself and Mila were asked to be the judges of the Hero of the Festival award today to celebrate the first festival. Mila, did you want to come up here and help me read out the winner?"

Instantly, I want to shrink into myself and run away, but that would be much worse for me, reputation-wise. I agreed to this, and it's not like I'm getting married – yet. Instead, I smile and stand the way they taught me to: carefully, using feet close together and full of grace. No hands, Miss Kennedy!

I stand beside Kai at the podium. His hand falls on the small of my back, and though we agreed not to let this get the better of us, the sparks of a chemical reaction starts sparking at the contact. I hate this so much because my mind knows where me and Kai belong, and it's not the same thing as where my heart is on this scale.

"We will announce the winner and then talk about why we chose it," Kai explains. "Mila, if you want to do the honours?"

I nod and stand in front of the microphone. "The winner of the festival, and therefore the Hero of the Festival today is... the waterlily dahlia."

The florists who made the display comes up to a round of applause to collect the certificate and prizes.

When she's done, she sits where I was sitting beside the leader of the society. I turn back to face Kai, who takes the lead.

"Mila and I took a while to decide which would be the winner. All the different displays and flowers were absolutely fantastic, but of course, they charged us with finding one winner," Kai explains. He glances at me with a smile before carrying on. "As for the reason we chose the waterlily dahlia. It's a bit selfish, really, I will admit."

As he pauses, there are a lot of questioning looks in the crowd, but none of them look bad. My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I know this will be a message from Gemma. We've been barely talking recently, and I know it's because she must feel hurt that I didn't tell her the gossip. I reached out again yesterday and I'm hoping this is her response. But I can't look at it right now.

Kai carries on. "So, Mila and I were speaking about the waterlily dahlias and why she loved them. The sheet mentioned how they represent new starts and new births. Since Mila and my relationship was released to the public, it's been a new start for us both, especially with Mila adjusting to the royal life. But there is also news—"

People are guessing already, and smiles and excited whispers erupt from the crowd.

Kai smiles at me before addressing the crowd. "Mila and I are expecting a baby."

And that's it. The press gets louder; the civilians whisper and cheer. A few clap for us. Kai's hand appears around my waist and pulls me closer.

"There will be more about the news coming from us officially via the palace, and we will not currently be answering questions because of that. We felt like this place was the best way to announce the news to everyone. We are both very excited about the new addition. The arrangement of the waterlily dahlia felt like it was not only the most colourful, but it spoke to us the most."

He takes a breath. There are already questions being thrown our way, but like an expert, Kai ignores them.

"It has been a truly wonderful festival, and seeing it back after over one-hundred years is truly a spectacular thing. I know for both myself and Mila, it has been a wonderful experience, and we will undoubtedly be back again next year. Thank you for having us." He nods and moves away from the podium.

Cheers and claps erupt, and I know they're mainly for our announcement.

The leader of the society stands up and has a few words with Kai before nodding and taking back to the stand.

"That's us, Peach. Come on," Kai says as our security approaches.

"That's it?" I ask.

He nods and gestures me towards the exit, an arm around my shoulder. "If we stay, they'll focus on us more than the festival. We were never meant to stay after this, anyway. I'll be keeping in touch with the Dahlia Society leader, anyway. I think we could support them in some way. This is how all engagements go. It's normal."

"Oh," I respond as we walk through the visitor centre.

"It went well," Kai says. "The official announcement is being written up as we speak, so it'll go out later. Everything is good."

He sounds sure of that fact, but somehow, my stomach keeps flip-flopping at the fact the news is out now. Suddenly, this whole thing feels even more real than it did before the announcement. This baby was my little secret – well, mine and Kai's – but now the whole world knows.

This whole fake relationship thing is suddenly feeling even more real, and I don't know how to feel about it. The world might like me now, but will they hate me because of this? Will they see through the façade and the timing? Why am I thinking these thoughts? I don't know.

Once we're in the car, I take my phone out and see the messages from Gemma, like I thought they would be. There are also messages from Kai where he's sent me the photos we took of each other under the dahlia arch. They're gorgeous photos, and we look like a genuine couple.

Gemma's message reads, 'Girl, this is crazy! We need to talk!' Maybe she's not as pissed with me as I thought she would be... 

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