by J. J. McAvoy
“Yes, sir,” he replied immediately.
Putting the phone onto the bedside table, I lay back, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her naked body back. She rolled over, tossing her arm and leg over me. I kissed the side of her face. I wanted to be angry, but she sucked it all out of me, and I found myself drifting off with blissful ease. I swear I had only closed my eyes for a few minutes when all of a sudden, I heard the last voice I ever wanted to hear while naked in bed with my woman.
“Galahad!”
My eyes snapped open, and there at the foot of our bed stood my mother.
“Mother!” I exclaimed loudly, and when I did, Odette’s grumbled, opening her eyes.
“What is it?” Odette asked, sitting up from the bed while still naked.
Reaching for the sheets, I held them up, covering the side of her body. She was still confused until she turned and saw my mother as well. Gasping, she snatched the sheets from my hand, wrapping them around herself.
“Mother, what are you doing?” I tried not to holler, holding what little of the sheet that was left over my waist.
“Galahad, I am going to turn around so you may quickly return to your room, as Odette and I have another small talk,” she ordered, and the panic only worsened, not for me but Odette.
“Mother, this was my fault. I entered here—”
“Galahad.” She only called me that when she was very pissed, and she had called me that twice now. “I understand that it is considered normal for couples to engage in marital actives in these modern times, even if they are not married. There are some things we can join the modern world in, and there are some things we cannot. Especially in this palace! Especially considering, as you know, it is bad luck for a prince to do this. So, I am not asking you, nor do I want to hear your defenses. When I turn, you will have returned to your room as I have ordered.”
She did not say another word, only turned her back to us. Rising out of bed, I grabbed my pants, stepping into them before taking my shirt. I glanced back to Odette, trying to figure out what I could possibly signal or how to apologize, expecting her to be mortified. However, she sat up and frantically waved for me to leave.
“Go!” she mouthed to me, still holding up her sheet with one hand.
“I am sorry,” I mouthed back. This was my fault. I shouldn’t have come, or I should have left earlier.
I did not want to, but I feared staying and disobeying would make my mother take out more of her frustrations on Odette. So, I went to the door, now somewhat dressed. My mother did not meet my gaze, just looked at the floor. Bowing my head to her anyway, I spoke, “Your Majesty, I am leaving, and I beg of you to be careful with her. She is in possession of my heart.”
I glanced over her shoulder at Odette, and she gave me a look before mouthing, “Cheesy.”
“But true,” I replied winking.
“You stated that you are leaving, and yet I do not see you leaving,” my mother declared.
“Forgive me, I am going now,” I said, opening the door and stepping into the dim hall where only my mother’s assistant stood, waiting. How had it become morning so fast?
“Adelaar,” she said, bowing her head, pretending as if she did not know what had happened from the state of my appearance this morning.
All I could do was nod, walking back toward my rooms, praying my mother would spare her.
This was mortifying.
I had never been in a situation like this, not even with my mother. And to make it worse, I was trapped. My clothes were too far away, and I couldn’t exactly just hop back into them as Gale had. So, I sat there in bed, holding the sheets for dear life as she turned back to me, a frown on her face so deep my mom would scream about wrinkles.
“Yesterday, you promised you would dedicate yourself to following the rules and that you would work to be an asset to my son, to this family, and not disappoint me. Now, here I am, not even twenty-four hours later, disappointed.” Her voice was calm but only slightly.
“I apologize that you are disappointed,” I said gently, looking over my hands instead of her face.
“But no apology for making me so? I see from what you said that you have learned the difference between forgive, apologize, and sorry. And I noticed neither you nor Gale seems to regret your actions.”
There was nothing to regret. In fact, I wanted him back here with me. But I could not say that, so I just kept silent.
I did not want to look into her eyes, but I did anyway. “Your Majesty, to be honest, you can’t make me feel ashamed about this. I am very embarrassed you saw it, but I’m not ashamed about being with him.”
“I am not asking you to be ashamed, Odette,” she snapped but took a deep. “I am asking you to be smart.”
“I—”
She tossed a newspaper onto the bed. Not understanding what she meant, I picked up the paper only to see a photo of myself on one side and Sophia, dressed in black with a black veil over her face, on the other side. I could make out some of the words and sentences on the paper, but not all of them. It was enough to tell it was utter crap. The things they said I said or did weren’t true.
“Before the sun even came up, my son was notified about this, and he ordered no papers to be in the palace today and for no one to speak of it. Do you know why?”
Slowly, I looked back up to her, but she did not give me a chance to speak.
“He did so to protect you. He did not want you to see it. And I cannot fault him for that. It is a prince’s nature to worry about his future wife. It is a future wife who is supposed to give him the confidence not to worry. If that was not already enough to start this morning, I was woken with the news of the prince entering your rooms last night. Do you not think it is embarrassing for me to walk in on my son as I have? The image of him like that is not one I ever want to have, and yet I am here. Why? Not because I wish to be an evil queen or mother-in-law to you. I did not come here to help Gale, but to help you.”
