#Anyways- For Riley Dead Money takes place a bit after Riley confronts (and ends up killing/disabling) House

[ruby-static]

This is what investigating weird radio signals does to a mf-

Recently wrapped up Dead Money, and I am ready to make it everyone’s problem. This dude is NOT coming out okay.

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Guardians Of The Galaxy

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews As We Continue Our Look At The Marvel Cinematic Universe...

By Talking About The Guardians Of The Galaxy...

And I Have To Admit Before This Movie Came Out I Knew Who The Guardians Of The Galaxy Were As I Saw Them In The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes Animated Series The Possibility Of Me Wanting To See Them In A Movie Wasn't Too Bright But I Still Wasn't With Everyone Else Who At The Time Believed It Was Going To Bomb

So, When Trailers Came Out, I Was Excited To See The Film So I Eventually Saw It...

The Film Is About A Ravager Named Peter Quill (Played By Chris Pratt) Who Goes By Star Lord Who Forms An Uneasy Alliance With The Daughter Of Thanos, Gamora (Played By Zoe Saldana) A Green Warrior Who Seeks Revenge Named Drax (Played By Dave Batista) A Wisecracking Raccoon Named Rocket (Voiced By Bradley Cooper) And A Walking Tree Named Groot (Voiced By Vin Diesel) Who Go On The Run After Stealing A Powerful Artifact...

Will They Manage To Get Rid Of This Artifact Before Ronan The Accuser (Played By Lee Pace) And The Other Daughter Of Thanos, Nebula (Played By Karen Gillian) Find Them?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Guardians Of The Galaxy..

The Film Starts On Earth In 1988, As A Young Peter Quill Is At A Hospital Where His Mom Is Dying From A Tumor In Her Head...

Yes, It Is Arnold So Shut Up...

Anyway, With His Mother Not Having Much Time Left, His Uncle (I Guess?) Played By James Gunn And Joss Whedon Regular Gregg Henry Brings Peter In To Say Goodbye To His Mom, But Not Wanting To Say Goodbye To His Mom, Peter Runs Out Of The Hospital Only To Be Abducted By Aliens...

Only To Time Jump 26 Years Later To The Planet Morag, Where A Now Grown Up Peter (Played By Chris Pratt) Who Goes By Star-Lord Arrives On His Ship The Milano (Named After Alyssa Milano)...

Well, At Least It Isn't Named After Rose McGowan...

To Get An Item On The Planet Which Leads To One The Best Scenes In This Movie...

The Opening Credits...

And By God, This Scene Is Just Fantastic Despite Them Ruining It In Avengers Endgame...

(Start At 0:26, End At 0:40)

You See What You've Done, Russo Brothers! You've Made The Fanboys Cry! It's Okay, This Scene Is Awesome....Shh...

Eventually Finding And Geting What He's Looking For, Star-Lord Is Soon Confronted By One Of Ronan The Accuser's Warriors Korath The Pursuer Who Wants What He's Got But He's Like Screw This And Decides To Fight Them...

(Start At 1:00, End At 2:50)

Being Contacted By His Boss, Yondu (Played By Another James Gunn Regular Michael Rooker) He Asks Quill Where He Is But He Decides Not To Tell Him That And Says That He's Keeping The Orb For Himself Which Leads Yondu To Put A Bounty Out On Quill While Worrying About Who Else Wanted The Orb...

Which Leads To The Introduction Of The Big Bad Of The Film, Ronan The Accuser (Played By Ned The Piemaker) On Board His Ship, The Dark Aster. Who Decides Not To Abide By The Treaty His People, The Kree Have Signed With The Xandarians Of Xandar Recently Because He Believes Their Culture To Be A Disease Upon The Galaxy...

And They Killed His Family So Many Years Ago...

Well, That Might Be A Good Reason To Want To Kill Them...

With Korath Returning, He Tells Ronan About Star-Lord And Says That He's On His Way To Xandar To Give It To Someone Called The Broker, Wanting To Retrieve The Orb To Give It To Thanos So He Can Wipe Out Xandar In Repayment For His Services, Ronan Sends One Of Thanos' Daughters, Gamora (Played By Lieutenant Uhura) To Retrieve It For Him From Star Lord On Xandar...

