Chapter 99 - Mistaken Identity

When nighttime came, Sato arrived with extra help. He was also assigned to make sure that the children looked their best for the night. They knew that there would be many reporters at the concert and they could not have the children going there looking like step-children.

The EXODUS members had left first before the children because they had to prepare and meet and greet VIP fans before their concert.

Sato had to call in asking for reinforcement from Ann when he realized that he didn't have enough people to help him. Ann sent over the crew that usually took care of her. From make-up artist to stylist.

With that, it freed up some time for Sato to take care of all the boys.

It was much easier since there were only James and Jeffrey that he had to worry about. However, he later found out that three other Royal boys needed to look their best.

After a couple of hours later, the boys and the girls were ready, and they headed out to the concert that was about to start in an hour...

===

When they arrived at the Mall of Asia, the place was fully packed. When the vehicles they were riding stopped right at the front of the concert hall, reporters were ready to take their pictures.

One by one, the children came out, and they all looked marvelously beautiful and handsome.

The first to descend was Jeffrey. He then waited for Akira to come out and extended his hand to help her before they walked together towards the main door.

They were followed by Prince Philip, Lady Crystal, then Prince Edmund and Pearl, before Prince Edward and Princess Rose. The last one to step out of the vehicle was James, who looked like a movie star. He stopped and straightened his clothes before extending his hand out to Ava.

When James and Ava started walking, following the other couples, masses and reporters got a good glimpse of their faces and recognized Ava as a former child actress, and everyone thought that James was Ashton. Fans started pushing and wanted to get a better view and to take a picture of the two.

The securities scramble to protect Ava and James from the fans that were trying their hardest to get closer to their idol. Because of that, it took James and Ava longer to get inside with all the fans in chaos trying to get their attention.

"Jesus Christ! I can't believe that I was able to see my idol in person. Now I can die with a smile on my face." Remarked one of the fans. 

Another fan was crying happily because she was able to get a close-up picture of the two as they passed her by. She quickly posted it on social media.

[ I'm at the EXODUS concert venue right now at Mall of Asia. Lead singer Ashton came in at the front door with Ava Go, the child actress. They looked good together.] She then added the picture before sending it.

As soon as she hit send, the clicks came in so fast, and during the concert, James and Ava were the hottest searches and number 1 trending in social media. The masses thought that it was Ashton that was with Ava.

===

The next day during breakfast, James was the topic of the conversation, and everyone teased him. He was upset that he was mistaken for Ashton, but he kept quiet the whole time everyone was teasing him.

There was nothing he could do about it. His Uncle Kai told him the night before that they had no plan on divulging to the masses that Ashton had a twin brother. It was for their own protection as their father's instruction.

After breakfast, Prince Philip, Lady Crystal, Princess Rose, Prince Edmund, and Pearl all prepared to leave. Prince Edward, James, and Akira were staying for another day and would fly out at the same time with EXODUS members after the second day of the concert.

Jeffrey, Ava, and Arria were told to return home after the Royals and Pearl had left. Leaving a disappointed James for not having enough time alone with Ava. However, to their surprise, Ann and Jeff had invited James and Edward to have dinner with them at their home.

When James received the invitation, he was elated, couldn't contain himself, and started laughing like some lunatic. He was overjoyed by the fact that he would be able to spend more time with the girl he liked.

===

Although Jeff and Ann were the ones who invited Prince Edward and James, they did not join them for dinner. Instead, the two had dinner outside to give the children time to enjoy themselves without them.

That night, James and Ava were given an opportunity to have a serious talk while outside in the garden gazing at the stars.

After dinner, James was quick to invite Ava to go for a walk in the garden with the pretense that he ate too much and needed to walk it off. Ava was quick to agree, and as soon as they were finished eating, the two made their way to the garden.

After hearing what James asked Ava, Prince Edward decided to join Arria and Jeffrey in the living room to watch the EXODUS's concert on live TV. Arria could care less about what everyone wanted to do, all she cared about was watching her idol, one of the members of EXODUS, and it wasn't Ashton.

As much as Jeffrey wanted to go back to his room so he could chat with Akira, he had no choice but to stay to keep Prince Edward company since Arria wasn't even paying attention to him. So, the trio stayed glued in front of the TV while Ava and James were strolling around in the garden.

===

"Ava, I just wanted to tell you that when we start college, you are not obligated to stick by me. You can do what you want to do and enjoy college life. I don't want you to feel burdened by the agreement that our parents made. We are not their only children. They only care about binding our two families together, so Jeffrey and Akira could do that too." Although he was sincere with what he was saying, deep inside James, he was aching....