“I told you.” Etienne shook his head. “Let me guess, he asked you to be his mistress?”
“No.” I crossed my arms and glanced out the window. He hadn’t. Not outright anyway. But technically, he had, hadn’t he?
“He’s a fucking asshole.” Etienne slapped the steering wheel, making my body jerk.
“It doesn’t matter. I would never agree to that and yes, he’s an asshole, but he’s also kind, so if I had to guess, this display of hate outside our windows on the way into the palace is breaking his heart.”
“Well, I for one, hope he pays attention and makes some major changes,” Etienne said.
“Yeah, because your family is starving.” Joss rolled her eyes.
“Obviously not, but I know people who have families who are struggling. And for no good reason.”
“Maybe you should bring that up to him since you’re friends,” I said.
“Maybe I will.”
Thankfully for all parties involved, our discussion was cut short by our arrival at the gate. The guards checked our car, our identification, verified that we were invited, and finally, let us drive in. Flashbacks of the ball I’d planned here came rushing back to me as we drove in. Flashbacks of Elias and my first time together after six years. Flashbacks of his confession and my mother’s warnings. I held the skirt of my dress tightly as the door was opened for me and I climbed out of Etienne’s Land Rover. Tonight, I would lay low, stay on the other side of the room at all times, and not make eye contact with him. If Etienne and Joss were right about my father being in attendance, the last thing I wanted to do was give him more cause to run to my mother with poor gossip about me.
Chapter 30
Elias
It didn’t take me long to come up with a plan. I discussed it with Pierre and Aramis first and decided I’d bring my mother and Pilar in on it before the celebration ball began. I was in my chambers getting dressed in the tuxedo Pierre had picked out for me when I heard the knock. My mother didn’t wait for me to respond before barging in, her heels stabbing at the marble floor with each step she took toward me. Behind her, Emily, her footsteps a little lighter. I wish I could have been the kind of man who felt bad in this situation, but Emily was just collateral. She’d move on to the next prince, maybe my brother, or the Grecian Prince Aros, who was also in need of a quick marriage. I’d known Emily most of my life and always wished her well, but whatever she decided to do didn’t matter to me.
“What is this Pierre is talking about?” My mother stopped walking when she was just a few steps away from me. Emily stood beside her quietly. “You’re going to break off your engagement with Emily to court a commoner?”
“It’ll be good for our image.” I continued buttoning my cuffs and looked over at Emily. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way. It was my intention to tell you as soon as I finished up here, but it appears my secretary decided to go ahead and do it for me.”
As if on cue, Pierre walked into the room. “Your Majesty. Your mother overheard Aramis and I discussing.”
“Just as well.” My eyes stayed on Emily’s. “You’ll find a better fit for you.”
“I wanted you.” She frowned. “We’d be perfect together.”
“For a while. For appearances,” I agreed, “but not for long.”
“Appearances are the only thing that matter,” my mother said. “Appearance is everything.”
“Not everything.” I raised an eyebrow and went back to my tie.
“What is your plan then? Why this sudden . . . change?” Mother asked.
“I have to visit those people’s houses tomorrow. Poor people. Starving people. How will it look if I show up there with another rich monarch?”
“What they say does not matter,” Emily said. “They’ll take this as a sign of weakness.”
“They’ll take it however we sell it to them.”
“And where will you find this commoner?” my mother asked.
I stayed silent. The question wasn’t where I would find her. The question was whether or not she’d still accept me. She didn’t have to know about the ulterior motives. Hell, I didn’t even care about the ulterior motives. As far as I was concerned, they were the icing on top. I was just glad I’d get to keep her.
“We already found her,” Pierre said, speaking up on my behalf. “She’s perfect. You have nothing to worry about, Your Majesty.” He bowed to my mother, as if to dismiss her, and she knew it. Her eyes flared at him before turning to me.
“You better know what you’re doing, Elias. The future of this monarchy is sitting on your shoulders.” She reached for Emily’s hand and dragged her out of the room as if she were a child.