Page 219 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 5-8

Livia froze in her seat, and it took a moment to find her voice. “I’m definitely a fool if I can’t tell the two brothers apart.”

“At least you’re not the traitorous fiancée,” added her sister, who was clearly forcing a little lightness into her voice.

“Not yet. What did Mother and Father say about this?” Livia asked softly.

“They’re upset, of course, but I’ve honestly been trying to avoid talking to them. I haven’t been home and don’t want to go. I’m just trying to figure— Wait. Someone’s coming. I have to go.”

The line cut. Livia stared at her phone.

“I’ll figure out something,” Livia whispered to no one. “I love you.”

And in those words, she felt the knife of sacrifice that love sometimes required.

She looked through the windows to the deck, where the moody sky was filled with layers of clouds, all threatening rain. Gustav was no longer lounging. He sat up, his entire body rigid, his jaw tense. He must have scanned the tabloids, too. It was then she realized how much he had changed over the last few days. But now she saw it, when all traces of the softness were gone. He was staring at his screen with that look of anger and determination, and a chill ran through her body. He was going to choose vengeance, and she needed to walk away…before she and Adele were destroyed by the fallout.

* * *

Gustav had let this charade of a marriage go on for far too long. He had allowed himself to be lured in by the indulgence of Livia. He’d let himself feel and want, the way he had years ago. And then, he had gone off the rails after she left him. He had played into his father’s ideas about his recklessness, his unworthiness of his position. Gustav would never again allow his emotions to wreak havoc again.

And yet, as she came through the door and onto the deck, her eyes shimmering with fear and worry, all he wanted to do was to take her into his arms, to find a way to shut out the rest of the world again. This instinct made him angry. Angry at his father for mismanaging the country’s finances and his brother for standing back and not intervening. Angry at his father’s attempts to discredit him and their marriage. Angry at Livia for making him feel vulnerable. Angry at himself for foreseeing where this intimacy between them would inevitably lead and yet still falling into its trap. He had been weak. And if he did not take down his father and brother and strip them of their power, they would go after him—and Livia—for the rest of their lives. There was no way out of this except to go through with his plan.

“I assume you have seen the headlines about us,” she said, her voice, tentative and quiet.

He glanced down at one of the many messages from Henri Jacard. “Your father is on his way to the palace right now to discuss this.”

Livia’s eyes widened into something that looked like panic. “We need to find a way to de-escalate this.”

“Then we are in agreement,” he said, his voice milder than the emotions brewing inside him. “Together, the three of us will present a united front to my father and demand that he step aside and become a figurehead king. With the money as a motivator, we will insist that he make a statement, taking the fall for this bad PR and admitting his own financial failings. Then, he can renounce the power of his position.”

“We are not in agreement. I will not be a part of your revenge scheme.” Her eyes darted across the water, and for a moment she looked like a trapped animal. “I need to get to my sister.”

He had been waiting for this moment, but instead of feeling the satisfaction of finally hearing the truth, he felt his temper rising. “Is your sister in imminent danger?”

“Not exactly, but—”

“Then there is absolutely no reason to go to her that I know of.”

He had seen her anger and hurt, but the look of betrayal that crossed her face now shook him in ways he was not ready to think about.

“You would keep me here against my will?” she asked through gritted teeth.

“If it means that we can put an end to my father’s domination and put the power of decision-making into my hands so that I can steer this country in the right direction? Yes, I will.”

“This is exactly the way your father behaves,” she said, her voice louder. “Why do you think you know best?”

“Who do you suggest knows best? Edvin, my brother, who has mysteriously disappeared? Before that, he seemed to be following in my father’s footsteps.”

Livia threw up her hands. “No one person knows best. No one should have all the power, no matter how well-intentioned they are. We all have our personal feelings and blind spots. You want revenge, and I can understand why. But can you promise that none of your decisions will be tinged by that vengeance?”

Gustav didn’t answer as frustration roiled inside. How could she ask him to give up what he had been working toward for years? But even more disturbing was the fact that it physically hurt when she looked at him with betrayal in her eyes. The urge to destroy everything around him, to let his anger consume him and everyone else, was almost overwhelming.

“I need to get to my sister before my parents. They are worried about her care, and they have tossed around the idea of finding a suitable marriage for her as well. This whole scandal is only going to—”

“Enough.” Gustav’s voice was cold and harsh, and Livia froze. But he had to stop this pain that he could no longer numb. “Are you going to stand by me?”

“I need to get my sister away from this.”

“I need you,” he thundered. “With me.”