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Finally, I call Christian. I figure Father has enough on his plate today.
“Hello?” Christian answers wearily.
“Hey, sorry to add to the firestorm. But I need to go back to the States, like, now. Have you seen the tabloids?”
“Yeah,” he answers grimly. “It’s not looking good. I’m not sure where the miscommunication happened, but I’ll call Bill and have him track it down.”
I relax a little. Bill has the best libel connections in Solvaria.
“Going back to New York so soon?” Christian asks.
“Yeah, Vivienne isn’t answering my calls.”
“Well, I don’t envy you with that. But I wish you luck.”
“Thanks. And thanks for taking care of the rags.”
“I’m sorry about Vivienne. I know you care for her,” Christian assures me.
“A lot. Thanks, Christian. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Calling the pilot from the car, I inform him that we’re taking off ahead of schedule so that he can change his flight plan at the airport. When I arrive, the plane is ready to go.
It’s only when I land in Sandyville that I realize I left all of my things back at the palace. It strikes me as more of an annoyance than anything else. Just another problem to deal with.
When I reach the house, everything is quiet. None of Vivienne’s brothers and sisters are out and about. The garden is deserted, and all the curtains are drawn. I half-expected some paparazzi or something, but they must not have gotten wind of the scandal here yet.
I run through the yard and ring the doorbell. It swings open a few seconds later, revealing a very upset Adela blocking my entrance.
“She doesn’t want to see you.” She moves to close the door, and I angle my body to hold it open.
“Vivienne!” I call past her, hoping my wife can hear me. “Vivienne, I need to talk to you!”
“She’s not here.” Adela surprises me with that. “How could you treat my daughter this way?”
One look at her face alerts me to tread carefully.
“Mrs. Carter, I’m in love with your daughter.”
I realize this may be the first time I’ve said this out loud, but I love the way it sounds when it comes out.
“I love her with all my heart. I’m going to tell you the truth. Someone set up those photos. The royal family has enemies. I don’t know who or why. But I would never do that to Vivienne. I promise. I’ve never felt like this in my life, and I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize what we have. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.”
She shakes her head. “Why should I believe you? If you had just taken her there, nothing like that would have happened. What happens the next time the tabloids accuse you of infidelity? Didn’t you think of anything before you came up with this scheme?”
Scheme?It’s then that I notice the sheaf of papers in her hand. She waves it by her face. “Yes, we’ve been going over Vivienne’s copy of the contract. This is quite an interesting document.”
My face flushes. Vivienne must have been quite upset to tell her parents the truth, let alone hand over the document like they were her lawyers. “With all due respect, ma’am,” I say, trying to unclench my teeth, “Vivienne is a grown woman and a brilliant, thoughtful one at that. It’s my opinion that she can make her own choices.”
“Yes, she can. Her siblings took her into town to clear her mind. Delano and I offered to go over the contract while she’s out, to see what it will take to sever the union. To get to the business of moving on.”
Moving on.So that’s what she wants – to move on. I’ve come too far to give up now.
“I’m going to have to hear that from her. I don’t believe it.” I swallow hard and blink. We just got married. I don’t want to think about divorce. Especially not with her. She’s the love of my life. I can’t lose her.
“She pointed us to a clause that speaks directly to your situation. It says that in the case of infidelity, the marriage will be dissolved.”
