A Love that Endures 2

by Forrest, Bella

  The king didn’t immediately reply. Instead, he turned to Katy.

  “Katerina, before I tell you, I want you to reply honestly to me.”

  Katy nodded, her eyes wide, as she waited for the other shoe to drop.

  “Did you know that David was going to South America to meet with a drug cartel?”

  Katy’s mouth dropped open. “What? No, that’s—he went to find his estranged father,” she sputtered. Drug cartel? What in the world was he talking about?

  The king shook his head. “How guileless can you be, Katerina?”

  Katy shook her head. She remembered Mia’s warning about the Morenos, but how would the king know about that? And David had been just as in the dark about them as she had. Had something happened in Brazil? Had Marcos done something? David had seemed okay before his flight, if a little shaken up about his visit. But they hadn’t gotten the chance to talk about that. He’d wanted to talk to her in person. What if he hadn’t felt safe talking on the phone?

  Katy’s heart sank. In fact, they hadn’t gotten the chance to talk about anything.

  “Look,” her father said. “The president of Harvard told me that David was just arrested for possession. Once they got him out of there, they found even more in his room. They’re charging him with intent to sell. He’s a mule, Katerina! And now,” the king finished, his voice rising with controlled anger, “we’ll have to prepare for that scandal on top of everything else!”

  The queen moaned and wrung her hands. “The crisis team was set to leave tomorrow! They’re going to double their price.”

  “This goes a bit beyond money, Margery,” the king replied.

  But as her parents bickered in the background, Katy could barely bring herself to attempt to listen. Instead, she was trapped in her head with a torrent of unpleasant thoughts. The disbelief hit her like a flood. David couldn’t do this. You know David! He’s not a criminal!

  But then reason came rushing forward, cold and logical. But the police were involved. It’s not just rumors anymore. There is physical evidence.

  It took long, quiet seconds of misery for the third voice to surface under the storm of her shock. Maybe it’s all true. Maybe you are just a stupid child who was wrong all along.

  She had to consider the possibility. As much as every part of her heart screamed, wailed, and begged her to believe that it wasn’t true.

  But there’s only one way to find out.

  Katy stood.

  “I have to go see him. I have to talk to him. There has to be a mistake.”

  Then she ran from the room. Her mother and father called out after her, but she ignored them, running so desperately and blindly that she almost ran straight into Cassie down the next hallway.

  “Whoa!” Cassie said, grabbing Katy’s shoulders before they collided. “Are you okay?”

  “Cass,” Katy managed. “It’s David. I have to get to Cambridge right now.”

  “Wait, why?” Cassie looked alarmed. “Did you already see what’s hit the press?”

  “Yes,” Katy replied breathlessly. “That’s why I have to—” She stalled suddenly. “Wait, it’s hit the press already?”

  Cassie looked thoroughly confused. “Are we talking about the same thing here?” She pulled out a tablet from her shoulder bag. “I came to find you because there’s something I think you need to see. Something about David that might finally help you understand.”

  36

  David

  A hard shove sent David tumbling onto a cold concrete floor. Behind him, he could hear the sound of a latch locking. He turned around, not bothering to push himself up to standing yet, and stared at the two police officers.

  “Did you at least save the bag, like I asked you to?” he asked, trying to keep a steady tone. No use yelling or screaming or crying. It wouldn’t help him here, he knew. But in reality, he was terrified.

  “What bag? The drugs?” the younger officer asked.

  “Yeah, bud. If you need a fix, you need to realize that it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Because you’re going to be in here for a long time,” the older officer added.

  “The bag with the spy equipment!” David replied hoarsely, fighting to keep his voice down as the anger tore up his throat. It was hard not to feel panic overwhelming him. “The camera . . . the USB drive! There are things in that bag that can prove my innocence! This was all a setup!”

  The officers laughed again. “The judge is going to love this fairytale you cooked up, kid,” one of them said. “But before you get in front of him, I’d suggest making it a little more believable.”

  David’s lungs felt like they were deflating—like all the happiness he’d ever felt was squeezed out of him all at once. Most likely, that evidence was on its way to some dark hole where it’d never see the light of day.

  His brain rebelled against the thought, grasping at straws. No. This can’t be happening. There’s no way the king and queen could be this twisted and evil. Surely it’s all just some horrible misunderstanding.

  But how could that be? David had watched these guys pull planted drugs out of his backpack. He was almost positive that the younger officer himself had put them there, perhaps working with his older associate. And as seconds ticked by into minutes, and then hours of this nightmare, he began to doubt that anything miraculous was coming to save him.

  It started to feel like justice might not be coming.

  Eventually, David pushed himself up off the concrete and stood, brushing off his pants. Then he wearily traveled to a bench on the side of his cell and sat.

  At least I have the place to myself.

  But his usual good humor failed him. There was nothing funny about this. This wasn’t some temporary obstacle in his life that he needed to “buck up” to overcome. No, this was a calculated attempt on his livelihood, his reputation, his life. His future with Katy.

  An attempt by people with a lot of money and power at their disposal. Ruthless people who had apparently decided to do whatever they could to keep their empire from falling into the wrong hands.