Cutting To Xandar We Get Our Stan Lee Cameo When Rocket (Played By Faceman) And Groot (Played By Dominic Torretto) Look For Potential Targets To Get Money For...

Stan Lee Cameo!

Eventually Star Lord, Rocket Sees How Much He's Worth And Turns Out...

It's Alot So They Decide To Go After Him...

Taking The Orb To The Broker In His Shop, Star-Lord Mentions That Ronan Was After It Which Forces The Broker To Say No Thank You To The Orb And Tells Star Lord To Get Out As He's Afraid For His Life...

Running Into Gamora, She Steals The Orb From Star Lord Which Leads To A Fight Between The Two But When Rocket And Groot Get Involved Someone Calls In The Nova Corp Led By Mr. Cellophane Himself, John C. Riley And They Arrest All 4 Of Them...

Back At Nova Corp HQ, Nova Prime, Played By Cruella De Vil Tries To Get The Kree To Work With Them In Stopping Ronan But They're Too Busy Trying To Find Captain Marvel And The Skrulls To Give A Shit...

Meanwhile, Downstairs Riley Who Actually Plays A Character Named Dey Shows His Boss, The Tick, Star Lord And The Others And He Decides To Send Them To A High Security Prison Called The Kyln...

Given Prison Garb, They're All Mixed In With All The Other Prisoners, One Of Them Being Voiced By Nathan Fillion...

Seriously!?! You Have The Most Badass Browncoat In The Verse And You Only Use Him For A Voice Over Character?!? Screw You, Marvel, Screw You!

Being Taken That Night By Prisoners Who Have Lost Their Families To Either Ronan Or Thanos, They're Stopped By Drax The Destroyer (Played By Dave Batista) Who Wants To Kill Gamora Himself In Revenge For Ronan Killing His Family Despite Gamora Saying Earlier That She Wasn't Getting The Orb For Ronan But For A Third Party Seller...

Not Believing Gamora, Star Lord Intervenes To Say That Because She's Betraying Ronan It's Most Likely That Ronan Will Come Get Her Eventually Which Will Give Drax The Opportunity To Kill Him, So Knowing Star-Lord Is Right He Lets Her Go...

Taking Her Back To Her Cell, Star Lord Wants In On Gamora's Deal Despite Rocket Wanting To Take Star Lord To Yondu After They Escape But After Hearing Gamora's Buyer Is Paying More For The Orb Than Yondu Is For Star Lord, Rocket And Groot Are In...

Summoned By Thanos When They Discover Gamora Had Her Own Plans, Ronan Explains To Thanos What Has Happened Despite The Other Not Helping The Situation So Ronan Kills Him...

Bored By Ronan's Words, Thanos Just Says That He Will Honor The Agreement He Made If Ronan Brings Him The Orb If Not...Well I Think You Know What Will Happen...

Coming Up With An Escape Plan, Which Includes One Of The Security Guards Bands, A Prisoner's Prosthetic Leg And A Quarnyx Battery By The Control Tower, Groot Gets It For Them Which Forces Them To Place Their Plan Into Action Now...

(Start At 0:30)

Asking For The Coordinates For Her Buyer, Gamora Says That They're Going The Right Way And That She'll Contact Him While Back At The Kyln, Ronan, Thanos' Other Daughter, Nebula (Played By Ruby Roundhouse) And Some Of His Soldiers Invade To Find Out Where Gamora And The Orb Went To No Avail...

Back On Xandar, Yondu Discovers Through The Broker What Is In The Orb And Who His Buyer Is And It Turns Out That It's The Collector (Played By DJ The Codebreaker)...

But Wait A Minute...

Doesn't The Collector Have The Aether? And Didn't Volstagg Say In Thor: The Dark World Say That Having 2 Infinity Stones In One Place Is A Bad Idea?

Arriving At The Place Where The Collector Is Dubbed Knowhere, The Team Gets Drinks And Has Some Fun While Waiting For The Collector...

Going Outside To Talk With Gamora, It Leads To A Bit Of A Romantic Scene With Her And Star Lord, Until Gamora Backs Away Believing That Star Lord Is Pulling A Human Trick On Her. But Hearing Noise Inside, They Go In To See Drax, Rocket And Groot Having A Drunken Fight With Each Other...

Luckily Before They Kill Each Other, The Collector's Assistant Comes In To Get Them For Her Master...

