AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It was clear his people adored him and what she saw on TV and on the web, at official functions and royal walkabouts, and other events where he met his subjects, was a warm, generous man who greeted his citizens with genuine pleasure.
He took an active role in his parliament too, making sure the direction of his country was about putting his people first. For example, he’d done an immense amount of work tackling the poverty that had become entrenched during his father’s rule, though plenty of the ruling classes had been unhappy about it and had made no secret of the fact.
Galen had argued with them and then, when they’d blocked his policies, he’d overruled them entirely, which was something the King of Kalithera could legally do.
She admired that. She liked that he wasn’t afraid to fight for people who had no one to fight for themselves. People like her, which meant she knew how much that mattered.
But it did make her wonder why, if his people were that important to him, he’d decided to essentially lie to them.
He’s altogether too fascinating.
Solace frowned at the papers in front of her, trying not to pay attention to the complicated tangle of her emotions whenever she thought of him. The intense physical desire and the constant knot of tension she’d always carried around with her relaxing whenever he was near. The curiosity she had about him...
Perhaps agreeing to marry him had been a mistake.
Too late now. Especially now you’ve told him everything.
She swallowed, remembering that night at the palace a week ago, where she’d lain under the reassuring weight of his body, warm and sated and relaxed in the aftermath of their passion. He’d told her that she could trust him and had given her a vow, the strength of an iron conviction in his blue eyes. She’d believed him. More, she’dwantedto trust him, and so she’d told him things she’d never thought she’d reveal to another person, about Leo and giving him up, and how, her own mother uppermost in her thoughts, she was afraid that doing so made her a terrible person.
But there had been no censure in his eyes. No blame. He’d been so very matter of fact about how she’d been unwell and vulnerable, and the blame was his. It had been his responsibility and he’d failed her. Then he’d given her a list of all the reasons why she’d make not only an excellent mother, but an excellent queen.
It wasn’t what she was used to. Validation had never featured strongly in her life; she’d had to do it for herself.
Solace shifted a paper, staring sightlessly at the pile, memories of what had happened afterwards replaying in her head.
Of how he’d made her feel as good as she’d asked him to on that couch, and later, he’d gathered her in his lap at the table and fed her titbits while asking her every single detail of her life. And as if a dam had cracked and broken, out it had all come, the foster system and her chaotic childhood bounced from one family to the next. Her failed schooling and the menial jobs which were all she could get, and her dreams of going to university and being a lawyer and helping kids like she’d once been.
The only thing she’d kept back was about Katherine and the princess bed because it had felt like too stupid a thing to mention.
Through it all, Galen had listened attentively and asked questions, making his genuine interest clear, before telling her she could continue her education right here in Kalithera. He’d also pointed out that while she couldn’t be a lawyer as Queen, that didn’t mean she couldn’t get a law degree and that her position would enable her to do more for kids like her than being a lawyer could.
She hadn’t thought of that, and it pleased her more than she’d expected.
All in all, it had been a magical evening. For a night she’d felt safe, the low level of stress and anxiety that were always at a constant hum in the background quietening completely. That night she’d slept in his arms, in his bed, and even though they’d barely slept, she’d still felt rested the next day. The following morning, he’d taken her back to the little house by the sea, where Leo was.
She was to stay there until she was officially announced as his fiancée. He visited when he could, spending time with her and Leo, though he did not touch her again, which confused her. He’d said he wanted to wait until after they were married and that they needed to be discreet. His uncle, apparently, was a stickler for protocol and had taken an interest in Galen’s more frequent visits to the house. Galen didn’t want him going to the press before their engagement could be made public.
Galen was all about discretion, about how no gossip or scandal could be attached to the throne, though he hadn’t been clear why this was important. Perhaps it was supposed to be obvious. Perhaps the reasons for the whole lying about her origins thing was supposed to be obvious too.
She didn’t like it. Just as she didn’t like the way Galen seemed to avoid questions about himself. She’d asked him a few times about his life and his background, what it was like growing up a prince. But he always seemed to evade answering. He’d distract her by talking about Leo, or about some aspect of protocol, or their future as the Kalitheran royal family. And his evasions always worked, because having a family of her own was a dream she’d never let herself have, and the thought of having a family with him seemed more and more attractive.
What about love?
The thought made Solace frown. Love had never been part of her childhood growing up and she’d never seen any evidence of it in the families she’d been placed with. Those families had all been dysfunctional in some way, love seeming to be given and withheld randomly from her perspective.
Having Leo had changed her thoughts on that, though, since she loved Leo regardless of what he did. She’d love him fiercely and without reservation until the day she died, but that was because he was her child. She couldn’t imagine loving anyone else like that.
But don’t you want to be loved like that?
Solace flicked the cover of the folder over the stack of paper, her heart beating fast. No, absolutely not. How could she? To be loved you had to be someone that someone else wanted, and, even if you were, being yourself wasn’t enough for them to keep wanting you. People changed their minds, they just did.
Love wasn’t something she could trust, full stop. Besides, she’d grown up fine without it and, also, she had Leo. He was all she needed.
‘Solace?’ The voice was deep and very familiar.
She looked up and saw Galen standing in the doorway. He was beautiful today, as he was every day she saw him, dressed in a perfectly tailored dark charcoal suit and crisp white cotton business shirt, and her heart gave a funny little leap in her chest.
She smiled, getting quickly to her feet and taking a few steps towards him before she realised what she was doing and stopped. ‘Galen,’ she said breathlessly, conscious of how much lighter the room seemed now he was here and how much her hands itched to touch him. ‘I wasn’t expecting you today.’ There was an odd ache behind her breastbone, a yearning almost. She didn’t understand it.
