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The sound of a camera clicking made me pull away in a daze. “What was that?” I asked.
He pocketed his cell phone and stood up, adjusting his impossibly hard cock in his trousers as he did. “A kiss.”
I shook my head. “What did you do?”
He leaned forward, bracing his hands on the mattress while looking me in the eye. “I’m making you happy.”
And with those words, he straightened and left my bedroom.
I couldn’t help but smile as he walked out the door.
Chapter Sixteen
AUGUST
The first thing I did when I set up my father’s desk was decide I needed to redecorate the entire office. I didn’t like his opulent style or the uncomfortable gold-plated chair with the red cushion he’d spent decades ruling in. His desk was tall, heavy, and made with only the finest wood imported from Natalia, a kingdom to the east. Everything about it screamed of his own self-importance, and I didn’t want to think of all the bloody agreements and shady deals he did in this very spot.
I didn’t want to think about him at all.
Because when I thought of my father, I thought of all the terrible things he had done—and when I thought of all the terrible things he had done, I thought of Christine.
When she looked at me, did she think of him? Would my father’s ghost always be a wall between us?
I stole a desk from an abandoned guest room on the fourth floor and brought out the cushioned gamer chair I used occasionally, though I had a feeling I wouldn’t have much time or patience for video games in the coming years. Running a country took all of my attention. I popped Adderall like it was candy just to get shit done.
All the paintings had been stripped from the wall, leaving an outline of faded paint. My office was mismatched and barren but still fitting for how I felt as the new king of Aldrich. I wasn’t put together. I was a collective mess, and the only good thing I’d done so far as a leader was hire Adonis as my advisor. He had done exactly as promised, and it was much easier to wake up to a list of action items than to an entourage at my door.
But the list kept growing.
My chest felt tight from the anxiety.
“You should have the royal decorator redo this space,” my mother said as she looked around with a disapproving frown. She came back, but she wasn’t happy about it. If she wanted to run from my wrath, I’d chase her down, too.
How dare she know what happened to Christine and not tell me?
“Adonis is working on it,” I replied. I didn’t summon my mother here to talk about my office or the upcoming engagement party. In fact, I didn’t want to see her at all. I had always been a little apathetic toward my mother. Perhaps a son was supposed to love the woman who gave him life, and in some ways I could appreciate the fact that we were related and bound by blood and trauma. There weren’t many people in this world who understood what it meant to be raised in corruption, and I learned how to navigate this awful kingdom through her strength. But that strength disgusted me now. I used to think my mother put up with her husband because she had no other choice, but now I wondered if she was an accomplice to his crimes.
“I’m assuming you summoned me here for a reason?” she asked.
“Christine told me everything.” I released the truth like it was a grenade, letting the explosion of it settle between us and singe our souls.
If she was surprised by my admission, she didn’t show it. My mother was an expert at schooling her expression. It was a skill many members of the court and the royal family had. “And are you here to yell at me? Punish me?”
I considered her question for a moment, trying to decide how I wanted to handle this. Part of me wanted to punish her. But part of me was thankful for her, too. After I had taken some time to think about everything I’d learned, something became very clear to me. My mother kept Christine safe when I couldn’t. And even though I wished she would’ve involved me in that decision, I understood why she didn’t. She put my best friend—the girl I loved—on the other side of the world. She kept my father away from her, and for that, I would show her grace. The only person I could blame for not seeking Christine out and taking care of her myself, was the man currently wearing the crown. The man I had to see every day in the mirror.
I had resources and power. I had Christine in my goddamn soul and was stubborn enough to find her if I had truly wanted to, but I was too caught up in my hurt to do anything about it. At the end of the day, I didn’t seek Christine out because I was scared to find her. I was scared that we would both realize I didn’t deserve her.
But I could only escape those dark thoughts for a little while. Now, I knew with complete certainty that she would always be out of my league. I was a king but also a foolish man. And she was everything.
“I brought you here for answers.”
My mother looked around the barren office, and when she didn’t find a chair to sit in, she moved to the edge of my makeshift desk and leaned against the corner, her cruel blue eyes appraising me. “What would you like to know?”
I tried to sound confident but couldn’t stop the anxiousness I felt bleeding through my tone. “Did father ever try to find Christine? We both know he was a vengeful asshole. How did you cover it up?”
She frowned, as if surprised that was the first thing I asked. “His own arrogance helped me cover it up. He thought Christine was helpless and naive. Her obedience helped sell the story, and since his cash cow had died of what he thought were natural causes, it didn’t take much to convince him that having Christine away would help you focus. It was surprisingly easy. Christine has her own reputation to thank for that. No one would have ever expected her to be capable of the things she did that night.”
I licked my lips. “That’s not necessarily true. There’s a man—a lord—on his way here now for a meeting. Lord Geralt’s brother is claiming that he has marriage rights to Christine. I want to make sure he doesn’t have an ulterior motive or suspicions.”
