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I toy with the idea of my not going. The King wants to see her, after all, and not me. But I know Aunt Lily can’t do this on her own. She needs me.
I try to tell myself that I can just ignore Alex from now until the end of the trip. I'll focus on supporting Lily and enjoying a new place. I try to imagine myself sightseeing, but there's a knot of anxiety growing in my stomach. I have a feeling this won't be as easy as that.
I try not to think about it while I pull on my jeans and a T-shirt. By the time I reach the bottom of the stairs, there's already a knock at the door. I have a feeling I know who it is before I see his face.
I try out my new tack of ignoring Alex as I let him into the front room. I pretend he's just another visitor. He hands me a box of donuts, which I'm tempted to drop into the kitchen trash on principle. But I wouldn't do that if anyone else came to the house, so, it violates my new modus operandi to treat him like a stranger.
This is already getting confusing. I just decide to put the box on the table.
When I walk into the front room, Alex is in the middle of explaining something to Lily.
"So, you see, the problem is that if I get off the plane with anyone, that person is immediately under scrutiny. You deserve the chance to just spend time with the King…”
He perks up when he sees me.
“Oh, good morning, Bella,” Alex says brightly.
“Um. Hi. What are you two conspiring about? Did I miss something?”
Alex stands up perfectly straight at my entrance. This show of deference alarms me far more than if he gave me the finger.
“Bella, we have something to ask of you…” Aunt Lily says. Is she carrying his water for him now?
“We?”
“Yes,” Alex says, looking at Lily. “When Lily was last in Solvaria, it was a scandal. If it’s just her, it will be harder to hide her presence.”
“Okay… And where do I come in?”
“But if I’m the guardian of the prince’s fiancée, Isabella…”
My face drops. “No. I thought we were done with this.”
"We just have to tell the people in Solvaria the same story we told your friends," Alex insists. "We convinced them. We can convince anyone."
I shake my head. So much for ignoring him. He went and made it impossible.
"Isabella." He steps towards me with plaintive eyes. "I will give you anything if you just see this through. Lily Adams, the ex-lover of the King, cannot be seen in Solvaria. But Lily Sanchez, the mother of the bride-to-be, would be welcomed."
"No," I blurt out. "This is insane. And it's unfair to Lily. You're already guilt-tripping her into seeing an ex-boyfriend who destroyed her. Now you're worried she'll embarrass you?"
I want to tell Alex about all the things I know, all the ways that his family has already hurt her. They took her love, and they took her child. Now they won't even let her have her own name?
I turn to Aunt Lily, feeling myself getting choked up. "I know I said I'd support you, Aunt Lily. But is this really what you want?"
Lily walks past Alex and puts her arm around me. She looks at her son and takes my hand.
"Alex, let me talk to Bella for a moment."
She pulls me into a room down the hall.
Once the door is shut behind us, she hugs me tightly.
"I know you're trying to stand up for me. And I appreciate that so much."
"But?" I ask her.
"He’s my son, Bella," she says, her eyes welling up. "I know we've only barely met him, but I can feel it when I look at him. That is my son, and he needs me. And I’d like to see King Francis before he dies."
