Royally Relinquished: A Modern Day Fairy Tale

by Hayley Faiman

  “You’re a terrible liar.”

  “Whatever,” I mumble.

  “He’s called every day, you know,” Hugh rumbles. I turn to him with shock clearly stamped all over my face. “He has. He’s checked on you, asked about your welfare, and worried over you as well.”

  “He hasn’t called me once,” I whisper.

  “I’m not a marriage counselor. I’m just telling you that he’s called. Perhaps he wanted to give you the distance you so adamantly desired?”

  I peek up at him through my lowered lashes and hate that he’s probably right. I was adamant about needing space and time away during this trip. I probably wouldn’t have contacted me, either.

  I bite my bottom lip and close my eyes, regret swimming through me. I said some hurtful things to Henrik before I left. I kept him at a distance, at arm’s length when he only wanted reassurance that we were okay. Now, he’s been wondering for weeks what our status is; now, I don’t know if he’ll still want me, want us.

  “Sleep, he’ll be at the airport awaiting your arrival,” Hugh murmurs.

  I don’t respond.

  I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and lean my head against the back of my seat. I hope that he’s there when we arrive, and that he’s happy to see me, truly happy. I’ve missed him so much. I don’t want to be away from him like that again.

  I realize that he’s it for me—the man I was meant to be with. We’re not going to have a perfect marriage, that’s impossible, but we’re going to have one full of chemistry and hopefully love. I feel like I love him now, but I want more time with him before I say the words out loud.

  I wake up with a jolt and look around, only to realize that we’re landing already. Hugh chuckles beside me, but I ignore him and turn my head toward the window.

  I see him standing on the tarmac and I smile.

  There he is.

  My husband.

  My prince.

  My Henny.

  I could spot his mass of messy hair anywhere in a crowd, and there is quite a crowd gathered on the tarmac.

  “Are you ready?” Hugh asks as I hear the stairs being dropped and the door opens.

  “No,” I whisper.

  “He waits for you, apprehension written all over his face, which he is definitely not accustomed to,” he murmurs. “Put him out of his misery, Cait.”

  “I need to reassure him that I’m his,” I say more to myself than to Hugh.

  “Indeed.”

  Hugh stands and walks away from me. I watch him descend down the stairway, and I know that he is waiting at the bottom to help me down the narrow staircase. I also know that Henrik is waiting just beyond the stairs, waiting for me as well, for my reaction to him.

  I stand and make my way toward the stairway. Suddenly, I feel this pull to him, this need to see him. He’s the only thing on my mind as I descend the stairs with a smile.

  I hear the background noise, the people yelling, and there are flashes of lights, but when my eyes land on Henrik’s green gaze, intense and unsure—

  I run.

  I run straight to him, uncaring that there are dozens of people around us. When I’m close enough to him, I jump into his strong arms. Henrik catches me, taking a step back and making a grunting noise, but he catches me.

  “Precious,” he whispers as he rests his forehead against the crook of where my shoulder and neck meet.

  “I missed you, Henny,” I sob into his neck.

  He doesn’t say anything back in response. Instead, he slowly lets me down on my feet and then cups my cheeks in his palms and presses his lips to mine. The kiss is slow, soft, and closed mouth but it’s beautiful, sensual, and sexy all at the same time.

  “I missed you too, Riona,” he whispers against my lips.

  I’m in a completely lusty daze when he lowers his hands and wraps one around mine as he tugs me toward the waiting car. My body moves on its own volition as he guides me into the backseat and then climbs inside after me.

  Hugh drives us away and pretends not to give me a questioning glare in the rearview mirror. My news is the only thing on my mind as I look into his eyes. I want to tell him now, I don’t want to wait at all, like I thought that I would, but I want it to be special.

  I need it to be special and sweet and romantic. I’m suddenly extremely anxious for his reaction, hopeful that it will be one of happiness. Looking at him, the panic eases and instead excitement fills me.

  “You look so beautiful. I’ve missed you,” Henrik murmurs low enough so that only I can hear him.