Entering The Collector's Wherehouse, They See Some Of The Things He's Collected Including Cosmo The Space Dog Before The Team Is Introduced To The Collector Himself...

Opening The Orb, It Is Revealed To Be An Infinity Stone Which Leads The Collector To Tell The Team About How After The Big Bang, Six Infinity Stones Were Created And Wielded By Beings With Extraordinary Strength Though The Energy From Said Stones Eventually Wiped Them All Out...

Not Hearing That Whole Infinity Stone Speech Apparently, The Collector's Assistant Takes The Stone And Basically Destroys His Entire Collection, Which Forces The Team To Take The Stone Elsewhere With Gamora And Star-Lord Suggesting The Nova Corp...

But While Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket And Groot Were Dealing With The Collector, Drax Had Someone Call Ronan And His Forces So He Could Get His Revenge...

(Start At 0:54)

With Ronan Defeating Drax And Getting The Stone Along With Nebula Destroying Gamora's Spacecraft, Star Lord Calls Yondu's Ship To Pick Them Up As He Goes Out To Save Gamora By Giving Her His Oxygen Mask...

Luckily (Unlike Yondu Himself) Star Lord And Gamora Are Saved By Yondu Before Star Lord Can Die...

Groot Saves Drax Who Was Mostly Dead (And As We All Know There's A Difference Between Mostly Dead And All Dead) Admits He Was A Fool For Calling Ronan Blaming It On The Grief And Anger Over The Loss Of His Family...

As Rocket Arrives To Get Groot So They Can Get As Far Away As They Can From Ronan And His Forces Before They Wipe Out Xandar And Possibly The Entire Galaxy, But Groot Wants To Stay And Save His New Friends Along With Drax To Rocket's Dismay...

Meanwhile On The Dark Aster, After Discovering What Thanos Wanted, Ronan Betrays Thanos And Takes The Stone For Himself To Use To Destroy Xandar And Once He Is Done, Destroy Thanos Himself With Nebula By Ronan's Side...

On-Board Yondu's Ravager Ship, Star Lord And Gamora Manage To Make A Deal With Yondu And His Ravagers To Help Them Take Down Ronan In Exchange For The Stone To Which Yondu Agrees Despite Rocket And The Others Trying To Save Star Lord And Gamora...

The Team Argues While Coming Up With A Plan But Star Lord Eventually Gives Everyone A Reason "To Give A Shit And Not Run Away" Which Gets Them To Stand By Him...

So, The New Plan Is That Rocket Will Lead A Team That Will Blow A Hole Into The Dark Aster's Starboard Hull So The Milano And Yondu's Craft Can Enter The Ship. After That Gamora Will Deactivate A Impenetrable Shield To The Main Deck Where Ronan Is So Star Lord Can Use The Rocket's Hadron Enforcer To Kill Ronan...

They Give The Ravagers Containment Cases For The Stone While Star Lord Contacts Dey From The Nova Corp To Try To Get Them To Help Them Save Xandar...

With Everyone On The Team Except Groot Surviving (For Now) They're Surprised To See Ronan Survived As Well. About To Wipe Xandar Out, Star Lord Pulls A Last Ditch Effort Of A Dance Off To Distract Ronan While Rocket Prepares To Fire The Hadron Enforcer At Ronan...

Firing It At Ronan's Hammer, Rocket Destroys It So Star Lord Can Get The Stone, Unable To Handle The Energy The Team Takes Each Others Hands To Take A Piece Of The Energy For Themselves...

Using The Power Of The Stone To Wipe Ronan Out, Star Lord Places The Stone In One Of The Containers Only To Give It To Yondu Despite Begging Him To Reconsider...

Yep, Star Lord Gives Yondu A Fake And Gives The Real Stone To The Nova Corp, Who Discover That Star Lord's Mother Is An Earthling But His Father Is Something Else Entirely While Drax Decides Ronan Was Just A Puppet And That It's Really Thanos He Needs To Kill...

Also For Helping Them With Ronan The Nova Corp Gives The Team A New Ship Along With Clean Criminal Records, Oh And We Discover Groot's Alive...

As The Guardians Fly Off On Another Adventure Which Leads To The Mid Credit Scene Of The Movie With...

Dancing Groot...

And What Can I Say About This Scene? You've Heard About It, You Love It, Who Doesn't? It's Cute And Funny Period....

