by Blue Saffire
“We don’t need shit from you—”
“Move out of the way, moron,” Bianca growls pushing Glenda aside. She rolls her eyes at her daughter before turning her attention back on me. “Come in. We’re busy so let’s make this quick.”
I clench my teeth against all the things I want to say. Ms. Randell places a hand on my back as support. Again, I’m grateful to her.
“Wait, who’s this?” Bianca says when Ms. Randell enters with me.
“I’m her counsel,” Ms. Randell replies before I get a chance to.
I turn to her and she gives me a little smile. Looking back at Bianca, she has her eyes narrowed at the both of us. I shrug my shoulders.
“I’d like to settle this as soon as possible. I thought it would be better to bring her along,” I say.
“Yes, we’d like to get this all over with quickly as well,” she says and turns to lead the way to the living area.
The sound of Glenda and Rosa hissing at each other like cats enters the hallway. A grin comes to my lips as I overhear their words. Bianca picks up her steps, I’m sure it’s to shut them up.
“I still don’t get it. Why is she here?”
“Because she wants to buy the company. Duh,” Rosa says to Glenda like she’s so much smarter than her.
“She doesn’t know?” Glenda snickers. “She’s so stupid.”
“Well, we need the money before we’re out on the street so shut up,” Rosa snaps.
“If you two don’t shut the hell up,” Bianca seethes as she enters the room with her overgrown brats.
Ms. Randell has grabbed my hand to make sure we’re right on her heels. The look on all of their faces is priceless. Glenda and Rosa look like two sulking toddlers and Bianca looks like she wants to throttle them both.
Interesting. I take note of the desperation in the air. I know Megan quit weeks ago.
After I calmed down and thought about it, I didn’t want to leave my old clients hanging. So I had Megan flown out to the Milan office where she could reach out and manage our New York clients without interference from these three.
“Have a seat, Cindy,” Bianca says coldly.
I clench my fist. I know she knows how much I hate that name. I have to talk myself out of mopping these floors with her.
Instead, I move to take a seat across from them all. I make a mental note that the price I plan to offer has dropped three times since we’ve walked into this room.
“You said you would like to buy our shares,” Bianca starts. “As we have worked so hard to grow the company after your father’s passing, I think it’s only fair that you pay us one million each.”
I snort. Tilting my head to the side, I look at this woman as if she’s crazy. She must be.
“Three million dollars?” I laugh. “Yeah, that’s not happening. You three have lost it.”
“Then you obviously don’t want to buy us out. You’re wasting our time. You can leave,” she says waving a hand at me.
“Okay, thanks for your time,” I say and stand.
Bianca’s face turns white as a sheet. I had a feeling that would be her reaction. You see, I noticed a few things while entering this brownstone. This was the home my father bought when Bianca talked him into moving back to the States.
While this place is no Château, my father allowed Bianca to furnish it with the best and most expensive things. Items are missing. Some of Bianca’s prized possessions are no longer on display.
Glenda’s weave looks more tore up than usual and they all look like it’s been a month since they had fill ins. I’ve never known these three to go a week without getting their nails done. The band-aid around the nail of Rosa’s index finger screams that something is off.
I don’t think any of this is a coincidence. They’re having money problems. They need me more than I need to buy the company.
“Just give us the money,” Glenda stands and shouts. “You’re rich. A fucking princess for crying out loud. I hate you.”
“It wasn’t good enough that you stole a prince from my sister,” Rosa joins in. “You go over there and find out you’re a princess. Every damn paper in London has your face plastered over it.”
“What?” I stumble back and look at them in confusion.
I turn to Ms. Randell, but she’s no longer sitting in the armed chair she had taken when I sat. My confusion grows. I knew these two were spoiled and jealous, but damn. That shit has caused them to go insane as well.
Rosa stomps off. Bianca covers her face and shoves her hands in her hair as she vibrates with anger. Glenda glares at me like I’m some piece of shit.
“Don’t try to play stupid with us,” Glenda snarls. “We know you have money. That’s why you’re here. You found out about the money and companies in Europe. Then you found out you’re a princess.”
“You ruined our lives. Clients don’t want to sign with us. Our reputation is shit because of you. All of our parties were canceled because you threw dirt on our names.”
“Why are you here? To gloat. Big fancy princess with all that money and a prince pining after his long lost princess. You made us look like fools. We’re losing everything because of you,” she hurls at me.
“Here, you want to lie to our face now?” Rosa storms back in tossing a tablet at me.
I look down at the screen. This time the blood drains from my face. Pictures of the day Princeton kissed me in front of the hotel are splashed on the screen. There are also a few pictures I had no idea anyone had taken during my time in Verlez.
However, it’s the headline that has a lump in my throat. Lost Princess has Returned. I start to skim the article and I freeze.
It has been confirmed. We’ve lost Princess Beverly. May she rest in peace. However, all is not lost. While we will keep our fond memories of the Princess, we can also rejoice in the gift she has left us.