  “I’m pregnant,” I blurt out, my eyes flying to his as I cover my mouth in shock.

  Hugh swerves the car slightly before he straightens it.

  Henrik’s eyes blink slowly, so slowly that I’m curious if he’s even going to reopen them. Then he does, and I see something close to anger flash in his green gaze.

  “Pregnant?” he asks, his voice deep.

  “Yes,” I whisper.

  Suddenly, I’m not nervous or even excited anymore, just scared.

  This is not how I expected his reaction to be. I expected shock and surprise, but not the anger that he’s throwing in my direction, nor the hostility that’s filling up the car, making it hard to breathe.

  He doesn’t say another word. The rest of the ride to the apartment is bathed in uncomfortable silence, and then we arrive.

  The media is outside of our building again. I don’t care, though; I just want to know why Henrik is suddenly so angry.

  Hugh parks and then opens the door for us to get out, assuring that my luggage will be right behind us. Once we’ve made our way upstairs to our apartment, and Hugh has dropped off my bags and left, Henrik locks the door and then turns to face me, fire still very much alight in his eyes.

  Pregnant.

  The word floats around in my head, and while initially I felt excitement about her proclamation, I now feel dread—a mix of anger and dread.

  This child, it isn’t necessarily something negative, and it’s not as though we can’t financially support it. I’m more than able to do so, but I’ve just relinquished my title and that means that I relinquished this little one’s as well, something that was just in theory until now. The repercussions of my actions settle on my shoulders like the heaviest of weights. I feel as though I’m suffocating.

  “Henny?” she asks. Her voice washes over me, so fucking sweetly.

  I grab the lamp next to me on the side table and I pick it up, hurling it across the room and watching it smash against the wall with satisfaction at the many pieces it breaks into.

  I could have had my title back, this baby would have had a title, but I did exactly as my grandfather and father warned me of, I cut my nose off to spite my face. I made another fucking mistake.

  Caitriona gasps as she brings her fingers to her plump lips—lips I kissed just moments ago, lips I already miss. She looks shocked at my reaction, completely and totally surprised.

  “Why are you so angry?” she asks me just above a whisper.

  “My grandfather and father offered my title back to me, and I turned them down. Now you’re pregnant and this baby won’t have its legacy, all because of my fucking stubborn pride,” I yell.

  “It’s okay, Henny, it’s going to be okay,” she says, taking a tentative step toward me.

  “Maybe for you. You’re American. This hasn’t been your life. This is something you stumbled into, you will never understand,” I say, sounding crueler than I mean to.

  None of this is her fault at all, yet here I am, practically blaming her.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispers placing her hand on her belly.

  She turns and walks away, toward the master bedroom. I’m stuck, frozen to my spot, watching her walk away from me.

  I am a bastard.

  I pick up my lead weighted feet and rush after her. When I walk into our bedroom, my knees threaten to buckle. Riona is sitting on the edge of the bed, her face in her hands, and her body sha
king from her sobbing. I quickly step toward her, right in front of her, and I sink to my knees. I’m a complete arse.

  “I’m a complete arse,” I tell her.

  She doesn’t respond, she just cries. I’ve hurt her—again. It’s all I seem to do when it comes to Riona.

  “I’ve hurt you again,” I mumble my thoughts. “None of it matters. It isn’t your fault, precious. It wasn’t something I was prepared for. I thought we had time until I had to think about children and titles and everything. I overreacted,” I murmur, cupping her cheeks in my hands and wiping her tears away with my thumbs.

  “I didn’t plan for this to happen,” she whispers.

  “I know, precious. I know. Apparently, I don’t always react well under stress and surprise. Apparently, I’ll need to work on it in the future,” I offer with a small smile, tipping my head to the side. “Fuck the titles.”

  “Don’t say that. They’re important. Your initial reaction proves that,” she says, looking into my eyes; thankfully, her tears now dried.