  And, at this moment, it seemed like it had worked.

  David leaned forward and cradled his head in his hands.

  Could all this really be because I loved a girl?

  But even at just the thought of her, some crazy flash of heat deep in David’s heart pulsed with passion and hope. He hadn’t just loved that girl. He had found a counterpart in Katy, another person whose being matched up with his unexpectedly and perfectly. He felt a deep and abiding sense of belonging around her that he had never experienced before. And he was fulfilled around Katy in a way that he had never felt before.

  Katy was the love of his life. He may have been young and foolish in love, but he knew in his bones it was true. And he trusted her. She knew him as he knew her, and she’d stood by his side through everything so far. As long as she believed in David, then everything would be okay eventually.

  Even if he could never have her.

  His heart palpitated in fear at the thought. He couldn’t even consider the possibility of losing her. Even though he hadn’t loved her long, it felt like his whole life had been building up to the moment he met her.

  What could possibly come after Katy? What life could he lead if he lost her?

  As his negative thoughts threatened to overwhelm him, a metallic rapping suddenly roused him from the maelstrom of his mind.

  David looked up to see that a guard had smacked the cell bars with his nightstick. “You can make your phone call now.”

  David was humiliated to be led through the jailhouse in cuffs. All around him, officers, guards, and clerks were turning to stare. He heard his name and Katy’s name whispered multiple times.

  This must be what it feels like to be a total pariah.

  As they walked through the last of the corridor to the payphone-style jail phone, David briefly made eye contact with a young female officer as she looked up from her gossip magazine, her eyes flashing with shocking
venom until her gaze snapped away. For a brief moment, David wondered what he’d done to earn that glance. And there was something off-putting about the face on the magazine cover . . . But his mind was soon preoccupied by bigger issues.

  The guard led him to a phone and then turned to face him with a blank, no-nonsense look on his face.

  “You get to call until you connect with someone. But don’t be stupid about it. Call a lawyer. Not a lover. You’ve got five minutes.”

  The guard uncuffed one of David’s hands and then stepped a few yards away, leaving him by the phone, but far from alone.

  Guess you’ll just have to hear me disappointing you, then.

  His fingers punched in Katy’s number. He didn’t even know what he’d say yet. But a part of him just needed to hear her voice. Everything else—anything that happened to him—was secondary.

  He just needed to know that she still had faith in him. And maybe he could warn her about the king and queen. Though, frankly, he wasn’t even sure whether or not that was a topic that should be broached at all yet, especially from a jail cell.

  But as the phone rang and rang, under the watchful eye of the guard, David’s palms started to feel clammy. He couldn’t understand. Why wasn’t she answering her phone? Why had he been unable to reach her at all? Unless . . .

  David squeezed the phone tightly in his hand. Unless the king and queen have already planned this part out. Unless they’ve blocked my number and email address from reaching Katy. Unless they knew I’d try to call from jail too and are trying to keep her phone from her or managed to block this number.

  Perhaps they’d even blocked Katy from reaching David’s devices, as well. Whoever was carrying out this plan certainly had remote access to his things. And wouldn’t that be the best way to ensure that their plan was carried out without any meddling or claims of conspiracy?

  Confuse. Redirect. Cover up.

  David took a deep breath. What was there to do now? He could call Zeke, perhaps. Though how helpful could he be in this situation, really? He could call Joseph. And bring shame and loony-sounding conspiracy theories into his already stressful life. He could call his father . . . Well, no, he could call his lying uncle, who hadn’t given him his father’s number. And risk, possibly, the only fate worse than prison!

  David released his breath shakily. He felt utterly, horribly alone. He didn’t have a friend or family member he wanted to call, to share his shame and pain and paranoia with. And, now that he thought about it, would he even want to risk roping the few people he cared about into this? Whoever had done this was clearly vindictive—dangerously so. Plus, he couldn’t be sure that he was right anyway. What if it was Adriano who had somehow set him up? Or someone else? Could the people who loved Katy most really be so scheming?

  David struggled to find a recourse. He wasn’t ready to call a lawyer yet because he didn’t know what to do.

  Tell them about all of my “evidence” that’s suddenly gone missing? Go public with claims of Katy’s parents being conniving meddlers in her personal affairs? He didn’t know if he’d be able to handle forcing Katy through that level of pain and shame, on top of everything she was already going through.

  And what if he was wrong?

  As the guard cleared his throat, not-so-subtly hinting to David that his time with the phone was waning, David struggled with his next move. Who was there to call when the only person he wanted to talk to didn’t pick up?

  David’s fingers wavered over the dial pad, finally moving slowly and methodically to call someone who might understand all of it.

  “Hello?”

  “Cerise?” David asked timidly.

  “David! Whose phone are you calling from? It came up unknown.”

  David tightened his grip on the receiver, feeling embarrassed and unsure about proceeding. But before he could answer, Cerise spoke again.

  “Never mind that. David, please tell me what I’m seeing in the papers isn’t true.”

