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Chapter 9
HENRYK
Anger thrummed through me like the heavy vibration of a guitar string. I’d been hoodwinked into going to Spain with three people I didn’t even know.
Okay, so I’d been married to them for twenty years, but that was a farce. An innocent childhood moment that had turned into something with far-reaching ramifications once we all reached adulthood.
What were my parents going to say about me running off to Spain for a week? And how was I going to get out of all my royal commitments?
My stomach roiled with tension as I gave the paperwork to one of the legal team. Tobias, who had been retained by our family for years, notarized the five copies of the divorce papers and kept one for himself before handing the others back. “Thank you,” I muttered, clutching the papers.
“Do you need anything else, Your Highness?”
I shook my head and headed to my bedroom, the only place I seemed to find any peace and quiet these days. I walked into my suite and sat down on my bed, needing a moment to think.
Could I really do this? Go out into the public with three virtual strangers? The press would have a field day if they found out, and any photos taken would be broadcast around for the whole world to see. And probably judge. That would likely include my parents.
There was a knock at the door and when I called out to enter, Raymond walked in. “I was wondering where you were hiding, Henryk. What’s going on?”
Raymond was one of the few people who called me by my name rather than title when we were in private. Over the years, he had become a friend of sorts, though he was always professional and respectful when anyone else was around.
I sighed and gave my head of security a rundown on the deal I’d struck with Viktor. It was a fair deal, really. I would have done anything to be released from the strange marriage I’d become tangled up in.
Raymond listened, nodding on occasion, then he unexpectedly burst out laughing.
I glared at him. “It’s not funny.”
He put a hand to his stomach, still chortling. “Please let me be there when you tell Francis he has to reschedule your whole week. He is going to literally combust!”
I ran a hand through my hair, feeling overwhelmed. Raymond was right. This was a stupid idea.
He walked closer, his face sobering. “If you don’t want to go, Henryk, I’m sure I can work out a way to get them to leave without you.”
I looked at my friend, a man who’d worked beside me since I’d turned eighteen. “No. I’m a man of my word, though I have to admit I was tempted to pretend I hadn’t agreed to it. I’ve said I’ll travel with them for a week, so I will. But I’m just not sure exactly how to do that.”
He shrugged. “Easy. You just go. You’re the heir to the throne, Henryk. You can do whatever you want.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “That’s not how it works, and you know it, Raymond.”
He snorted. “It kinda is how it works, actually. You just don’t normally exercise that right. You will have to take me with you, of course. But I wouldn’t mind getting a little Spanish sun.”
I stood up and shrugged out of my jacket. “You’re right. I’ll just push aside my obligations...”
“For a more important obligation,” he reminded me. “After all, now that you’re free to marry Princess Posy, you can do what you want.”
I tried not to flinch at that woman’s name, but he saw it. I could tell by the knowing look in his eyes.
“Don’t say it, Raymond. Don’t even say it.”
But my head of security had never been one to listen to me when I told him to shut up. At least, not when it was just the two of us. It was something I liked about him. He was genuine, and there were few of those people in my life these days.
“You know you don’t have to marry her, Henryk.”
I unbuttoned my shirt and threw it onto a nearby couch. “I do. That’s not up for discussion. But you’re right. One week in Spain could be good. I haven’t had a vacation in years.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken time off. We didn’t take vacations, as such, in my family. My parents were of the view that holidays were an excuse to visit foreign diplomats or do charity work.
“Perhaps Erin could help you forget your responsibilities for an hour or two.” Raymond waggled his eyebrows at me suggestively.
