Frowning, I looked away from him and back to the television, hugging my wine closer to me. “You are supposed to say, ‘There was no way you could have known his brother would die, Wilhelmina. You weren’t trying to make her go through all of this. You thought it was a relatively unknown prince, and there would be an uproar for a moment, but after that, she could live a glamourous yet relatively quiet life as a princess forever.’ Why can’t you say that?”
“Because I don’t think that would have happened if the brother had lived. Something I would have told you from the beginning.” He sighed, taking a seat opposite my couch. “You have a talent for making your life overly complicated, and now you have made Odette’s life the same.”
“Charles, I’m getting the urge to fire you,” I grumbled before drinking.
“Luckily, the only one who can do that is Odette, and she won’t, so I will continue to speak my mind before you do something even more drastic.”
“What could be more drastic than this?” I snickered bitterly, looking at the new headline on the screen. “Black Billionaire Heiress to Become Queen! Her name is Odette. She is a Grammy-nominated, Ivy League educated, beautiful young woman—”
“That is not drastic; that is expected. I’m sure you expected it, too, so I am not sure why you are complaining. I am not sure why you chose this at all. You could have easily set her up with someone who was not as high profile.”
“They would have been intimidated by her,” I whispered.
Why did he think she had so many issues until now?
“Not only is she beautiful but also rich, and on top of that, smart and talented. I wished I could have said any man would feel amazing to be with her, but in my experience, many men cannot take it when your star outshines theirs. I’ve seen it over and over again—so have you. How many divorces have you done? I wanted someone who would never feel intimidated by her. Someone who would let her shine as bright as she wanted. Who could do that? Athletes? They have their moment in time, and then they retire, and new generations forget about them. Politicians? Maybe, but how many charismatic ones of those do you see lying around—”
“So logically, you thought a prince?” he questioned, and the sarcasm was clear in his voice.
I drank before answering, “It wasn’t like I just chose him. The thought wouldn’t have ever crossed my mind. Then through one of my stylists—you know the one from Ersovia—well, her brother worked for Arthur. I got in touch with them. I was hesitant at first to even think twice, but he told me he thought they would hit it off, and mostly, they would just have to appear at a few functions. It wasn’t that much different from what she already had to do with Etheus. So, I thought—”
“Sure, why not throw her into a media storm?”
I looked at him. “You are not helping, really.”
He sighed, hanging his head for a moment before looking up at me. “Are you sure there wasn’t a little part of you that did this to outdo Yvonne?”
“Of course not!” I said automatically.
But his eyes just stared into mine. “Wilhelmina.”
“Okay, maybe a tad bit. But is that so wrong?”
“Yes!” he snapped, and I looked away again because I knew he was right. “This anger and hate you both have toward each other have affected everything and everyone around you two. Odette and Augusta tried to rise above it, but in the end, even they can no longer be closer to each other. Why? Because you both use your daughters as weapons for your gain.”
“I—”
“Just because you were fortunate that Odette wanted to be with him also does not excuse the truth, and now there is nothing that can be done except hope this works out for the best, for her sake, not yours.”
“Her sake is all I am worried about,” I said honestly. “She is so far away, Charles. I have no idea what is happening. I’ve never seen Odette so captivated by a man before. I’m worried she isn’t seeing clearly. Is she all right? Are they taking care of her? Is she strong enough to handle this alone? Is she going to stand up for herself? Fight for herself? How often will she have to do that? If I go, maybe I can—”