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“Hey, I did the best I could,” Brat said, chuckling. “I’m not the one who didn’t think about rain precautions when I bought a cute little island for my wife. How did you get over here when you got here?”
“The golf cart,” I said laughing. “But it wasn’t raining.”
“You, sir, are a tool,” Brat replied, walking into the house and grabbing suitcases.
I grabbed two of the bags and followed Brat back out to the cart. We piled them up in the back and looked up as the rain began to slow up. Brat shook his soaking wet head and laughed to himself. As he began to walk away, I reached out and grabbed his arm.
“This is my whole life,” I said. “I need this to go right. This Kingdom and Adriana do not need any more hardship. They have all been through enough.”
“And because you feel that way,” Brat replied, slapping me on the shoulder. “I will do anything you need to take care of this.”
“Anything?” I said, looking him dead in the eye.
Brat nodded his head before turning to the door where Adriana had emerged, carrying her laptop in a bag over her shoulder and waddling along with her pillow and blanket for the plane. I smiled at her as she looked up at me, radiant as ever. She had changed into a pretty, long blue beach dress with flip flops, and her little round belly popped out in the middle. She looked worried, and that didn’t make me any less angry. Immediately, I began thinking of all the ways I could kill Reg Evers in a slow and painful way. How dare he put my family through this, especially considering I was the King of Silesia. There was nothing funny or cute about what he was doing, and at that moment, I swore to take him down in every way that I could.
Thunder clapped loudly in the background, mimicking my angry mood. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for this woman and that child, and it was my responsibility to make sure the Kingdom stayed happy and prosperous. If this information leaked, it could cause major issues with the way the Kingdom looked at the future Queen of Silesia, and that just could not happen. Reg Evers had it coming, and I couldn’t wait to get back and let him know exactly how I felt.
25
Adriana
I stared out the window of the plane as more and more distance was put between me and paradise. As the skies cleared, and we sailed steadily through the night, dread began to pound down on my heart. Reg showing up is just completely out of the blue, and it did more than knock my legs out from under me.
I didn’t know whether to be angry, scared, or just livid, like Milos, and the confusion was tearing me up on the inside. At that point, I should have thought about him, or at least been on the lookout for him to come sniffing around. Me leaving like that probably didn’t leave a very good taste in his mouth, and the news that I had become Queen probably, instantly, flashed dollars signs in his head. Then again, until just recently, I figured the marriage was fake anyway, so why worry about someone like Reg?
Honestly, part of me considered going back and working for him when the contract was over. I never imagined I would actually fall in love with Milos. But now, as I sat there, headed back to the castle, surrounded by anger, my past churned around me. It didn’t just have the ability to hurt me, but my husband, my child, and the Kingdom I was supposed to take over as Queen. I shook my head and looked over at Milos, who was staring silently out the window. I knew he wasn’t angry with me. He was just as much a part of this as anyone, but I couldn’t help but feel terrible about it. I had given him hell about his past and mending it for the future, and now, my past was the thing threatening the sanctity of the Kingdom.
For the rest of the flight, silence was the name of the game. Every once in a while, Brat would look over at me and smile, but Milos stayed quiet, his teeth clenched tightly, and his eyes fixed out the window. I could tell his anger had not subsided, even in the least. When we landed, I was actually relieved to be home, and I smiled kindly at the servants who greeted us.
It was the middle of the night, so we knew the Queen wouldn’t be awake, and Milos had already decided he was just going to tell her that I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to return home to get some rest. With every cover-up, we created another lie and another path to hide. It was a never-ending cycle, and I hated it with everything in my being. I did not want to continue lying to the Queen, but we couldn’t tell her what was going on. She would be furious.
When we got to our wing of the house, I sat down on the couch and stared into the fire that the servants had started, knowing I hated the chill in the castle at night. I smiled sweetly at my head servant as she asked me if I needed anything else. I shook my head and listened as she stepped from the room and the doors shut behind her. Milos approached the fireplace and leaned up against it, his arm at the top and his head facing the flames. He breathed in deeply and let it out, obviously mulling everything over in his mind.
“We should get some sleep,” he said, not looking at me. “It’s been a long night, a long plane ride, and we need to rest, especially you.”
Milos turned to me and smiled as he reached his hand out for me. I didn’t want to go to sleep. I wasn’t tired in the least, but I wasn’t about to argue with Milos. He had enough on his plate at the moment. I stood and kissed him on the cheek before retreating to the bathroom to change into my nightgown and brush my teeth.
I looked at my face in the mirror, remembering the nights in spandex gold jumpsuits and six-inch heels. It felt like it was a lifetime ago, yet it was still something that had to be drudged up again. My life was completely different now, and I couldn’t understand how someone could be as vile and despicable as Reg, especially since if he knew we were married, he must have known we were expecting a child. What kind of man bribes a pregnant woman? Reg Evers was an asshole and has always been one, so I don’t know why I can’t wrap my head around all of this.
I took in a deep breath and made my way back to the room where Milos was already in bed and waiting for me. He pulled the covers up over me, and I struggled to get comfortable. It was already difficult to find comfort with a basketball attached to my stomach, but on top of it, I had the stress of everything running through my mind. I turned from side to side, trying to find a comfortable position, but it seemed that no matter how I laid my body on the bed, I would still feel that aching in my chest, and an uncomfortable feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. Finally, as I turned away from Milos for the hundredth time, he grabbed onto me and pulled me in close to his body. He wrapped his arms tightly around me and laid his chin next to my ear.
“Shh, my love,” he whispered. “I promise that I will forever protect you, even from this idiot.”
“I know,” I said, losing control of my emotions and bursting into tears. “I’m so sorry for this entire thing. It is such a mess. You are a prince. You were groomed, taught, and brought up with an impeccable pedigree, and here I am, trashing your name. I’m the daughter of a single drunk mother, and I made a living taking my clothes off for other men. It's disgusting, and I feel sick to my stomach over it.”
I sniffled and wiped the tears pooling on the pillow beneath me. Milos shifted and turned me onto my back, looking down at my face. He moved the hair from my eyes and wiped his fingers across my wet cheeks. He leaned forward and kissed my lips softly, a tired look in his eyes.
“Did you forget that none of that matters?” he asked. “Did you forget that you are the love of my life? I see you only as this perfect creature that I am more than lucky to have as my wife. Besides, if it weren’t for you working for that scum bag, we never would have met. So, in some ways, your past is what brought you here to this moment. Try not to beat yourself up. I have screwed up so much in the past, this is barely a speed bump.”
“I guess I should be glad there are no pictures of me on the front of the paper yet,” I said, sniffling.
“Yeah, although maybe if there are, gold spandex jumpsuits will come back in style,” Milos joked.
I laughed through the tears and smacked him on the arm. He laid back down on the pillow and brought me in close again. I could feel his love wrapped around me, and suddenly, the exhaustion of everything hit me like a ton of bricks. Curled up in our warm, safe bed, I began to fall asleep, traveling through into the dream world.
I found myself floating downward through the air, as if I were as light as a feather. When my feet touched down, I looked at the sand and surf surrounding me. I was no longer in the castle, but back at the beach. I could only see a few feet in every direction. The rest was pitch black. I looked down at my body and realized I was no longer pregnant. Instead, I was holding my child in my arms.
I pulled the blanket back and stared at the baby’s perfect little face. A feeling of warmth washed through me. However, before I could say a word, cold water rushed over my ankles, and the darkness began to close in around us. From the edges of the encroaching blackness, I could hear a deep, menacing laugh. I pulled the baby close to my chest, frantically looking around.
