The castle was cold at night, and I blushed as I opened the main doors, finding my servants waiting outside in the hall. They said nothing, just bowed deeply to me and walked quietly in front, showing me back to my wing of the palace. It was uncomfortable knowing they had seen Milos leave his bride on their wedding night, but it was even more uncomfortable that I knew deep down it was all a game.
“Would you retrieve my things from the Prince’s chambers?” I asked.
The head servant smiled kindly and bowed her head, still silent in the night. I nodded and walked through my sitting area and directly back to my room. I grabbed a towel and almost rushed to the shower. The main bathroom was luxurious, with smooth marble countertops, ornately designed tile floors, and gold fixtures. The shower was a large open area, and I stepped underneath the waterfall of hot water, breathing in the steam.
I washed my hair and my body, taking an unusual amount of time to scrub the layers of makeup from my face. As if washing was just another distraction from my mind, I continued until my skin was red and warm to the touch. The luffa fell from my hands, onto the tiled soapy floor. The water continued to cascade over me, and an empty feeling filled my chest. It was as if all the magic of the day was over and had completely left the room, leaving an uneasy reality in its place.
That reality infiltrated everything for the next couple of weeks. I did my best to stay out of the way, out of the Queen’s chambers, and out of my own lonely mind. Milos was gone, nowhere to be seen. I knew he had traveled somewhere, since his plane was no longer in the hangar.
The servants were kind, but I found no comfort in their words or actions. I was shown the stables, where I was given my own horse. That kept me going during that long period of silence. I would take my horse, Nelly, out into the countryside, riding for hours, not paying any attention to the time of day. At first, it was hard to get used to the constant following of the guards, but after a while, I didn’t even notice them. Instead, I filled my time with the Silesia countryside and taking walks through the town. I found the people of the country warm and inviting.
Two weeks had passed since our wedding day, and I still had not heard from the Prince at all. I checked the papers to see if the media had followed, but I found nothing there, either. The Queen was gone, tending to the business of the Kingdom, and I was left alone to my own devices, something I didn’t mind much.
During the day, I had taken Nelly out for a ride, but the dark storm that moved over us in the afternoon forced me back to the castle. I laid in my bed that night, listening to the rain through my bedroom windows, unable to find sleep. Finally, I decided a warm glass of milk was what I needed to help me fall into a dream world. I dressed and decided to get it myself. A walk through the castle to clear my head would give me something to think about, other than Milos and this whole ridiculous debacle I had gotten myself into.
As I rounded the corner into the main area of the castle, I looked up to find Milos staggering through the hall. He was obviously drunk and couldn’t seem to find his way to his own wing of the house. I shook my head and sighed as I approached him, putting my hand under his arm and supporting some of his wobbly weight. He smelled like whiskey and cheap perfume, and a strange tinge of jealousy pierced my chest. We said nothing to each other as he stumbled toward his chambers. The guards opened the doors and shut them behind us.
“You are so sweet,” he slurred.
He grabbed my arm before I could turn and leave. I felt anger rise in my throat, and I slapped his hand away, feeling nothing toward his advances.
“How dare you,” I said. I choked back angry tears, wanting to appear strong. “You’ve ignored me for weeks, and now you think you can stumble into the castle and have whatever you want?”
“What did you expect?” He pulled back, an irritated look on his face. “You do remember this is a fake marriage, right? You signed the contract, and there was nothing in there that said I had to spend time with you.”
“Why did you seduce me that first night, then, if you didn’t feel anything toward me?”
His actions were astounding, and I was completely taken back by his rough self-absorbed demeanor.
“It was all part of the plan, my dear,” he said drunkenly. “I knew you were too dewy-eyed to resist my charm. I wanted to drive the nail in and fuck you, so you would have no qualms about saying yes to my proposal. Besides, if I was going to be stuck with you for an entire year, I wanted to try you out first.”
Those words wounded me like a knife. Even though I knew it was a sham all along, I didn’t realize that Milos was such a cold-hearted asshole. Tears burned at my eyes. I reached back and slapped him hard across the face. He reached up, put his hand to his cheek, and peered at me angrily.
My heart skipped a beat. He pushed me hard up against the wall, pointing his finger in my face. I kept my face composed, so I didn’t show fear, but at that moment, I felt like I needed to get the hell out of there before things turned ugly. Before he could even speak, I kneed him hard in the balls and added one last slap for good measure. He leaned over, grabbing his crotch and groaning. I turned and bolted from the room, not even looking at the guards as I passed.
Down the corridor, I flew with my bare feet slapping against the marble floors. I heard the servants trotting along behind me, but they slowed as I ran into my sitting area. I heard the doors shut behind me. I had never been so disrespected in my entire life, and the feeling became very overwhelming. Tears flooded my eyes, and I fell to my knees on the plush Persian rugs. I pulled my hands up to my face and sobbed gently into them.
The pain in my chest deepened, and I no longer knew what to do. I felt truly hopeless, and I wondered how I could possibly endure an entire year in this place. I was alone, and I’d never felt more alone in the world.
