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the-wales-5 · 4 months

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"Strength & stay"

30th November 2023.

His emotions already were at a high level as he straightened his bow tie, but after hearing the words “Your royal highness..” and knowing it was directed at Catherine, he swore that if he could, he would step towards that man and would punch him. Instead, he tried to hide his anger and just quickly walked to the front. He needed to see her to check if she was alright.

A hand on her stomach in a protective gesture, downward gaze, and slightly hunched posture. In a second, Catherine became nervous despite the strength & ability to stay calm she had in herself most of the time over the years. She was never looking straight to the cameras in the past, but at that moment, she wanted all of the media gathered in front of her to go away.

William stood there, waiting for her and ready to help her. Within seconds, Catherine noticed him and sent him a little smile with a sign of relief. Time stopped for the two of them. Initially, William wanted to put his hand on her back in a usual protective gesture, but when he saw her lifted hand, he read her mind.

Soon, their hands were intertwined. Catherine held onto him stronger than usual. She needed his touch to get courageous, and William knew that. Holding hands were over after a few seconds. William put his hand on his wife's back, not simply leading her this time but shielding her. Literally. Their height difference, though not that noticeable when the Princess of Wales wore high-heels, now was helpful.

When he made sure that not even one camera on the side was able to get a glimpse of her, he looked back as if he wanted to tell that rude, shameless guy “Stay away from my wife”. They walked past the wall where it was written “Royal Variety Performance 2023”. They did not stop and pose there, nor waited for Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, who joined them for this year's event.

Yet before the performance started, the prince and princess of Wales met Hannah Waddingham, who attended the recent Earthshot Prize Ceremony in Singapore. Catherine was smiling, and so were her eyes when she was looking at her husband. Soon, the prince of Wales also began to feel relaxed. He was seen laughing a few times during the show.

They left the Royal Albert Hall, and after saying goodbye to the hosts, they sat down in the car.

“How are you feeling now?” William's wife quietly asked him

He hid a sigh and said “I'm fine”, but Catherine asked once again as she placed her hand on his.

“It is so frustrating to hear these people screaming to get your reaction after those false bloody accusations in that book” William said and looked at her “Are you okay now?” .

Catherine nodded and weakly smiled at him. She kissed him on the cheek and whispered “You do not have to worry about me. I have never been a weak person, right?”

William smiled a little bit as he said “Of course, but those questions today...”

“Today I simply needed to get a little bit of courage from my husband. That's it” Catherine smiled as she squeezed his hand

“I am so proud of you” he replied and wanted to kiss her, but instead of doing that, he simply brushed some hair away from her face. Kate shyly smiled in response.

“In moments like this, under so much pressure and frustration, I am always wondering about one thing, Kate” He said as he looked into her green eyes “Why have you chosen this life? You could literally have anyone. All the other guys in Fife, they were obsessing over you”

Catherine tried not to smile as she said “Well.. They were obsessing over me, but that did not flatter me as much as your ‘innocent’ stares. You know, sometimes it was difficult not to notice. And nowadays it also happens. I see everything” she said.

It was followed by the sweetest sound ever, or at least William described her laughter like that in his thoughts. After a few seconds, Catherine spoke up again:

“This is exactly what I mean. An ‘innocent’ stare at me”.

William shyly smiled, and their fingers were locked within seconds.

After they returned home, the princess went to the bathroom.

Meanwhile, her husband checked on their children. All of them were sleeping soundly, and he smiled while again thinking about them and the life he shared with Kate.

Even after all these years with her, he still couldn't believe that a woman like her fell in love with him, with a man whose life was more than troubling with the trauma after losing his mother, media intrusion, pressure and other things that he hated.

After taking a shower himself a few minutes later, he went to the living room and poured some wine for Catherine and himself.

She came there a few minutes later after checking on George, Charlotte and Louis.

“Are we going to drink alcohol tonight?”

“We're just going to talk about a few things, my adorable Kate” William replied and smiled.

“What things?”

“It has been a while since we had time just for ourselves like this, hasn't it?”

“Yes, but why now? It's late”.

William put a glass of wine in her hand “It is indeed late, but this is the only time when we can talk peacefully”

“It is not our university time anymore, I'm sorry”.

They both giggled and sat on the sofa while looking at one another. Catherine said quietly

“But I am not looking glamorous anymore either. I wiped all of my makeup away”

William shook his head before taking the first sip of wine. After a second, he said “You look even better without all that makeup, Kate”.

She blushed a little but then cleared her throat and said whilst looking at his face. “From the moment you asked that question in the car, I have been wondering about the same thing. Why did you choose me when you literally could have anyone? Other girls were crazy about you. They were basically hiding in every corner of the university. Meanwhile you tried to find a moment to talk with me while going to the lectures together anyway. I know I was often called “beautiful Kate”, but I was shy”.

