Chap­ter 20: Brid­get finds her­self in a del­i­cate emo­tion­al state after a mem­o­rable and inti­mate evening with Rhys, where their rela­tion­ship briefly crossed the line from pro­fes­sion­al to some­thing more per­son­al. She wakes up feel­ing a sense of ela­tion, but as real­i­ty sets in, Brid­get soon real­izes that the dynam­ic between them has shift­ed back to its usu­al pro­fes­sion­al bound­aries. This caus­es a sense of dis­ap­point­ment to set­tle in her chest, and she wres­tles with her feel­ings. With her broth­er Niko­lai’s abdi­ca­tion on the hori­zon, Brid­get feels increas­ing­ly alone in her posi­tion, and she offers Rhys a propo­si­tion to extend his con­tract, hop­ing he will stay by her side as she nav­i­gates the com­plex­i­ties of her new role. She wants to main­tain the com­fort and sta­bil­i­ty that his pres­ence offers, even if the cir­cum­stances have become more com­pli­cat­ed. Despite the ten­sion between them, she believes that Rhys’s sup­port is essen­tial dur­ing this tran­si­tion­al peri­od.

Rhys’s response, how­ev­er, is non-com­mit­tal, leav­ing Brid­get to con­tem­plate the impli­ca­tions of her request. As they make their way to New York, the silence between them is deaf­en­ing, with nei­ther of them ful­ly acknowl­edg­ing the feel­ings that have been left unre­solved. Rhys’s avoid­ance and Bridget’s grow­ing anx­i­ety make their jour­ney feel longer than it real­ly is. Yet, despite the pal­pa­ble dis­com­fort, Brid­get holds on to the mem­o­ries of the moments they shared, rec­og­niz­ing that those expe­ri­ences were more than just fleet­ing distractions—they were essen­tial to under­stand­ing the deep­er bond they’ve devel­oped. As she con­tem­plates her future, both per­son­al and pro­fes­sion­al, she clings to the hope that the con­nec­tion they’ve built can with­stand the com­plex­i­ties of their rela­tion­ship.

Upon arriv­ing in New York, Brid­get faces the daunt­ing task of prepar­ing for the press con­fer­ence that will offi­cial­ly announce her new role fol­low­ing Nikolai’s abdi­ca­tion. The antic­i­pa­tion and pres­sure of stand­ing before the media fill her with anx­i­ety, but she finds solace in Rhys’s pres­ence, know­ing that he will be there to sup­port her dur­ing this cru­cial moment. His accep­tance to be by her side pro­vides Brid­get with a tem­po­rary sense of relief, offer­ing com­fort amid the uncer­tain­ty that sur­rounds her new respon­si­bil­i­ties. Brid­get rec­og­nizes that this press con­fer­ence will be a defin­ing moment in her life, as it marks the begin­ning of her tran­si­tion from a roy­al fig­ure­head to a pow­er­ful leader in her own right. The weight of the pub­lic eye and the shift­ing dynam­ics of her roy­al duties hang heavy, but Rhys’s pres­ence offers her a sense of secu­ri­ty that helps her stay ground­ed.

As the day of the press con­fer­ence approach­es, Bridget’s nerves con­tin­ue to get the bet­ter of her, but she takes com­fort in the calm sup­port Rhys pro­vides. His under­stand­ing and reas­sur­ance allow her to pre­pare for the event, even though the stress of the sit­u­a­tion con­tin­ues to build. Watch­ing her broth­er pub­licly renounce his title and his place in the roy­al fam­i­ly forces Brid­get to come to terms with the mag­ni­tude of her new role and the respon­si­bil­i­ties that now fall to her. The media fren­zy, the pres­sure to suc­ceed, and the uncer­tain­ty of the future weigh heav­i­ly on her, but Brid­get steels her­self for the task at hand. She knows that this moment will test her abil­i­ty to han­dle the com­plex­i­ties of her roy­al oblig­a­tions while main­tain­ing her sense of self.

Through­out these devel­op­ments, Brid­get nav­i­gates the del­i­cate bal­ance between her evolv­ing rela­tion­ship with Rhys and the increas­ing demands of her pub­lic duties. The emo­tion­al tur­moil she feels is mir­rored by the pres­sure she faces to step into a more vis­i­ble and influ­en­tial role, one that will require all her strength and com­po­sure. Bridget’s jour­ney is not only about her per­son­al growth but also about learn­ing how to man­age her emo­tions in the face of over­whelm­ing expec­ta­tions. Rhys’s role in her life is piv­otal, and she real­izes that nav­i­gat­ing the future together—whether per­son­al­ly or professionally—will require vul­ner­a­bil­i­ty, trust, and mutu­al under­stand­ing. The chap­ter under­scores Bridget’s inter­nal con­flict as she learns to embrace her evolv­ing role, while also find­ing a way to pre­serve the con­nec­tion she shares with Rhys. As she faces the chal­lenges ahead, she must rec­on­cile her per­son­al desires with her roy­al respon­si­bil­i­ties, all while fig­ur­ing out what kind of queen she wants to be. The jour­ney toward self-dis­cov­ery and lead­er­ship is only just begin­ning, and Brid­get is deter­mined to meet it head-on, with Rhys by her side, regard­less of the obsta­cles.