Prince Princeton of Duke of Verlez looks elated to have Princess Cinder Duchess of Fru Fru back on this side of the pond. We all know the story of the prince that lost his bride before she was old enough to speak. We’re hoping for a happily ever after for our beloved prince this time.
I stop reading as my brain begins to catch up. My mother was a princess. I’m the baby princess.
“Oh, wait,” Glenda snorts. “I don’t think she knew.”
“She can’t be that stupid,” Rosa replies.
“Enough,” Bianca bursts out and stands from the couch. “Give us your best offer for our shares and it’s yours.”
“She will do no such thing.”
A chill runs through me. My heart skips a beat from the sound of his voice. I don’t turn to face him. I can’t.
I close my eyes and all the threads start to come together. Arthur wasn’t talking to Princeton when he said your highness the day Princeton took me to the Château. He was talking to me. And the night I called to get help returning home, he had another slip of the tongue which means Princeton has known.
My knees nearly buckle. I have no one I can trust. Once again, I’ve been played the fool.
“You knew,” I choke out.
Princeton
“This is the address,” Williams says from the front seat as the car comes to a stop. “She’s inside.”
“How do you know?” I suddenly have to question how Williams knew Cinder’s exact location. He knew she wouldn’t be at her apartment.
He turns to look me in the eyes. “Once King Edmond fell ill he commanded the princesses be found. Ms. Trueman was charged with coming to the States to find them. When she did, she found Cinder alone and grieving.”
“That’s when she came to me. Cinder’s life was so tangled in deceit. We knew she needed help sorting it. And dare I say, your highness. You were so angry and unhappy. We didn’t think you would come for her if we told you her whereabouts.”
“That’s when we hatched the plan to send your mother the letter from Mr. Ellis. I’m sorry, but I’m not sorry. You two needed each other. I did what was best for my country and my prince,” Willia
ms says drawing his shoulders back.
“Do you mean to tell us that you and Coraline Trueman have been working together?” My mother says beside me.
“Yes, your highness.”
“Well, the both of you will be rewarded. I’ve always liked that Coraline.”
“She will open the door for you,” Williams says, a look of relief crossing his face.
For now, I let it go. I need to get inside to Cinder. I have to find out why she ran off.
I step from the car and jog up the front steps. Before I can ring the bell, the door opens. Familiar brown eyes greet me. Yes, I know this woman.
“Ms. Trueman?”
“Yes, your highness,” she whispers and bows. “You can call me Coraline. Come, come. I believe she needs you.”
Hearing those words, I enter the brownstone quickly. My heart races as I think of Cinder being in danger. All of London has been talking about her return. I should have protected her better. There are so many dangers that she can face now that people know who she is and what she looks like.
“Enough,” The word is yelled as I approach the room Coraline leads me to. “Give us your best offer for our shares and it’s yours.”
My blood boils. This woman has a lot of fucking nerve. I had planned to handle her since finding out she had papers forged to claim shares of Cinder’s company here in the States.
Mr. Ellis left her and her daughters nothing. Not a cent, not one thing. Cinder has put up with them long enough. This was one of the things I planned to tell her.
“She will do no such thing,” I say, my voice booming into the room.
Cinder stands before me frozen. She doesn’t turn toward me, causing great alarm. I still have no idea why she left.
“You knew.” Her voice is full of hurt.
When she finally turns, tears are in her eyes and her lips are trembling. She looks so cute with the two plaits on each side of her head. Her jeans hug her lush hips and the T-shirt beneath her jacket fits snug against her breasts.
Yet her teary eyes are my undoing. It feels like an eternity since the last time she was in my arms. However, caution tells me now isn’t the time to draw her into my embrace.
“I only recently found out that she had false documents drawn up to place claim to your company for her and her daughters,” I reply.
Cinder’s body jerks as if she’s been hit. She wraps one arm around her middle. I take a step forward and she holds out the tablet in her hand is if to stop me with it.
“No, I wasn’t talking about that. God, you people are out to destroy,” she says on a sob.
“Cinder, baby, what—”
“You knew who I was. Who my mother was. You said nothing to me for a month. How could you? I don’t understand… wait, no, I do. You were so angry at my mother you decided to take it out on me.”
“Did you plan to hide this until you could humiliate me? The princess that planned her replacement ball. The event of the season. The perfect prince truly screwed her over.” She scoffs.
“Made her fall in love with him while he planned to dump her in front of his entire kingdom to validate his manhood. I was right, you’re an entitled prick. Fuck all of you. You deserve each other,” she shouts before tossing the tablet to the floor where it smashes.
“You can’t talk to him like that,” the stepsister with the blonde hair snarls in my defense.
I don’t think anyone sees it coming when Cinder slaps the shit out of her. I wince, peeking through one eye to see the stunned look on everyone’s face.
“We’re going to press charges and sue you. Let’s see you spend that money from prison. I told your father you had a problem,” Bianca seethes.
“I have a problem, me?” Cinder vibrates with rage. She points at me. “He has revealed that you and these two ragamuffins have been stealing from me since my father died and you dare to threaten me. Yeah, good luck with that.”
