“I must be naive. I bought your nice guy act like a sucker, and never once suspected you to be this awful guy.” I hold my hands out gesturing to him. I can’t believe I have to have this conversation after what I just caught him doing.
“It wasn’t all an act. I can be a very nice guy. I thought sweet was what you wanted, what it would take to get close to you. The nicer I was, the more you went running to my cousins’ arms. If only I realized sooner what kind of man you want. I would have taken a different approach if I knew that’s what you wanted.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I like to have a good time, too. I just keep my activities a little quieter than he does. I haven’t earned the same reputation that he has, but I assure you princess I can show you just as good a time.” He steps closer to me running a hand down my arm, and my stomach rolls. My body freezes, not allowing me to get away from him. How could he think this is what I want?
“If this is how you want it to be, we can have a very good marriage indeed. We may not even need to find outside enjoyment, unless you want to experiment a little. I would definitely be open to that.” He nuzzles against my cheek and nips at my ear. My mouth fills with saliva as my stomach continues to protest his touch. My feet, however, continue to stay firmly in their spot.
“That isn’t what I want.” My voice is barely a whisper. Where is the outrage and disgust I feel? I want to scream at him to get his dirty hands off me.
“Tell me what you do want. I can make happen.” His hands roam on my body, squeezing and groping. He grips my blouse tight and fabric tears. My skin crawls and my mind screams to get away, but my body still can’t seem to cooperate.
“I don’t want this, and I don’t want you.” Finally, my voice and brain seem to connect.
His nostrils flair and he grabs me by the arms pressing me hard into the wall, my skull smacking against the wood paneling. My teeth hit from the impact and the back of my head throbs from the thump.
“You won’t be any sort of queen without a man like me by your side. You need me. You think Quinn can help you rule this country? You think he will stay with you long enough? I can’t believe I wasted my time on someone like you. You’re weak, I’ll be here to watch you fail. In fact, I’m counting on it.”
Heavy footsteps register only a second before Cristian is ripped away from me. Quinn swings, connecting with Cristian’s face. Hard. He stumbles back falling into the wall and tumbles against the console table. The vase shatters. Quinn stands above him, shaking out his hand.
“You’ll regret that, you imbecile.” Cristian wipes the blood from his lip standing with jerky movements as he rights himself from the awkward position he landed in.
“The only thing I regret, is not doing it sooner. Since we were kids, you’ve been a sniveling weasel. Now you put your hands on a woman. Not just any woman, the princess. Our future queen. Have you lost your mind? You’re finished, and I’ll be happy to see it happen.”
Cristian stalks in his direction to retaliate, and Quinn’s fists ball at his sides. Several guards come running down the hall, and Cristian steps back.
“He assaulted the princess. I saw it with my own eyes.” The guards grab the still silent Cristian and drag him down the hall, the whole time never blinking as he stares at Quinn and I until they turn the corner.
“Adella, are you okay?” Quinn looks at my arms touching them gently and runs his hand over the back of my head. Everything is sore, and to my horror, finger-shaped bruises are blooming already. “I’ll go talk to your father. Cristian will never come near you again.”
I nod, afraid that if I speak, I might cry. The burning behind my eyes grows stronger the longer he touches me. I want him to hold me. Feel the comfort of his arms and erase the feeling of helplessness and disgust. He may not want to be with me, but when it mattered, he was there for me and that’s enough for me to momentary forget he has gotten what he wanted from me.
He turns on his heels and marches down the hall away from me.
I fall to the ground and Clara appears out of nowhere in front of my face. “Oh mia principessa, I’m so sorry. How could he do this to you? Let me help you.”
She helps gather me off the floor and supports me the entire walk to my room as I silently sob the entire way. Two guards are posted outside my bedroom door by the time we arrive, standing on each side ready to keep out the world. Once inside, Clara runs me a bath adding bubbles and salts. I peel off my ruined clothes dropping them to the floor then sink into the hot water, letting it soak into every cell of my body.
“Burn them,” I tell Clara when she picks up my pile of clothes off the floor. I’ll never be able to wear them again without thinking about Cristian’s hands on me. Her jaw drops but she nods and walks out. I sink lower into the water and close my eyes.
“I should have been with you.” I open my eyes to Seneca standing in the doorway hands balled into fists staring off at nothing.
“Why? So he could put his disgusting hands on you, too? Don’t do that, it’s over now.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’ll get there.” She nods then the commotion in my room has our attention.
“Where is she?” My dad’s voice bellows from the bedroom.
“In the bath, Your Majesty.” Clara squeaks a response.
Seneca grabs my robe off the hook on the wall and hands it to me. I wrap myself up and walk out into the bedroom.
“Adella.” He pulls me into his hug running a soothing hand on my hair over and over. “Are you okay? I never thought him capable of such things. He’ll be stripped of his title and everything that goes with it. He is never welcome in the castle or any of our homes again. If his father were alive, he would be so ashamed. I’m so ashamed for putting you in his path. I encouraged his pursuit of you.”
