Permanently Princess (Royals of Valleria #10)

by Marianne Knightly

  She wished he was here now, because she was really fucking terrified.

  Not of the kids, not really. More of the potential kid in her womb.

  What if she were pregnant, and then one day their kid ended up getting sick in the hospital? Could she handle it? Could she revert back to full bitch mode and be what her kid needed?

  Could she be the mother her kid needed?

  A sharply dressed, short woman with coiled auburn hair stepped forward and curtsied to the both of them, then nodded to their agents nearby. “Your Royal Highness. Ms. Wyler.”

  Ms. She wasn’t really a ‘Highness’ like Rebecca. If Grace had been here, the disparity would have been even more obvious; she was definitely not a ‘Lady’ like Grace. Next to her sort-of in-laws Charlie was so plain, so…common. It was true neither of them had been born into royalty, but they had a level of class that Charlie didn’t. She’d just have to try harder to be as classy as Rebecca was, at least today. She didn’t want to embarrass her or Nate or anybody in the family.

  “I’m Dr. Skye and I run this ward.”

  Ward. It was an awful term, in Charlie’s opinion. She’d been a ward of the state for years, and it had been mostly shit. Wards were what prisoners were kept in, wardens looked after prisoners. As she caught sight of a little boy with mouse-brown hair like hers walking into one of the rooms, she thought ‘ward’ was entirely the wrong term for the place where these children were fighting for their lives.

  With a solid princess smile, Rebecca held out a hand, and Dr. Skye shook it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. You just recently took over, correct? When Dr. Martin retired?”

  Dr. Skye smiled back. “Yes, Your Highness. He always praised your continued work with the children here.”

  “He will be missed, but I looked forward to working with you. Shall we get on then? There will be a small photo opportunity in about thirty minutes, as we arranged, with Eric and his parents. How is he today?”

  Dr. Skye led the way down the hall. “Doing well, Your Highness, and very excited to be on television.”

  “Oh, I am glad he’s having a good day, for his sake, not my own. If he does start to feel ill, just let me know and we can reschedule. His health is most important.”

  “Yes, Your Highness. Shall we start with him?” Dr. Skye held her arm out, gesturing to a room on the right. “Please.”

  They entered, Charlie trailing at the back. She forced herself to calm and pulled her hands out of her pockets.

  Just relax, Charlie.

  Rebecca was crouched down, her body balanced on the toes of her four-inch heels, while she smiled wide and spoke with the little boy Charlie had seen a few moments ago.

  Rebecca was smiling broadly. It wasn’t a fake smile, not from her. Everyone saw her smiles were genuine, which was why Vallerians loved her. Rebecca shook Eric’s small hand. “Hi, Eric. I’m so happy to see you again.”

  Eric, who only looked five or six, was in a robe over his hospital gown. Though he was sticking close to his father’s leg, he was smiling at Rebecca.

  He had a really cute smile that was made even cuter by the fact that he was missing his two front teeth. Charlie hoped that was because his baby teeth were falling out naturally, and not because any treatments he had were forcing his teeth to fall out. His eyes, though, were what really struck Charlie. They were bright and clear, and oddly familiar.

  “Hi, Pwincess.” Eric looked up at his dad then back to Rebecca. He scooched away from his father and aimed a far-too-flirty smile for someone his age at Rebecca. “You’re pretty today.”

  Rebecca giggled. “Why, thank you.”

  “Did you bring me anything?”

  “Eric!” his mother admonished in a low voice. “You don’t demand things.”

  Charlie blinked. It sounded like Eric and his family were American based on their accents. Shouldn’t Rebecca do a photo op with a Vallerian family?

  “I didn’t bring you anything, but we’ll get a chance to chat later. What kind of day is today?”

  He tilted his head to the side and looked up, his face scrunched in ‘thinking mode’. It was another adorable expression. “Mmmm…I think it’s a okay day.”