After The Credits Role We Get A End Credits Scene Back At The Collector's Wherehouse Where We Get A Cameo From Howard The Duck (Voiced By Seth Green)

And That's Guardians Of The Galaxy And What Can I Say About It Except It's One Of The MCU'S Best...

The Story Is Fantastic, The Characters Are Well Written, The Effects Are Awesome And I Honestly Have No Complaints For This Movie Whatsoever And I Say See It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke And Next Week We're Looking At Age Of Ultron!

[captain-kingliamsqueen]

It Hurts To Think About it

Part 10 of Life Before Him

CATCH UP!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

MASTERLIST! 

Pairing: Liam x Riley 

Summary: … Riley and Liam have her parents in cells... what happens when she sees them again?

Word Count: 3,824

Tagged : @starstruckzonkoperatorbat  @drakelover78  @queencatherynerhys @devineinterventions2 @jayjay879  @kawairinrin  @hopefulmoonobject @flyawayblue56  @gardeningourmet  @blackcatkita  @syltti78  @diamond-dreamland  @theroyalweisme  @hhiggs  @mfackenthal  @bruteforcebears @pens-girl-87 @barbaravalentino @umccall71 @darley1101 @crookedslimecreatorpasta @jamjar84 @starstruckpixelberryhistoryvoid 

 ASK IF YOU WANT TAGGED! SORRY IF I MISSED ANYONE! (USED THE TAGS FROM MY “ALWAYS” SERIES LET ME KNOW IF ANYONE WANTS UNTAGGED!!!)

I always notice every single spelling mistake or issue after I’ve posted…so apologies in advance! 

Liam and Riley headed down to the cells where her mother and father were imprisoned. They came to the huge iron gates in the “basement” part of the palace, they stopped in their tracks long enough for Liam to put the passcode into the lock, the gates buzzed allowing them to enter. Bastian stood at the end of the hall staring into one of the cells. Riley could feel her heart nearly beating out of her chest…she had dreamed of pulling them up for years, of having the satisfaction of rubbing her life she was living now in their faces. As they met Bastian, the two stopped Riley looked into the cells to see the two criminals just sitting there in two opposite cells…not saying a word. As soon as they seen Riley they were shook.

“fancy seeing you two here…” Riley barked 

“you know…I was talking to my loving fiancé, King Liam this morning about your punishment…and d’you know what…Liam and I…we agree that you have to be punished, no matter what…I don’t think you understand the punishment that awaits you for what you did to me…you tried to kill the future queen of Cordonia…do you understand what means….Mother.” Riley looked at the woman without blinking

“well…um…-”

“ooh…you don’t know?” Riley chuckled then looked to her father’s cell “what about you…father? Do you know what that means?”

“um-”

“DIDN’T THINK SO! TREASON! THAT’S WHAT YOU COMMITED AND THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE BEING CHARGED WITH…TREASON! BET YOU DIDN’T THINK OF THAT WHEN YOU TOOK ME AGAINST MY WILL…YOU TIED ME UP AND DEPRIVED ME OF OXYGEN…FOR GOD KNOWS HOW MANY HOURS!! JUST SO YOU COULD GET MONEY…THAT YOU DON’T EVEN NEED! YOU LEFT ME FOR DEAD!” Riley screamed at them…but she didn’t shout angrily…she yelled stoically…like the queen she would be. “DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU GET SENTENCED WITH IF YOUR CHARGED WITH TREASON? DEATH! SO UNLTIMATELY BY TRYING TO TAKE MY LIFE…AND FAILING…YOU LOSE YOURS! MAYBE IN YOUR NEXT LIFE…YOU’LL LEARN YOUR LESSON FROM THIS ONE!!...YOU DESERVE TO SUFFER LIKE I HAD TO SUFFER…BUT ALL I WANT RIGHT NOW, IS TO GET YOU OUT OF MY LIFE…AND MAKE SURE YOU CAN NEVER COME BACK AND HURT ME AGAIN”

“RILEY PLEASE!!!” Her mother screeched as she stood from the bench and went to run towards the door but was stopped when the shackles that were attached to her wrists and to the floor in front of the bench, pulled her back, causing her to fall to the floor. she hissed as they pulled on her skin.

“aww mommy…did that hurt?” Riley smirked “good…you deserved it!”

