Natalia's POV

"Are you sure about him?" Dad asked for the million times since the two Dukes left for the conference.

I gave him another withering look for the nth times, too. Mom groaned as she shot dad a warning look, and dad just cocked his brows as he lifted his shoulders in a half shrug. We are inside the palace's limo, heading to the hotel where they held the press conference. According to the driver or security behind the stirring wheel, protesters gathered at the front of Baltic Hotel. Protesters and non-protesters were camping at the front to either see the Dukes or protest against the Dukes.

My nerves were all over the place. I don't know what to expect from this live interview. I just hope the whole Pushkin will understand where he came from, and that he's just a human, he had some faults.

We are not Gods, nor we are perfect.

I let out an audible sigh as I dropped my gaze on my hands on my lap. Mom placed her hand over mine. "It will be all right," she cooed.

She was sitting next to me. Dad is sitting across us. Ember chose to stay in the palace after meeting William. When her eyes sparkled when it rested on him, I knew it instantly that she's smitten. But who knows? Ember had so many crushes.

Dad thought it will be safer, but if he finds out the reason why she chose to be left behind, I'm sure, dad preferred her with us.

I forced a small smile as I looked up to meet mom's eyes that mirrored mine. I slowly nodded, tears slowly accumulating in my eyes. Mom stroke my right cheek. "Everything will be alright," she consoled.

"Yeah," I replied, my voice came out broken. I swallowed hard to clear that lump that seems to grow thickly at the back of my throat.

She pulled me on her side, her hand curled around me in an embrace. I leaned against her shoulder and dad just watched us. I felt mom's lips against the top of my head.

Dad smiled when I met his gaze, and his face softened. That overwhelming love in his eyes is unmistakable.

The heavy tinted limo arrived at the street where the luxurious hotel was, and a throng of protesters moved towards the limo but was quickly seized by a group of police and securities, pushing them back to the side using their shield. Some had successfully escaped the guards and flanked on either side of the slow moving limo, knocking the heavy tinted windows.

I looked away as I drew in a long drag of air into my lungs, trying to relax. The limo stopped, and the sound of protesters was muffled. I looked out the window and noticed that we are in the underground garage.

The door slid open, and dad stepped out first, then assisted us out of the limo. I ran my palm down over my dress skirt, unconsciously smoothening the crease that had formed. I wore a skin tight black and white patterned bandage dress that highlighted my curves and Karina Christian Louboutin with red soles ankle boots.

I just let my hair hang loosely around my shoulders.

Securities flanked on either side of us, and behind us, making sure that no one can approach us, but looking around the quiet basement, it seemed that were the only people here.

I held my breath when the elevator started to move, slowly driving us to our destination. Then it stopped, and my heartbeat stopped, too.

I drew in a long, heavy breath, then followed dad with mom next to me. The securities were doing their job pretty well, concealing us from any protesters.

As we approach the ballroom hall's double door where they held the conference, the voices getting clearer. Securities quickly flanked around us as we stepped in into the door, two uniformed hotel's staffs held it for us on either side.

Our unannounced arrival punctuated the noises inside. It's like an angel passed by, but seconds later, cameras flashed in our directions. The reporters becoming overly elated from our sudden appearance.

"Ms. Petropoulis!" A man called wearing a vest that has the name of the network he's working printed on it. "Is it true that His Grace cheated on you?" he asked approaching us, but before he could get a response from me, two securities blocked him and dragged him away from us.

I felt Dad's hand on my back, blocking me from them using his body, and gave me a soft push forward. I ignored the questions thrown in our way.

"Silence please!" Osvaldo standing stern and stoic at the podium spoke firmly aloud, and some sat back in their seats. Some refused until they got a response but was forcefully dragged away by the guards. "Please continue!" Osvaldo motioned to the woman with his hand when silence once again took over. Yuliana was standing behind him. Several securities stationed on every corner of the room.

From where we stood, I could see Raffy sitting behind the long rectangular press table with rows of microphones set up on the table. Grandpa is next to him. Three women whom I never saw in my life, if only we could go closer, I could read their names from the nameplates in front of them.

"Did His Grace threatened you by any means, Ms. Smith, that you're taking your words back?" the woman asked from another network.

The woman in a green dress next to the red haired spoke. "No." Indistinct chattering from the reporters filled the room. The woman who was asking a question followed up another one. "What motivated you to make up such stories, Ms. Smith?" The woman seemed unconvinced.

We were provided with seats by the wall, facing the reporters, adjacent to the press table. Raffy rested his eyes on me, and I met his. Silently sending him my support.

There seemed to be about twenty reporters in the room of different stations or network.

"So are you saying, Ms. Smith, that nothing happened between you and the Duke?" A man in his early forties rudely interjected, causing everyone to fall in silence.

I watched the girl in a green dress, holding my breath in anticipation. My jaws clenched unconsciously as I regarded her intently. I could see her clearly from where we sat, and she's a beauty. The moss green dress complimented her milk skin.

I quickly tamped down that rising wave of jealousy.

"Uh, I—" she stuttered, obviously she doesn't know what to say next. Her shoulders sunk, she looked on her side, unable to come up with something to say next. "Uh ..." she trailed off.

"Yes!" Raffy answered, causing everyone to snapped their heads to him. He looked distant and cold as he looked at the guy who threw out the question. "It happened once," he answered, clearing the confusion on the reporter's faces, then followed by a loud gasped.

Loud chattering from the reporters, who got excited from his revelations. Osvaldo spoke again, loud; his voice roared across the room. "SILENCE PLEASE!"

I swallowed hard as I slammed my eyes shut. Mom held my hand and squeeze it. Dad curled his hand around me. I'm sitting in between them.

