Torn Between Twin Brothers

James and Crown Prince Edward welcomed Prince Philip and Prince Edmund while Ava and Jeffrey waved their hands and said hello.

Prince Edmund quickly pulled an empty chair next to Ava with a sweet smile plastered on his handsome face.

He had called her several times while on holiday, but same as everyone-- He couldn't get through. So, he wanted to know if she deliberately didn't answer his call or if it was just a coincidence that she was speaking to someone each time he called. 

"Hi, Ava! How was your holiday?" Prince Edmund asked. He didn't care that everyone heard him.

"Hello! It was fine. I was busy studying, so I had my phone turned off. I'm sorry! I only saw that you called the day that we were leaving and on the way here. So, I figured that I would just apologize to you in person when I run into you at the Royal Academy. But, since you are here now, please, accept my apology." Her voice was sincere, although she didn't look him in the eye.

He was happy to hear that she didn't intend to ignore his calls. She was only busy studying, which was acceptable. 

"You don't have to apologize. I understand, and also, I'm glad because it means you are planning to attend college at the same time as me." He then leaned his back to relax.

===

Meanwhile, at another table, "so, tell me! What have you two been doing during the holiday? I have been waiting for the live stream from Pearl, but she never once went live." So complained Princess Rose to no one in particular.

"I told all my followers that I would be on vacation with my family. So, I couldn't go live streaming while I was with them. I couldn't tell them the reason, of course. So, mainly I stayed home with my parents, attended a few parties, and visited families. What about you?" Pearl asked Princess Rose.

Princess Rose then launched into detail about what she had done during the holidays. Akira was just listening while her eyes were on Ava and Prince Edmund. She was thinking of how she could take Ava away. She didn't want to take a chance that Ava would fall for him; what about her two older brothers? She couldn't have that.

When she couldn't take it anymore, seeing Ava smiling sweetly at him while her older brother James looked as if he was eating vinegar, she quickly got up and went to their table.

"Ava! Princess Rose was looking for you! Why don't you let all the boys chat among themselves and come with me to the girls' table." She then grabbed Ava's arm. "Come on! Let's go!" She said she pulled her up.

There was nothing Ava could do but go along with Akira. James winked at Akira when he saw what she had done. Akira only smiled at her cold stoned older brother. 

Everyone enjoyed their afternoon. They ate, played games, and joked around with each other. Who would have thought that among these children, there were four Royals, two heirs, and three heiresses of billionaire parents, and lastly, a first daughter of the first family in the United States of America? 

Bodyguards surrounded the whole area where they were enjoying themselves by the beach after bodyguards. So if anyone tried to kidnap either one of them, they would never succeed, for there would be a bloodbath for sure...

===

Ashley was having fun in the massive kitchen of the restaurant. When she found out that the three Royal children of the Cresch Kingdom would join, she arranged a feast to enjoy lunch. She was busy instructing the kitchen staff on what to prepare.

"We need to make sure that we have a variety of dishes. I'm not sure exactly what those Royal children like to eat and if they're allergic to anything. Should I go and ask them in case they're allergic to anything?" Ashley asked the Chef, who was just listening to her ranting the whole time. 

When the Chef didn't comment, Ashley got more frustrated and stormed out of the kitchen as if the devil was after her. She went straight to where the children were hanging out on the beach. It was better to find out if any of them were allergic to anything than guessing. She didn't want to take a chance and serve them something and have them get sick on her account.

When Ashley arrived at the beach, there was no one there. It seemed that the children decided to stay indoors. She turned around and went to the girls' villa first to see if they were all there. There was no one there either when she arrived. She next went to her villa that she shared with James and Jeffrey. 

She could see from the distance that there was no one there either. No bodyguards around, but to make sure, she went ahead anyway and checked inside. Once inside, she could see that the boys had been back from the look of their messy rooms. 

"Where in the world did those children go to now?" She mumbled to herself as she took out her cellphone to call one of them to find out. She was upset at herself for not thinking of calling instead of running around like a headless chicken.

It only took a couple of buzzes, and James answered her call. 

"James, are you with any of the Royal children? I need you to do me a favor and ask them if they are allergic to anything." She asked with a raspy tone of voice while trying to catch her breath from all the running around that she had done.

"Sure! One-second, mom. Let me ask them." He then turned to ask, "Excuse me, Prince Philip, Prince Edmund, and Princess Rose... Are you allergic to anything? My mom wanted to know." He said nonchalantly.

All three siblings shook their heads in unison before going back to whatever they were doing.

"No, mom! They're not allergic to anything. Is there anything else?" He asked, trying to end the call already.

Ashley couldn't think of anything else, "No-no! You go ahead and go back to what you're doing. Let everyone know that lunch will be served soon, so don't go too far." She then bid him goodbye.

===

The children were enjoying the feast that Ashley and the Chef had prepared for them. The three Royal siblings were in awe of how Ashley takes care of her children and their friends. To their surprise, Ashley extended an invitation for them to visit Japan and the Philippines when summer comes.

"If you need your parents' approval, I could arrange for my assistant to send a formal invitation to the King and Queen. Just let James know, and he could relay the message to me. You don't have to answer me now, and I know you can't make your own decision about this matter." Said Ashley to the eldest one, Prince Philip.

"Thank you! Mrs. Jones, we will surely speak with our parents when we get back to the palace tonight. I'm sure we will enjoy our time if we get the chance to visit." Prince Philip politely replied.

James was watching Prince Philip the whole time while he was having a conversation with his mother. He found him respectful and seemed to be a nice person. It appears that he has a similar personality as him, not approachable and unreadable. He couldn't wait to get to know him when they started college. 

Prince Edward was also doing the same thing; although Prince Philips is one year ahead of them in college, they could still hang around with his younger brother Prince Edmund. It's too bad that Jeffrey is more youthful than them; he seems to be an outgoing person, which they need in their group.

===

After Ashley ensured that all the children were enjoying their lunch, she excused herself to find her older brother Arman to have lunch together. However, she hadn't gone far when she heard a loud, accusing voice. 

When she turned around to see what was going on... A young girl was standing in front of Prince Philip, fuming... Smoke was coming out of her nostril while her finger was pointing towards Ava...

Lady Crystal successfully bribed one of the palace attendants and found out where Prince Philip was. After seeing that Prince Philip enjoyed himself, she began accusing Ava of manipulating the three siblings to join them.

Prince Philip was embarrassed on her behalf. He swiftly stopped eating, grabbed his phone before getting up. He then made a quick apology to everyone at the table before dragging Lady Crystal out of the restaurant...

Everyone was stunned for a moment and stopped eating. No one uttered a word; eyes were all on Ava, unsure what to say to comfort her.  Fortunately, Ava had earbuds on and was listening to someone giving a lecture while eating. So, she didn't even see Lady Crystal pointing the finger at her.

Once everyone realized that Ava was not bothered, they all returned their attention to the feast in front of them and continued enjoying it to the fullest... They could care less about the couple that just left....