“Riley please! We are your family…please don’t do this!” her mother panicked

“HAH! FAMILY? NO THAT’S WHERE YOU’RE MISTAKEN! YOU’RE NOT MY FAMILY YOU NEVER HAVE BEEN…FAMILY DON’T ABONDON EACH OTHER…THEY DON’T HURT EACH OTHER…NOT THE WAY YOU TWO DID…YOU ARE NOTHING! TO ME! YOU MEAN NOTHING! LIAM IS MY FAMILY…HANA…DRAKE…MAXWELL…BERTRAND…OLIVIA! EVEN BASTIAN THEY HAVE ALL DONE MORE FOR ME…THAN YOU EVER HAVE! THEY ARE FAMILY…THEY KNOW THE MEANING OF FAMILY! YOU MAY HAVE GIVEN BIRTH TO ME, YOU MAY HAVE KEPT ME UNDER YOUR ROOF FOR A WHILE…BUT YOU WILL NEVER BE MY FAMILY…YOU THREW ME ASIDE LIKE I WAS DIRT AND NOW I’M GOING TO DO THE SAME TO YOU!” Riley stood as the woman crumbled before her.

“maybe if you hadn’t been such a shitty mom and dad…you wouldn’t be lying on the cold concrete floor of a cell…crying for your life after being told you going to die for what you done…I sincerely hope from the bottom of my heart…that you both know…what you did was wrong…all of it…everything…I hope you both understand that this isn’t easy to do…but for my own safety and everyone else’s…it has to be done…you have thirty minutes to say your goodbyes to each other…” Riley sighed as she stepped to the side…allowing Liam to officially charge them.

“I…King Liam of Cordonia, here by charge you, Lillian and Stewart Robertson of treason!...you are being sentenced to death by firing squad… at…twelve-thirty on October 1st you will be taken to the royal courtyard where you will be sent to your death as punishment for your crimes” Liam turned from the cells and took Riley's hand in his then the two left the only sound being Riley mother screaming and crying for her. Riley wiped beneath her eyes she walked away, wiping away the stray tears that fell as her mother called for her. Once the reached the main floor of the palace again Liam pulled Riley to his chest, holding her close. He placed a gentle kiss on her head as she sniffled.

“I’ll be alright” she sighed as she pulled a tissue from her pocket and wiped her nose. “no matter what they’ve done…it’s still difficult”

“I know, you’ll be alright, you’ll get through it” he whispered.

“Liam…when is my first appointment with the therapist?”

“one-thirty today. Now…its up to you if you want to come with me, I have to witness the shooting…but you…you don’t have to…I won’t put you through that” Liam sighed

“I feel like for my own good I shouldn’t go…it’s one thing confronting them and accepting that they have to die for what they did to me but it’s another to actually watching their lives being taken from them…I hate them, but I don’t think I could watch anyone having their lives taken from them.”

“listen…it’s not the first time ive had to do it…its hard…it’s difficult to watch a stranger die never mind your parents…I think it’s best that you don’t go.” Liam stated

“thank you…for understanding Liam…” Riley whispered as she wiped her face of the stray tears that had fallen

As Liam went to speak he was interrupted by one of the guards coming from the doors Riley and Liam had not long come through.

“your Majesty…Your Grace…the prisoners will be taken to the courtyard in ten minutes”

“of course, I’ll be along in a moment.”

“I’m sorry you have to watch this Liam” Riley sighed as the guard took his leave, heading back to the cells.

“I’ll get through it…I’d rather me than you” he whispered as he gently cupped Riley's cheeks in his hand, he gently grazed his thumbs over her tear stained cheeks. “this is the next step to getting better…I love you riley” he whispered before gently placing a kiss to her forehead.

“I love you too” she whispered before leaning up to kiss his lips.

“you should go and relax before the therapist gets here”

“yeah” Riley sighed. She was more than nervous about speaking to the therapist, it was one thing talking to Liam about her concerns and her pain, but it was another laying everything on the table to someone you don’t know, but she knew she had to if she wanted to get better.

“I’ll see you later?” she asked

“of course,” Liam smiled.

Once Liam left to go to the courtyard Riley headed upstairs to their quarters.