  David exhaled and looked down at his shoes. He hadn’t expected the news of his arrest to get out so quickly. He had barely been there for more than a few hours. But on the internet, it seemed like news moved at the speed of light. So he couldn’t be too surprised.

  He was embarrassed, but he tried to swallow it down. For now, he needed help with legal defense and getting someone to reach out to Katy for him.

  “It’s not what it looks like, Cerise. And hey, I need some help with—”

  “What the hell, David!” Cerise cut him off. “How could you do that to Katy? I mean, who even is this woman? She seems horrid, and Katy was so sweet, and . . . I just don’t understand!”

  David shook his head, trying to keep up with what was happening. It was rapidly occurring to him that they might not be discussing the same matter. Did Cerise even know that he was in jail? “Wait . . . What woman?”

  “Well, you would know, wouldn’t you?” Cerise shot back, her voice tart. “This Frenchwoman you were messing around with? Some ex? I just don’t get how you could do that to Katy after she was there for us like that. After she met my mom and everything. Oh, not to mention what that poor woman went through with that Russian!”

  Cerise continued her angry, confused tirade, but a strange, static ringing in David’s ears completely drowned her words out. Yvette? Is she talking about Yvette? And something about the papers?

  It hit him in the next instant. The magazine in the female officer’s hands, the strong distaste in her stare, the familiar dark-haired woman on the cover . . . Yvette must’ve sold some story to the papers. Some awful lie, no doubt. And from the sound of it, she was lying her way straight to the bank.

  And Katy . . . I have no way of assuring her it’s all a lie.

  As Cerise talked her feelings out, her tone at times shocked and admonishing, David’s thoughts hurtled toward what Katy would feel when she saw the latest headlines. Would she believe them? That David was a low-life drug dealer? A cheater? A liar? A fraud? If she really wasn’t getting his calls, if his number had been blocked . . .

  He thought of Katy calling his phone, again and again, of how upset she’d been when the photos broke. This would be worse. And throughout the whole thing—she’d be thinking that he had just cut off communication entirely. Used her and abandoned her. Just like Alexei.

  No, worse than Alexei. If she believed these allegations against David, then he was so much worse.

  David wasn’t even trying to listen to his cousin anymore. His mind was racing, trying to figure out some way to get out of this trap. Would Cerise believe him if she heard the whole story? What about Joseph or even Zeke? If David risked telling them, would they even want to come to his aid now, with all of these horrible stories out there? Would they be able to find a lawyer willing to take his case, with all of the evidence that had suddenly been stacked against him? How could David, an orphaned scholarship student with very little to his name, expect to successfully fight a royal power with millions of dollars at their behest? And what kind of life would he be returning to, even if he was somehow able to get out of jail and avoid prison time?

  A life without trust or honor. A life without Katy.

  The bottom of David’s stomach felt like it was dropping out, his chest filling up with ice water.

  What was he supposed to do now? He had no excuses, no case, no proof for his wild claims. The more he struggled, the larger this scandal was going to get—and at every turn, it would just prove to Katy the worst about him, remind her of this thorn in her side. Whoever had done this to them had outmaneuvered them at every turn.

  Staring straight ahead but unseeing, his every move heavy and listless, David took a shaky breath in. He registered the terrifying reality of his situation. The only way David was going to stay out of prison was if his ardent but baseless claims of innocence would be enough against a strong prosecution case. And making that even harder, the court of public opinions was undoubtedly already biased against him.

  It seemed pretty
obvious that it wasn’t going to end in his favor.

  But no matter how hopeless it appeared, he still had something to fight for.

  “Cerise,” David said suddenly, cutting her off, “I know how all of this looks. And I know you and Joseph haven’t known me long. But I hope you can believe me when I say this isn’t me.”

  On the other end, Cerise listened silently.

  “Hopefully I can tell you this in person soon.” But the pragmatist in David told him that that might not be the case. “In the meantime, give Aunt Mary my love.”

  Without another word, and with a heaviness in his chest that he knew Cerise would never know, he hung up the phone.

  Whatever came next, whatever he was up against, he knew that there was only one way to minimize hurting the people he cared about.

  He was going to have to do it alone.

  37

  Cassie

  “Are you sure it’s real?” Katy asked.

  Her face was expressionless, her tone flat. She stared straight ahead as she sat beside Cassie in the parlor, not reacting at all when Cassie gently patted her hand.

  “I’m so sorry, Katy,” Cassie replied softly, trying to repress a devilish smile that was fighting to claw its way onto her face. “Rourke confirmed it. I think he’s already working on a family statement.”

  To be honest, Cassie was disappointed that Katy hadn’t collapsed into a puddle of tears and desperation already. She’d felt sure that this, of all things, would be what finally broke her. And perhaps it had, but in a deep, immeasurable way. Katy was barely reacting to the news. It was like she had become numb to the pain.

  Which was really a shame. Katy was an ugly crier, and that had always brought Cassie a unique joy. Though she supposed that this wasn’t so bad. A whole new level of upset, perhaps one that she’d never even seen before.

  Maybe, if she’s broken enough, I won’t have to hear her whine for the next year or so that we’re trapped in this house together.