Throne Away

by Leddy Harper

  “Yes, Mo. I got it.” She wiped beneath her eye, as if a tear had fallen. “Now, really…how in the world did you get your parents to agree?”

  Considering she hadn’t been in the room when I had discussed it with my mother, she was genuinely clueless about how I’d pulled this off. She had no idea of the depths I had gone to in order to get her on the throne and free me of the chains that kept me bound to the crown.

  We were pretty much alone, but that didn’t mean someone couldn’t sneak up around the corner and overhear our conversation. And this was something I couldn’t risk getting out. So I wrapped my fingers around her wrist and pulled her to the door that led to the courtyard. We didn’t go outside, but at least from here, we would see anyone approach before they got within earshot.

  “Well, I started off with a guilt trip, basically letting her know that if she kept pushing this on me, there was a chance I would run off like Daniel did. And considering what happened to him, she wouldn’t want the same for me.” I took a deep breath and then added, “But before I could finish that threat, something else kind of came to me.”

  She playfully shook my shoulders. “What came to you?”

  Normally, I would have kept this to myself, but this was Libby, and I didn’t keep anything from her. “Do you remember how I told you that Patrick confided in me about catching my mother in communication with her ex?”

  “Oh, you blackmailed her? Told her you would tell your father if she didn’t support you?” Her brow furrowed. “Then how did you get him to agree?”

  “You are partially correct. I did blackmail her, but it wasn’t about that.”

  “Then what was it?”

  I shook my head at her blatant impatience. “I can’t really explain it, but there was a look between my mother and Patrick that struck me as odd, and in the middle of giving her the guilt trip, it hit me.”

  “What? What hit you?”

  It took everything in me not to cover her mouth with my hand so she would stop interrupting and just let me finish explaining. “I wasn’t sure how true it was, but I told her that if she didn’t defend me, then instead of abdicating my place in line, I would let everyone know that I couldn’t take the throne…because I am not a legitimate heir.”

  It took her a second, but it finally clicked. She gasped and covered her mouth, pleading with her eyes for more information.

  “There was just something about the way she looked at him that stuck out to me. It was the way you would look at a long-lost love, which made me think that Patrick just might have been the ex in question.”

  “So Patrick is your dad?”

  I had no idea how to explain this, but I knew I had to try. “That I am not certain of, but based on her reaction, it’s clear that she had, in fact, had a relationship with him. So either he is my biological father, or there is a possibility of that being true.”

  “Like, she doesn’t know who your biological father is?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea, all I know is she didn’t fight me on it, and in the short amount of time between her leaving the room and the hearing, she had managed to convince my father to go along with my wishes. I am not sure if he knew about the affair but raised me as his own anyway for the sake of the monarchy, or if she used some other tactic to get him to agree. But whatever it was, it didn’t take her long.”

  There was a long hesitation as she processed as much of it as she could. Then she took a deep breath and met my stare, an epiphany brightening her eyes. “I imagine that if there was a question as to who your biological father is, your mother would have found that out in secret. Which tells me that if she didn’t call your bluff, it means she already knows it’s Patrick.”

  I couldn’t disagree with her, because I had thought the same, though I wasn’t ready to admit it quite yet. And truth be told, I wasn’t sure when I would be ready to accept that conclusion. Until either Patrick or my mother broached the subject with me, I would carry on as I always had.

  “So where does this leave you?” she asked. “Do you have any plans now that you are free from your royal obligations?”

  A comforting warmth wrapped itself around me like a blanket when I said, “Oh, I have a plan, and I know just what I need to do to make it happen.”

  Chapter 18

  Ryan

  No matter how hard I tried to push thoughts of Moira out of my mind, there were moments when it was impossible. Those were the times that felt the darkest, as if I were lost in a tunnel and couldn’t even see the light to find my way out.

  Like now.

  When I had learned that this photoshoot would be located at the end of the pier, I almost turned it down. The only reason I hadn’t was because I needed the money. Divorce wasn’t cheap, which was especially true in my case. So I’d agreed to do it, and then I spent the entire time drowning in my own misery.

  I should’ve gone home once the shoot had wrapped. Staying behind would’ve only served to create more heartache. But apparently, I was a glutton for punishment, because God Himself couldn’t have dragged me off this pier just yet.

  I stood against the railing, in the exact spot Moira had been when she’d lost her brother’s hat. The same spot she stood when I approached her for the first time. It was hard to imagine how different my life would’ve been had I not walked down the pier that night. It seemed so long ago.

  Maybe it was because of the weather. When she was here, it was the tail end of winter. Now, summer had started to set in. That was enough to make it seem like that fateful meeting had been longer ago than it was.

  The waves crashed against the pilings, drowning out all other sounds around me.

  It’d been two months since I’d sent the hat to Moira, yet I still hadn’t heard anything from her—or Libby. While I understood that international mail could take a while to reach the recipient, I didn’t imagine it would’ve taken this long.

