“I think,” Anna gulped, “that I would like to say that we’re engaged. And it’s not because I don’t want the whole world to know that we’re married, it’s just…Well, my family doesn’t even know yet. And I don’t want them to find out on the six o’clock news.” Anna’s face was full of panic and her eyes full of worry.

James could sense her fear. It was paralysing her. He felt her tense and stiffen in his arms. “I get it, Anna. I promise, I do. And I think that you’ve made the right decision. That way we aren’t lying to the world or ourselves. They just don’t know the full truth. I’m happy with that. I mean, if you are.” Anna didn’t answer; she just smiled a wide, relieved smile and kissed him.

They sat there, wrapped up in each other for half an hour, ironing out the details. James knew that for this to come off the way he wanted it to, the planning had to be flawless. And when he explained what was going to happen to his parents, he could read the pride in their eyes. James explained how they had taken everything into consideration and come up with what they saw as the only diplomatic answer. James kissed Anna goodbye reluctantly and returned to the pool.

***

Anna

Anna couldn’t sit still. Somehow their hiding place had been revealed and the British media had swarmed and were now blocking the front gate. Luckily, they were kept behind locked gates of the castle grounds, which gave Anna the illusion of freedom, even if it was misplaced. Anna wandered down to the brook in total privacy, or so she thought.

She walked down the cobblestone path, just as she had done every day since her arrival. It was her favourite place in world and she didn’t really mind that she was being held hostage in it. She almost slipped on one of the mossy stepping stones, but managed to keep her balance. Just. Being down at the brook in complete silence gave her time to think; the time and space she craved. Sitting down, with the snow still falling from the sky, Anna realised the full extent of what she was putting James through. Overwhelmed with guilt, Anna ran back to the castle as fast as her legs could carry her. As soon as she reached her room, Anna was dialling James’s number frantically. No answer.

***

James

Later that evening, James walked out with the rest of the contestants for his two hundred final. For the first time in the Championships James had not progressed as the fastest qualifier. The time he had set in the semi-final had placed him third, behind a swimmer from Italy and another from the Netherlands. Anna sat in the stands. She didn’t make a sound. She didn’t move a muscle. James was introduced and a frenzied roar of excitement echoed through the arena.

With the sound of the buzzer, racing was under way. James led from the start. By the hundred-metre mark James’s picture perfect face covered the big screen. Then as Anna held her breath with trepidation, the camera panned around the stands before stopping on her. She froze in disbelief or maybe it was just in shock. When Anna finally took a breath, text scrolled across the bottom of the screen. ‘Who is she?’ flashed for everyone to see. Anna’s head dropped in shame as the cheers intensified. Moments later James touched the wall. Tonight he was going home with not only a gold medal but also a world record. James had beaten the rest of the field by over a second.

He emerged from the pool bathed in victory. Without hesitation he saluted the crowd with his trademark wave. Before James even had a chance to take a deep breath cameras and microphones surrounded him. Questions began bombarding him.

“That was a remarkable swim James, how do you feel?”

“Did you know that you could go that fast?”

“How much faster do you think you can you go?”

James answered all the questions diplomatically with a fake smile plastered across his face. It was his trademark wide smile and it seemed that only Anna knew it was fake.

James spun on his heel and headed towards the change rooms. Without thinking, he glanced up in the stands and saw Anna pointing to the screen as discreetly as she could manage. The same image flashed again: Anna’s stunned face and the question that seemed to be following her every foot step. ‘Who is she?’

Then an even cheekier question emerged. As a reporter stuck a microphone into his chest, he dared to ask it. “James. Who’s the girl we are seeing you pop up with all over town?” James glared down at him.

“That beautiful young woman who is gracing the covers of every newspaper in town, and who has everyone in this arena whispering is my fiancée, Anna White. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to change,” James stated proudly.

The arena fell silent. Once James was out of sight, the whispers returned. One young lady sitting behind Anna started screaming, “She’s here. Here she is.” She pointed at Anna. As quickly as possible, Anna fled. Before she knew what was happening, she was being mobbed. People were requesting her autograph and guys were asking for her phone number. Hands were grabbing at her. All the pushing and shoving overcame Anna as she stumbled to the ground. Neither Anna nor James knew that the declaration of Anna’s identity would cause chaos. Diana and Michael were unable to get to her. Anna lay helpless on the steps. Despite her fight, Anna was struggling to get to her feet. Another knock from an unsuspecting knee to her ribs, and Anna gasped for breath.

James fought his way through the crowd graciously, accepting the pats on the back and congratulations from random strangers. Eventually he reached Anna’s side and scooped her up. She was shaking and wheezing, trying to catch her breath. James carried her down from the stands and hoisted her over the barricades before dropping her into Justin and Ian’s awaiting arms. Quickly Ian deposited Anna into the back of an awaiting ambulance. James, still scantily clad in his barely there Speedo, climbed into the ambulance and held her hand tightly. Anna had lost consciousness and James was already praying to a God he didn’t believe in.

The next morning James and Anna emerged hand in hand from the hospital and faced the awaiting media. James read unemotionally from a short, prepared statement. “We’d like to take this opportunity to beg for some privacy. Anna’s doing fine; she merely fainted during all the commotion yesterday. We will be married upon our return to Australia and for now I would just like to get back to the pool and try to continue to swim well for the rest of the week. Thank you.” Without even giving them the opportunity to ask a question they were ushered into the back of a car and whisked away.

***

Anna

So much had happened in the past two days whirlwind didn’t even begin to explain it. James and Anna were exhausted, both emotionally and mentally. Sinking into the plush leather seats, they sat in comfortable silence reflecting on everything that they knew. Anna was beginning to question everything that they had done, terrified that they’d made the wrong decision. James, on the other hand, was ecstatic about their decision. He was relieved. For the first time, they had told the truth. They had left out some of the minor details or maybe one major detail. The fact that they were already married.

They arrived back at Chesterfield Castle and breathed a sigh of relief. Once again they were able to walk around without an audience. They practically skipped into Diana and Michael’s room to reassure them that Anna was okay. After a few brief minutes chatting and promising that Anna’s health was fine, they escaped into the privacy of Anna’s suite.

Thankfully James had the day off, only having to swim the relay final that night. He’d already checked in with Joel and made sure that it was okay that he not go in today and instead spend the day with Anna. Anna drew back the heavy curtains happily and let the sun shine in.