“None of this is your fault. I’m fine, mostly, and what isn’t will be quickly.” Now that it’s over it’s on the bottom of my list of concerns. I’m upset with myself for my reaction or lack of reaction really to Cristian’s behavior. I’m angry with Quinn and with myself for falling apart when he was there.
“I’ve failed to protect you. I let a monster into my home and near my daughter.”
“You can’t take any of the blame for this. I failed to protect myself. I froze.” I will never let fear control me like that again. What if Quinn hadn’t come when he did? I need to be a stronger and capable person if I’m going to lead a country.
“You’ll have round the clock security from now on.” He pulls out his phone and begins typing furiously.
“I don’t need that. This was completely by chance. Nothing can harm me in the castle now. You employ dozens of guards. I’m completely safe here.” Cristian won’t be trying to sneak back in to attack me again. I love my dad and his concern for me, but this is over the top.
“Regardless, Samuel will be assigned to stay with you at all times until this matter is settled.” He nods his head and types again on his phone.
“Dad, he needs to sleep you can’t have him follow me night and day.
“At least for tonight.” He places a hand on my cheek. The creases around his eyes and on his forehead make me rethink arguing. It must have been terrifying for him to hear his daughter had been assaulted.
“Okay, only tonight if it will make you feel better. But I promise, you don’t have to worry about me.”
Hours later, finally finding myself alone, as alone as one can be under the watchful eye of my guard, Samuel, I wander through the gardens. When I stop at the footbridge that crosses the pond, I stand in the middle trying to absorb some of the peacefulness. I watch the fish dancing in the water below me and wish I had something to feed them, something to give my mind anything to do besides think.
Footsteps on the bridge startle me and I turn. Quinn nods at Samuel and approaches me with a slow caution he’s never shown before.
“Can I hide with you?”
“I’m not hiding, just thinking.” I look do
wn at our reflections. His dark hair still perfectly styled and his crisp shirt looking freshly laundered even as the day comes to a close. Tormenting me just by looking the way he does. After I washed the events of the day away, I figured the propriety of a princess could hold off until tomorrow dressing in one of the few pairs of jeans I own and a big sweater I borrowed from Sen.
“Can I think with you then?” He smiles my favorite grin but for once it doesn’t make my heart thud out of my chest.
“If you want. I can’t stop you from thinking.” When he doesn’t have a snappy comeback, I look up from the water and meet his eyes as they study me. The longer he looks, the more his eyebrows scrunch together.
“Are you angry with me?”
I cross my arms leaning back from him. Is he kidding? “Yes. I am.”
“Over Cristian?” His jaw ticks and his lip curls in disgust. “You wanted him to do that to you?”
“Absolutely not! How could you think that? I’m glad you stopped him. I was so disgusted and afraid… I just froze.” I’m still disgusted with myself for not taking action, for not doing anything about it. Fear will never control me like that again.
“Then why are you mad at me?” He reaches for my hand, but I pull out of his grasp.
“Why do you think? You just disappeared. I thought you were different, you told me you were different. But you got me into bed and then quit speaking to me. Just like I knew you would, just like I told you would happen. So yes, I’m mad and I have every right to be.”
“I am different. I had no intentions of doing that. Is that why accepted Cristian’s proposal?”
He thinks I said yes?
“I didn’t accept his proposal. I told him no. And before any of that happened.” His eyebrows scrunch together and then his eyes grow wide.
“I’m such an idiot. When I got back to the castle, I was so excited to see you, but I was scared. So yes, I may have avoided you while I was sorting out how I felt.” He meets my eyes and looks away. “But then I heard you were engaged to my cousin. I thought you had chosen him, decided you needed more than me. He’s a selfish jerk, but smart and has connections. I couldn’t face you. I couldn’t hear it from you, so I left.” He rubs his hands over his face. “I just came back today to gather my belongings. I had just arrived when I heard the maid tell the guards they were needed. That you caught Cristian with another woman. No matter how hurt and angry I was with you, you didn’t deserve that. I went up there to say to him what a fool he was to treat you that way. When I saw him with his hands on you, I lost it.”
We stand in silence on the bridge, him looking out at the water and me picking at my chipped manicure. He didn’t use me, he was hurt, too. But he thought the worst of me.
“I’m still mad at you. How could you think after everything I would marry your cousin, especially right after what we did?” It means something to me to be physically involved with a person. I thought he understood that about me by now.
“I’m sorry. I misjudged you. I don’t seem to think clearly when you’re involved. I know it’s not a good excuse, but I can’t help it.” It’s a rotten excuse and it’s not the first time I’ve heard something similar from him. But we both made mistakes.
“I’m sorry, too. We have to be more careful, we need to behave better. Not let our emotions overrun our common sense.” I have to behave better. I’m going to be queen. I can’t sleep with someone and hope for the best. That was a foolish idea from a lust filled mind. I won’t be intimate with anyone again until I’m married. I can’t risk senseless mistakes like this again.
“I will from now on. I promise. What does this mean for us?” His expression grows soft as he waits for my reply.
“I think, considering everything, its best if we return to being friends.” My heart plummets to my stomach when the words leave my mouth. He sucks in a breath but nods.
“I understand. You’re right.” His grip tightens on the railing. “I sure made a mess of this didn’t I?”
