“It’s because I see myself in the people around me. I couldn’t relate to anyone. I felt like there was something more important for me to do.”
He lets out a long sigh. “You’re in love with King Theo.”
I turn my head to stare at my father, who chuckles. He shakes his head, sighing. “How does the King feel about you?”
Breathing is still hard. My tears try their best to break past my defenses, but I manage to hold them back for a few more seconds. “Well, I thought he loved me back, but now I’m not so sure.”
“No? Because I am. The man loves you.”
“How could you possibly know that, Dad?”
“I saw it in his face when I told him you’d been accepted to a music school in New York. Pure devastation written all over his features. I almost felt sorry for him, but I thought you wanted to be up there.”
“I did, I think. But it was for all the wrong reasons.”
My father sighs. “What do you want now?”
I stare at my stomach, and familiar, ugly words swirl into my head. Non-viable. Ectopic.
My father lifts his arm and puts it around my shoulders. He leans his head against mine, squeezing me close. “If that man knows what’s good for him, he’ll be right here begging you to be with him and have all his children.”
And there it is. The sentence that finally makes me burst into tears. Snorting sobs explode out of me as tears flow down my cheeks. Unstoppable. Like a dam bursting, letting the floodwaters gush through.
My father freezes. “Cara? What is it? What did I say?”
I shake my head, wheezing and sobbing and crying so hard I can’t see straight. I lean into my father’s chest, squeezing my eyes shut in the hope that it’ll stop the flow of tears pouring from my eyes. It doesn’t help. They keep coming and coming as my father holds me close, saying soft words and stroking my hair until I quiet down.
Finally, I sniffle and stop.
“What’s wrong, Cara?” my father says softly. “Tell me.”
29
Theo
I hang up the phone when a commotion starts outside my office door. At least two people shout, and someone manages to bang on the door.
Then, I hear scuffling, and the sound of a very large body landing on the floor.
My head drops. I can’t deal with this right now. I’ve just been on the phone to the staff at the Arlian villa to get it prepared for Cara and me to go. I want to give Cara some time to recover after the doctor gives her the injection, and give us some time alone, away from the public eye.
I need to delay the wedding, which we were rushing to have before the baby started showing. Now, we have time.
And we need to mourn. Preferably together, in private.
I shake my head, not wanting to let my thoughts take me down that dark path. As soon as the doctor told us about the ectopic pregnancy, I’ve felt like my heart is held together with nothing more than old Scotch tape. A gust of wind could shatter it into a million pieces.
So, I’ve been doing what I do best. I work. I take care of my responsibilities. I do what needs to be done, if only to stop my mind from spinning back to the visions of the baby that I’ll never hold in my arms.
My eyes mist, but I’m pulled from my thoughts by another thump outside my door. Someone grunts, and a female voice yells. It’s hard to hear words through the thick, sound-proof door.
“Don’t come out, Your Majesty,” a guard calls out through the intercom. “Stay inside. We have the suspect under control.”
I frown, immediately getting up. When I open my office door, a mammoth of a man is pinned to the ground by three men. Just beyond, another man has his arms around Cara, holding her back.
“Let go of her,” I command. The man drops his arms, and Cara stumbles forward.
On the ground, the three guards struggle as the big man bucks. He manages to free one arm, flinging one of the guards across the hallway. The guard slams into the wall with an oomph. Plaster crumbles around him.
The other guards shout. One of them presses his knee into the man’s neck. Cara screams.
“That’s my father!” she cries out. “Get off him!”
In a flash, my hands are on the guards. I pull the guard off Tristan Shoal, letting him stumble to the ground behind