Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Oh, no one, just the Prince of Ersovia. I thought sarcastically.
Still, though, it’s not like I’d agreed to marry him—wait, did I agree to marry him? I thought back to the night before, and the memories of my storming into his room came back one by one.
I hunched over the sink.
“Why, Odette? Why are you so damn impulsive?” I groaned, reaching behind my back for the zipper...but when I pulled, it didn’t come down. “Oh no, you don’t.” I hissed and yanked harder, but it still wouldn’t budge. I wiggled, hopped up and down, sucked in my breath, but the damn thing wouldn’t move. “Come on!”
Rrriip.
I froze, sucking air into my lungs. Slowly, I twisted, looking into the mirror at the tear in the back of the dress. What was worse was it was under the zipper!
“Are you freaking kidding me?” I really liked this dress. And it was a gift.
I wanted a do-over! This morning was obviously broken!
“It was an accident. Do not look at me like that.” I already felt bad enough.
“I told you I would make it, Your Highness,” Iskandar stated as he walked around me, placing the bag of tomatoes on the stool. Then he stepped farther into the kitchen, glancing around at everything, expressionless.
“It would not be a romantic gesture if someone else did it for me.”
“It would have definitely been more romantic than this,” he replied, grabbing a cloth near the sink.
That is true. I stretched my hand toward him for the towel, and he glanced down at my hand before meeting my eye.
“You will clean?”
“Yes, I do know how to clean at least,” I spat angrily. Exhaling, trying to calm down, I finally just took the cloth from him. “I’ll clean. Could you have Wolfgang pick up breakfast for her?”
“I will call him now,” he said as he moved back, allowing me to step forward to deal with the mess. I was not exactly sure how to go about cleaning it. Rolling up my sleeves, I moved the foam-soaked pan into the sink and poured water onto it, cringing at the stench. Grabbing the sponge, I tried to remove the black tar from the bottom of the pan, but nothing seemed to work.
What the hell?
Scrubbing, harder pieces of the burn came off, but it looked nothing like the pan when I had first used it.
“Your Highness.”
“Huh?” Lifting my head to him, Iskandar handed the phone to me.
“Your family.”
Brilliant. Exactly what I need this morning.
Drying off my hands, I tossed the cloth onto the edge of the counter before taking the phone.
“Hello?”
“Gale!” Eliza’s voice caused me to wince.
I pulled the phone from my ear, and even still, I could hear her clearly.
“Is Odette there? Can I say hello?”
“Can I get a hello first?” I asked.
“Hello, Gale,” she grumbled. “Now, where is Odette?”
“She’s not here. In fact, I have not even seen her yet,” I lied, wandering over to the windows that overlooked the city. “Seattle is a nice city. I can describe the view if you would like.”
“What do you mean you have not seen her? Iskandar informed me that you spent the night talking to one another.” Arty’s voice startled me. They were all gathered for this call this morning as if it were some sort of sport.
“He did, did he?” I turned back to where Iskandar currently cleaned the kitchen despite my explicit request to leave it to me. Apparently, my orders really did not mean a thing to him. “Is he my bodyguard on this little trip or your spy?”
“Both,” Arty replied, and even though Iskandar could clearly hear me, he said nothing, nor did he even bother turning back. “You also burned her kitchen.”
“That just happened!” How in the hell did he already report that? I pinched the bridge of my nose. “And it was not the whole kitchen. It was a pan on top of the stove.”
“Either way, my dear, you need to be careful. Tell her we will refund her the price of the damage. We would not want her to think we are so callous.” My mother’s voice came through this time, and I honestly wanted to fling myself from the window.
“Yes, Mother,” I muttered.
“I hope this is not your effort to sabotage this match,” Arty spoke, and now I was annoyed.
“You know, you are starting to sound more and more like Father with each passing day, Arthur.”
“I’ll take that compliment. The king is a great man.” He snickered.
“Are you all trying to drive me mad this morning? If so, you’re succeeding!” Did they not have better things to do with their time?
“I’m still wondering if my future sister-in-law is there? Can I please say hello?” Eliza’s voice came louder than the rest of them.
“No,” I snapped back at her.
“Why?”
“Because I doubt she will want to start her morning with an overly enthusiastic fangirl.”