and Stellan's first child. I may get a picture now and then, but I won't really know him or her. It won't be the same.
“Do you want to tell us what happened?” Margot murmurs. “Lars just said that you got into an argument with his grandmother. Which let me say, I have been there personally.”
Nika calls out. “Margot's too nice to say that she's a bitch, but my grandmother is definitely a bitch.”
I wrinkle my nose. “I hate that word. Let’s just say that she is… a monster.”
I wipe my eyes and sniff a little. Margot steps back and I turn around, drawing in a shaky breath.
“What else did Lars tell you?” I ask, my eyes going from Margot to Nika.
“He said something about how you said you weren’t who you claim to be or something? Honestly, it was pretty hard to follow. At the time that he was telling me, he was technically on a run and he was pretty out of breath.”
“Ja, it's been hard to get him on the phone even.” Margot wrinkles her nose. “He's been very distraught since you disappeared from his apartment. So?”
“Ja, spill the beans. Tell us everything.”
Margot takes the tea kettle from my hand, setting it aside and guiding me back to the living room. I sit down on the couch and suck in a breath. “I don't even know where to start. It's all so confusing and sort of fucked up and…”
Nika leans forward, putting her hand on my knee. “I'm gonna need you to stop talking like that. I feel like you are editorializing a lot and making yourself look as bad as possible when I just want the facts. Okay?”
My cheeks turn pink. “Sorry.”
Margot sits down on the other side of me and sighs. “I'm also going to need you to stop apologizing. Weren’t you the one that told me that when I first met you? You told me that I apologize too much. I want you to take some advice from yourself.”
I run a hand over my face. “Ja. Ja, okay. It just… It involves some deception. Of Lars, but of you guys too. So be prepared for that, I guess.”
I tell the story of the fake engagement, of Mrs. Olson and her demands, and of Lars's grandmother in as few words as possible. I try not to editorialize, as Nika called my derogatory view of things.
When I'm done, I look at Nika and Margot, trying to read their expressions. Nika just looks vaguely confused. Margot on the other hand looks furious. I don't really know how to deal with furious Margot, so I steel myself.
“Are you telling me that Stellan's grandmother knew who you were the entire time? That she threatened you, Lars, and your sister because of some… some gossip?”
I pause, not sure how to answer that for a second. I wasn't really expecting her to be angry with anyone but me in this scenario. “Um? Ja, I guess I am telling you that.”
Nika up pipes up. “That is so fucked up. I can't believe that Momse would do that.” She scrunches her face up. “Well, I can believe it, I just don't want to. That makes me so mad.”
Margot shakes her head. “My question is where Lars fits into this picture. Because I don't think that he is so upset with you that he is never going to speak to you again. I think that he would really like to know where you are and to be allowed to come here.”
I sit back on the couch, shaking my head. “I know. He's way too forgiving for his own good.”
“Lars?” Nika asks. “I don't think that forgiving is among the top fifty adjectives that you would use to describe my brother. I do however think that he is more understanding than you give him credit for. You didn't even really talk about it. You just like told him what happened and then he was super confused and he went for a run and…” She makes a gesture. “You were gone.”
Margot touches Nika's arm, letting her know that she's said enough about that.
Margot looks at me. “Why did you run away?”
I swallow against the lump in my throat. “Because I know that the royal family can't forgive what I did. They can't forgive me not telling them the truth about my identity. They can't forgive my father or what he did.”
Margot squints at me. “I think it would be a mistake to equate everyone's personal feelings with