One week after the high­ly pub­li­cized press con­fer­ence where Rhys and Princess Brid­get’s rela­tion­ship made head­lines world­wide, they vis­it Erhall, the Speak­er who is also Rhys’s bio­log­i­cal father, to push for the repeal of the Roy­al Mar­riages Law. Erhall, unaware of their appoint­ment due to a sched­ul­ing mishap, is reluc­tant­ly forced to meet them. Through­out their encounter, Rhys, the pro­tag­o­nist, reflects on his new­found pub­lic iden­ti­ty as the princess’s body­guard-turned-love inter­est, not­ing the media fren­zy and pub­lic fas­ci­na­tion with their sto­ry. The chap­ter delves deep into Rhys’s thoughts and emo­tions, par­tic­u­lar­ly his resent­ment towards Erhall, whom he has only recent­ly dis­cov­ered is his father, and his ded­i­ca­tion to Brid­get and her cause.

In their meet­ing, Brid­get and Rhys con­front Erhall with the demand to repeal an out­dat­ed law that restricts roy­al mar­riage choic­es, using the knowl­edge of Rhys’s pater­ni­ty as lever­age. Erhal­l’s ini­tial dis­mis­sive­ness turns to shock and des­per­a­tion as Rhys reveals their famil­ial con­nec­tion, sup­port­ed by DNA evi­dence. While Erhall attempts to deflect and offer excus­es, Brid­get’s strate­gic acu­men shines through as she nav­i­gates the con­ver­sa­tion with author­i­ty and finesse, ulti­mate­ly forc­ing Erhal­l’s hand to con­sid­er their pro­pos­al.

The dynam­ics reveal a com­plex web of per­son­al and polit­i­cal motives, show­cas­ing Brid­get’s intel­li­gence and deter­mi­na­tion, Rhys’s inner tur­moil and growth, and Erhal­l’s flawed char­ac­ter. It ends with Erhall begrudg­ing­ly agree­ing to bring the motion for­ward, not out of good­will, but to pre­serve his polit­i­cal career and avoid scan­dal. Rhys’s con­fronta­tion with Erhall is both a moment of per­son­al clo­sure and a sig­nif­i­cant polit­i­cal maneu­ver, with Rhys firm­ly dis­tanc­ing him­self from any famil­ial or emo­tion­al con­nec­tion to Erhall. The chap­ter clos­es on a lighter note, with Brid­get jok­ing about their poten­tial as pub­lic speak­ers, sym­bol­iz­ing their com­rade­ship and shared resolve amidst the ongo­ing strug­gle for their right to love freely.