  “None of it is as important as us, as you, as this child. This is a happy thing, and I am happy. I swear it. I just panicked,” I admit truthfully. “I acted liked a fucking arsehole. My initial reaction was selfish and uncalled for, precious. I’m sorry,” I apologize.

  I stand and bend down to pick her up and place her in the center of the bed, her arms wrap around me and I fit myself between her thighs, wishing she’d worn a dress instead of these infuriating tight jeans.

  I look down on her pretty face and take in all that is my sweet wife, my Riona. Then without a word, I press my lips to hers. I snake my tongue out to taste her mouth, and when she opens on a moan to let me in, I know that we’re fine—we’re good.

  “Henny,” she whispers as she melts into the mattress below me.

  “I’m sorry,” I murmur against her lips.

  I shift my hand and slide it under the loose shirt she’s wearing. My palm touches her warm skin and I can’t hold in my own groan.

  It’s been so long since I’ve felt the silkiness of her body. I move my hand up her small ribcage to her bra and wrench the cup down, needing to feel her breast.

  “I missed you, Riona,” I murmur as my lips pepper her neck with kisses and my fingers swirl around her peaked nipple. I gently pluck at the hardened bud and she shivers. “Missed your tits, too.”

  I quickly divest her of her shirt and bra, throwing them across the room so that my eyes, then my mouth, can feast on her generous tits. I suck one of them in my mouth as much as I can, letting it go with a pop before I begin to lavish her hardened nipple with my attention and my tongue.

  “Oh, god,” she whispers as her fingers dive into my hair.

  She tugs on the strands, and I know that this, this is where we’re the best. This is where we thrive as a couple. When we’re together physically, our chemistry ignites.

  “What do you want from me, my wife?” I murmur against her skin as I make my way toward her other breast.

  I repeat the attention I gave to her first breast on her second as I wait for her answer.

  “Just you,” she whimpers, her fingers gripping me tightly.

  “My mouth or my cock?” I ask, lifting my head and looking into her hungry eyes.

  “Both?”

  “They’re yours,” I murmur. “Only yours, Riona.” I mean every single word as I kiss her belly on the way down to her sweet cunt.

  I make quick work of her jeans, unbuttoning and peeling them down her luscious thighs, along with her knickers. Then I spread her legs wide and just stare at her sweet center. It’s mine, all of her is mine, and I’m going to reclaim it tonight—remind her who she belongs to, who her husband is, and make her scream my fucking name.

  I bury my face in her cunt, devouring her sweet taste as I listen to her moan and gasp every time my tongue works her clit. When I feel her legs shake next to my ears, I know that she’s close. I move back on my haunches, not giving her the release she so craves.

  “Henny,” she whines.

  “I want your mouth on me, precious,” I grunt as I strip my pants and underwear off.

  I didn’t know she could move so quickly. She’s on her knees and then sinking her chest down to the mattress within seconds. Her eyes meet mine under her hooded lids as she envelopes my cock with her warm mouth.

  “Fuck,” I curse as I twist my fingers in the back of her hair.

  I don’t control her movements. I want her to take over, but I can’t not touch her.

  She hums around my dick, and I have to grind my teeth together to keep from coming in her mouth. It takes all of my restraint not to. I gently lift her off of me, because with her tongue, her warm mouth, and the obvious way she’s enjoying herself, I can’t keep myself contained much longer. The only place I want to come is her cunt.

  “Lie down,” I murmur.

  She grins as she makes her way to the center of the bed and lies down. I crawl over her, pressing my lips to hers as I begin to slowly sink inside of her waiting, warm, wet heat.

  “I love you, Riona,” I whisper against her lips.

  Her breath hitches as she wraps her legs around my waist, and her arms around my neck. She’s all around me, surrounding me completely, and I don’t want to be anywhere else in the world. I roll us over so that I’m on my back and she’s above me.

  “Oh, Henny,” she whispers as she begins to ride me.

  “My gorgeous wife,” I murmur, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Come on my cock, precious.”

