Chapter 4

Owen and Keira are welcomed by hype music and flashing neon lights as they enter a night club along Chealsy street.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Owen asks, looking around the place. Keira chuckles.

"Why?" she asks, having already the idea why he's doubting her. But she wants to hear it from him.

Owen shrugs. "I dunno. You know... he's a prince," he says. "And, what if he will tell your father? We'll be fucked up."

Keira turns to Owen and smiles. "Darling, prince Christian and I have been friends since childhood. We tell each other our secrets and we already have that formidable trust and respect as the foundation of our friendship. Does that sound good?" she says.

Owen nods. "But, I don't know why I feel kinda jealous," he replies. Keira laughs. As they make their way through the crowd dancing, prince Christian approaches them and leads them to the VIP room upstairs.

The mood changes on the second floor. It has that feeling of the elite. Owen marvels at the murals painted on the wall. There is an elaborate chandelier suspended in the middle of the waiting room or as the prince called it--- the Chamber of Commoners. Owen chuckles at it.

"What's funny?" the prince asks in a rather stern tone.

Owen shrugs. "Nothing," he says. Christian clears his throat. "Nothing, your highness!" Owen says, bowing his head to the prince to which Christian finds offensive. Keira laughs at the situation, especially when Owen lightly punches Christian's shoulders before entering their room ahead of him.

"Commoner!" the prince growls. Keira immediately raises her eyebrows as she turns to the prince.

"And what exactly do you mean, Prince Christian of Spain?" Keira asks, amused by the prince's reaction. She has known him for a long time, and she's never seen him lose his cool easily this way.

"I don't like him," the prince tells Keira.

"I love him," she responds then winks. Christian inhales then exhales harshly.

"Of course. I still can't understand why you like someone like him," Christian frankly says. Keira frowns at him then she follows Owen inside.

Keira finds her boyfriend happily chatting with three other men. One of them looks familiar, it's Harold, the Brotherhood captain.

"Are you saying that you are from Isla del Fuego? The famous island?" he asks before turning to Keira who just approaches the table and sits next to Owen. "Is he serious? Tell me he's not lying."

"He's not," Keira answers, shaking her head with a big smile on her face.

"What's so special about that Isla?" Christian uninterestedly asks. Then, takes a sip of his scotch.

"Ignore the lion. Just carry on with your conversation," one of the men says who introduced himself as Philippe, Christian's maternal cousin. "Owen, tell us more about your world."

Owen looks at Keira for approval. He's not really sure whether to trust the chaps or not but he trusts his girlfriend. Keira nods lightly.

"Hmmm... well, Isla del Fuego is a very beautiful island," Owen starts.

"Hell, yeah! I've heard how exclusive it is. You must be lucky living there," Harold says. Owen smiles and nods.

"You bet," Keira says.

Christian clears his throat, clearly uninterested in their conversation.

"Isla del Fuego," the prince murmurs towards the wall.

"You might be surprised," Owen tells Christian, who creases his forehead.

"That wall might answer you," Owen jokes. All but Christian laugh.

"We're not here to talk about his biography," Christian says, pointing at Owen, "We have an important matter to talk about."

"What do you mean?" Keira asks. "I thought you invited me to relax."

The third man they call Sanchez speaks with his baritone voice. He is the least appealing among the four men but has the best humor in Keira's opinion. Of course, she excluded Owen from the comparison.

"We have a problem in our team," he says as he turns to Harold. "Bruno is currently in detention for alleged possession of illegal drugs. He denied the allegation but Interpol doesn't want to release him until further examinations are done."

"What? If that happens, your team will be eliminated," Keira asks.

Christian nods. "Most likely, they will be. That's why I asked you here," he says.

"Please, Keira. We need your legal prowess to this matter. We must compete in the regatta. You know how important this is to us," Harold said.

Owen stays quiet. As usual, he is observing the people he's with and just listening to their conversation. Keira crosses her legs and leans back while the men wait anxiously at her approval. Sanchez is even clasping his hands, and saying, "Please."

Keira clears her throat and smirks. Looking directly at the prince, she speaks, "What will I get in return?"

Christian smiles widely for he knows that whenever Keira asks something, she's gonna do what he asks for. "Name it, lady Keira. Whatever you want," the prince answers to Keira's delight.

"Hmm... in that case, I will think about it. After all, I am going to do the heir of Spain's throne's bidding," Keira says. "Alright, let's start with Bruno's criminal record," she says while growing her contact list and calls a person. Probably, her assistant because of the way she talks to her.

"Lisa, sorry to bother you. This is urgent. Go to Bruno Chavez's profile and check on his criminal record. Report to me immediately," Keira ordered.

Everyone turns to Owen when he suddenly asks something neither of the men wants to. "What if he's proven guilty? What's gonna happen?" Owen asks.

There's an awkward silence. They seem to wait for who's gonna answer. "Why are you so pessimistic? If you have nothing positive to say, just...,"

"It's not being pessimistic, it's being realistic. I mean, why will you be eliminated from the competition? Reputation problem?" Owen says, cutting Sanchez from speaking.

"I will jail him myself if he's guilty. And for the question of why, incomplete members and yes, reputation. We worked hard to have been this far. One single mistake can crush the years of our hard work. I won't stand a chance," Harold explains.

Owen tilts his head, still clouded with questions. Then, Keira's phone rings.