Stand By Me

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 ANTONIO 

ANTONIO was usually a master at noticing hidden signs. 

         As the son of His Majesty Matias Lorenzo Guerrero III and Her Royal Highness Leonor-Ana Castillo Guerrero, he was no stranger to ulterior motives. Both Prince Antonio and his twin and heir, Prince Roberto, were destined to be taken advantage of. After all, one isn't born into a centuries-old dynasty of limitless wealth and powerful status without gaining a few jealous eyes. Antonio wasn't naive, and he certainly wasn't born yesterday. People that didn't have his blood, didn't have his back.  

         Friends were always a high risk. There was no telling if they truly cared for your well-being, or if they just wanted to purge the royal family of their most embarrassing secrets — and there were plenty. The benefits of befriending the Guerreros were infinite. A good word from a Prince or even a lowly chauffeur of the King's youngest niece would be enough to secure a job to provide a family for decades. Connections to the Spanish Royal Family granted a golden-ticket access into a hidden world of glamour, greed, and gold. It would mean unlimited access to yachts, manors, and even royal titles of Duke and Duchess, if they truly favored someone. It would mean that the world would see them as someone worth noticing and remembering.

          It was no wonder that the Guerrero twins were exclusively tied to their elite circle. No average person would ever last in their vicious society without wanting a dangerous taste of their own. And Antonio would rather die than to give someone a chance to stab a gold-plated dagger in his back, exposing all of the secrets he and his family had kept for hundreds of years. 

          Lovers were a whole other story, one Antonio would much rather close the cover on. Much to the dismay of his father, Antonio was never one for commitment. Why bother? he would always argue. He was one of the richest and the hottest young bachelors of the world. There'd be a time for a wife and kids, but the age of twenty-two wasn't it. He had the entire universe at the tip of his fingers, just within reach. 

           That was until he met Serafina. 

           The daughter of Josef Montoya, Spain's top automotive tycoon and CEO of the internationally renowned and multi-billionaire industry that was Montoya Motor Vehicles, Serafina was the perfect choice to become Antonio's future wife. If it were any other, he would have fought to hell and back, but Serafina was something else. 

            She was a conquest. She didn't give an easy fight. She wasn't all diamonds and glitter, but she knew how to work a business deal, she learned how to become the next CEO, and she knew that she wanted nothing to do with a life of drugs, partying, and tabloids. 

            Serafina was the perfect yin to Antonio's yang. That was why Antonio fell in love with her in the first place. She was so different that she made him want to become better. Not just the typical bachelor that threw extravagant parties and had nothing else to live for. As the second son, Antonio was born with less responsibility, but Serafina made him crave for duty and honor. 

             And so they fell in love. 

That was the one thing that led to the very first time he had missed a crucial hidden sign. 

- x - 

Antonio adjusted the heavy golden medallion that rested upon his satin lapel until it was squarely in the center of his navy suit. There were three golden badges on top of his heart with the Spanish Royal crest emblazoned on it. His ebony hair was slicked back but with a soft, tousled look that he effortlessly created without a stylist. He squared his jaw and narrowed his dark eyes into the flash of a single camera in front of him.