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“So, you gave up ever seeing her again just to help her?”
“Of course. What else would someone who cared about her do?”
She took my hand and squeezed it, the warm smile still on her face. “And what about my father? How did he take it?”
“Believe it or not, he seemed to accept it. He wasn’t happy, make no mistake. But it was as if a part of him realized that he didn’t deserve your mother. And ironically enough, her leaving was the thing that finally whipped his ass into shape. He cut out the womanizing and focused on the kingdom. When people asked where the queen went, he simply said that she abdicated, and that it was a private matter.”
She shook her head.
“I just can’t believe you did all of that for her.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I didn’t just do it for her; I did it for both of you.”
Chapter 27
Ava
My head was spinning from all the information. I couldn’t believe it—couldn’t believe that Luc had not only been so close to Mom but loved her.
Something else occurred to me as I sat there processing it all and anger rushed through me.
“Are you alright?” Luc asked. “You seem upset.”
I shook my head. “I’m not upset with you. I’m mad as hell at that prick of a father I’ve been saddled with.”
Luc nodded his head slowly in understanding. “I can imagine how you must feel. But if it’s any consolation, he’s been a fine king since your mother left—a great one, really. He’s overseen the growth of Edoria’s financial sector and used the money brought into the country to raise the standard of living for everyone.”
It was good to hear that my father had at least grown up and done some good, but it still angered me to know what he’d done to my mother.
“This is going to take some time to process, I know,” Luc said, his voice heavy with sympathy and understanding. “It’s the part of your family’s story that you had no idea about.”
“Ever since you came to find me, I’ve wondered what caused Mom to leave. Now, I know that it was my father’s infidelity that drove her off.” I lifted my eyes to Luc’s. “But… you were there for her. You’d always been there for her, even when it meant you’d never see her again.”
His expression turned grave, and I could sense that my words had affected him deeply.
“I thought about your mother often, wondering what kind of life Analise was living, what sort of person her daughter might become. And yes, part of me still held out hope that we might see each other again.”
He sighed, closing his hand into a fist and then opening it slowly.
“Your father had respected her wishes, leaving you and your mother be. As far as I could tell, he accepted that you were both gone, figuring it was his punishment for the way he’d treated her. He made one exception though—he checked in on both of you once a year, making sure that you were both in good health. It was one of the high points of his year. I’d bring him a small file with a single sheet of paper, an updated photo of each of you attached.”
He took a deep, slow breath.
“Wait, so he’s always known where we were?”
Luc nodded. “For the most part, yes.”
“But he never tried to reach out until now?”
Luc nodded. “I know he seems cruel and I’ve not always understood his decisions, but your father is a good man, Ava. When he found out Analise had passed, he stayed in his study for nearly a week, delegating me to handle the matters of the kingdom. When the week was over, he emerged as if nothing had happened. But I could tell by the look in his eyes that there was now a wound on his heart that might never heal.”
“Why didn’t he remarry?”
Luc laughed, as if the idea was totally ridiculous.
“There was no woman other than your mother that he thought suitable to be his queen. When she was gone, that was it for your father. He devoted himself entirely to Edoria.”
“Until it came time to send you for me.”
