Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27560 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27560 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
I pour him hot tea and settle him with the dainty cakes he likes, careful not to spill anything on his suit. The slightest mistake must not be tolerated. We can’t look anything less than perfect, not according to Father.
I take a seat too and don’t nibble at the dainty treats on my plate. It makes Father happy when he thinks I’m trying to lose weight. I like my curves just fine. My body lets me chase butterflies through the garden and paint beautiful masterpieces. It cushions my bones when I fall, and it jiggles when I full belly laugh.
“Must you always look so unkempt?” He starts the moment I’m seated. “You’ll never be desired by your future husband if you don’t care for yourself.”
My heart pounds as a wave of nausea sweeps through me. Father wants me to be married, and he’s been bringing it up this past year. It adds to my worries that something is seriously wrong with his health.
I’m betrothed to a man named Rafael. I’ve never laid eyes on him, and the union was decided when we were babies. “I’ve been talking to him.”
Technically, that’s true. I have left him several voice messages over the past six weeks. He never gets back to me, so I’ve taken to leaving him long, rambling messages about my hopes, dreams, and fears. I’m treating the calls like a voice diary.
“You still haven’t convinced him to join you at the palace.” Father is using the stern tone I recognize from his many negotiations.
There is nothing that King Frederic the Fourth has not been able to accomplish while he’s on the throne. If he told the sun to stop shining, it would listen. He has that kind of presence and power.
I don’t think Violet has given me the right number at all. But I won’t point that out and risk getting her in trouble. As it is, I have serious questions about how my prince ended up living in America for so long after seeming to disappear from existence. It’s another thing that Violet hasn’t explained to me. “I’m trying to get to know him before the ceremony.”
Father frowns. He didn’t even meet my mother until the day they were wed. He made her miserable throughout their marriage. She spent almost two decades trying to win his heart and never succeeded.
He opens his mouth to continue his lecture but one of his attendants appears from the shadows. He bows before announcing Father has a call of great importance, adding it’s the one he was expecting.
Father stands and straightens his suit, scowling down at me the entire time. “Don’t overindulge on the pastries.”
I recognize a dismissal when I hear one, and I’m relieved that our monthly tea was cut short. I get to my feet and bow one final time before leaving the room without a backward glance.
“You have to go to him,” Violet says that night in my bedroom. All of my maids and attendants have been dismissed for the day.
“Go to who?” I fight a yawn as I comb my wet hair. I get my dark hair and eyes from my mother. I’ve seen pictures of her when she was my age. We could have been twins.
“Rafael. Bring him to the palace. He must take his place, so that you can take yours.” She pauses to set her tablet on my vanity table and pulls off the black frames she always wears. When she does, I realize how dark those circles are under her eyes.
“I don’t think I can kidnap him, even if he is my betrothed,” I joke to lighten the mood.
“Your father is ill,” she confesses.
Suddenly, her insistence on going to Rafael makes sense. There’s a law in Velkan. A stupid, archaic one that demands I wed before assuming the throne. If not, it passes to the next heir. My cousin, Nico.
Thinking about the man causes another wave of nausea. He’s a notorious womanizer despite being married to a sweet girl. He gambles exorbitant amounts of money, and he’s always at the latest nightclubs.
He’s not likely to grow up, even if he’s handed the kingdom. No, my cousin will destroy the country within a few years. He’ll create soaring national debt and make enemies of our closest allies.
But he’s been trying to win the hearts of our citizens and get their public support. He thinks that I don’t see what he’s doing. He’s trying to become the next leader, to show that he’s the king that cares for them. Except he doesn’t.
The moment he’s on the throne, he won’t concern himself with lowly matters like rising poverty among our elderly or underprivileged girls in dire need of better educational opportunities. All he’ll care about is chasing around the maid with the shortest skirt.
“Are you sure?” I ask, my mind spinning. My father’s illness means my single days are numbered. I can’t sacrifice the security and wellbeing of the citizens, even if a marriage comes at the cost of my own personal happiness. Still, I’d hoped for more time.