Chapter 12: Milos
My eyes stayed clenched as my alarm blared across the room. I had to get up. I had been gone two weeks, and everyone was starting to get suspicious. My head pounded from the copious amounts of whiskey I had drunk the night before. However, as I opened my eyes, my mind was distracted from the throbbing headache by the horrible, pulsating pain in my balls.
I reached my hand down and cupped them, curling into a ball from the stomach ache everything had given me. I reached over and grabbed my phone from the side table as it buzzed noisily. I pressed the button, and a text from Zlata, thanking me for last night, popped up on the screen. I cringed when I saw it. Not only was she my best friend’s little sister, she was a complete rich bitch. I had zero desire for her in my life, though it seemed I had given her some sort of attention the night before.
I tossed the phone to the side and pulled myself from the bed. I looked for my robe that seemed to be missing. The shower called to me from the sleek marble walls, and I tripped through the doorway, stubbing my toe and cursing under my breath. I climbed into the hot water, and I felt my senses start to re-emerge, which would have been good if the memory that popped into my head wasn’t a terribly cringeworthy one.
I had been a complete and total asshole to Adriana the night before. I mean, I was an asshole all the time, but usually, it was masked with some sort of royal charm. This time, however, I could remember not holding back in the least. My throbbing balls and red cheek made perfect sense, but I couldn’t help but chuckle at Adriana’s verbosity and strength.
The truth was, I felt terrible about what happened, but I had disappeared on purpose. Between the romantic and nostalgic feelings I had felt during the wedding, well, fake wedding, and the peace I had in my chest while making love to Adriana that night, I feared waking up to her would be the end of life as I knew it. Her beautiful smile and early morning hair would have been the end of all of my freedom, so I fled.
I took the jet and flew off to the city, ignoring her, and drowning thoughts of her beautiful face in liquor and strippers. But no matter how much I indulged, no matter how many shots and lap dances I got, I couldn’t get Adriana off my mind. None of the sexy volupt
uous broads I paid to distract me did anything for me. It was miserable. So, I returned to Silesia and, apparently, had blown the entire thing.
The water was beating down hard over my body, like my conscience had been doing the entire time. Visions of my outburst and terrible words whirled around in my head. I leaned forward, hoping the rushing water could wash it away. Adriana was a stripper nomad who came from a broken home in Liverpool. There was no way she was right for me. Even if she was the right girl, I had blown that to smithereens last night. I had no idea if there was any hope that it could be fixed at this point.
However, seeing that I was going to be dealing with Adriana for the next year, I figured that I should probably make an effort to fix what I did last night. I breathed deeply as I turned off the water and jumped out of the shower. I quickly dressed in something comfortable and casual and called to one of my servants. I ordered them to make sure that one hundred dozen roses were delivered to Adriana’s room while she was out. I had seen her ride out of the stables as I dressed, so I knew she wouldn’t be back for some time. I also ordered them to send me word when she had returned so that I could be in her chambers when she arrived back.
I sat impatiently waiting for her return for several hours before a guard stuck his head in the room and nodded to me. I pulled on my shoes and ran through the castle, wanting to get inside before she saw me. As I entered the room, I was overcome with the smell of roses. The bright red flowers filled every crevasse of her sitting area. It was incredibly romantic, and I was even impressed at the thoughtfulness I was capable of at times.
My nerves were raised to the highest point I had felt in years as I watched the door handle turn. I stood up straight and fiddled with my hands, unsure of where to put them. Adriana walked into the room, looking down at the floor, but she stopped at the smell of the bouquets that filled the sitting area. Her eyes got big as she looked around at the blooming buds, but her face was stern and straight as her gaze fell upon me.
“Before you say anything,” I said, raising my arms and stepping forward. “I owe you a huge apology. I was not in my right mind, and what I said last night was cruel and uncalled for. I am hoping that we can take note of last night’s events but move forward, finding a positive way to interact with each other in the future.”
“The flowers are beautiful,” she replied as she stooped down and took in a long whiff of one of the bouquets. “I love them. Thank you. And though part of me wants to stay angry with you, I would agree that we should move forward.”
“Tour the grounds with me,” I replied, without thinking. “There is so much beauty here, and I would like to guide you through it.”
She nodded her head with a slight smile. I walked forward and stuck out my arm for her to take. She looked at me strangely at first, her expression unreadable, but hooked her arm through mine and turned toward the doors.
We walked through the palace, and I pointed out different historical artifacts that seemed benign at first glance. I could see that the history of the place intrigued her, which excited me since I knew everything there was to know about the past and our kingdom. I pulled her out into the gardens and kept her as close as she would allow. We strolled through the bushes and blooms my mother had worked so hard on. Adriana was surprised to know that the Queen had put her own hands in the dirt and created the gardens herself.
“My mother was always fond of foliage and flowers,” I explained. “She started this garden when she first came to the palace. She used to tell me how it was so lonely here, at first, but she found solace in planting. After a while, she became the full-fledged Queen and had to hire gardeners to take care of the grounds, but you will still find her out here every spring, helping to keep the place beautiful.”
