Page 53 of Her Royal Rebellion

Never in all my time with the royal family had I seen any of them run away from a situation. As shocked as I was, it was nothing compared to Isla’s expression.

“He called them?” she shrieked and turned to Aiden. “How could he do that to me?”

Aiden shrugged, clearly amused by it all. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out where you are, Isla. There’s only one place you’d go.”

She huffed and folded her arms. “I could have gone anywhere in the world.”

He smiled gently like he was talking down a toddler from a tantrum. “You could have, yes. We all know you well enough to know there’s only one place you go when you need to clear your head.”

I smirked. She had made that exact point herself, but she wasn’t impressed by her family’s understanding of her personality.

“Fine. They can come, but that doesn’t mean I need to talk to them. I came here for a reason. I wanted to be left alone. You guys coming was one thing, mum and dad is quite another.”

She stood and politely excused herself from the room. I watched her head to the back porch and shook my head.

“Is it really a good idea for them to come here? I don’t think she’s ready to talk to them. I don’t think she blames your parents for what happened, but she’s still hurt by this dismissal of her opinion and feelings. She told them she didn’t want men to come and they disregarded that. If the main concern really is money and her future, they should have told her. She’s an adult, a smart one at that, and it’s her life they’re trying to control. She should have known all the facts and been allowed to make her own decision on how to move forward. If she chose then to entertain the idea of marrying a noble, then the invitation to the suitors should have been extended. Honestly, this was all so poorly handled. I can’t help but agree with her refusal to speak to them.”

I felt like I’d just poured out every thought and feeling I’d had about this onto Aiden, Charlie, and Serena. They had no more control over this than I did, but it felt good to vent. None of us could change the past and what happened. I knew there wasn’t anything we could do, but I hoped everyone learned from this, and moving forward the family would be better about communicating.

“You’re right, Logan. I don’t agree with how my parents handled any of this. I agree there were many mistakes made. I’m on Isla’s side. I know Cian is too. We’ll support our sister, even against our parents. It’s not only our duty as her brothers, but in this case, it’s simply the right thing to do. We can face them together. If we present a united front, they will have to hear us out.”

Charlie took her fiancé’s hand and smiled. “I know it’s too little too late, but hopefully we can learn from this.”

Serena agreed. “I know what I won’t be doing to my children.”

It was a bit mind blowing to think about the fact that she was the future queen. This could very well be a situation she faced one day.

“Yes, please handle it better,” Charlie said with a tease. “If I ever hear that you and Cian are forcing my poor niece or nephew into an arranged marriage I won’t hesitate to stop you.”

Aiden nodded. “Agreed.”

Serena laughed. “I can promise you, that will never happen. You guys are forgetting one important piece of information.” She leaned forward and met each of our gazes before continuing. “I’m American. We’re all about personal freedoms and all that jazz.”

Charlie giggled. “That’s right. We’re here to get everyone to lighten up and start new traditions.”

Serena tilted her head and winked. “If anything, you and I will be getting in trouble for dismissing too many traditions.”

I leaned back in my seat and smiled. There was a lot of change in our country’s future, but I was grateful for it. Cian and Aiden found amazing, strong, independent women that would only encourage Lochland to make positive changes.

I hoped I would be seen in the same light. If things progressed to that. I shouldn’t get too far ahead of myself, but that was where I wanted this to go. Building a future with Isla was more than I could ever want.

“So, Logan.” Charlie put everyone’s attention back on me. “How are you going to handle the king and queen?”

“I’m going to support Isla, of course.”

Her grin turned wicked. “I mean, how are you going to ask for their blessing?”

I closed my eyes. After all this talk of Isla being an independent woman and moving the country forward, this felt like a giant leap backward. She wasn’t a piece of property or item to be traded. I knew how important it was to gain the approval of her parents, but the matter had slipped my mind due to the chaos we’d been living in.

I sighed. “My biggest concern with admitting my feelings to Isla was not measuring up. Not being worthy of a woman like her. Not just because of her title, but who she is as a person. I believed she deserved more than me. I’m her guard, not a duke. I can’t pretend like that doesn’t still bother me, but it doesn’t matter to her. She doesn’t care about my station; she loves me and I love her. At the end of the day, our dedication to one another and our willingness to fight for one another is what matters.”

Serena rested a hand on her chest. “That. Just say that and they will understand.”

Charlie nodded. “That’s beautiful.”

“I meant every word.”

Aiden leaned forward with his elbows on the table. “I’m sure you’re nervous. You might see yourself as only her guard, but that’s not what I see. You’ve honorably served and protected Lochland for six years. You’ve proven yourself to be brave, smart, trustworthy, and loyal. You’re talented and a true leader. Cian and I have discussed it, and there’s no one better for our sister. We trust you to care for her, and our parents will too.”