  I’d managed to finalize my divorce and move into a new house in that amount of time.

  Surely, she’d gotten the package by now. Imagining that it had gotten lost was easier than the reality that she’d ignored me. It’s not like I expected much, but something to let me know that she’d at least received it would’ve been nice.

  I needed to think about something else, so I leaned against the railing and closed my eyes, allowing the wind to brush across my face as I pictured myself on top of the world. It was something I did when things became too overwhelming, which was pretty often as of late. In a strange way, it helped make my current life a bit more bearable. Maybe that was because Moira was in every vision I created.

  Her face was as clear as if she stood in front of me right now, her smile bright, eyes as brilliantly blue as the summer sky, and her hair blowing in the breeze while the sun set behind her. Then there was her laugh…it played in my ears as if she were next to me, giggling at something I’d said. The only thing I couldn’t recreate, though, was her touch. No matter how hard I tried to recall what it had felt like to have her body pressed against mine, I couldn’t.

  “Don’t do it,” I heard her say, which made me laugh, because I had been the one who had said that exact thing to her all those months ago. Practically a lifetime ago. Then I heard her again. “Don’t do it; it’s not worth it.”

  Concerned for my sanity, I opened my eyes. I could’ve sworn it sounded like she was physically here, not just in my dreams. So I turned on my heel, taking in the sight of everyone around me just in case it hadn’t been a dream. Just in case she really had said it.

  I’d regarded every person who stood at the end of the pier with me, yet I didn’t see Moira. My hope—which I never should’ve had to begin with—died when I realized I had imagined the entire thing. Moira wasn’t here. She never would be. I’d never see her again.

  As I slowly turned back around to face the ocean, a large man wearing a fishing vest and carrying a tackle box stepped to the side, revealing the person who had been hidden behind him. The most beautiful woman I’d ever se
en.

  Moira.

  “If you’re going to jump”—she came closer and took my hand—“then jump with me.”

  I stood completely still, frozen in shock and a little bit of fear. There was still a chance that this was all part of my imagination, that I had officially gone insane. And I wasn’t sure I wanted everyone to see me talking to myself or holding thin air as if it were someone’s hand.

  But then she broke the spell.

  With her free hand, she cupped my cheek, brought her face closer to mine, and kissed me. Dear God, please don’t let this be a figment of my imagination; talking to myself would be so much easier to explain than kissing the air.

  “Would you like to get some coffee?” she asked against my lips.

  I nodded, still unsure that I was even awake at this point. Maybe I had fallen off the pier while picturing my best life. Then again, if that had happened, I couldn’t complain; at least I had Moira this way.

  “How did you get here?”

  She glanced over her shoulder, toward the entrance of the pier, and then back to me. “Patrick drove me. I made him wait in the car, though.”

  That was enough to convince me that this was real. That she was real.

  It was also enough to remind me that this was temporary.

  “Where would you like to get coffee? The café we went to last time?”

  She twisted her lips to one side in a show of dramatic thought before saying, “Yeah, we can get it there…as long as we get to drink it at your place.”

  Well, maybe I had gone insane.

  “And what would you tell Patrick?”

  “That I will be at your house, and I will call him if I need him.” She shrugged, as if her response was completely normal. When in all actuality, it was anything but normal. “It will be okay, Ryan. I promise. Just trust me.”

  The last time she had asked me to do that, we ended up being separated, and I found myself kicked out of an entire country. But since I’d already learned that I was a glutton for punishment, I nodded and followed her lead.

  The conversation from the coffee shop to my house was minimal. Not because things were awkward or strained, we just had a lot to talk about, and neither of us wanted to get into it while driving. Not to mention, Patrick followed behind us in his car. That was a little awkward, I wouldn’t lie.

  I was stunned and confused when Patrick walked the perimeter of my house. Hell, this entire situation was surprising and confusing. All I could do was just sit there and let it happen while Moira and I waited to start our conversation. It felt like the longer we waited, the more awkward we made things.

  But finally, Patrick left, and it was just us sitting at my kitchen table. This whole experience was surreal. Part of me still didn’t believe that Moira sat across from me. I was afraid this was a dream I would awake from. And that terrified me to my core.

  “This is a really cute place,” she said while glancing around the small room.

  I followed her gaze, wondering what she saw that would remotely be considered cute. I found nothing. “It’s really small, but it has everything I need. I wasn’t left with much after the divorce.”

  Her attention shot back to me, disbelief written all over her face. “Divorce?”

  Nodding was about all I could do.

  “When? How? I think I know why.” At least she was able to add a hint of humor to the situation.

  “A couple of months ago, Carly reached out and said she wanted a divorce. I really didn’t have a leg to stand on, so I basically had to give her everything she wanted. Which, as you can see, didn’t leave me with much. But at least it was quick—like ripping off a bandage, right?”

  “Oh, I am so sorry to hear that, Ryan.”

  “It’s okay. I’m only renting this place until I can buy something bigger.”

