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His heart pounded at the sight of the dark circles beneath her eyes, knowing that he deserved to witness her hurt and far, far more. He had manipulated her and in doing so betrayed her. He had taken her choice away, just like his had been taken away, and worse—he had taken away her home. It had scarred him to his soul that he had done that to her.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, the words pouring from his soul with the most sincerity he’d ever felt. ‘I am so truly sorry.’
‘Do you know what you’re sorry for?’ she asked, glaring up at him. ‘Or are you just saying what you think I need to hear?’
‘Iknow,’ he said, reaching for her hand, but she pulled it away. ‘I...there is so much I want to say, things I’d like to...’ He winced. This was coming out all wrong. As if surprised by his ineloquence, she took a step back from him. ‘I went to see Kristine.’ The words burst from him, stopping her in her tracks. He could see the questions in her eyes—the concern for him so pure and powerful and clear in her gaze it gave him hope. It made himstronger, which he should have realised a long time ago.
‘How is she?’ Henna asked hesitantly.
‘Happy,’ he said, finally at peace with the past. ‘She loves her quiet life, her husband is kind, her children healthy and delightful. Speaking to her was something I should have done a long time ago. Freya and Marit said the same.’
‘You told your sisters about what happened?’ Shock filled Henna’s question.
‘Yes. You were,unsurprisingly, right,’ he acknowledged. ‘I hadn’t realised how much I had cut myself off from them until you opened my eyes to it.’ He dared to take a step towards her and this time she didn’t move away. This time, he opened his heart and bared it to her with his words. ‘Henna, for years I thought my grief, my guilt, was a cage. But in truth it was a maze. I just couldn’t find the way out, until you.’ Henna’s eyes grew round with surprise and he pressed on. ‘You guided me, like Ariadne—leaving me a string, a thread, for me to follow that led me not just out of the maze, but to you. My strength. Myheart.’
Her eyes flitted across his face, as if searching for the truth, and he felt every movement like a touch, like a caress.
‘But...but what about Tuva?’
Aleksander shook his head. ‘There is no Tuva. There is no one else. And Henna—’ he reached for her chin, gently holding her gaze to his, for this was the important bit ‘—there never will be. If you choose to leave I will understand, but know that there willneverbe anyone else. No other woman will wear my ring, or my crown.’
‘But—’
‘I love you. You are theonlyperson I want by my side,’ he said, taking the sudden flare in her eyes as a sign for him to continue. ‘For so long I was fighting my feelings for you, I was so busy counting the ways that wanting you, needing you, could hurt me, that I didn’t realise the many,manyways that you made me better. I was so sure that my love for you made me vulnerable and weak, opening me to manipulation and giving me over to you for you to destroy, I didn’t stop to think, to realise, that you wouldneverdo that to me. The entire time, you gave me the truth when I needed it, and you asked me to share my hurt when I would have buried it. You gave me so much and I...’ he struggled, forcing himself to confront his greatest sin, guilt burning and branding him ‘...I betrayed you. I took away your home, yoursafety, and I will never forgive myself, nor will I dare ask for your forgiveness. But I owe you the greatest apology and I vow to you that, no matter what, you will always have a home here, in Svardia, in Rilderdal Palace, you willalwaysbe part of our family,’ he promised, hoping that she could read the truth in his words.
Shivers broke out over Henna’s skin, Aleksander’s words touching her far more deeply than she could ever have imagined. Her heart was soaring, but her mind still urged caution. What Aleksander was offering was more than she had ever imagined but...
‘You hurt me.’
‘I know. And I am so, so truly sorry for it. You deserve the world, and if you are not by my side please know that I, Freya and Marit will all help you in whatever way you want or need. And if you still want to leave for London then I completely understand.’
‘London?’ Henna asked, momentarily confused. ‘I’m not going to London,’ she said.
‘You’re not taking the job?’
She shook her head. ‘I turned it down.’
‘Because of me? Henna—’
‘No—’ she couldn’t help but laugh ‘—not because of you,’ she said, her heart easing into the realisation that he loved her. It was an excited, fizzing,fillingkind of feeling that she wasn’t quite used to yet. Aleksander searched her gaze and she realised he was waiting for an explanation. And suddenly she knew that it was Aleksander she had been waiting to tell. Yes, she would love to tell Freya, but this moment was what she had wanted since making her decision about her future. Pride unfurled in her soul, knowing that she was about to share her plan with someone she respected, someone she wanted to impress but didn’t need to. She was excited about the future now and where it would take her. It feltright.Just like being in Aleksander’s arms.
‘I realised that I could do more—bemore. And...you helped me see that,’ she said truthfully. She would have enjoyed the job in London and she most definitely would have excelled in it. But after visiting Viveca, realising that so much of what she thought she wanted had been shaped by habit and denial, she had forced herself to think about what she really wanted to do with her life. ‘As you discovered in Macau, I am sitting on a considerably large amount of money. Money I had ignored because it felt wrong, a tainted compensation for the loss of my father.’ He reached for her then and pulled her into a hug. She let him hold her as the wash of memories flowed over her, more easily with him by her side.
‘But I know now that I can use that money to do some good. That Iwantto do it and be recognised for that myself, not hide in the shadows behind someone else. So I am flying to Paris with meet with Célia d’Argent.’
‘Chariton Enterprises?’ Aleksander asked, surprised, aware of the excellent reputation of the company that matched wealthy clients with deserving causes.
‘Yes. They have a selection of charities for me to consider so that I can help people directly.’
‘Any one of them would be lucky to have you,’ he said, his fingers smoothing her hair, a silence descending between them. She felt his breath lock in his lungs, an unspoken question pressing against his lips. Hope and desperation warred in his gaze and she knew what he wanted to ask, was asking—she felt his need as if he were part of her.
She cupped his jaw, connecting her heart to his, her soul to his. ‘I love you. You found me when I was lost and you gave me so much. And it helped, it slowly eased my grief, and it was magical and wonderful—the handsome prince who gave me what I needed before I even knew it myself.’ His heart pounded beneath the palm of her hand, fierce and strong and all hers.
‘Henna Olin,’ he asked, eyes bright and full of hope, ‘will you do me the greatest honour and allow me to be your husband, your partner, your lover and your home?’
Tears filled her eyes and spilled, and she felt no shame in them because they were true and honest and full of love.
‘Yes, Your Majesty. I will.’
