away, turning her head back for just a second to make sure that I'm okay. I bow to Mr. Earl, excusing myself.
One of the palace employees manages to step between me and Nika, bringing me up short. I looked down into his dark features with a frown. He smiles nervously.
"If you don't mind, there is a phone call for you, sir."
I take a deep breath and nod. "Lead the way."
I touch Nika shoulder as I go by her, smiling faintly. The employee leads me out of the grand ballroom and across the hall to an empty office. There's nothing in the room except for a desk and an old, gold-plated telephone. I look at the landline, a little surprised. But the palace employee merely bows, letting himself out of the room and closing the door. I sigh, picking up the phone.
"Hello?"
"It's your father."
He coughs loudly, clearing his throat. I narrow my eyes at the phone.
"So… what, now we are in fact related? Because I can definitely give you the name of at least five nurses that will swear up and down that we are not blood relations, according to you."
He coughs again. "You think that you can just get married to one of them royals without even so much as telling your father about it? You’re spoiled. That's one of the reasons why I didn't need you or anyone else hanging about my bedside, wringing your hands."
I pinch the bridge of my nose. If I had been told that my father was the one on the phone, I might have just skipped this conversation altogether. "Have you called to wish your son congratulations, then?"
He guffaws. "You think you're so great and so smart. You'll see. You’re not any better than me. When the little princess figures out that you are just a haircut in a suit, she will be done with you. And when that happens, don't come crying…"
I grit my teeth. "Shut up! I should've said that to you years ago. Just shut up! If you have anything else to say about Annika or our relationship, about which you know nothing at all, you can just keep it to yourself. You’re a hateful old man. And I fully expect an apology the next time that you decide to call me. Otherwise? Don't call me."
I slam the phone down, running my hands down my sleeves and pulling out my cuffs. I'm furious, of course.
But it feels good to have said what I wanted to say for so long to my father. There are some people that just can't change or be helped. I guess my father is just one of them. And I will do my best to do better than he did, if Annika and I ever have kids.
That's years down the road, anyway.
I take a deep, calming breath and center myself. And then I pull the door open, striding out into the hallway.
A tall, dark-haired man dressed in a tuxedo stands by the doorway to the ballroom, looking on quietly. When I get closer, he turns his head and I see that it is Stellan.
I feel like he punches me in the gut just by looking at me. I don’t see Margot anywhere. He clenches his fists when he sees me, his gaze narrowing.
My expression hardens. I guess it's going to be one of those days where I get a lot of things off my chest, all at once. So be it.
I stalk up to him, keeping an imperious expression on my face. He watches me warily, holding a hand up to preempt me.
“I come in peace,” he says, frowning.
I fold my arms across my chest, unamused. “What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be on your honeymoon.”
He jerks his head inside the ballroom. I look inside and see a tiny woman with pink hair hugging my fiancée. Margot looks like a pixie, beaming up at Annika. The hard knot in my stomach unclenches just a tiny bit.
Stellan sighs. “I didn’t realize that you two were in love,” he comments. He looks over at me, pursing his lips. “It seems awfully fast though.”
I arch a brow at him. “I think my courtship with Nika actually lasted longer than yours. How long did you and Margot make it before your engagement was announced?”
His lips thin. “Don’t.”
I just shrug. “I won’t apologize for doing exactly what you did.”
“The difference is my baby sister. Why did you have to choose her, of all the fucking women in