“That is the official version for our engagement interview. What is the truth, William Wales?” She teased him

William smiled and finally took a sip of wine. “This is why you were special”

“This is the truthful version, Kate. You were special. Honest, kind and, as they all said, beautiful as well”.

“I was just your friend at first. There is nothing special about that”

“Every single day with you has been and is special, Catherine. And from the moment I saw you for the first time, I knew that. I simply knew that you were extraordinary”.

She laughed as she teased him again “Wow, either that wine worked unbelievably fast or you are getting that romantic mood again”

“On which option do you bet?” William smiled

“The first one” she said and winked before bursting out into laughter.

William was looking at her and caressing her hand while she was still laughing.

She looked at him after a few seconds “What? Why are you staring at me?”

“I just fell in love with you again” William said

Catherine giggled “Stop that”

“I'd never understand why a girl like you fell in love with with me though”

“Well, there were plenty of reports in the media over the years” she said and took another sip of wine

“I am asking you about the reality, Miss Middleton”

“The truth is that you were sincere, handsome, and, well, funny” she said

“See? I was right in that interview after our engagement was announced” He teased her again and they both giggled.

William looked into her eyes and then gently kissed her on the forehead. After that kiss, he caressed her cheek and whispered “It is so relieving to see you laughing like this, to see your eyes shining. For years, I knew that you would badly suffer from media scrutiny, and I really wanted to protect you from it”

“And you're succeeding each time, no matter what happens. You're with me. That gives me enough strength to go through these times” His wife weakly smiled as she squeezed his hand in hers.

“There is nothing I would not do to make you feel secure. I am aware that I failed many times” he said

“It isn't true” Catherine replied confidently and took another sip of wine.

Tears filled William's eyes as he stared at her face and whispered “Remember that you are my everything. You will always be safe”.

Kate wiped his tears and nodded, but he ran his fingers through her hair, saying: “No, you don't know. You have no idea how many things I can yet sacrifice for you and your safety, Catherine”.

There was a silence between them for a few seconds. Neither of them knew what to say, but William's wife could feel that his words were sincere. Within seconds, she put her lips on his, but it was not a deep kiss, rather a soft brush against his lips. One of those simple and intimate moments they often shared in the first months of the courting phase at St. Andrews University.

“Oh, that romantic mood of yours still hasn't faded” Catherine chuckled a little, but then her facial expression changed to a more serious one and she whispered “Now I feel exactly like during that flirting stage when we used to almost run away from everyone and you'd kiss me in the same way. It was so embarrassing, overly sentimental” Catherine finished her sentence with a theatrical roll of her eyes and giggled.

William pulled her in a hug and their soft kiss was repeated, this time it was started by him.

“It still feels like our first kisses” he said

“There's no need to rewind those ‘overly sentimental’ moments in your memories, Kate. I almost never do that, because we still are in that phase nowadays” William said

“You definitely are, sometimes” Catherine chuckled and covered her face in hand.

“With you, it's simple to get in that mood, Miss Middleton. Actually, every single thing is so simple with my adorable Kate” he said and traced her face dimples with his fingertips.

Catherine blushed a little and tried to avoid his blue eyes. At that moment, her whole body was relaxed, bad memories of the Royal Variety Performance beginning vanished from her mind completely. All of a sudden, it was her who sent her husband ‘an innocent stare’ and a little smile appeared on her face unconsciously as she watched him drink wine for a few seconds.

“Oh, that shy and sweet facial expression of yours. I've always loved it” William said as he noticed her look.

“Always?”

“Obviously yes” he replied before taking the last sip of wine.

Catherine did the same and it was followed by her words “I do not want to drink anymore”

“Me neither”

“This day has been exhausting” she closed her eyes and sighed quietly

“Yes, but you did a brilliant job out of it, my beautiful Kate”.

Their lips met in a soft kiss again. Soon, they decided to watch a movie together, still in the living room. Halfway the length of the movie, William noticed that Catherine had her eyes closed. He smiled at her lovingly and lifted her up in his arms. Although her sleep was rather deep, this act caused her to chuckle softly.

When he heard it, William could not help himself but kiss her on the cheek.

As Catherine woke up in the middle of the night, she saw her husband's face. She quickly remembered how earlier in the evening he held her hand when she most needed it, their long conversation, a promise he once again made to protect her. For a second, William's wife also thought of their courting phase. She caressed his chest and then pulled herself closer to him. He was her safe place for way longer than the last 20 years, and she never wanted that feeling of happiness and safety to be over.

The end 💙✨️

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