Page 37 of His Royal Request

After a few more moments of silence, the knob turned and the door opened a few inches. I pushed through with Isla and Ronan following before closing the door behind us.

Charlie stood in front of the bed glaring at us. “I don’t know where they put my suitcase.”

“Your suitcase? What for?”

She looked at me like I was an idiot. “I’m leaving.” The anger in her voice could have melted metal.

“Charlie, no!” Isla reacted before I could.

I was frozen. She was leaving? Already? I shook my head. Of course, she was. I’d kept a huge secret. She couldn’t trust me now.

“Don’t, Isla.” She held up a hand and her eyes glistened. “I can’t believe you. Any of you.”

She looked at each of us in the eyes and sniffed. “I know none of you really know me, but I’ve been nothing but upfront and honest.” She zeroed in on me. “Why Aiden? Why would you lie like this? Why would you make me look like a fool in front of everyone?”

Isla started to speak but I cut her off. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. When we met and you didn’t recognize me…” I sighed. “It was the first time in my life I was just Aiden.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s the most cliché thing I’ve ever heard.”

“But it’s true. You didn’t know who I was. I could be a normal guy with you.” I waited but she didn’t say anything so I kept going. “I wasn’t trying to deceive you or trick you. I just wanted to be able to get to know each other without my family’s history getting in the way.”

She shook her head. “You brought me here under false pretenses. You lied to me, Aiden.”

I hung my head. “I’m so sorry about that. I was going to tell you tonight, but my parents arrived early.”

Her shoulders slumped. “Why didn’t you tell me, Isla? You had every opportunity to.”

Isla looked gutted. “I’m sorry. I was respecting Aiden’s wishes. He wanted the chance to get to know you without the preconceived notions that come with who he is.”

Ronan nodded. “I’m not going to lie, Charlie. If the same opportunity came to me, I probably would have done the same thing.” He shrugged. “Well mostly. I definitely would have taken advantage of the fact you didn’t know my identity so we could date without me worrying about other motives.”

I looked at my brother and was filled with gratitude.

“It’s not every day we meet someone that we can be ourselves with.” Isla offered. “I don’t agree with Aiden’s choices, but I can’t even imagine what it would be like to meet a man that didn’t know who I was. Someone I knew was only interested in getting to know me for me.” She sighed. “It’s a luxury we don’t have, Charlie.”

Charlie looked between the three of us and sighed. It probably wasn’t fair that the three of us had teamed up, but I appreciated them standing up for me.

“You asked me to be your date to your cousin’s wedding.” Her gaze pierced mine. “I got swept up in all of it at the store this afternoon, but after tea with your aunt and uncle and dinner tonight...I don’t know how long I can keep it up.”

I understood, partially. It was overwhelming to be at diplomatic dinners or galas and having to remember all the cultural rules and expectations. I’d put Charlie in the thick of things with zero warning.

“I’m sorry. I was hoping that we could lay low until the wedding. I wanted to spend more time with you, but I don’t see how that’s going to work now.”

Isla nodded. “Mum and Dad will be curious. They’ll want to get to know her.”

Charlie’s face paled. “I don’t know if I can handle that.”

“They want to know you as my parents, not as the king and queen.” I clarified.

She shook her head. “This is ridiculous. I’m an American. We don’t have these etiquette restrictions and rules. We don’t have royals or people to bow to. We’re polite to our elders and that’s about it.”

Her breath was quickening and I had a feeling if I couldn’t get her to calm down, she’d have a panic attack. “Charlie, I promise you won’t have to go through any of this alone. I will always be there with you.”

“Me too,” Isla said with a reassuring smile.

“I’ll watch out for you, too.” Ronan offered and I swear I saw the corner of Charlie’s lips tugged up. I narrowed my eyes at him. I didn’t want him to be the one that saved her or made her smile.

I drew in a deep breath. Now wasn’t the time to fight my brother.