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I understood the sentiment, but his words still hurt. I placed my hands on his gently pushing them from my shoulders.
“You want me to go?”
“It’s… not that simple.”
He glanced away, shaking his head. “You should run, run just like your mother did. By this point, you’ve seen all the royal life has to offer, the perks and privileges, the gilded exterior. But you’ve also seen the dark side, the isolating nature of it, the way your life never seems to truly be your own. You’re your mother’s daughter. If she wasn’t happy here, then there’s a damn good chance you won’t be either. You deserve better, and that’s why you need to leave.”
“Now, you know that you’re my father’s advisor, not mine. And if I want to leave, I’m going to do it becauseImade the decision, not because you commanded me to.”
His expression remained impassive, cold even. “Before you’re presented to Edoria at the Harvest Ball and are officially named the heir at the naming ceremony, this is the best time for you to leave. We can lie, say that it turned out that we’d had the wrong woman. This can all go away just as long as you do what I say.”
I narrowed my eyes, bristling at his comment. “I’m not your employee to command, Luc. And Ihavemade a decision.”
He arched his thick eyebrows. “Is that right?”
“Yep. I am going to the Harvest Ball.” The words surprised me as they came from my mouth. As soon as they were spoken I knew that was what I wanted. “But I’m going onmyterms. I’m going to show upmyway. Screw the etiquette classes and to hell with what my father wants and expects of me. He can’t control me, and I’m going to show him that.”
Luc didn’t get sucked in by my energy, my flare of righteous anger. Instead, he shook his head, as if my outburst were nothing more than something he’d sadly expected.
“You have to know that I’m right,” he said. “You have to know that you’d be better off without all of this.” He swept his hand toward the palace.
The tone he took rubbed me the wrong way, like I was some airheaded little kid who needed to shut up and listen to her elders, as if there was no possible way that I could make my own decisions.
I narrowed my eyes. “You know, just because we’re sleeping together doesn’t mean that you can tell me what to do.”
That got his attention. His expression softened a bit, surprise forming on his features.
“That’s not what I meant at all, Ava.”
I raised my finger, pointing it toward him.
“This is my situation, and my decision to make. I’m going to handle this how I want, and you can stand aside and watch.”
He scoffed. “Now you’re all about being a princess?”
“Surprised?”
“More wondering how much a royal ascension fueled by spite will affect the kingdom.”
“You think you know everything, huh?”
“I know enough.”
His smug attitude had become too much for me.
“Screw you, Luc.”
With that, I turned on my heels and marched back into the palace. I kept my expression hard and determined all the way back to Hailey’s room. I didn’t want him to see me sweat, not even a drop.
“What happened?” Hailey regarded me with concern as I rushed into the room.
Once I was away from Luc, back behind the privacy of a bedroom door, the tears started flowing. I fell onto the bed, burying my face in the pillow as I sobbed. Hailey sat next to me saying nothing, her hand on my upper back.
All I could wonder was what Mom might think if she were to see me like this. Was I nothing more than a royal disappointment?
Chapter 36
Luc
