Reign of a King (Kingdom Duet #1) - Rina Kent Page 0,70
remarks my way, but soon retreats with a scold from Jonathan or a touch from Astrid.
By the time dinner is over, I excuse myself, pretending I spilt water on my suit trousers.
A huge breath heaves out of me when I’m inside my room. I slump on the bed and hold my head between my hands.
It wasn’t as disastrous as I expected it to be, so that says something.
I think.
No idea how many family dinners I can handle in the future, though. The girls are kind and welcoming, but I can’t say the same about their husbands. Especially Aiden. He’s out for my life
A knock sounds on the door and I straighten up. “Who is it?”
Elsa opens the door, followed by Astrid, who asks, “Can we come in?”
“Yeah, sure.” I stand and lead them to the small sitting area in my room. The few times Layla came here, she said I have a princess’s room fit for ‘daddy kink’, at which I proceeded to hit her with a pillow.
The three of us sit down, Elsa and Astrid next to each other while I’m on the chair opposite them.
When neither of them speak, I slice through the silence, “Is everything all right?”
“Absolutely.” Elsa clears her throat. “We just wanted to see if you’re okay.”
“I am.”
“Levi doesn’t hate you, you know,” Astrid blurts. “He’s merely curious about you.”
“As for Aiden…” Elsa trails off. “When he was younger, he was taken by my parents as a ‘fuck you’ to Jonathan, and when he returned, his mother was dead. He was wounded deeply by that, and seeing you brings that wound to the surface. Give him time and I promise he’ll get used to you.”
Aiden was taken by Ethan and his wife? That must be why Alicia called me and told me her son was missing.
Hold on. Is this why Jonathan can’t stand Ethan? Because he kidnapped Aiden?
Instead of voicing those questions out loud, potentially making me look like a creep, I plaster on a smile. “Time is all I have.”
“Thank you.” Elsa relaxes in her seat. “I knew you’d understand.”
“So different from Jonathan,” Astrid mutters.
“Word.” Elsa exchanges a look with her sister-in-law and they both shake their heads.
“He gives you trouble?” I ask.
“Did you hear him earlier?” Astrid winces. “He hates me because Mum caused the accident that killed James King, Jonathan’s brother. He doesn’t care that the accident also took her life.”
“I’m sorry.”
A sad smile grazes her lips as she stares at the inside of her forearm where there’s a sun, moon, and start tattoo, the star coloured in black. “I’m better now, I think. But Jonathan still sees me as the reason his brother died. He never stops reminding Levi of how my mum killed his father.”
“Or Aiden of the fact that Alicia died because of my dad.” Elsa lowers her eyes.
“Wait. Go back. Jonathan thinks my sister died because of Ethan?”
“Well, remember when I told you that Aiden was taken by my parents? Alicia died in a car accident on her way to go find him.”
Oh.
I didn’t know that.
This, however, explains the aggressiveness Jonathan doesn’t hesitate to display whenever Ethan is around, despite his generally emotionless façade.
“Can I ask you something, Aurora?” Astrid’s voice is low, hesitant.
“Sure.”
“Why…why are you with him?”
“Yes.” Elsa leans over. “He’s scary in a dictator kind of way.”
“And he doesn’t know how to feel,” Astrid adds.
“He dislikes everything that’s not his work.”
“And his legacy.”
“I get the chills every time he’s in the room.”
“I told Levi the other day that I age ten years every time we have a family dinner with him.”
“Oh my God. Me, too!”
My lips part at their exchange. Jonathan is sure as shit winning the most feared person of the year award.
Their attention falls back on me, eyes expectant, waiting for me to answer their question. They must’ve wondered this for some time now.
I could choose not to answer them, but I like them. Jonathan is an idiot to not appreciate having them to tame his offspring. So I go with the truth. “I don’t really have a choice but to be with him.”
“How do you cope?” Astrid asks.
“I’m not scared of him, I guess.”
“You’re not?” Elsa nearly yells.
“No, not really.” I mean, he does frighten me sometimes, but it’s not enough to erase everything else about him. Perhaps it’s the intimacy factor, or that I just know there’s more to Jonathan than he projects to the world.
His page isn’t half-written or blank. It’s simply encrypted, and no one has dared to crack the