“Me?”
She nodded. “One day, you will be queen, Odette. Do you want the newspapers tomorrow to say that you seduced the prince and kept him locked away in bed with you on your first night in the palace? That you distracted him from his duties and also ignored centuries of customs and traditions?”
I stared at her, gaping. “I—”
“You did not seduce him. He seduced you? Odette, have you not read history? It is normal for the kings and princes to indulge in whatever they like. That is not scandalous. ‘Bad’ women, ‘bad’ queens, are. Who did what first does not matter; it will be your fault anyway. Everything will somehow connect to you. The Adelaar was late to a meeting? It was Odette who stopped him from coming. Sophia cried? It was Odette who caused it. No matter how famous you were before, it pales in compassion to being a queen consort. You will be written about and studied by others for generations. What you wear, what you say, what you do—that is now part of this country’s history. And you being of the skin tone you are, the country you are, will be written about, spoken about, and especially lied about, more than any other queen, I am sure. Do you want to give them more ammunition? Do you want them to write about this?”
I shook my head. Each time she said my name, it felt as though she were smacking me.
“Then follow the rules and protocol as if it were holy scripture. You do not have to be a virgin, but you are going to have to act like one,” she said blatantly. “Even after you two are married and have children, you will still have to act like one. However, until that time, do not let my son’s charms get to you and do not charm him yourself. You may show you love each other. Even kiss. But nothing more until you both are married. Understood?”
“I understand.” Even though we were married already—that secret got harder and harder to keep. But I also understood her point. And a smart part of me was grateful for her reality check.
“Good. Now, you will bathe and prepare for your day while a few of my maids clean this room. No one will know of today. I have alre
ady had a rumor spread that you were saddened that I told you to abandon your singing career, and as such, Gale came to talk to you last night and returned to his room afterward. It will not put you in a better light, but still, it will be better than the truth,” she said and walked to the door. “Do not disappoint me again, Odette.”
Is that possible when I do not know all of the rules yet? I thought as she left. Lifting the paper, I stared at the photo again.
Would people really believe this?
Chapter 13
“I haven’t seen you like this since your divorce.”
“This feels worse than the divorce,” I whispered, unable to look away from the screen. There was my daughter’s sweet, beautiful face plastered for everyone to judge and rip her apart. “Did I make a mistake, Charles? Did I not think it through well enough? Should I have introduced them?”
“No.”
I looked over at my only real friend, who also happened to be my lawyer and had a vested interest in cleaning up my personal issues. The good thing about Charles Greensboro was that he was loyal and smart and too honest.
Frowning, I looked away from him and back to the television, hugging my wine closer to me. “You are supposed to say, ‘There was no way you could have known his brother would die, Wilhelmina. You weren’t trying to make her go through all of this. You thought it was a relatively unknown prince, and there would be an uproar for a moment, but after that, she could live a glamourous yet relatively quiet life as a princess forever.’ Why can’t you say that?”
“Because I don’t think that would have happened if the brother had lived. Something I would have told you from the beginning.” He sighed, taking a seat opposite my couch. “You have a talent for making your life overly complicated, and now you have made Odette’s life the same.”
“Charles, I’m getting the urge to fire you,” I grumbled before drinking.
“Luckily, the only one who can do that is Odette, and she won’t, so I will continue to speak my mind before you do something even more drastic.”
“What could be more drastic than this?” I snickered bitterly, looking at the new headline on the screen. “Black Billionaire Heiress to Become Queen! Her name is Odette. She is a Grammy-nominated, Ivy League educated, beautiful young woman—”
“That is not drastic; that is expected. I’m sure you expected it, too, so I am not sure why you are complaining. I am not sure why you chose this at all. You could have easily set her up with someone who was not as high profile.”
“They would have been intimidated by her,” I whispered.
Why did he think she had so many issues until now?
“Not only is she beautiful but also rich, and on top of that, smart and talented. I wished I could have said any man would feel amazing to be with her, but in my experience, many men cannot take it when your star outshines theirs. I’ve seen it over and over again—so have you. How many divorces have you done? I wanted someone who would never feel intimidated by her. Someone who would let her shine as bright as she wanted. Who could do that? Athletes? They have their moment in time, and then they retire, and new generations forget about them. Politicians? Maybe, but how many charismatic ones of those do you see lying around—”
“So logically, you thought a prince?” he questioned, and the sarcasm was clear in his voice.
I drank before answering, “It wasn’t like I just chose him. The thought wouldn’t have ever crossed my mind. Then through one of my stylists—you know the one from Ersovia—well, her brother worked for Arthur. I got in touch with them. I was hesitant at first to even think twice, but he told me he thought they would hit it off, and mostly, they would just have to appear at a few functions. It wasn’t that much different from what she already had to do with Etheus. So, I thought—”
“Sure, why not throw her into a media storm?”
I looked at him. “You are not helping, really.”
He sighed, hanging his head for a moment before looking up at me. “Are you sure there wasn’t a little part of you that did this to outdo Yvonne?”