  “Good.” Rebecca rose elegantly from her crouch—seriously, how did she do that?—and gave his hair a gentle ruffle. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

  “Okay.” He gave her another flirty smile, this time with a little wave. “Bye, Pwincess.”

  “Bye, Eric.” Rebecca shook his parents’ hands and started walking out, chatting with Dr. Skye. Charlie moved in next to shake their hands.

  Charlie hadn’t really given the parents a good look—how often did people even look at parents when adorable kids were in the room?—but she looked at them now.

  She shook the hand of Eric’s father first. His face was weathered, creased and lined with a hard life, and his hair was mostly white with some gray. She got the sense he looked older than he was. Most might look at him and think he was Eric’s grandfather.

  His hand lingered just a little too long on hers, but he eventually let go.

  Creepy or weird or something else, or all three? She couldn’t decide how she felt about it.

  “It was lovely to see you, Ch—”

  He’d stopped himself from saying her name. Though she wasn’t royal, no one should have spoken to her by her first name without prior approval. It was one of the billion royal rules Charlie had learned since falling in love with Nate.

  Eric’s father cleared his throat. “I apologize. It was lovely to see you, Ms. Wyler.”

  “Hey, Daddy, she has—”

  “That’s enough, Eric,” his father shushed him immediately.

  Charlie glanced over at Rebecca, but she was already out the door and waiting for her just beyond. Deciding it was best to carry on and ask Rebecca about it later, she went to Eric’s mother.

  Where Eric’s father seemed older than he was, it was clear Eric’s mother went to pains to make sure she looked younger than she was. Her hair was a glossy dark brown, her face nearly wrinkle-less. The way the corners of her mouth tipped up when she smiled, however, indicated she’d likely had a facelift. It was so odd, but her nose looked familiar to Charlie.

  Charlie glanced back at the father, then back to the mother. Maybe she’d met them at some charity gig. She and Nate were always going to something or other, and it seemed like Eric and his family had done charity work with Rebecca before. The mother’s handshake lingered even longer than the father’s, and Charlie had to discreetly, but firmly, remove it.

  Jesus. What was with this family?

  Charlie started shuffling towards the door. “Well, it was, uh, nice to meet you.”

  The parents exchanged glances, then the father nodded. “Eric, why don’t you go to the playroom for a few minutes? We just want to speak to Ch…to this young lady.”

  “Okay, Daddy.” Eric walked out of the room

  Charlie eyed the door again, then the agents just outside it. Should she call them? Should she call Rebecca? She didn’t want to mess this up. She didn’t do princess-type stuff often, and she didn’t want to embarrass Rebecca or Nate by doing something stupid.

  God, she wished she were in a kitchen. She could handle any situation in a kitchen.

  The mother spoke first. “We, uh, have wanted to meet you for some time now.”

  Charlie’s brows shot up at that comment. She was not the most popular royal, or sort-of royal, in Valleria. “Oh? Why is that? Need a good recipe?”

  The father chuckled awkwardly and adjusted his tie though it didn’t need adjusting. “No, not exactly.”

  Charlie waited but they didn’t speak. After several seconds of this, she decided to move things along. “I don’t mean to be rude, but we do have a full schedule today. Perhaps we can talk after the media interview, or you can contact me through the palace press office later, if you’re not ready today.”

  As Charlie turned to leave, the mother grabbed her arm.

 
; That was a major, major breach of protocol.

  The full bitch came back. “I suggest you let go of my arm immediately, or I’ll remove it forcibly.”

  “Charlotte, please,” the mother begged but didn’t let go. “We just need to tell you…”

  “You haven’t let go. You have three seconds before I remove it and have the agents arrest you. Is that something you want your kid to see?” The kid was sick and probably needed his mother, but if this bitch was coming after her for some reason, who knew how she was probably treating her kid.

  “I’m…I’m your aunt.”

  The world became white noise all around her for several seconds. She glanced over at the father then back to the mother.

  She wrenched her arm out of the woman’s hand. “My God. You’re delusional.”