“I made plenty of my own mistakes.” I look away, hoping to hide my shame from him. I had just as much a part of messing this up as he did.
“I promise, you will be able to count on me no matter what from now on. You will be my queen one day, and I can’t forget that.” He puts his fist on his chest and bows in the same way they show respect to my father.
“I’m your friend first and always.” Some of the brightness returns to his eyes at my words. “Actually. Can you help me with something? I’m not sure who I can go to with a delicate situation like this.”
“Of course, what is it?
I really hope he meant what he said. “Do you support my father, no matter what? Even if it means going against your own family?’
“I consider your father some of my only family, but yes I support your father completely. He’s my king, Adella.” I look over to Samuel where he’s standing near a tree to give us privacy but still watch me.
“I don’t trust Eleanor. I think she’s lying to my dad. When I’ve mentioned my suspicions to him, he is completely dismissive of it.” I have no one to help me with this. What if Quinn says no or agrees with my father?
“What is it exactly you think Eleanor has done? She can be scary and a little crazy, but she’s married to the king now and having a royal baby. She has everything she wanted, she won’t do anything to destroy that.”
“I don’t think Eleanor’s baby is my dad’s.” I watch his face carefully for any signs he thinks I’m being ridiculous, but his expression never falters.
“What makes you think the baby isn’t your fathers?”
“She always says her baby.” I know it’s small, but I’ve never heard her say their baby or say your baby to Dad.
“That doesn’t mean anything. She’s selfish and self-absorbed. Always has been.”
“She was pregnant already when they got married.”
“So, it couldn’t be by him? Come on, Adella. You can’t think they waited until the wedding to be together.” I know they didn’t. The baby could be my dad’s, but with the March due date she would have needed to get pregnant early in their relationship and it gives me just enough doubt to add it to the list of suspicions.
“It’s more than that. I’ve had a strange feeling, I haven’t been able to explain since I met her. If it’s nothing, I’ll admit I was wrong, but things don’t add up. I don’t want my dad getting hurt by her.”
“She was acting stranger than normal before the wedding. I trust you and your judgement, if you think it needs to be investigated then yes, I’ll look into it. Give me a few days. If she’s doing something wrong, then he deserves the truth.”
“Thank you. I’ve really struggled with what to do about this.” I’ve wanted to just let it go and concentrate on preparing for the ceremony and my youth projects, but I couldn’t let go of the nagging feeling chewing in the back of my mind.
“Don’t thank me just yet. If she is doing something, then it would be wise on her part to keep it hidden.”
“What do we do? Where do we start?”
He leans his elbows against the rail and rests his chin against his hand. I watch him, shifting from foot to foot, while waiting for a reply. “I’ll take a trip to my grandfather’s manor. She was living there before the wedding, it’s a good place to begin.”
I nod my head, happy he has an idea. It’s better than this just being a problem inside my own head with no solution.
“Do you want me to go with you? How can I help?”
“You can’t let her know you suspect her of anything. You stay here and let me know if she does anything you think I should know about.” Does he not want me involved or does he not want to be around me? I can’t think like that. He’s said he would help me, and we’ve agreed to be friends.
“She doesn’t really do much besides follow my dad around and now she goes to doctor appointments.” Not that I spend too much time with her if I can help it. Some days I only see her at dinner and that’s enough for
me. She uses the pregnancy as an excuse for everything; her attitude, her behavior, and why she always needs to be close to Dad. I get tired of listening to it. If she’s trying to keep me from spending as much time with my dad, it’s working.
“Let me know the next time she’s going to one.”
“I think she has one next week, I’ll check and let you know. Thank you for taking my concerns seriously.”
“I would do anything for you or father.” He lays his hand on top of mine for just a moment before he pulls it back and gives me a faint smile. Hopefully soon our return to friendship won’t be so awkward.
Chapter Fourteen
Quinn did it. He found out Eleanor’s horrible secret and I have the proof I need to show my dad. I just don’t want to be the person to break his heart. How do you tell someone they’ve married a liar? I’ve had suspicions about her for a while now and tried to blame it on how I felt about her age and her relationship to my dad’s first wife, but it felt like it was more than that. It turns out I was right. Now I just need to work up the courage to knock on the door.
Stuffing the paper into my pocket I knock quickly before my worries can stop me.
“Enter.” His deep voice calls from inside.
“Dad, Can I talk to you?” I poke my head in his office door noticing Eleanor on the sofa too late. She was supposed to be at a doctor appointment today. Why is she here?
He looks at me and Eleanor shifts on the sofa. “Of course, dear. What is it?”
“Could we talk alone?” I glance at Eleanor and she narrows her eyes at me. That’s right can’t hide behind your fake niceness anymore. I know what you really are now.
“You can trust Eleanor with anything she’s our family now, but if you really want, I can have her go.”
“Actually, it may be better to have her here.” At least the she can’t try to manipulate him when he confronts her about it. If she knew I had discovered her secret, she would be acting more than just annoyed with me.
“Is everything okay? You look troubled.” Dad’s concern sends my already twisted stomach into a painful ache.
A Royal Surprise Page 14
