The Prince's Bride (Part 1) - J.J. McAvoy Page 0,109
at my brother’s request or the government’s?”
He stood straighter. “I did not spy. I was simply to be around should there be any incident that could affect—”
“That was not my question. And I am not seeking to have you fired or investigated. I am merely trying to understand, Mr. Parlevliet, so answer my question,” I repeated, beyond tired.
“Prince Arthur. He said that should the press find out you were here, you would need help returning, and I was to be on standby for you. He did not, however, tell me the nature of your visit,” he answered, and his eyes shifted to Odette behind me.
That was Arthur.
He had a plan, then a backup, and two more backups just to be safe.
“I assume arrangements have been made for me to go home?”
He nodded, pushing the glasses back up his nose. “We have arranged for you to fly back. It will not be the royal plane, of course, but not to worry, you will have space as we rebooked the other—”
“Do not cancel anyone’s flights,” I said.
“Sir?”
“If you did cancel, then reinstate them. They deserve to go home, too. When everything is ready, come get me, and we will go.”
“All of us, sir?” His eyes shifted back to Odette.
“Just me.”
He nodded.
When he walked away, I looked to Iskandar, who stood like the soldier he was, waiting for orders, too.
“Sir, if you get on that plane, people will know it is you and that you were here.”
“Eventually, they will know anyway and wonder why I hid that I was here.” I no longer had a place to hide.
Turning back, I saw Odette, and I wanted to go back just a few hours to when I thought I would never stop laughing. Now I was scared I would never laugh again.
This hurt. This hurt so much.
There was no long goodbye. There was barely one at all.
One moment he was here.
The next, I watched his plane take off from the private lounge, and I was alone. The mass of people who had first surrounded us had disappeared. It took me five minutes just to figure out how to get out. And when I did, the car they had parked had most likely been towed away, by bomb squad or something. I had to take a taxi back home, and thank God I had cash because my card was still declined. Everything felt colder now...and so much quieter. It was almost like he had never existed now that he wasn’t near me anymore. Like I’d finally woken up from a precious dream.
But when I got back into my penthouse, I saw evidence that he had, in fact, been here. The pillows were still all over the floor. One of his hats—he hadn’t been able to decide which would be the better one to go out with—was still on the corner of the couch.
“You’re back. Thank God!”
Turning around, I saw my mother, dressed in jeans and a casual shirt, which was not normal for her at all. Her short blonde hair looked frizzy and dry. She rushed down the stairs and gave me a hug.
“Do you know how worried I was about you? You haven’t been answering your phone!” she hollered.
“My phone!” I looked into my bag. Wolfgang had taken it and never gave it back. “I completely forgot!”
“That is not important. I was so worried you had left with him!” she said.
“So, you know.” Of course, she did. I bet it was all over the news.
“Yeah, it is horrible.” She frowned. “And to think he has to get on a plane right after that—”
“Why do you say that?” It hadn’t even occurred to me.
Plus, Gale had a fear of heights. His brother just died, and he had to get on a plane, too? Jesus Christ.
“Odette, calm down—”
“Mom, he must be feeling so bad right now.”
“Odette, sweetheart, that is no longer any of your concern,” she said, putting her hands on her shoulder.
“What does that mean?”
“Odette, I know you like him...I like him, too.”
“Why? Are we never seeing him again?” I asked, shrugging out of her arms.
“Because we are not,” she said sternly.
“No, he said—”
“Odette”—she sighed—“you are so naïve sometimes, and it really frustrates me. But I love that about you, too.”
“Mom, I don’t understand what you are saying.”
“What do you think is about to happen?” she asked me sternly. “That man, that prince, is no longer just a prince. He is the future king of a nation. Do you think that nation will want you as their queen?”
“He said he would send for me—”
“Maybe because he is naïve, too. Do you think that in the world we live in now, you can be queen? Are you ready to be one? Do you know how? Do you know anything about them? We are not like them, and they will reject you for it. That is why I was so scared you might have left. God knows how they would have torn you apart—”
“Mom!” I had to put space between us because...because I couldn’t even believe what she was talking about right now. “I wasn’t thinking about being a queen or anything like that. I just knew the person I have feelings for was hurting, and I wanted to be there for him. If he had told me to come with him, I would have gone. He told me to wait, so I’m going to wait.”
“He may not want to disappoint you, but he isn’t free to just do whatever he likes anymore. There are millions of people looking to him—”
“He is my husband. He promised me he would not betray me, and I believe him. Why are you doing this right now?”
“Because you need to see reality! If I had known this was going to happen, I never would have set you up!”
“Your reality is not my reality!” I screamed at her. “Do you even know your reality? All the secrets and mistakes you made, why are you always trying to force me to live the life you think is best when your life is shit? Who pushes their daughter onto a man just to get money, and then when she starts to have feelings for them, tells her she is naïve? If I am, then I will find out I am on my own because I am a grown-ass woman.”
“Odette—”
“How would you like it if I began to pick at you! Huh? Were you still seeing Dad after the divorce? Is that why Yvonne hates you so much? Is that why you never remarried or saw anyone else? Why are you the way you are, Mom? Is it because you were naïve? Or is it because you thought you were smarter than everyone else?”
Slap!
I froze in shock, the pain in my face so foreign to me. My eyes watered, and I looked back at her to see hers filled with tears that she wouldn’t let fall, either.
“You may be an adult, and I may not have been the best mother, but I am still your mother, Odette. And you will not speak to me like that.” Her voice was coarse.
“How about we just don’t speak then, Mom.”
“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She turned and left, and when she did, the tears fell.
What happened?
Why did everything turn to such shit?
This morning, we were all happy.
Hours ago, we were kissing on pillows, and now, I was crying on them.
To be continued in...
The Prince’s Bride, Part 2
November 27, 2020
Pre-Order Now
Odette Wyntor has a choice.
Stay or Run.
Royalty is not for the weak of heart.
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