that’s not the most interesting question. The most interesting question is what are you doing here?”
I took a drink of ginger ale. “Here to meet family,” I lied.
“Bullshit,” he said. “You don’t do that kind of thing anymore. You’re above all us common people, remember? Unless you’re not,” he added. He glanced at my hand. I followed his gaze, realizing too late I still wore my engagement ring.
Unless that was fake too. Which was always a possibility.
“You’re still engaged. Lover’s tiff?”
“Can’t you leave me the hell alone?”
“You know what happened to the farmer who had the golden goose, right?” He leaned towards me. “The longer he held onto him, the richer he got.”
God, he made my skin crawl. I pushed him away. “You’re grotesque.”
“You must be thinking of you naked.”
I slipped from the stool. I had to get away from him. I had to get away from all men. He followed me from the lounge out into the terminal.
“I could use a little help putting all this together. You’re here, with all the other unwashed commoners. Yet, you still wear one of the crown jewels. Is the wedding off or on?” I said nothing. I just kept walking. “I’m guessing off. All the good news you post on your socials.”
“Leave me alone!”
He pulled me back. “If it’s off, and you’re here without any private jet travel, I’m guessing he finally got wise and kicked you to the curb. But why?”
I struggled against him. He held me fast by the wrist, looking me over. My skin burned as his eyes raked over me, settling on my tummy.
“It has to do with the baby,” he decided. “It wasn’t the Duke’s at all, was it? I knew it! Why would he settle for you when he had his choice of any woman in the world? You had to lie, didn’t you?” I struggled to get away, but he blocked my path. “The Queen kicked you out on your common ass. But she wouldn’t do that if the baby was his, would she?” His eyes narrowed. “When is that due date again?”
My panicked eyes met his. “What are you doing, Christopher? Why are you even here?”
He leaned closer. “To get my headline.” He held up his phone, showing a picture of me hugging Sean goodbye. He bent to look me in the eye, to see which of his hateful barbs hit home. “Royal baby daddy drama,” he said. “For a slut who cannot keep her legs shut.”
My hand flew on its own volition. His smug smirk morphed into a snarl as he pulled me into the men’s bathroom, shoving me into a stall. “That’s the last time you touch me, you worthless cunt!” He backhanded me so hard I saw stars. He towered over me. “God, you’re disgusting. I should have worn two condoms when I fucked you.”
“Yes!” I hollered back. “You should have!”
He leaned closer. “You’d have been lucky if I even wore one,” he confessed with that damnable, arrogant smirk. My eyes widened as I shrunk away from him. “Ever hear of stealthing?”
My stomach sank. Stealthing was the term used by guys who would remove a condom during sex so that the woman they were with had no idea they were unprotected. It was non-consensual, and every bit as devastating as an assault.
He used my moment of shock to kick my legs apart. “Guess we don’t need a condom now, do we, Mommy?” he said as he reached for his zipper.
Just like before, someone yanked him backwards off me.
It was Major Sean Tover, who proceeded to pound the crap out of him before he grabbed the phone and threw it into the toilet. Another officer entered the bathroom and Sean threw Christopher towards him. “Get him on the first plane out of here,” he commanded. “He can never return. By order of the Queen.”
“You can’t do that,” Christopher spat.
Sean backed him down by looming over him. “You dare step foot in Aldayne again, you will be arrested on sight for assaulting a sovereign. That comes with a minimum penalty of ten years in prison, so you best be certain that’s the price you are willing to pay.” To the other officer, “Get this trash out of my sight.”
“Yes, Major,” the officer said before dragging Christopher out of the bathroom.
Sean bent to help me up. “Are you okay? Do I need to get you to a hospital?”
“I’m okay,” I assured, though my face still smarted where Christopher struck me. I knew he was