  The mother stepped forward, but Charlie stepped back, her hands up in a ‘stop’ motion.

  “We are! We can prove it—”

  “I don’t have an aunt or an uncle, or any blood relatives. Which, if you’d bothered to do your research before trying to scam me, you would have realized. It’s all public record.” Or it had become public after she and Nate had gotten together.

  “Your parents—”

  “My parents are dead.” That was sort of a lie; she didn’t know if they were actually dead, but they were dead to her. Even the press hadn’t been able to dig them out of the woodwork or find out what had happened to them. “I don’t know what kind of sick game you’re playing, but you’re not going to get away with this.”

  “I…I don’t know what you were told as a child, but they aren’t dead. We’re your family.”

  “My family lives at the palace.”

  “Charlotte?” Rebecca called as she walked back into the room. They always used full names when out in public. “Is everything all right?”

  Charlie glanced back at the parents, then to the bed. The sheets were a little rumpled and there was a stuffed toy on the bed, a character from the latest animated movie that was all the rage. Nate’s brother Lorenzo had a daughter who loved that movie and talked about it non-stop.

  Charlie wasn’t sure what to do, but she knew getting out of that room was priority one. “I’ll discuss it outside.”

  “Please, Charlotte, can’t we talk about this?”

  Rebecca’s eyes widened at the use of Charlie’s name instead of the more formal and proper ‘Ms. Wyler’.

  Charlie locked eyes with the mother. “No one messes with me or the royal family and gets away with it. I’m sorry your son is sick, but that doesn’t excuse your behavior. You’re to stay in this room for the time being while I discuss your actions with the Royal Protection Service.”

  The father started shaking his head. “No, you don’t understand, it’s—”

  Charlie held up a hand, her palm in a clear ‘I don’t want to hear it’. “Enough. Your Highness, after you.” In public, Charlie had to call Rebecca by her title and let her walk in front. She didn’t mind it usually, but she minded now when all she wanted to do was storm out of the room and sic the agents on those bastards.

  Rebecca left the room and Charlie followed, closing the door behind her.

  Charlie immediately turned to the agents. “You need to get someone down here to question the parents in that room.” She told them and Rebecca what had happened.

  A hand went to Rebecca’s chest, her fingers fiddling with a pin she often wore in public of the Vallerian royal crest set in gold and jewels. “My God. Do you think it’s true?”

  Charlie shrugged but shook her head. “It can’t be. After I went into the system when my parents left, social workers tried to find any relatives to take me in but they couldn’t find any. I never found any either when I looked into things as an adult. If they are related to me, they did a really good fucking job of hiding it.”

  Rebecca pursed her lips. “We’ll have to cancel the interview later. I’m certainly not going to involve them further.”

  Damn. “I’m sorry I messed up your plans.”

  Rebecca gave her an eye roll. “You’ve no reason to apologize. You didn’t do anything.”

  That made her feel a little better. “Why are you using them? Wouldn’t a Vallerian family make more sense?”

  “They’re on their way to becoming naturalized citizens, so they are Vallerian. They moved here several years ago when Eric first got ill. Our latest media push is around the Children’s Health Initiative. We’ve had people the world over coming to take advantage of free health care for Valleria’s children. We’re also tying it into a campaign to welcome immigrants and refugees to Valleria.” She nodded at the closed hospital room door. “We did a background check on them, but nothing like this was uncovered.”

  One of the agents, a tall, burly man who was in no way inconspicuous, spoke up. “We’ll review the background check, Ma’am, and determine if they’re telling the truth. Should we get a DNA test as well?”

  Charlie didn’t hesitate. “Yes. I want to prove they’re liars. What happens to the son?”

  “We’ll ask the staff to keep him occupied while we question them,” the agent said. “They won’t know why, but they’ll follow orders as long as you’re both here.”

  Charlie shared a glance with Rebecca.

  Their appointment.

  The agents knew their schedule and where they were both going later, though they may not know the exact reason why. Still, it was best to ensure they wouldn’t be delayed.

