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29
Etienne
When the ferry arrives the next morning to take us to the big island, I have to hold my sleepy Kala upright.
I’m tired, and my back aches from sitting up all night on the bench, waiting. But I didn’t mind at all when Kala drifted off to sleep against my shoulder. Nor did I mind hearing her soft snoring.
The ferry is full of islanders commuting to work in the city on Pearl Island.
If any of the locals recognize us on the ferry, no one says anything. But we do get an earful of news about the entire resort being under lockdown due to a missing prince and princess. Everyone is gossiping, and Kala sleepily expresses her worries about Steffen.
“Oh, I hope that poor man doesn’t lose his job. He was so kind to me,” she whispers.
I have to control my temper when she brings up that man’s name. She’s right, for one thing. For another, I don’t understand this automatic need to mark my territory. This urge is untamed and makes me blurt things like, “If you worry about him so much, maybe you should come back and marry him after we divorce.”
And there it is. There’s the asshole that everyone back home in Gravenland loves to hate.
The tiny line in Kala’s forehead deepens when she looks at me like that. “What a thing to say,” she breathes, but puts no force behind it. I know how tired she is; there won’t be an argument. Only a silent chill until she gets her bearings. Until I apologize, and we start over again.
She moves away from me and finds another seat, fitting herself between two children dressed in school uniforms, who g at her and then go back to playing on their devices.
I shoot her an apologetic look, but her expression is dark. Kala crosses her arms over her chest, hunkering down in her light cardigan against the cool morning sea breeze.
I can’t stand this.
Look at everything we’ve been through so far. Surely, she’s not going to ignore me forever.
The thought of her silence kills me.
Going over to her, I issue my apology. “I apologize for my hasty words.”
“And?”
“And… I’m sorry?”
Kala blows out a breath. “You’re sorry until you say the next hurtful thing.”
One of the children beside her looks up from his device and chirps, “My teacher says that being sorry only counts when you change your behavior.”
Kala’s eyes widen as she glances at the child. “That’s right,” she tells him.
He beams at her, and her smile in return is so achingly gorgeous my chest aches.
“I want to do better, but I’m an asshole. You married a right prick, you know.”
The child’s mother, two seats down, clucks in offense.
“Your language, Etienne,” Kala hisses. “And no, I didn’t marry…that person. I married you. The sooner you figure out who you really are, the better.”
And what do I do with that? Fall on my knees right here on the ferry and beg her forgiveness? I should, but as the kid said, it won’t mean anything without effort to change.
I stalk away from her and lean on the railing, watching the water's wake along the vessel's side.
Who am I?
I’m the drunk, snarky heir that the king would rather ignore. I’m the lazy, good-for-nothing second son of a beloved queen. I’m the brother who lets his siblings clean up his messes again and again.
That’s exactly who I am, but Kala doesn’t believe that.