  I don’t say anything else as she searches for her release. I watch the light sheen of sweat on her body appear, the sway of her tits as I thrust inside of her.

  My thumb presses against her hardened clit, all of it combined takes my fucking breath away. Then she squeaks and throws her head back in a long moan, and I feel her pussy flutter around me before it clamps down on my cock.

  I try my damnedest to let her ride her release out, but it’s too much, and it feels too fucking good. I wrap my arm around her waist, my fingers gripping into the flesh on her side as I lift up slightly. I use her body to fuck my dick. I move her dead weight as she bonelessly lies back, her eyes focused on me and watching my face as I take her.

  “You feel incredible,” I murmur.

  “So good, you feel so good,” she whispers.

  It doesn’t take me long, sheer seconds before I’m stilling with my own climax and coming inside of my stunning wife.

  I fall back, taking her with me so that she’s on top of my chest, my cock still buried inside of her sweet cunt.

  “I love you too, Henny,” she whispers against my neck.

  I SIGH AS WARMTH ENVELOPES me, and I curl deeper into it. Henrik groans beside me, and I can’t help but smile. He’s cuddling with me. We’ve not woken up together often, usually he’s up before me and heading off to work. But since my return yesterday, he informed me that he was taking the rest of the week off to spend time alone together.

  “What is it that you actually do?” I ask, turning my head to the side to nuzzle his neck.

  I don’t know why I never asked this question before; I guess I just assumed he did something for his grandfather, something princely. However, he spends his days in that big office building of his.

  “You don’t know?” he chuckles, as he pulls me even closer into his front.

  “No.”

  “I’m a Counsellor of State, which means my grandfather delegates some state functions and powers to me when he’s unavailable. I also run my own venture capitalist firm, investing in start-up companies,” he explains while his fingers gently trail up and down my side.

  “Wow,” I breathe.

  He’s successful and smart.

  Not that I didn’t already know that he was, but his career is so much more than I expected.

  “Plus, I have a lot of appearances to make; though, now, those will probably diminish since I no longer have a title.”

  “Do you want it back, your title?” I ask,
turning in his arms to face him.

  After last night, we didn’t talk. We just fell asleep; but his reaction to the baby, about the titles, was intense. I haven’t forgotten one second of it. I watch as his eyes roam over my face and his fingers shift to play with the ends of my hair.

  “You know, it was offered to me just a few days ago, along with yours and our children’s,” he murmurs as his hand moves to my belly to caress my still flat stomach.

  “Yeah.” I stay silent, watching him, waiting for him to continue.

  “I declined it,” he announces. “When you told me about the baby, I had a sudden pang of regret at my actions and that’s why I became angry. It honestly had nothing to do with you, precious, and everything to do with me.”

  I suck in a breath and hold it, listening and waiting for more, knowing there has to be more to it.

  “I don’t want it anymore, nor do I desire to have everything that comes with it. I thought about it after you fell asleep last night. I thought about it for a long time, and you know what?”

  I shake my head, wanting him to keep going, enjoying the fact that he’s talking and telling me all of this.

  “I’m happy just as we are, precious. Declining the offer lifted the heavy weight of duty from my shoulders. They’ll always be my family; this will never change. We’ll always be a topic for the paps. We’ll always, always be sought out. But we’ll also have more freedoms and less pressures without the titles and the added duties.

  “Our children will have less pressures and more freedom as well. They’ll be able to marry who they want, go to whatever college they want, and just be whatever it is they desire, something I’ve never experienced. You can do your charity work and I can focus on my own work—work I actually like.”

  I think about his words—about everything he gave up for me. It was all offered back to him, but he didn’t want it, even if he had a moment of panic, he didn’t want it, not after he truly thought about it.

  I lift my hand to run my fingers over his full lips, knowing that this man is mine. He was meant for me like no other could be. He’s the father of our child, and he was born into a life of luxury, a life that came with heavy burdens and duties. It wasn’t something he chose, but now, now he’s making a decision and he’s choosing what he wants.