I duck inside, sitting next to Pierce as Lucian disappears to the front, talking to the driver. What the hell is he doing? He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a wad of cash. He hands it over to the guy. Then he smiles at him and walks back to the passenger side. He bends over and gives me a little wave. The car lurches forward.
What the hell?
“Stop the damn car!”
The driver ignores me as I pound on the partition, and I look to the side as I roll down the window. Lucian is jogging to keep up.
“Tell them to stop!”
A smirk pulls at his lips.
Fuck. I’ve been had.
“’Fraid I can’t, love. You’re going on a little trip.”
“The hell I am!”
I swing myself to the door, but Pierce grabs my arm. “I wouldn’t do that, love.”
I glower. “Let me go.”
“I’m sending you away, idiot. You should be thanking me!” Lucian cups his hands around his mouth as the car speeds away. “Bon voyage, Princess!”
Nine
SCANDAL: Daisy Ditched Liam!
Liam
Damn. Fucking. Tabloids.
Daisy Incites Riot, Ditzy Daisy Out of Control: Where is Liam, Royals Run Amok in Harronvale.
The headlines start to bleed together after a while, but I have to admit that Royal Exposé’s F*CK THE ROYALS was pretty good for a laugh. There’s been little of that lately.
“It’s a travesty.”
My father’s voice croaks, and I look up from my phone to see him sitting upright, gazing at me with pain-filled, glazed-over eyes.
“You’re awake.”
“Aye, you would have realized that if you looked at me.”
I have a hard time looking at him, or maybe it’s just witnessing the slow crawl of death over his limbs. His arms are wasted away, and they’re lined with dark, purple bruises. His impressive gray mane is completely shaved from his head. All that remains of the father who used to frighten me is a dying, weak man.
“Sorry, Dad.”
“Sorry,” he sputters. “You’ll be a lot more sorry if you don’t get rid of that damn wife!”
Fuck. I tried prohibiting the nurses from bringing him any papers from outside, but one of them must have succumbed to the king’s threats, or my lovely brother could have brought something in and rubbed it in his face. I can just imagine him shaking one of those fucking tabloids under my dad’s nose. You see what he’s doing?
“I’m not getting rid of her, Dad.”
“You realize, you insipid toad, that I am still your king. While I breathe, I still have the power to strip you of your titles.”
I really doubt he’s in any shape to do anything.
“Dad, is this really what you want to do during your last days?”
He makes a face, shutting his eyes. “I’ve been watching the telly, and I’ve been keeping up-to-date with everything you and that harlot have done.”
Cold fury hits my chest, and I drop my hand from his. “She is not a harlot.”
Father sucks in a breath, his eyes glazed over when he stares at the ceiling. “Please, God, take me now. Take me so I do not have to witness my son make a mockery of my country.”
“You’re the one who made a mockery of us. You. You sunk that American vessel twenty years ago and never apologized, causing a cold war that’s lasted decades, and you’ve had a fist around the UK’s balls with the oil you keep holding over their heads.”
“If it weren’t for the offshore drilling, they would raze our country.”
“You’ve killed this country. People are sick of the royals—they’re sick of you. Daisy and I have given them hope, and I won’t deprive them of that.”
“I regret nothing!” he says in a hoarse scream, his eyes rolling in his head as though he’s a living corpse. “Nothing!”
I stand up from the chair, knowing this will probably be the last time I ever see my father.
“May God have mercy on your soul.”
“Piss off!”
He was always such a prick. I turn my back on the king and leave the hospice room. My guards immediately fall into step behind me, moving like shadows. They ripple over the walls.
Am I no different than him?
I told him the reason was because the people loved her. The truth is I’m a selfish prick, and I want her for myself.
It’s fucked up. You can’t force her to stay.
But I want her, and she wants me.
She wants to use you for a fucking story, that’s all.