The courtyard was very rarely used, Liam had only ever seen one execution before, for weeks after it he couldn’t sleep, whenever he did sleep, he would wake up from nightmares. He was nervous, he hated having to watch it, having to sit and just watch someone’s life being torn from them, he knew they deserved it, they hurt Riley, he would have killed them himself if he could, but that wouldn’t have helped. Once he reached the viewing stand, he took a seat in one of the thrones as he watched the trained soldiers lined up on their marks. The first to be brought out was Lillian, she fought the guards to the last minute, her hair was all over the place her clothes where ripped from her struggles to get away from them, her cheeks stained red, she was led to the wooden plank that stood tall, her arms were cuffed together behind her, around the plank as she faced the firing squad. One of the sergeant’s walked over, placing a bland fold over her eyes then, took his place at the end of the line of soldiers, he stood just watching his watch after about thirty seconds he shouted.

“...TAKE YOUR STANDS…AND…FIRE!”

The soldiers all, simultaneously, let one bullet fly each. Liam flinched as the guns went off. just moments later, Stewart was brought out, the same process was followed…

“…TAKE YOUR STANDS…AND…FIRE!”

As the mans body fell limp, Liam let out a deep breathe he didn’t realise he was holding. As the courtyard was cleared Liam just sat…staring into thin air, it was things like this that made him feel the real weight of the crown.

Back in the palace, as Riley reached the royal quarters she wondered about, nervously tidying odd bits and bobs, knowing what was happening, she had to keep herself busy. She headed for their kitchenette and started to make herself some tea, once she had put all the components together and stirred the liquid, as she lifted the mug to her lips, she heard it…

*BANG! *

Riley dropped the mug, letting it crash to floor, shattering everywhere, the boiling liquid scolding her legs.

She cursed and hissed as she tried to pull her trouser from her legs. She broke down into tears when she heard the second one goes off…knowing that, that was it…they were gone, they couldn’t hurt her anymore, not physically anyway.

It was about fifteen minutes later that Liam walked in the door. When he seen her stood there, crying, in the middle of a shattered mug on the floor, with no trousers on and her legs red raw, he quickly approached her.

“Riley what happened?” he asked worried

“I-I was making some t-tea when I heard…when I heard the gun shots” she cried “I dropped the m-mug, it burned my legs”

Liam quickly grabbed a clothe running it under cold water, he then dabbed it gently onto her legs.

“Riley are you alright?” he asked

“I will be…I just…didn’t expect to hear it…I’m…I’m not sure how to feel Liam…I should be happy…they can’t hurt me anymore…they can’t cause me pain…but I can’t help but feel a little sad”

“hey…that’s okay…that’s good…it means you have a heart Riley, they were your parents, as much as they hurt you, at one point in your life…they meant something to you. It’s understandable that you feel sad, but you also understand that it had to be done sweetie.”

“I know…I just…I’m torn”

“I know…I understand” he whispered

After helping Riley sooth, the burns, she changed her trousers whilst Liam cleaned the mess the mug had left.

It was just a few moments later there was a knock at the door.

“come in!” Liam called, Bastian entered the room, quickly bowing his head.

“Your Majesty, Miss Jones is here” he informed him.

“great thank you Bastian…could you show her to my study please and I will have Riley come along in a few minutes” he replied

“of course,” Bastian left the room closing the door behind him, once Liam put the broken mug in the bin and had wiped up the spilled tea he headed for the bedroom where he informed Riley that the therapist had arrived.

“she’s here?”

“yes, Bastian is just showing her to my study, are you ready?” he asked from the door frame

“as ready as I’ll ever be” she sighed then pulled her flat slip ons on, then she headed for the door to their quarters.

“are you coming?” she asked Liam confused as to why he hadn’t followed her

“no sweetie…this is something you have to do on your own sweetie, but you can tell me everything when you’re done, I just…the therapist said on the phone that I can’t be in the room with you during your sessions, not for a couple of weeks, she wants to get to know you and your thoughts without anyone else butting in.” he gave her a comforting smile

“o-okay” she mumbled

“it’s alright…you’ll be fine Riley, I promise” he assured her.

“will you be in here?” she asked nervously

“yes, I will wait right here for you to finish” he smiled

“okay” she mumbled “ill…I’ll see you later” she whispered as she left the room.

Liam wished he could go with her, hold her hand, or even just be present in the room but he couldn’t for her own sake, she had to do this on her own.

