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“What happened?”
“I asked him to release Aurelias, and to be frank, he was a dick about it.”
“Refusing to release the prisoner who abducted you doesn’t exactly make him a dick.”
“I made my case, and he refuses to listen because he’s too stubborn.”
“You’re also stubborn.”
Harlow’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you taking his side?”
“I’m not taking anyone’s side, Harlow. I just find it hard to believe your father was a dick, especially to you.”
Harlow told me everything Aurelias had done for her, that he was trustworthy and deserved to live outside that metal cage. “I only put him in there because he hurt my pride, and that was wrong of me. But I’m petty like my father…and stubborn, apparently.”
I gave her a small smile.
“Now Father is doing the same thing. He knows I’m right, but he refuses to listen.”
“I think he refuses to grant mercy to a man who hurt his daughter.”
“He didn’t really hurt me…just disappointed me.” Her eyes traveled somewhere else, and so did her mind.
“How did he disappoint you?”
She continued to look away. “I liked him hard, and I liked him fast…”
“Do you still like him?”
“No.” Her eyes found mine again.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “Why else are you pleading for his release?”
“Because I need to be objective and put aside my personal feelings for the good of our Kingdoms. Aurelias is smart and powerful, and if he has allies who are just like him, that’s exactly what we need. And I shouldn’t take his deceit so personally anyway. If it were someone else, I wouldn’t have cared.”
“Meaning?”
Her eyes avoided mine. “Like I said…I liked him hard, and I liked him fast.”
I watched my daughter turn quiet and contemplative, watched the way the heaviness flashed across her eyes like it never had before. When she’d told me about other guys she’d been with, it was always fun and adventurous, nothing with any real feelings. She just enjoyed being young and beautiful. But now, it was different. It was the first time she’d admitted that fun and adventurous wasn’t enough for her. “I’ll speak to your father.”
Her eyes found mine again. “You will?”
“He’s very protective of you—and I think he’s taken that too far.”
“Like I’ve told Ethan and others, it’s not my fault they hoped for something more. Now I’m on the other end of that…and I need to stop being a sore loser. I need to buck up and take rejection in stride.”
“It doesn’t sound like he ever rejected you. And what is it about him that sets him apart from the others? Like Ethan.”
“Well…you’ve seen him.” She released a chuckle.
I smiled. “Not my type…but I see what you mean.”
“He hasn’t bathed and is trapped in a cell, and he’s still the most gorgeous guy I’ve ever seen.”
“If it’s only looks, it probably would have burned out pretty quickly.”
“Maybe. But I liked him for him too.”