The reporters stilled. "But not in my free will." That stopped the chattering. They all looked at him, bewildered. "I was drugged." He added, gaining him a loud gasped from the crowd.

Dad's hold on me tightened. I didn't look at him, my gaze trained on Raffy. He was looking rigidly ahead of him. "I was taken advantage of," he explained briefly.

"BY WHOM?" one shouted.

"By me." Ms. Smith answered. I snapped my head at her, and she looked down on her lap, avoiding to look at the shocked crowd.

The room fell into silence. The reporters seemed disappointed of the event. Another woman rose from her seat and spoke. "Ms. Petropoulis is here, would it be alright if we can ask her a few questions, His Grace?" she asked.

All eyes bore on me. The securities stayed alerted as they waited for me.

"She's out of this!" Raffy spoke sternly. He seemed that he didn't like me here, and I understand, but I want to be here. To give him my support.

"Yes," I spoke, contradicting him. He shook his head, but I just nod my head sending him a silent reassurance.

"Do you know that he's been cheating on you?" the woman asked.

Someone gave me a microphone. My hands shaking as I took it. Dad stood next to me in a rigid posture. "You don't have to answer it, Iya," Dad whispered, suppressed anger radiating off him.

I leveled the woman a hard stare. "He never cheated on me," I spoke firmly.

"Did you know about Ms. Smith?" another question thrown out by another reporter.

"Yes," I answered. "She called me once." That caused another round of murmurs. "But I never believed her. And in case His Grace did it, I can't blame him. I told him I'm not into pre-marital sex, and he respected it." I shifted my gaze at Raffy. He was staring at me with worry etched all over his face, his shoulders are stiff. "Every man has needs, and he has needs, but I can't provide it." I forced a small smile as I tore my eyes away from him. The frown on the face of each one grew. "I understand if he gets tempted sometimes. He's just a man, a human. We are not perfect, each one of us has made mistakes in the past? And he did a mistake of trusting Ms. Smith." I let out a small chuckle, my gaze roaming around the quiet crowd. "And it's not fair that the whole nation is condemning him of the mistakes he unintentionally did." I shook my head and caught some shaking their heads, too. I thought that was a good sign. Hope rose in my chest. "I hope we learn to forgive, and instead of detesting each other, why not spread love instead of hate and help Pushkin be a better place?" Silence took over. My last words seemed to be a wake-up call. Then, a loud of applause.

They took the microphone away, and I sat back down, releasing the breath I've been holding back. I didn't know, my legs were shaking too.

Dad kissed my temple. "I am so proud of you," he whispered.

Mom embraced me and uttered the same. Raffy was just staring at me with pride in his face. "Before we end this meeting, His Grace would like to say something," Osvaldo spoke.

Everyone fell in silence. The thick tension builds up in the room when we arrived slowly dissipated. It seemed more relax now than before. Most of the reporters are now wearing smiles. The animosity radiating off them dispersed. A few were still unconvinced but decided to keep their mouth shut.

We will never please everyone.

Raffy stood up and took the microphone that was handed to him. His one had tucked in his pocket. "I would like to say thank you to everyone who was present at this meeting. To Ms. Smith, Ms. Lebediv and Ms. Egorov from the Honest People's Magazine, for taking their time to appear here and validate my innocence." The three women just shook their head, and they all looked like they wanted to run away from here. They avoided to looked up. They all seemed to be fascinated by the carpeted floor.

"Before I close this meeting, I would like to take this moment, to share with the whole Pushkin perhaps the entire nation, this particular event of my life." Raffy sauntered towards us. Cameras following him, flashing here and there. I'm just watching him with no clue of what was happening. "When the first time I saw her Sapphire eyes, I was captivated. All the women I've met paled with her beauty. And her kindness stole my heart completely." When it all sunk in my head, my legs starting to feel numb, my heart beating faster than ever. He's proposing to me, in front of the whole Pushkin.

"And from that day on, I wanted her to be mine..." He stopped in front of me. "Forever." He stared at me, so intently. I felt like I was sucked into the depth of his orbs that look like the seawater under the sunlight, on the tropical island, and was lost in it. The people around us faded, and there were only us. "I never intend to hurt her, but I did. I was foolish. She doesn't deserve it nor deserves me, but I can't live without her. She's the only one that can complete me," he added, his glistening eyes locked on mine. 

He dropped on his knees, and my palm flew to my mouth as I gasped. He looked up to meet my gaze. "Natalia Petropoulis, will you give me the honor to be my wife? To be the Duchess of the Pushkin?" he asked.

I was gaping at him, slacked jaw. My heart jumped in my throat. Tears stinging my eyes.

"Will you give me this lifetime chance to prove to you how much I love you?" He asked.

That seemed to awaken me, and I nodded my head vigorously. A loud of applause followed when I threw myself onto him just as soon as he was at his full height, and he caught me without stumbling.

"Yes, yes!" I kept chanting, giggling happily with tears of joy rolling down my cheeks. He held me tightly, and I ignored the flashes of cameras. We were oblivious to the people around us, joining this important moment of our life with the same happiness.

When I pulled away, Raffy cupped my face with both hands. I place my palm over his. "I love you so much, my duchess!" he said, then leaned in and gave me a lingering kiss.

......

I hope you like it. 

I know some thinks Raffy didn't deserve her forgiveness quickly. I think Raffy had change quite a bit, don't you think? 

Anyhow, I hope I get a yes.. :) :)

ENJOY!!

And oh btw, thank you to all who vote for me! I really, really appreciates it!! Even if I didn't win it, I felt like a winner already. I never imagined gaining such tremendous support from you guys, a lot of positive responses. And for that, THANK YOU!!