Page 6 of Vexatious Queen

Watching him march off into the woods alone broke my heart into a million little pieces.

“Snowflake?” I jumped at the sound of Myles’s voice and turned to face him. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s so angry, and honestly, I get most of it.”

Myles placed his hands on my shoulders, and the warmth reminded me that we were standing outside, without jackets, and it was snowing.

“He’ll be fine,” Myles said. “It’s only been a week for him to process.”

“I know, but…do you feel that I’ve abandoned all of you for Nash? Is that how everyone really feels?”

Myles looked genuinely surprised at my comment.

“What? Did Blake say that?”

I nodded.

“Nah, Snowflake.” He shrugged. “Would I like to keep ya all to myself all da time? Aye, I cannie deny that.”

“Blake feels like I abandoned him when he needed me. That…I…” A tear trickled down my cheek, and I quickly swiped it away. “I thought I was doing what the family wanted, what he, Theo, and their father needed. I didn’t mean to hurt him. I sent him multiple texts, and he never said anything when he answered. I should’ve known. I should’ve felt that he needed me more…right?”

“Stop.” He cupped my face, and I shivered as another tear fell. “Blake has never been good with change. And everythin’ in his life has been upended all at once. He’s processing, but he’ll be okay. I promise. I’m keepin’ an eye on him.”

“But you have so much on your plate, too. You just got Lip back to school, and we know he’s not okay and may never be. And…and…I slapped him. I slapped Blake.” Myles pulled me into a hug. “I never should’ve done that.”

He rubbed my back, and I closed my eyes, soaking up his warmth. We stood there as my mind raced.

“I feel like everyone is expecting me to be perfect. To know what to do all the time. To be a queen now that we all know who my father really is. My marriage to Nash has somehow added even more pressure, but I just feel as lost today as the day that I arrived here. How am I supposed to be this figure…this paragon of leadership when I can’t control my emotions when one of you needs me?”

“Yer smarter, kinder, and there for us more than ya give yerself credit for, Snowflake. Just be you, don’t try to be someone else, and all will be fine. Blake loves ya, we all do, and it will work out. Honestly, he needed a target and yer the only one that ran after him to give him someone to shoot at.”

God, how I wished that I had Myles’s optimism. I’d never understood how he remained so positive despite the darkest things happening to him. I envied that about him. If he worried, it rarely showed, and he always had a smile on his face, a teasing comment to make me smile, or a raspberry muffin in hand.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you. I love you, Myles. And if I have, even for a moment, made you think that my feelings have changed with Nash involved…”

Pulling back, I looked up into his amber eyes. With everything that had taken place over the last year and a half, it felt like forever and a day ago that we’d met, and yet when I looked into his eyes, my heart pounded like it was still the first time.

“They haven’t, not even a little. If anything, they’ve grown stronger.” He opened his mouth, but I placed my finger on his lips. “I know you know. I just wanted you to hear it from me, right now in this moment, that I love you.”

Myles kissed my finger.

“I love ya too, Snowflake.” He kissed the tip of my nose with a smile. “Now lets get ya inside before ya catch a cold.”

JANUARY 12 – MONDAY 2:06 PM

Ren

“Alright, pens down,” Mr. Sharpe ordered.

I set mine aside and watched Ivy out of the corner of my eye, trying to get the last multiple-choice question answered. Clearing my throat, I shaped my hand into a C on the desk. Ivy smirked, circled the letter, then quietly put her pen down.

“Thank you,” she whispered as Mr. Sharpe started down the aisle to collect our quizzes.

“While I mark these, I want you to spend the rest of your time forming groups of four. One member of the group will pick a topic from the coffee cup on my desk, and that will be your final assignment for the year.” The class groaned. “Yes, this is mandatory. Yes, you will need to do a presentation in front of the class. Yes, I expect you all to have equal parts in the project, and yes…”

Mr. Sharpe stopped at my desk and looked down at me as he picked up my quiz. The class stayed quiet as he continued to stare and then held his hand out for Ivy’s paper.

“You will get bonus marks if you find a way not only to make the topic interesting but also to demonstrate your talking points.”