whatever, it’s good you are here anyway. I need to get in contact with Gale.”
“That’s what I’m here to do! The princess is waiting in the car, and we will be going to the palace. She said not to worry if you do not have the appropriate attire, she will handle everything. Truthfully, she was the one who wanted to come up, but we couldn’t allow that, so she is waiting in the car with Iskandar—”
“Wolfgang.”
“We are running a little behind. It took too much for me—”
“Wolfgang!” I called out. “I have no idea what you are talking about!”
Buzz.
Buzz.
“What now?” I exclaimed, turning to the door.
“No, miss, let me.” Wolfgang rushed forward, and I just let him. Because honestly, I was still so confused.
When he opened it, I saw Iskandar, dressed in all black except for an embroidered emblem stitched onto his jacket pocket—the eagle with three swords in its claws and a rose. Above the eagle was a crown, and below were two digits, 01, followed by Iskandar’s last name, Ruegg. However, it was written, Sir Ruegg.
“You are here too?”
“Odette!” A voice exclaimed behind him, and it was only a second before I saw her. Her red hair stuck out from under her hat, and when she took off her sunglasses, I could see her blue eyes. She dashed around Iskandar and entered the suite, invading my personal space. “I have wanted to meet you for so long. Now that you are here, I could not possibly keep waiting in the car. I told Iskandar if he did not come with me, I was going to run out on my own.”
I just stared at her.
I just stared at all of them.
They were all on the same page while I was on the moon—because no one was explaining what was going on.
I looked over at Iskandar, hoping he, of all people, would help me make sense of this. “What is happening?” I asked him.
“Wolfgang informed Princess Eliza you were here. Princess Eliza demanded to see you immediately. So, we came, but I did not want to draw any more attention than necessary. Thus, I sent Wolfgang ahead. The princess did not wish to wait anymore, so here she is,” he stated dully, but he was the only one who had explained what was happening clearly, so I was grateful.
“Forgive me. I was so excited that I forgot proper etiquette,” the princess said quickly. “Hello, I am Princess Elizarosa, your biggest fan!”
“Odette Wyntor,” I said, my eyes slowly shifting over the three of them. “I would say it was nice to meet you, but I would have preferred not to have met you in my bathrobe. I’m a little startled.”
“Forgive me for that,” Eliza said and reached out to take my hand. “But you don’t know how excited I am to see you. Not just for me but also for my brother. He needs some good news right now. Having you come here and be with him will make him relax again. Wolfgang told me all about your time together in America.”
“He did?” I did not say that. It was Iskandar, who glared at Wolfgang tiredly.
“I think you all are mistaken as to why I am here,” I said, gently taking my hand back. “I’m not trying to make Gale feel anything. I just need his signature so we can get a divorce.”
“Divorce?” all three of questioned.
“You two are married?” Eliza gasped.
“But why?” Wolfgang whispered.
I looked over at Iskandar, waiting for him to say something, but he said nothing at all.
“Apparently, Wolfgang did not tell you everything,” I said gently to Eliza. “I’m going to get dressed, and then we can all calm down and talk this out. Okay?”
No one said anything, and I took that as cue enough to leave. We all needed a moment to collect our thoughts, or, at the very least, I did.
When I came back, they were all sitting with grave looks on their faces. Before I could even take a seat, Eliza walked up to me, her eyes unflinching and determined.
“You cannot divorce him,” she all but ordered me.
“What?”
“My brother. You can’t divorce him. How could you fly all this way just to hurt him?”
My mouth nearly dropped fully open. “Hurt him? I haven’t heard from him in half a year! Not a text or call or even a smoke signal!”
“Our brother died!” she yelled back at me.
“I know.” I bit back from yelling at her. “I know, and I am so sorry for the