Once Riley reached Liam's study, she gently knocked then walked in, she was greeted by a short, brunette woman, she had pulled one of the chairs across from Liam's, over to the other side of the room, sitting it across from the sofa. She stood from her feet and approached Riley, she reached her hand out, gesturing for her to shake it.

“Riley, I’m so happy to finally meet you” she smiled, Riley gently took her hand, shaking it firmly

“it’s great to meet you, miss…”

“jones…but you can call me Ellen”

“okay…Ellen” Riley mumbled.

“why don’t you have a seat” Ellen gestured to the sofa, Riley walked over sitting herself down whilst Ellen sat in the chair opposite her, with a clip board in hand and a pen.

“now Riley…who’s idea was it for you to meet with me?” Obviously knowing it was Liam but she asked anyway.

“it was my fiancé, Liam” Riley replied with a little smile on her face

“the king?”

“yes”

“why did he think you should speak with a therapist?”

“because…I need help…I asked for help…”

“good, that means you want to get better…that’s a good start…so Riley…why do you need help?”

“I…I tried to hurt myself…I took a lot of pills”

“why did you try and hurt yourself?”

“I was having a king of mental breakdown…my um…my parents abandoned me…when I was a little girl, I woke up one morning and they were gone…with my sister…they found out I was engaged to a king and they showed up…after not seeing them from the age of ten…they just showed up” she whispered “out of nowhere”

“and how did that make you feel?”

“angry…I was so angry at them…how dare they leave me the way that they did then show up when they find out I’m marrying a king”

“do you think they came back for money”

“yes…they were always money hungry.”

“Riley, when you realised your parents had left you, when you were a little girl…how did you feel?”

“hurt…I was so hurt, I sat on the porch step for hours watching all the cars that drove by hoping it would be them coming back for me, but they never did…and that made me feel…worthless, like I…like I wasn’t good enough for them…what did I do that made them leave me like that…how bad of a child was I for them to leave me for dead. How much must they have hated me to just…leave me like that, I didn’t have family I didn’t have anyone…the funny thing is though…the maids never turned up that day…or any day after that…they obviously knew they wouldn’t be needed…so they told the maids they were leaving…but they failed to tell me” she sniffled wiping her nose with a tissue. “I cried for weeks...until eventually I just couldn't cry anymore...they weren't coming back I had to be strong there was no one to look after me anymore...I had to look after myself”

“I see…when you think about what they put you through as a child…how do you feel?”

“sad…I want to cry…why didn’t they love me…I was their child…their little girl…” she burst into tears “when they turned up here…I yelled at them so bad…they hurt me and I just couldn’t help but shout at them…when I asked…why they left me…my mother’s reply was that the couldn’t afford to look after me…but the thing is…we had maids…we had the biggest house on the block, my father own a very well-known business, we were the richest family on the block…they weren’t short of money…we had cars…multiple cars…if they were short of money…why didn’t they sell a few of those…or downgrade to a smaller house? Rather than leave their ten-year-old d-daughter to fend for herself. It hurts…it hurts to think about it…it hurts to talk about it” she sobbed.

“how often do you think about it? about what they did?”

“all the time…all the damn time…I don’t want to think about it anymore…I want to get on with my life without this burden hanging over my shoulder…I just want to be happy again...”

“what makes you happy Riley?”

“Liam…Liam makes me happy…he’s my real family, when I’m with Liam…he distracts me…I don’t think about the past…I think about my future with him…I think about the family we’ll one day have…” she smiled through the tears. “I know I’m going to have a good day when I wake up and see his face smiling back at me, he does this thing nearly every morning, where he’ll get out of bed, he’ll make me tea then place it on my bedside table with a little love note beside it” she smiled “I always wished that one day I would be all someone thought about…then I met Liam” she smiled “he’s…everything…to me”

“so why aren’t you happy?”

“my parents…came back…they ruined everything…I was happy…before they showed up…I was happy with my life with Liam…I was finally getting better, I wasn’t thinking about the past as much…I was focusing on my future…our future. Then they came back…I got angry…I broke down…that’s when I tried to hurt myself, I just wanted to end the pain…I couldn’t take it any longer…it was when I woke up that I realised I needed help. Before I had the chance to really speak to Liam about getting help, they…they came back…they took me against my will”

“what happened after they took you?”

