Royal: All Hail The Crown

ROYALCopyright © 2023 by AJ Reign.All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations em- bodied in critical articles or reviews.This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organiza- tions, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.For information contact : www.ajreignauthor.comBook and Cover design by : AJ ReignEditor : Amy BriggsFormating Template : Derek MurphyISBN: 9798374199413 (paperback), (ebook)First Edition: March 202310 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Copyright © 2023 by AJ Reign DedicationI’d like to dedicate this book to my husband. He has always been my biggest fan and support. I wouldn’t have been able to get this done without him. SIGN UP FOR MYAUTHOR NEWSLETTERBe the first to learn about AJ Reign’s new release and receive exclusive content!www.ajreignauthor.com Contents PrologueChapter OneChapter TwoChapter ThreeChapter FourChapter FiveChapter SixChapter SevenChapter EightChapter NineChapter TenChapter ElevenChapter TwelveChapter ThirteenChapter FourteenChapter FifteenChapter SixteenChapter SeventeenChapter EighteenChapter NineteenChapter TwentyChapter Twenty-OneChapter Twenty-TwoChapter Twenty-ThreeChapter Twenty-FourChapter Twenty-FiveChapter Twenty-SixChapter Twenty-SevenChapter Twenty-EightChapter Twenty-NineChapter ThirtyChapter Thirty-OneChapter Thirty-TwoChapter Thirty-ThreeChapter Thirty-FourChapter Thirty-FiveChapter Thirty-SixChapter Thirty-SevenChapter Thirty-EightChapter Thirty-NineChapter FortyChapter Forty-OneChapter Forty-TwoChapter Forty-ThreeChapter Forty-FourChapter Forty-FiveChapter Forty-SixChapter Forty-SevenChapter Forty-EightChapter Forty-NineChapter Fifty PrologueMost little girls grew up dreaming about being a princess.Hovering over every birthday cake, they close their eyes and blow out the candles wishing they’d get to be a Princess. Living in a castle, having tea parties, getting dressed up to dance at fancy balls, wearing a jeweled crown, and falling in love with the handsome prince. How could little girls not, when they grow up watching movies like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White? However, everyone tends to forget all the bad stuff that happens in those movies. An evil stepmother and wicked stepsisters who beat you down any chance they get. Having to be taken away from your parents and raised in the middle of nowhere because someone wants to curse you. Or an evil witchy stepmother poisoning you because of your beauty.Little girls tend to focus on the last fifteen minutes of the movies. The part of the movie where everything finally falls into place…the dramatic finally. The prince shows up on his white horse to save the day. The beautiful white wedding, where the princess and prince get their happily ever after. Most little girls grow into women and eventually get their happily ever after. It may not be with a real prince, but hopefully, it's with someone who treats them like a princess. I wasn’t like those little girls. I didn’t wish to be a princess or live the life of a princess. I didn’t wish for a prince to come in and save the day or for the beautiful wedding with the happily ever after. From the time of my fifth birthday and every birthday since I’d close my eyes and wish for my mom to come back. I guess some wishes aren’t always meant to come true. Chapter One“Hello, I’m Avery.” My gaze traveled over to the group of grief-stricken people gathered in a circle as they responded. “Hello, Avery.”I leaned against the podium, and picked at a hangnail, addressing the group again. “I lost my father about a year ago to prostate cancer. I’ve been coming to these meetings for a few months now.” I closed my eyes, trying to gather myself before continuing. “Losing my dad was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to go through.”My dad was my best friend. Sure, that is cheesy to say but it was true. He was a nature and deep-sea photographer. He loved the beach and the ocean. We used to sit down by the shoreline and watch the tide roll almost every night. I took in a breath because even though it’s been a year, it still feels like it was yesterday getting the news he was gone. Opening my eyes, I resumed. “In the beginning, I wasn’t sure I was going to get through the fact I was never going to see my dad's face again. I was never going to be embraced by one of his hugs again. It had just been my dad and me for as long as I could remember.” My voice began to crack, and I knew I wasn’t going to get any more out without breaking down. I walked back to my seat and sat down. Luckily the grief group leader changed the subject away from me and asked another member to speak. I closed my eyes again, begging for the tears not to fall. It didn’t help much because thinking of my dad also made me think about my mom. I thought back to how my mom passed away, I was only five years old. I remember the voice of the officer who came to our house to deliver the news. My dad sent me to my room, but I of course didn’t listen and sat at the top of the stairs to eavesdrop. The office told my dad she was driving when a drunk driver ran a red light and crashed into her head on. My mom had an art gallery and would often works late into the night. I don’t remember much about my mom, and after the accident my dad never liked to talk about her. On my thirteenth birthday, he gave me a box and it had some photos, a couple of poetry books, a necklace, and a few other knick-knacks. Fast forward, I was twenty-five years old and an orphan. I had no family. I was the only one left. After about an hour of listening to others mourn and share memories of their lost loved ones, the group ended, and I made my way over to the refreshment table. The coffee was terrible, and the cookies were hard as rocks. “Avery, darling.” An