Page 40 of Consume Me

“Initially, it was about Sarah,” he said.

“She wasn’t in a coma, was she?” I’d known since I met Rachel. I’d had all the pieces in front of me, I could see the big picture, but I’d refused to put them together. Still, her betrayal was nothing compared to discovering the snake in the room with me.

“No,” David admitted. “With Alexander keen to tell his father to shove off, we expected he would abdicate. One push in the right direction, and we knew we could get him to do just that. When he met you, it was assumed he would abandon his title and marry you. No one thought Albert would legitimize the marriage.”

“Are you claiming you’re the reason I’m with Alexander?” The words tasted sour—wrong. I’d never believed in fate exactly, but the idea that I’d met Alexander because of some larger plan was ludicrous. We had found each other. We had fought for one another. It was the only truth in this world of lies.

“No, we merely encouraged things—sped them up, if you will,” he said.

I recalled the stories in the papers, a new scandal coming out as soon as the last one settled. They’d brought us closer together rather than push us apart.

But no matter what he claimed, no one could have predicted that we would weather those storms. No one could feign responsibility for our love. I wouldn’t allow it.

“But Alexander didn’t abdicate,” I said softly.

“No, he didn’t,” David admitted. “One of our associates found this concerning, so he took matters into his own hands. He wanted to know Alexander would be out of the picture.”

“Hammond.” I hated him, even more than I hated the man who’d actually wielded the gun that day. Hammond was the man responsible for Albert’s death. “That plan backfired.”

“Indeed. Suddenly, Alexander was on the throne, and Sarah wasn’t exactly interested in playing along.” David paused, glancing to the same spot he’d looked to a number of times. It must have been where the camera was hidden. But whoever was watching us hadn’t intervened with his evening storytelling session. That could only mean one thing. “But then we discovered another problem. Something we hadn’t counted on.”

“She wouldn’t go along with the plan?”

“No. It was worse than that. After Albert’s death a number of private papers were stolen and we found out something we hadn’t realized.” David’s mouth twisted into a cruel smirk. It didn’t match the man I knew. Then again, nothing about this situation did. “She isn’t Albert’s biological child. Even if we placed her into power, she had no legitimate claim to the throne. If there was any question, the throne would pass.”

“Then why were you brought in for Edward?” The timeline didn’t match up. David and Edward had been an item before Albert’s death, even before I’d met any of them.

“I was to become his confidant,” David confessed. “I was an insurance policy in case Sarah didn’t work out. Someone who saw him for who he really was, and I did a good job. Too good.”

He claimed he’d fallen in love. I could see the truth of it in his eyes, but it would never erase what he’d done.

“So you wanted the throne to pass to him but I messed it up by having an unplanned pregnancy?” I was growing weary of this story, given that I’d guessed how it would end. But I still didn’t have the answer as how my son played into their schemes.

“Not exactly,” he said. “They planned your pregnancy. Gave you sugar pills instead of birth control.”

I gasped my hands closing over my stomach.

“We knew by the time you met Alexander that Sarah would never fall into line. That made Edward our next option. But then it became clear that there was another way. Alexander would give up anything for you and that losing you…”

“Would destroy him.” I searched his face for signs of remorse, there was some there hiding in his dark eyes but it wasn’t enough to make me feel sorry for him. He knew what he was doing to the man I loved, the man who’d supported him and welcomed him into his family, and he was going through with it.

“I don’t understand what you think is going to happen. Alexander will never cooperate with you.” They had to know that. All of this so that they could convince him to abdicate?

“Alexander will lose the crown. It will be taken or it will be given up. It will then pass to Edward,” David said.

“What if Sarah—” I began.

“That won’t happen. Evidence would surface regarding her mental stability, and while she may not be cooperative, she knows when to heed a warning.”

I wondered when they’d threatened her. Had it been under our watch? Had we been so focused on the outside that we’d forgotten to take care of our own people? The fact that David sat across from me now was my answer.

“So you’ll be married to the King and you can turn his head any direction they wish,” I guessed. It was a basic plan with a lot of promise. But maybe David didn’t know Edward as well as I did. My best friend would catch on—wouldn’t he?

“For a time,” he admitted, “and then when he’s ready, your son will return and claim his birthright.”

“Return?” I repeated, blinking at this declaration. “From where? If his father abdicates…”

“He won’t abdicate for a dead child. There’s no point. Your son’s legacy will remain intact.”