to accept it. “He’s our son,” he corrected softly. “And you’re my bride, even if you don’t realize it yet.”
He turned on his heel and left me in the middle of the room, holding his ring.
The ring was so valuable, I didn’t feel right putting it down. Instead, I wore it on my right hand until I could convince Auggie to take it back. I knew it would spark all kinds of rumors, but apparently Auggie was okay with this.
I just wanted to get through the night’s activities so that I could talk some sense into Auggie later, when we were finally alone.
I decided to indulge in a little self-care in the huge garden bathroom with a soaking tub built for two. Skylights were built above, so I was able to lay back and watch clouds float above in the cerulean sky. I stroked my tummy, as I had started to do, to caress my unborn baby. The ring caught the sunlight and sent shards of prisms everywhere. It forced me to look at it again, this amazing ring so full of history. For centuries, the Quinn engagement ring featured a two-carat aldrite. It had passed down to every new bride since King Whitley sometime in the early 1700s. That was until Roan met an American, who turned his orderly world upside down. When he went to his father, King Evander, for permission to give her the aldrite ring, his father steadfastly refused.
Scuttlebutt was he was embarrassed by her stature as a commoner and couldn’t bear the thought of her wearing the family heirloom. Undaunted, Roan had a ring specially made. It was $500,000 in 1986, thanks to the super rare 2.5 carat unity stone. Now it was virtually priceless, given the sad history of Roan and Sofie.
And there it sat on my finger, like some trinket from a gumball machine. I was in every way blown away by this.
I placed my hand on my soapy belly. “What do you think, Jack?” I said softly. “Should I give him the chance? He’s virtually been your dad ever since he first heard your heart beating. He could give you a life unlike anything we had ever dreamed. The best schools. Security from your very own army. A rich family history that includes kings and queens and knights and swashbucklers. You would never have to want for anything, except maybe a normal life.” I glanced around at the decadent surroundings. If I married Auggie, it would all be mine. Even the throne where I sat briefly. I shuddered a little. It all seemed too good to be true for a gal who was on a farm just months before. This would open the world for both of us. A world that had thus far been filled with traffic. And alarm clocks. Overdue bills. Standing in line. The DMV.
Christopher.
“But then again, maybe normal is overrated,” I quipped.
I giggled as Jack moved under my skin. What a little miracle he was.
I touched the ring. It cost more than a house. A nice house. In a big city. In all these years since Sofie died, it had waited for the next person who would wear it. Auggie decided that person was me. I was never completely certain I would wear any engagement ring, much less one with such history behind it. Or such obligation.
Even if he gave up being king, he was still royalty. That came with titles and responsibilities. The entire world was watching.
“Haven’t you figured it out, Peaches?” Auggie had said, once upon a time. “That’s the price you pay for royalty. People think of crowns and thrones, but they are no more than shackles and chains. It upends your life and curtails your choices.”
I sighed as I laid my head against the back of the tub. Choices? What choices? To be with the man I loved, I had to bid goodbye to everything I ever was. I had to become a Lady, a Duchess or a Princess.
Princess Pea, I thought with a smirk. They were already calling me that on the socials. PING made damn sure.
I was even more confused than when I got into the tub, and no closer to any answers. I drained the water and stepped out onto the fluffy white mat, grabbing a nearby towel to dry myself up. It was so large it could almost wrap around me twice. It was so luxurious, I wanted to wear it under my clothes forever. It was soft, warm and