  Glancing around the room again, she offered, “I have somewhere you could stay…if you want, I mean.”

  I was torn between laughing and crying. Laughing because it was rather comical that she would offer one of her royal properties for me to stay in. And crying because no matter how generous her offer was, I’d never be able to accept it. “Is there some reason that you and your cousin aren’t aware of the ban in place that states I’m not allowed to step foot in Ilunabarra for the rest of my life? I assumed your dad would’ve told you about that.”

  She looked confused for a minute but quickly shook it off. “No, not there. Here.”

  Now it was my turn to be confused. “What do you mean? You bought a house here? Like…here here? In my town? Or do you just mean the United States?”

  Moira lowered her chin, like that would somehow hide her wide grin and soft giggles. “In town, Ryan. I don’t know how far away it is, since I literally just moved here, but I don’t imagine it’s too far.”

  “Considering we’re from two different countries, I would say I have to agree with that assessment.” I smiled at the sound of her laughter. “But in all seriousness, Moira…did you really move here?”

  “I thought we agreed that I would.” She was referring to that day in bed—the best and worst day of my life. “We made all those plans. Please don’t tell me that you didn’t mean it. Or that you have changed your mind.”

  I reached across the small two-person table and clasped my hand over hers. “Not at all. I just didn’t think it would happen, not after…well, you know. You were dragged out of the room, and I was kicked out of the country.”

  “So you still want everything we talked about?”

  “Are you kidding me? Of course I do.” I leaned forward, unable to resist those smiling lips.

  Her mouth met mine and the warmth traveled through my system. It thawed the part of me that hadn’t been able to live without her. I would be incredibly lucky to spend just one moment with her, so the fact that she was offering me a lifetime was slightly overwhelming.

  I sat back, completely awestruck that she was here, sitting right in front of me. “What about the crown? Your duties and obligations?”

  From the moment I saw her on the pier tonight, everything felt like a dream. Although, nothing felt more like a dream than this moment. She’d told me that she moved to my town and wanted to be with me.

  I’d finally woken up from my nightmare.

  “Well, in a nutshell, Libby agreed to take my place on the throne.”

  If anyone had been in the room with us, they would’ve probably described my reaction as cartoon-like. My mouth hung open as I waited for more, my eyes likely bugging out, and when she didn’t continue explaining, I shook my head with intense animation. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to tell me?”

  “What else would you like to know?”

  There was so much that I didn’t know where to begin. So I started with the most obvious at the moment. “If you’re no longer the future Queen of Ilunabarra, then why is Patrick here? Is there some chance, no matter how small, that he might take you back?”

  “No, not at all.” Her eyes sparkled as she giggled. “As for the question of Patrick being here…that is a much longer story. And I am not sure if we have enough time to get through all of that in one night.”

  “I don’t care how long it takes. I want you to tell me everything.”

  “Okay, you asked for it.” She leaned into the table and began the saga of her journey from the throne to America. There were moments when I had to ask her to repeat herself, because what she told me couldn’t have possibly been true.

  But it was.

  “Wait, so are you telling me that Patrick is your dad?”

  She nodded, and it was obvious that she hadn’t quite come to terms with it herself. “All of this happened a couple of months ago. Between dealing with the changeover and then finalizing my move here, I haven’t had a lot of time to adjust, which is why he wanted to come with me. I figured it would be nice to have him here; not to mention, I would like the time to get to know him on a different level.”

  “Did he move here, too? Or
is he just here for a little while?”

  “As of right now, he is here on a temporary basis. I am not sure what will happen down the road, and to be honest, I don’t want to have to make that decision just yet.”

  “I get it. You don’t have to explain it to me. It’s just a lot to take in.” I ran the pad of my thumb over her knuckles and offered her a genuine smile. “So you know for a fact that he’s your biological father?”

  “Yes. They were dating before she met my father—well, the one I had grown up believing was my father. From what I have been told, they broke up before the wedding, but just after Daniel was born, they started to talk again. I obviously wasn’t given the entire story, but the gist of it is that when she got pregnant with me, there was no way I could have been my father’s child.”

  It seemed royal families weren’t exempt from these kinds of scandals.

  “Clearly, my parents didn’t want to bring shame upon the monarchy, so my father pretended I was his, and he raised me as his own. Meanwhile, to keep Patrick from creating problems, they offered him a job as part of my security detail. That was their agreement to allow Patrick to be part of my life without upsetting my Granddad, who was the King at the time.”

  “That’s quite the story, Moira.” I couldn’t contain my laughter. “So your mom not only cheated on your dad, who was the Prince, but she also had another man’s baby… Yet they all freaked out at the idea of us being together.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Did they just let you leave? Or did they put up a fight?”

  She took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “I mean, they weren’t happy about it, but they knew they couldn’t stop me. I think they realized that I would come here with or without their permission, and if they wanted to be in my life, then they would have to accept it.”

  Honestly, I didn’t care how they felt about it. All that mattered to me was that she was here. And she wasn’t going anywhere.