“they…they put me in a room…a small room a-about the size of a closet…they locked me in, with no windows, no oxygen…I-I couldn’t breathe” she sobbed “they had a video camera, every thirty minutes for ten minutes they broadcast live across every channel…she suffocated me…” she wept “they tried to kill me…they wanted ransom…but Liam couldn’t, he couldn’t pay it, its Cordonia law that they must never give in to criminals like that, they must never give them what they want”

“did it hurt you that he didn’t give them the money when your life was at risk?”

“no…as the queen in waiting, I knew the law, I knew he couldn’t and I couldn’t expect him to, I told him not to, I didn’t want them thinking they could just walk in here demanding money and get away with it, I hoped he wouldn’t.”

“so how did you get out of the room? what happened after you got out?”

“the kings guard tracked me down…Liam and Drake were the ones who found me first…I wasn’t breathing when they got to me, the doctor said I must have stopped breathing just minutes before they got to me, Liam had to give me mouth to mouth…he saved my life, but when I woke up…I couldn’t remember them, my parents…every memory I had of them had gone…I didn’t remember a few other things as well…my engagement to Liam…finding the man who set me up…a couple of weeks went by and I still hadn’t remember, it was just yesterday that I finally got my memories back…but when they came back…it was like experiencing them all over again…my parents leaving…waking up finding them gone…living in new York alone, the effect of working three jobs, my engagement to Liam, finding Tariq, my parents coming back…the pills…them kidnapping me…being in that room, it all came flooding back at once and it was too much…Liam found me, in the bathroom, balled up on the floor…crying my eyes out, shaking…hurt…he sat down beside me and pulled me into his arms and he just held me…he listened to me…he listen to my pain and my hurt and he talked me through it. It was then that I told him I needed help.”

“what do you think is your main problem Riley?”

“I think…letting go…I have to let go of the past, learn how to accept it…I can’t change it, so I need to accept that it happened and move on, my parents…they committed treason, they were sent to their death earlier today…I think knowing that they can’t hurt me anymore is a huge help…knowing they can’t do anything to hurt me, is a relief, it’s like a weight off of my shoulders.”

“and how did you feel, when your parents were killed?”

“sad…but happy…I felt sad because…they…they were still my parents…they meant something to me at some point in my life…but I knew they had to be punished for what they did, I had accepted the fact that they had to be executed, I was happy because they can’t bother me anymore, I knew why it had to be done and I understood…maybe now I can start to accept what happened, and I can be happy again”

“I think you’re on the tracks of getting there Riley, you’ve opened up a lot today, most people come into the first session with their guard up…but because you want help, your open to letting me in, talking to me, and that’s a great thing because it means we don’t have to sit for three or four weeks trying to get you to open up to me. We will of course need more sessions but I’m positive you’ll find happiness again Riley…but I think that’s all for today”

“really? I feel like ive only been in here ten minutes”

“it flies by, do you feel like you’ve progressed today?”

“I do, every time I talk about it I seems to get that little bit easier”

“it will keep getting easier Riley, I promise” Ellen smiled, she collected her things then pulled her coat on, “now how’s about we make another appointment?” she smiled

“yes definitely”

“alright, how about the same time next week?”

“that sounds great…I’m really looking forward to our next session, if I feel this good after out next session…I’ll be content, I feel like a huge weight is being lifted” Riley smiled as the two women headed for the door. Riley walked Ellen down to her car, waving her off. once the therapist left, Riley quickly made her way to the royal quarters, as she walked in, she called for Liam.

“Liam! Are you here?” …no answer, Riley sighed as she made her way towards their bedroom, as she walked in the lights were out and there Liam lay on the bed…fast asleep. She knew he hadn’t been sleeping very well the last few weeks, with everything that had been happening, he just couldn’t. she slipped her shoes off then walked over, climbed into the bed, she lifted his arm then snuggled into his chest, letting his arm fall over her shoulder.

“how did it go?” he mumbled, not opening his eyes

“good…it was good…I feel…good” she smiled “thank you for contacting her…” she whispered

“I’m glad to hear that” he replied quietly with a slight smile on his face

“I love you Liam…you mean the world to me, I hope you know that” she seen a smile appear on his face, she leaned up and kissed his lips causing him to tighten his arms around her.

“I love you too riley” he whispered into the kiss.

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