“You’ve always been jealous of us. You’re selfish. It’s why your father died of a broken heart,” Bianca retorts.
It happens so quickly, but in slow motion. Cinder hauls back and slaps Bianca harder than she slapped her daughter. Spit flies and her head snaps to the side.
“Yes,” my mother and Coraline cheer in unison at my side.
Their reactions snap me out of my shock. I’ve been speechless since she started to tear into me. She has it all wrong.
“Cinder,” I call and she turns are glare on me. “You have it all wrong.”
“No, I have it very right. I heard you. You’re planning an engagement party not a ball to find a wife. Why are you here?”
“I did you a favor. You don’t owe me an explanation. I left so you didn’t have to look me in my eyes to crush my heart.” She stops to suck in a breath.
Tears spill over as she continues. She shakes her head with her next words. “Oh, right, you want me to pay for my parents sins. I knew I was being foolish to start things up with you when you had your duties to fulfill as a prince.”
“But I lied to myself thinking I could have my cake and eat it too. Unfortunately the cake devoured me, and my heart. Bravo, you found the missing princess and got your retribution,” she says with a coldness so unlike her.
“We’re going to bury you,” the other sister says as she stands next to her mother and sister who are cradling their bruised cheeks.
Cinder spins on her and feigns lunging at her as if she’s going to slap her too. The stepsister flinches and hides behind the other two. “Try me. You ruined my mother’s dress. I’ll drag you through this house for that alone,” she hisses.
I move to get closer to her, placing a hand on her back. She turns toward me, fire in her eyes. I look down at her and want to tug her into me.
“Will you let me explain?”
She looks past me. “Ms. Randell. Your accent, where are you from?”
I close my eyes, this is getting worse by the minute. I noted Ms. Trueman’s accent as well. It’s very distinct to Verlez and Fru Fru Palms. Something Cinder pointed out about my people while she was there.
“Fru Fru Palms. I—”
“Say no more,” Cinder says sharply. “You can all go to hell.”
With that she storms from the room. My mother and Coraline call after her. I start after her, but I’m stopped in my track by the words that come from behind me.
“My daughters would never behave like that. She doesn’t deserve a prince or anything else. I plan to take everything she has,” Bianca vows.
I spin on her. “She deserves everything she has and so much more. You have taken enough from her. I plan to make it my personal business to see to it that the three of you rot in a jail cell.”
“If you so much as breathe in her direction, I’m going to make hell a place you wish for to get away from me. I’m no fucking prince charming. The dark shit I’ll dream up to torture you will make the devil blush and offer me his seat.”
“Stay. Away. From. What’s. Mine,” I say in a calm that belies the rage within.
The three of them look back at me like kicked puppies. I could care less. It’s time I go after my princess.
Chapter 16
Alone
Cinder
My soul is crashed. Even my sweet neighbor that I thought was a friend was in on all of this. Right when I was starting to trust and lean on her, she pulled the rug right from under me.
I need my key back from her. I’m selling this apartment as soon as I can. Like, God, how long have they been planning all of this? That woman has lived in that apartment since I moved in, or at least a week after is when I first met her.
“Why am I so alone?” I cry into my pillow.
I came back home not knowing what else to do. I guess I should be happy to know I don’t have to buy those three ass warts out of my business. However, I can’t find the triumph in this.
I feel broken, alone, and hollow. Not even slapping the taste out of Bianca and Glenda’s thieving mouths can make this feeling go away.
I have millions in my bank accounts, but that will never replace my father and mother or give me someone I can trust.
“Please leave,” I call out, not lifting my head from my pillow. “Leave the key behind on your way out.”
Heavy footfalls continue through my apartment into my bedroom.
“You haven’t given me a key yet. Coraline let me in and went to pack her things to return home. She has an estate to run. Especially since the princess has been found,” Princeton says from behind me.
I sit up and turn, pulling the sheet up over my body. These people are out of their minds. I know that woman didn’t just let him into my home.
“You need to get out,” I growl.
I level him with a glare of death. If looks could kill I would finish him like a game of Mortal Kombat. Yet what he does next is not at all what I asked him to.
Princeton
She will listen to me this time. I’m not leaving until she does. I loosen my tie, then shrug out of my coat, tossing it into the chair in the corner of her bedroom.
The glare on her face matches my own. She claims to love me, but she doesn’t know me well enough to know I would never do anything to hurt her.
“Name one time that I’ve hurt you, Cinder. Just one,” I say as I come out of my suit jacket and toss it with my other things. “Tell me when I haven’t done all I can to take care of you and your needs.”
She pokes her lip out and folds her arms over her chest. She still has those cute little braids in. If I weren’t so pissed at her, I’d think she was adorable.
“Right now, if you continue to strip from your clothes in my home, I promise I’m going to hurt you,” she says, her words dripping with venom.
“I like this side of you. Even though you’re bull headed and won’t listen.”
“Okay, I’ll honor you. You have five minutes. Starting now.”
“I had no idea Coraline lived across the hall from you. Your grandfather sent her in search of you. She’s the one that tugged my mother’s attention and pointed her in the right direction to find you.”
