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)
I did not have words.
Instead, I remembered the old saying that even a broken clock was right twice a day.
“Don’t let it bother you, miss. You should be able to hold your head up today. You proved so many people wrong yesterday, and you will do so again tonight at the state dinner.”
“Thank you, Gelula.”
“I’ll give you a moment,” she said, setting the towels onto the counter before stepping out of the room.
It was only once she’d left that I exhaled. Oh, shit.
I couldn’t have one full day.
Not one full day of being in everyone’s good graces? I thought about how angry Arthur had been with Gale when he had found out. I had no idea how bad his mother’s reaction would be. What would people say? How bad would this get? The more I thought about it, the sicker I felt. So sick, I rushed to the toilet, hunching over as I vomited.
“Miss!” Gelula called as she rushed to me, holding my shoulders.
I waved her off. Sinking to my knees. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” I said, slowly getting up off the ground and moving to the sink.
“Miss, I’ve meant to ask you...”
“Yes?” I asked, grabbing my toothbrush.
“When was the last time you had your period?”
I dropped the toothbrush and toothpaste from my hands, staring at her wide-eyed in the reflection of the mirror. She stared back.
Snip went all those wedding dress sketches.
God, save me from the queen because she is going to kill me.
I was fixing my tie when all of a sudden, without even bothering to knock, the door opened, and my mother—with Ambrose behind her—stormed inside.
“Mother?” I questioned, bowing my head to her.
She inhaled sharply before turning to Ambrose.
He merely lifted a newspaper. “‘We have it on good authority that we should not be addressing Odette Wyntor as Miss Wyntor but as Her Royal Highness, Odette, the Duchess of Wevellen, and now the Adelina, due to a recent discovery that Her Royal Highness was married to Prince Galahad in a secret civil ceremony in Seattle, Washington, the home of the Adelina.’”
“That is enough, Ambrose.” I couldn’t bear for them to keep reading. For the love of God, could we not catch a break?
“Why should he stop? Is it not just gossip?” my mother questioned.
They had ambushed me as I prepared and gave me no chance to deny or pretend. I was caught flat-footed once again. But how in the hell had the damn press discovered this? Who was the person leaking this? It couldn’t be Wolfgang or Iskandar. They had no reason to, and their loyalty was far too deep for that. Wolfgang already acted as if Odette was his queen, and for Iskandar, I was king. The only other people who knew this secret were Eliza—she could never—so all that was left was my brother. And he was gone. Who else?
“Gale, I’m waiting for you to tell me this is idle gossip, so I may leave your rooms and prepare for breakfast.”
I glanced up to her, trying to lie, but for some reason, I had lost all my skill. So, all I could do was stare.
“Galahad!” she snapped, rising from her seat. “Have you lost your mind?”
“In all honestly, at the moment, I did,” I whispered. “Arthur took me to task for it.”
“He knew?”
I nodded. “He told us to keep it secret because the people would be in an uproar if they found out.”
“He was right. They would be!”
“Yes! He was right, and the next day, he died.” I tried not to snap. “I married her, Mother, and it was my happiest day before my most devastating. I trusted Arthur would fix it because Arthur always fixed it. Even when she came to Ersovia to divorce me, I personally checked the records, but I couldn’t find it. So, I figured if I couldn’t find, and no one else reported it as everyone was combing through her past for dirt, then Arthur had saved my ass one final time.”
“Why do you always need saving?” she hollered.
“Because I am not as perfect as he was!” I hollered back. “I apologize. I’ll say it again. I am sorry that I disappoint you time and time again, Mother. And that I break protocol time and time again. I know you do your best to save me, too. But maybe, just maybe, I’m unsavable. I will never be fit for this role. I will never be the best king because I was never supposed to be! You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it! But I am trying! I cannot change my past!”
My chest hurt.
I wished to shove this whole morning back to hell where it came from. Hanging my head low, I sat back down on the edge of my bed, the fight now out of me. “I beg your pardon for my tone, Your Grace.”