Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116570 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116570 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
“Gale...”
“Odette, I do not care about what anyone else has to say. Hold on to me, lean on me—”
“And make you my whole entire world? Since I have gotten here, I have stopped being myself and instead...instead, ugh! I still have dreams and things I want to do!”
“You don’t think I have dreams! You don’t think there are things I would rather be doing either! Odette—”
“You again! Why do I have to think about you right now! I am always thinking about you!”
“And I, you! That’s—”
“Are you? Or do you sometimes wonder if it would be easier with someone else, with Sabina, maybe?”
“What?” The way she threw Sabina’s name out now of all times left me too stunned to speak, and Odette used that as a chance to step away. Her shoulders dropped, and the look on her face was utterly dejected. Without a word, she tossed me her cell phone.
I was not sure what she meant, nor did she explain. Instead, she walked around me and back to the door.
“Odette—”
“I am tired. I don’t want to yell anymore, so am I free to go, Your Highness?”
I clenched my jaw, saying nothing as she really knew how to cut deep. When the door shut, I hung my head, gripping the phone, which somehow made the audio begin to play. Glancing down, I saw a tilted video of the swans in the garden. I had no idea why she was showing me this until I heard Sabina’s voice.
My mouth dried, and my body tensed with each word. I knew Sabina had to have said something to Odette, but I had no idea she’d go this far. Rubbing the side of my head, I glanced up, only then realizing I’d dragged us into the family portrait room. Of all the rooms, why this one? I stared up at the painting of my brother. The slight uptick in the corner of his mouth and the gleam in his eye made me feel as if he were laughing at me.
“You told me so, right?” I whispered, glaring at his image. “My past would come back to haunt me one day, right? Well, can you tell me what I’m supposed to do for my future, then? It’s your damn fault I am here as it is.”
Take reasonability, Gale.
Grow up, Gale.
You’re not a child anymore, Gale.
I was sure one of those would be the way he would have started his reply. I just did not know what he would have said beyond that. So, all I could do was ask myself if this was really love?
Did I love Odette?
Yes. The answer was like thunder and lightning throughout my whole being.
But was my love killing her?
That answer left me hollow.
The queen’s lecture was exactly as I expected, polite, stern, and merciless. But for some reason, I did not even flinch. I was so used to it now that her words barely registered anymore. I replied when she demanded, bowed when she dismissed me, and silently walked back to my room. I was sure Wolfgang said something, but I tuned out everyone and everything and walked and walked until finally, I was alone in my room—my cage.
I stepped out of my heels and pulled the hat off my hair before walking into the bathroom, closing the door behind me gently, and there I saw my reflection but not myself. Turning on the faucet, I let the water run, then moved to the bath and ran the water there. It was then, and only then, I broke down and sobbed.
I cried so hard my legs gave out, and so I knelt, and I wept.
The Morning Eagle
Monday, June 5
“Trouble in Royal-dise!”
Inside sources say the arguments between Prince Galahad and Odette Wyntor can be heard throughout the palace.
Could it all be over before it even begins with the lovebirds?
We have it on good authority that Prince Galahad has been in contact with his rumored old flame, Sabina Franziska, former Countess of Gormsey.
The Morning Eagle
Thursday, June 8
“Abandoned Odette!”
Apparently, the arguments between Prince Galahad and Odette Wyntor have gotten so bad that the Adelaar flew ahead to Southern Helmfeld alone.
Odette Wyntor is left alone in the cold. Sources close to the couple say neither of them has spoken to each other since the garden party and very well may be calling off this engagement.
It would be the shortest engagement in Ersovian history.
The Morning Eagle
Wednesday, June 14
“In It for the Crown!”
It has been long rumored that Prince Galahad has been in love with Sabina Franziska.
However, due to her background, history, and the financial state of the Crown, Prince Galahad was forced into an arrangement with Odette Wyntor.
The deal was simple.
She gets a crown.
They get the money.
Chapter 18
Tossing the paper into the trash, I held back the urge to bloody scream at the top of my lungs. Standing at the window, I inhaled deeply once, then twice before giving up completely.