  Rebecca asked the question. “How long will it take? We’ve got our appointment after our work here today and that can’t be missed.”

  The agent nodded. “Shouldn’t take more than a few hours for initial interviews and to get DNA samples. We’ll keep an agent or two stationed here in the meantime to keep an eye on them. I’ll brief Prince Marcello.”

  When they were alone, Rebecca grasped Charlie’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “You all right?”

  Charlie sighed. “Figures my shitty past would creep up, or try to. Maybe these people think I’m an easy target, so they’re picking on me.”

  “Let’s both take a deep breath, then we’ll keep going. Dr. Skye had to check on a patient but once she’s back we’ll finish the tour for today.”

  Deep breath. Keep going. That was pretty much her entire life. “All right.”

  “You did great in there. Handling them, not putting up with their nonsense.”

  Was it nonsense though? “Something about the mother and kid seemed familiar.”

  “Charlie.”

  “It’s probably just my imagination, right? They’re just trying to scam me?”

  “Probably.”

  Hope was a dangerous thing, wasn’t it? How many years had she hoped to find her family or at least learn what had happened to them? She thought she’d finally given up on that, and now that niggle of hope was nestling in deep, maybe even growing.

  She needed to squash it again, make it disappear. She didn’t have time to consider this all might be true. She had too many other things to worry about right now.

  No, she’d let the agents do their job, then destroy that hope.

  This time, for good.

  Chapter Five

  Charlie’s leg was jiggling. Even the hand she placed on it couldn’t contain the nervous energy. She was nervous, and she clearly wasn’t the only one. Rebecca was biting her lower lip and kept brushing her hands over the skirt of her dress, smoothing non-existent wrinkles.

  When the door opened and Dr. Safar entered, both of them jumped in their seats. Dr. Safar, a very classy, African-Vallerian doctor Rebecca had used for years, sat down, then set down the two ominous manila folders in her hand.

  Charlie would never have thought a plain file folder could be so scary, but there it was.

  Oh God.

  Dr. Safar looked to each of them in turn. “I’m very sorry about the delay with these results. I’d like to take you each into the next room and speak with you individually.”

  “Togethe
r. Could you tell us together?” Charlie’s voice trembled, and she hated that. “Let’s find out together. I…I don’t want to be alone when I find out.”

  Dr. Safar shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I won’t do that. There are laws about revealing patient information. Besides that, I think it’s best I discuss things with you separately.”

  That didn’t sound good.

  Charlie and Rebecca traded glances, then they both spoke at the same time. “You go first.”

  A pause. “No, you,” they said together again.

  They both pursed their lips in restrained laughter until a giggle burst free from Rebecca’s mouth.

  “Oh, we’re being silly, aren’t we?”

  “You should go first,” Charlie urged.

  “Actually,” Dr. Safar interrupted. “I’d like to see you first, Ms. Wyler.”

  What did that mean? “O-okay. Um, I’ll go first.” She turned to Rebecca. “Should I wait for you after I’m done?”

  Rebecca glanced at Dr. Safar, who gave nothing away, then back to Charlie. “I’m not sure. Maybe just for a little while?”

  Charlie nodded, then stood as Dr. Safar did and followed her out of the office. They entered the exam room next door, and Charlie sat on the exam table.

  This was only potentially, majorly, unbelievably life-changing news.

  Piece of cake.

  God, she’d love a piece of cake right now.

  She’d actually love to be baking a cake right now.

  Woman up, Charlie. You can do this. “Just tell me, Dr. Safar. Straight, no bullshit. To the point. Brass tacks. All that jazz. Just…blurt it out. I can take it.”

  Dr. Safar smiled, then it faded.

  What did a faded smile mean?

  “You’re pregnant.”

  You’re pregnant.

  You’re pregnant.

  You’re pregnant.

  The words ran on a loop in her head. Everything else in the world ceased to exist except for those words.

  You’re pregnant.

  Pregnant.

  Her.