“Of course not!” I said automatically.
But his eyes just stared into mine. “Wilhelmina.”
“Okay, maybe a tad bit. But is that so wrong?”
“Yes!” he snapped, and I looked away again because I knew he was right. “This anger and hate you both have toward each other have affected everything and everyone around you two. Odette and Augusta tried to rise above it, but in the end, even they can no longer be closer to each other. Why? Because you both use your daughters as weapons for your gain.”
“I—”
“Just because you were fortunate that Odette wanted to be with him also does not excuse the truth, and now there is nothing that can be done except hope this works out for the best, for her sake, not yours.”
“Her sake is all I am worried about,” I said honestly. “She is so far away, Charles. I have no idea what is happening. I’ve never seen Odette so captivated by a man before. I’m worried she isn’t seeing clearly. Is she all right? Are they taking care of her? Is she strong enough to handle this alone? Is she going to stand up for herself? Fight for herself? How often will she have to do that? If I go, maybe I can—”
“Odette is not a child, but she is your daughter, so fighting for what she wants or believes in is coded in her DNA somewhere. The only reason she never bothers to do so is that she’s worried about you as you go charging in. When you are not around, you should see how tall she stands and how uncompromising and bold she is. You do not have to worry so much.”
“All parents do is worry and pray that what we are worrying about doesn’t happen. Even still, I do not like just sitting here and doing nothing.”
“Trust Odette. She can take care of herself.”
“I’ve always trusted my daughter. It is other people I do not trust.”
“There is no reasoning with you. I just hope Odette is holding out much better than you.”
“She’s not, and I know it.” Ever since Odette was a girl, she liked a little space to deal with her issues. Before, she could hide it from me. Now I worried they wouldn’t give her the space. Rubbing under my eyelids, I rested back. This was not how this was supposed to happen, but now that it had, I could no longer make sense of my past actions.
“Have you spoken to her—”
“Wilhelmina!”
I jumped at the sound of my name and the sound of the penthouse door as it slammed shut. Turning to it, the pregnant terror stomped inside as if she owned the damn place, yelling my name as if I were her housemaid or her roommate. Was she insane? From the crazed look in her eye as she came to the couch, I was pretty sure the answer was yes.
“Call her!” she demanded, once again shrieking.
Shocked, I looked behind me to see who she was talking to. Seeing no one there, I looked back to her, and it was then I was certain she was out of her damn mind. Slowly, I rose to my feet.
“Little girl—and I will call you a little girl even as one grows inside of you—if you yell, holler, bark, or anything else that is less than respectful to me again, I swear, pregnant or not, I will smack the taste out of your mouth and on to heaven’s gates. Who do you think you are talking to right now?”
Maybe she remembered because her eyes widened slightly, and she took a breath. “Wilhelmina, I’m sorry. Hormones. I’m just—I’m so lost. And I keep waiting for Odette to call me, but she hasn’t.”
“And why would she call you?” I questioned.
“Why? Really? Because she’s off in some foreign country engaged to some prince! I have no idea what is happening or how this happened. But the media have been blasting my phone. I need to talk to her. But her phone is disconnected, and I have no way to reach her. Has she talked to you?”
“Yes.”
“Breathe, Mrs. Washington.” Mr. Greensboro handed her a glass of water.
I glared at him, but he ignored me.
“I am fine,” she said, refusing him. “Ye
s? As in yes, she’s called you? But she did not call me.”
“Yes, my daughter called me because she is my daughter. Why she needs to call you, however, is still lost on me.”
“I’m her sister. I should know—”
“Half-sister. And last I checked, you did not call her when you got married. But now you want that courtesy?”
“Wilhelmina, it’s been months. Odette and I already talked that over—”
“I am not Odette. And if you were my sister, after everything you’ve done, not only would I not call you, there would be no way in the world you would feel comfortable enough to barge in here whenever you like,” I stated, stepping forward into her face. “Go home, Augusta. Live your happy life, and leave Odette to hers. She owes you nothing. And you coming here, pretending to me as if you are really concerned—”
“I am concerned.”
I snickered, shaking my head. “No, you are scared.”
“Scared of what? Why would I be—”
“You might have Odette fooled with your fake little act, but I am far too old and have seen far too much to be tricked by you. You’ve been jealous of Odette your whole life. Everything she had, you would beg your father so you would have it too. And things she could not have, you purposely bragged about it in her face. And she never fought you on it because she cared about you so much. Something you know very well. Odette was never good at opening up to others, and you used that to your advantage. You pretend as if you care, you pretend as if you did not see or hear as your mother did one spiteful thing after another—after she stole my house, your sister’s childhood home, right from under us.” I snickered, shaking my head. “You are a snake, like your mother. And the only reason I did not come for you is that I knew my daughter was going to one day wake up and crush you herself. Lo and behold, I was right, which is why you are standing in front of me in mismatched socks and a sorry excuse of a twist out, terrified your sister is going to be the queen of a nation while you are just Mrs. Washington.”
