Stealing His Princess (Kings of Conquest #2) - Adelaide Forrest Page 0,45
who would fight for me and not place me on a pedestal above him.
"That doesn't mean that it’s acceptable for my best friend to fuck my betrothed!" Holden yelled, his anger reaching a new level. The fact that none of it was directed at me was telling, as if I were just mindless property that Aric had taken and used and returned in little broken pieces.
"I asked him to," I informed Holden, taking some of the brunt of his anger back to me.
His brows furrowed in disbelief. "Why?"
"You're no virgin, Holden. Why do I have to be? I should think as friends we're beyond the archaic traditions of all this." I gestured around us.
"I never said you had to be a virgin, Bristol. But did it really have to be him?"
I nodded thoughtfully. "He’s the only one I wanted. It will hardly matter in the end," I said, even if the words felt like a lie. "Aric has been very clear that it was only sex, and we'll be going our separate ways. He'll return me to my keeper like a good boy now that he's done playing with me."
Aric stepped closer. "That's not how it was at all, and you know it. I can never give you the things he can."
"Did I ask you to?" I asked. He jerked his head back, his eyes widening as he studied the square set of my shoulders. I pried myself away from Holden, standing on my own as I prepared to lay the foundation for what I knew would be an impossible conversation with my father and, before that, Holden. "The fact that you think I need the prettiest things and the wealthiest country means that you never took the time to get to know me at all. I could live in a shack in the woods, and I'd be happy if I was loved. That is all I've ever wanted."
Aric sighed, looking back and forth between Holden and I. I held my breath, waiting with every last bit of hope within me that Aric would finally understand. But the dejected shake of his head shredded the last remaining piece of me that clung to hope. "Take care of her. Value her the way she deserves," he said to Holden. In one last look at me, those green eyes swam with emotion.
But never enough.
"I wish it could have been different," he said to me.
"The only person standing in our way is you, Aric," I whispered back. He nodded, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip. Shoving his hands into his pockets and hanging his head forward, he spun on his heel and slowly made his way down the hall the way he'd come.
I strangled the sob that threatened to escape.
Holden's gaze felt heavy on my face as I watched Aric leave. "You love him," he whispered, shock tainting his voice as his mouth dropped open.
"Fat lot of good it does me, right?" I asked with a mocking laugh as the first tear fell.
"Perhaps it's better this way. We won't ever hurt each other like that—"
"We also won't ever love each other like that," I returned. "And I think that's worse. Even now."
"Tell me how to help," he said, dropping his voice low and turning to me. His hands touched my cheeks, cupping them as he studied me intently.
I took a deep breath as I prepared to hurt my friend. “My father wanted us to announce our engagement tomorrow. I can’t do it.”
He nodded and wiped a thumb across my cheek. “We can wait, it’s okay.”
I wrapped a hand around his wrist and shook my head. “No, Holden. I can’t announce it at all. I have to talk to Father first but… I don’t think I can marry you.”
His eyes widened, but they relaxed into understanding. He reached down, giving me a kiss on the top of my head. “I’ll support you, whatever you choose to do.”
I gave him one last squeeze before going back to my room, where I knew Father would likely still be talking to my mother. It would be a perfect opportunity to talk to them both.
I had to tell them that I wouldn't be Queen of Mitnar, even if it meant I wouldn't be Queen of anything.
13
Aric
I was lost. I didn't know where I was going. I supposed the good thing about having a wealthy kingdom as a host was that the halls were endless. I wandered through them, looking for Alina in my absent-minded attempt to soothe