Total pages in book: 230
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
“I am.”
“But it’s not serious? Or is it?”
“We haven’t discussed it.” I worried my bottom lip. “It’s Ben, you know. He has a reputation, and it certainly isn’t about being a serious boyfriend.”
“Just because he hasn’t been in a serious relationship, doesn’t mean he doesn’t want one.” He tilted his head. “Besides, he flew here the minute he heard that you were in the hospital.”
“He came to see you too.”
“I’m pretty sure he came here for you.” He winked. “He didn’t sleep beside my bed all night.”
“That’s true.” I worried my lip.
It was true, wasn’t it? He’d come here knowing full-well that he’d be seen and photographed. He’d stayed with me all night. He only left this morning because he had things to take care of, and I told him that I wanted to see my brother alone. I stood up and leaned over to kiss Aramis’s forehead.
“Get some rest. I’ll be back soon.”
“Yep. Resting. Don’t you worry, I’ll be back to normal and partying in no time.” Aramis winked and then cringed. “Fuck.”
“Stop winking and stuff,” I said.
“It’s hard.” He groaned.
“Elias says he wants you to go to the cottage in Roussillon when they discharge you so you can continue your healing.”
“You’ve got to be kidding. They’re going to banish me now for looking like this?” He raised his arm and gestured at his leg and face. “What? Does this not fit the narrative of what our family is supposed to look like?”
“It’s not that, you idiot. He wants you to get one hundred percent better. You’ll need physical therapy for your leg.”
“I’ve broken a leg before. I’ll live.” He rolled his eyes.
“Stop being so stubborn. I’ll see you soon.” I walked out of the room and saw that Elias and Adeline were still with my mother. I walked over to them. “He’s doing okay.”
“We heard about Kayla,” Elias said. “Why didn’t you tell us?” He looked at Amir, who stood near the elevator. “I haven’t addressed this with him yet, but I will.”
“Don’t. Don’t get Amir in trouble for this. It was my fault for not making a big deal of it sooner. Do you think she slashed the tires or something?”
“How could Aramis have driven that far without noticing?” Adeline asked.
“If he’d been in any other car, it likely would have been impossible to do,” Elias said. “But that one…” He shook his head. “Do you think she’s capable of slashing your tires?”
“Yes.”
“We need to have her arrested.”
“Eli.” Adeline grabbed his arm. “We can’t just arrest her before we inspect the car.”
“The hell, we can’t. I’m the king, and my brother is in the hospital. My sister could have been killed.” He yanked his arm away from Adeline.
“She’s right, Eli.” I licked my lips. “If you arrest her, it would be like Father all over again. Your people will lose trust in you.”
“I don’t like knowing she’s out there.” He scowled.
“We’ll have them inspect the tires immediately,” Adeline said. “In the meantime, we have a public engagement and need to keep unrest at a minimum right now. “I’ll be back later to visit with Aramis while you meet with Parliament.”
We said our goodbyes and I stayed behind with my mother.
“It’s such a shame,” she said.
“What?”
“That you have to leave Benjamin because of his ex-girlfriend.”
“What?” I said again and blinked. “I’m not going to leave him because of her. He has nothing to do with her anymore.”
“Does she know that?”
“If she didn’t before, she will now.” I kissed my mother goodbye and walked over to Amir, ready to leave.
CHAPTER 20
Ben
I knew the media frenzy would be overwhelming, but I didn’t anticipate how much. There were cameras everywhere, at all times. I was used to attention. It wasn’t like I was the kind of man who could go to a pub with friends and not expect to be noticed, but I was still able to go out. These days, that seemed nearly impossible. I got Pilar though. I reminded myself of that. And they hadn’t pried too much into my personal life, so that was nice. I knocked on the door again and waited with a sigh. When it opened, I smiled at my ex, Tamara, who was standing there wearing a large t-shirt and shorts.
“Well, if it isn’t the newest member of the royal family.” She opened the door wider. “Should I bow to you?”
“Don’t be silly.” I laughed, walking inside and looking around for a second before hearing little footsteps running full speed toward me. Then, I crouched and opened my arms as my son ran into them. I lifted him and turned as he laughed.
“Daddy, you were supposed to come earlier,” he said as I set him back down.
“I wanted to, but I had some things to do.” I ruffled his curly hair and smiled.
“Stay right here. I want to show you what I made in school.” He ran off.