Page 75 of Handle Me

He stared at me, no emotion on his face. Then, he shrugged. “Fine.”

Fine? That was all he was going to say. “What is the fucking point of all of this?”

“Do you really want to know?” he asked coolly.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

“Duty.”

I waited for him to say more, but he didn’t. Instead, he tilted his head toward the door. “You can go.”

“Am I dismissed?” I bit out, shaking my head. “Since I’m royalty now, I guess I won’t get in trouble for telling the King of England he’s an asshole.”

His shoulder lifted, but he showed no sign that he cared what I thought of him.

“Your apartment at Kensington—” he began as I walked toward the door.

I didn’t turn. “I’m going back to Silverstone.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

I shrugged, giving him a taste of his own medicine. “I don’t give a fuck.”

I left before he could say another word.

I blew into the corridor. Brex looked up from his phone, frowning when he saw my face.

“Where’s Lola?” I asked him, still seething.

“Still with her sister, I think.”

“I need to get out of here. Now.”

He pocketed his phone and nodded. He didn’t ask why I was pissed. Maybe that was a side effect of always staying in the shadows, or maybe he knew Alexander well enough not to be surprised that ten minutes alone with him would have me fuming.

“I can take you back to Kensington and return for her,” he suggested, falling into step beside me.

“I’m not leaving her behind, and I’m only going back to Kensington for my shit. I leave for Silverstone tonight,” I informed him. The longer I stayed in London, the more control Alexander would assume he had over me. I needed to send a clear message.

I was not his puppet. He couldn’t pull my strings.

“Did Alexander–” he started.

I turned on him. “I assume you’re the one who’s getting the shit deal of watching me, so I want to be clear. Alexander can assign babysitters and sign papers and hand out crowns, but he cannot tell me what to do.”

“I’ll take that as a no,” he said flatly.

“Are you going to try to stop me?”

A muscle tensed in his jaw, but he finally shook his head. “I’m your bodyguard not a warden. A man makes his own choices. I’m just around to make sure you don’t get killed.”

My chest heaved as I studied him. He meant it. Well, it was something. “Good,” I said. “Now show me where Lola is.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

LOLA

“Please tell me that you’re alone.” Clara sounded exhausted as she opened the door. Before I could answer, she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. Even a few days after giving birth, she was radiant, despite the circles under her eyes.