“That is really lovely,” she replied. “I have always loved gardens. They brought me hope as a child, and even though I had no room for one in Liverpool, I would draw out my plans for the future. I am determined to one day have a garden at my home, though probably not this grand.”
“I’m sure it will be lovely,” I said, as I stopped and turned toward the giant obelisk in the center. “This is a monument for the wars that Silesia fought many years ago. It is because of those men that we have such a peaceful country now. My father was a patriotic man, and he liked to see these kinds of memorials built on the palace grounds. He even had an entire park built in the city in honor of those men. I’ll show you sometime.”
“That would be lovely,” she replied with blushing cheeks.
We continued through the garden and down the hill to the moat that surrounded the castle. It was less of a booming waterway and more of a large stream that flowed around. My canoe was still sitting on the side of the tree where I had left it months before. When my parents would get too strict or angry at me, I would retreat to the moat and row myself around, pretending to disappear into Silesia, running away from royal life. Adriana watched as I flipped the canoe over and dusted it off before pulling it down into the water. I reached forward and grasped her hand. She stepped gingerly into the rocking boat. She sat down on the center stool and watched as I pushed us into the water and grabbed the oars.
“When the castle was first built, we didn’t have the technology that we have today, so they built this moat to protect the castle from attacks,” I explained as I rowed along. “That bridge to the left used to be a drawbridge, but after the threat of foot attacks had diminished, my great-great grandfather had that permanent stone bridge put in place. He wanted the kingdom to feel open and unguarded, giving the people of Silesia the feeling of family with the royals.”
“That is amazing,” she said. She gawked up at the stone bridge’s belly as we passed underneath, going into the shadows and then back out into the sun. “There is so much history in your country. It is inspiring.”
“As a child, I used to imagine the knights on horseback crossing the bridge, defending our freedom,” I said, chuckling. “It was like a fairy tale for me. Now it’s more like a burden, but that is my own line of thinking, I suppose.”
“If I lived here, I would roam all around, finding every nook and cranny of this place,” she sighed, looking around. “To someone who never experienced something so magnificent, it’s quite overwhelming but has brought out the curiosity in me all over again.”
The sound of the water soothed my chest as we rowed along in the mossy waterway. The sunlight hit Adriana just right, and it sparkled through her golden curls. She smiled as we passed several ducks swimming along, and I felt a strong warmth in my chest for her and her beauty. There was something about this girl that pressed at my core, and I didn’t know what I was going to do with that feeling. While I was away, I couldn’t get her face out of my head, and since I had returned, the feeling had grown even stronger. Her vibrant smile and adorable giggle had a way of lighting up the world around her, and it sucked me in immediately.
“Did you enjoy your time here as a child?” She was curious about my life, and even though I wanted to tell her everything, something still held me back.
“It was a lot of politics, even as a small child,” I explained. “But on those few rare moments I was able to slip away from the castle and the teachers, I would transform the world around me into a story that suited me better than fancy suits and noblemen. My father would tell me stories of, what he called, the true noblemen of the old days. They were warriors, not stuffed shirt snobs that took their tea a specific way. Those stories made me want to be a true soldier. Well, at least when I was younger.”
I could tell Adriana was holding back a smirk as we rowed along, talking about my childhood fantasies. I guess if I were her, I would have a hard time reconciling the child I described with the man I had become. However, as we pulled to shore and walked into the second part of the gardens, I couldn’t help but find that part of me felt like that young boy again, and I knew it had to be Adriana who made me feel that way.
Chapter 13: Adriana
With such an enchanted place creati
ng the perfect backdrop, it was difficult to keep my mind locked in behind that wall I had built up since everything happened. Milos was back to being that absolutely charming Prince he had shown himself to be since the beginning. Hearing the stories of his childhood and watching as his eyes lit up through the stories he told was almost too much to handle. I was sure that it had to have been difficult growing up in the spotlight, always being hounded by media, and having your family expect perfection from you. It made sense that Milos had a difficult time just being himself without shrouding it with charm and fake smiles. But still, his inability to let loose with me on a regular basis made it hard for me to really trust him. The last thing I wanted was to spend another night like the night before, alone in my chambers with a broken heart, fearing my choices.
After we had finished rowing through the mossy moat, Milos pulled the canoe back up on to the shore, and I watched as he tipped it against the large willow on the edge of the banks. He walked toward me with a pleasant smile on his face, and I followed him toward what looked to be a hedge maze. As we rounded the corner into the tall covering of the bushes, he took my hand, and immediately, I felt heat rise into my belly. We walked along quietly, feeling the pull between us as it grew stronger and stronger with each step. The maze was perfectly trimmed and hedged all along the path, and I felt like I had wandered into a magical world hidden on the castle grounds. There were small birds tucked beneath the thick grasses, and I looked around in wonderment as we moved deeper and deeper into the maze.
Unprepared Daddy: A Second Chance Romance Page 63
