Twisted Games

The morning after Rhys opens Christian’s envelope, he visits his long-lost brother, who is revealed to be Andreas. Andreas is already aware of their connection. When Andreas heard about Nikolai’s abdication, he investigated Bridget because he thought that she would not be a suitable queen. He also dug into Rhys’s background and was surprised to learn that he and Rhys have the same father: Lord Erhall. Andreas’s parents told him about his mother’s affair with Erhall shortly before they both died, but Erhall does not know about either brother’s parentage, and Andreas plans to keep that information a secret.

Andreas admits to Rhys that he doesn’t actually want to be king. He just wants to motivate Bridget to be a better queen. He has come to Athenberg to give Erhall a chance to connect with him. Although Rhys’s illegitimate birth still prevents him from marrying Bridget under the Royal Marriages Law, Andreas has an idea about how to arrange things so that Rhys and Bridget can still be together. All Andreas asks in exchange is to get to know his brother, as neither of them has any more family. While Rhys doesn’t completely trust Andreas, he wants to hear more about the plan.

Booth returns as Bridget’s bodyguard, and although she is happy to see him, she can’t stop thinking about Rhys’s absence. She meets with Elin and Steffan to plan her engagement, but she gets the impression that Steffan is also being forced into the arrangement. After Elin leaves, Steffan asks to speak to Bridget alone. He tells her that although he knows they don’t have a love match, he will try to be a good husband and consort to her. Bridget asks if Steffan is in love with Malin, and he admits that he is. He unexpectedly fell in love with her when she worked as his mother’s aide when his mother was ill. However, Steffan’s father dismissed her and threatened to cut Steffan off if he didn’t end the relationship and pursue Bridget instead. Bridget sympathizes with the similarities in their situations, but both know that they are obligated to continue the engagement.

Edvard comes to speak with Bridget and tells her about how nervous he was before his coronation. He says that he wants to speak with Bridget, not the crown princess. He recognizes that she is unhappy, and although he assumed that her relationship with Rhys was casual, he now realizes that it must have been something more. He implies that he does not want her to marry Steffan if doing so would make her unhappy, and he reassures her that she did not cause his heart attack. The conversation leaves Bridget relieved but confused. After Edvard leaves, Bridget thinks of ways to repeal the Royal Marriages Law in the three weeks before Steffan proposes. She calls in a favor from Alex, the boyfriend of her friend Ava, because she knows that he is a professional blackmailer.

One night, as Bridget is heading to her room, Booth slips her a note that he says she should read in private. She is shocked to see that the note is from Rhys. He is still in Eldorra even though they haven’t spoken for two weeks. Bridget is unable to recover from this surprise, and she is immediately met with another when she finds her friends Ava, Jules, Stella, and Alex waiting in her bedroom. They wanted to come after hearing the news about Bridget’s grandfather and about Rhys, so Nikolai helped arrange a surprise visit for the weekend. As her friends leave for dinner, Alex gives Bridget a USB with blackmail information on all the members of Parliament. He suggests that she look at Erhall’s family file first, which Bridget does.

Rhys is nervous when Bridget is late to their arranged meeting, but neither of them can hide their true feelings when she finally arrives. Bridget tells Rhys her plan to blackmail all members of Parliament, and he wonders if she has spoken to Andreas, who wants to blackmail one specific member. They admit that they both know the truth about Erhall and about Andreas’s family connection to Rhys, but Rhys doesn’t want to focus on everything he has to sort through with Erhall. Bridget also explains her secret plan use the tabloids as her weapon. (It is later revealed that she wants to use them to gain sympathy for her relationship with Rhys and shift public opinion about the Royal Marriages Law.) Rhys and Bridget finally admit their love for one another, and they agree to follow through with their risky but potentially rewarding plan.

Three days after she meets with Rhys, Bridget calls a press conference to enact her plan. She keeps the contents of her speech a secret from everyone at the palace, but she has convinced a journalist to ask specific questions. In her speech to the public, she announces that she wants to repeal the archaic Royal Marriages Law, and she openly admits that she is in love with Rhys. She claims that no one should have to choose between love and their country, and her words earn the crowd’s sympathy.

One week later, Rhys and Bridget visit Erhall, who is facing a public backlash against his determination to preserve the Royal Marriages Law. Bridget demands that Erhall open the motion to repeal the law, and Erhall wrongfully believes that this is a request rather than a command. Bridget appeals to his logic and references the recent poll that indicates that the vast majority of the public believes in repealing the act. When this tactic does not work, she and Rhys blackmail him with the information that Rhys is his son and presents him with the DNA tests that Andreas has secured as evidence. Erhall finally agrees to Bridget’s demands. When Bridget asks if Rhys wants to add anything, he realizes that he no longer hates his father; instead, Rhys is instead indifferent towards him.

After a month of campaigning, Bridget and Rhys watch the live coverage as Parliament votes—by a narrow margin—to repeal the law.

Rhys and Bridget spend the rest of the day in bed, celebrating their victory. The next morning, Bridget summons Mikaela and Elin and asks why Mikaela leaked the photos of her and Rhys. Mikaela says that she had only wanted to help Bridget and leaked the photos at Elin’s request. Bridget knows that Elin sent the email with the video of her and Rhys. Both women remain unrepentant, claiming that they were only trying to help Bridget and the monarchy. Bridget fires Elin and dismisses Mikaela, as she needs time to think about their actions.

As Andreas attempts to teach Rhys about the complexities of royal etiquette, Rhys and Bridget warm up to him a bit. As Rhys has dinner with Bridget and Andreas, he feels for the first time like he has a family.

Three months later, Rhys and Bridget take another vacation to Costa Rica. Rhys reveals that he has bought the house for Bridget. When he proposes to her, she accepts.

Six months later, everyone watches as Bridget is crowned the queen of Eldorra. Three months after that, Rhys and Bridget returned to the Athenberg Cathedral for their wedding. It is revealed that Erhall lost his reelection for speaker and that Steffan has stood up to his father and has married Malin. Tired of all the interruptions from their guests, Bridget and Rhys sneak away from their reception. Bridget is happy that they can finally have their fairytale ending, however untraditional their story might be.