Do you believe in miracles, Inspector? The kind people whisper to birthday candles, chase in shooting stars, or toss into fountains with a coin and a half baked wish.
I know, it sounds childish. Miracles like that only exist in children's fairy tales and fantasy movies.
Still I've always believed.
I'm the chosen one.
The main character. A hero who can rule anything.
Whatever I say becomes reality.
You don't buy that? Ah, of course you don't. You're an Inspector. You deal in evidence, logic, cold hard facts.
I wouldn't blame you if you're looking at me right now like I'm some delusional kid with his hero complex. After all, things like superpowers or supernatural magic aren't exactly concepts ordinary people are built to understand.
Wait… so you've heard the rumors too?
"Prince is crazy smart. Always top of the class. Never drops below average."
"He's insane at sports. MVP of the school basketball team."
"And his voice? I heard him sing at the school festival. Unreal."
Perfect, right?
I almost laugh every time I hear it. The way they talk about me. Like I'm some limited edition collectible. Students. Teachers. All of them orbiting me like I'm the sun in this boring little galaxy. Just like Crown when he steps out in his superhero suit and suddenly the whole city forgets how to breathe.
That's the difference between a lead and an extra, Inspector. Between a hero and background noise.
We're just built different.
But every story needs a female lead too. The love interest. The heroine who stands beside the hero no matter what. Written into existence to complete him. And by the final scene, they're standing together like fate signed their names in permanent ink.
In the movie Crown, the heroine is this genius schoolgirl with long hair and round glasses. She's a shy type. Her name's Anna.
Crown meets her in the library. She's reading something heavy. Physics, maybe chemistry. I don't remember the exact title. It doesn't matter. Crown was looking for the same book for a school assignment.
You know the term 'meet cute', Inspector? Classic rom com stuff. The male lead bumps into the female lead by accident. No planning. No strategy. Just pure coincidence with a splash of awkward. That's how Crown met Anna. Like destiny pulled a red string tight between them.
They sat across from each other at the same table. Crown planned to just wait until she finished. But Anna got uncomfortable being stared at nonstop. So she did the smartest thing she could think of. She started explaining complicated formulas, hoping he'd get bored and leave.
Unexpectedly, Crown loved it.
He loved listening to her ramble about equations and theories like it was poetry.
And that's it. Crown had a crush.
Like any proper heroine, Anna was different. In Crown's eyes, she shimmered. Sweet background music every time the camera framed them together in the library.
That's adorable, right?
That's what they call true love.
Crown had Anna. So what about me?
Who's written for my story, Inspector?
Who's my heroine?
I knew almost everyone at school. Underclassmen. Seniors. My basketball crew. My math olympiad partner. Student council. Mostly guys, sure. But I knew plenty of girls too.
Not one of them caught my attention. Something was missing.
When I looked into their eyes, I saw nothing. No sparkle. No cinematic glow like Crown saw in Anna.
Every morning there'd be two or three love letters stuffed into my locker. Drenched in perfume. Pink paper dusted with glitter like a glitter bomb had emotional issues. I never opened them. Didn't need to. I could already imagine the cringe inside.
Girls like that? They're just background characters. I don't want to waste my screen time with them.
I needed a heroine. That's it.
Where do you even find someone like that?
Where's my true love?
The answer came out of nowhere. Just like Crown meeting Anna in the library, I met her there too. I was looking for a history book for my portfolio assignment. She was already there.
Destiny's red string did its thing.
How did I know she was the one?
It's easy, Inspector.
She was crying, and as the main character, I couldn't just walk past that. That's not how heroes are written, right?
So I pulled a pack of tissues from my pocket and gave it to her with a small smile.
She turned when she noticed me. Sniffling. Breathing uneven. Tear tracks still fresh on her cheeks. For a second, we just stared at each other. No dialogue. Just the old ceiling fan creaking above us.
You want to know what I felt when I looked deeper into her eyes, Inspector?
If Crown saw a sparkle in Anna's, I Saw something different.
In her pupils, I saw my reflection. My flushed cheeks. My awkward expression. And behind the tears clinging to her lashes, I saw fragments of her heart. A sad, wounded heroine waiting for her hero to step in.
"Thank you," she said.
Her voice was soft. Like a church choir on Sunday morning. The kind of voice that makes the world quiet down just to listen.
Ah, Anastasia....
I'm so sorry.
I'm really, really sorry I betrayed you back then.
***