Page 36 of Pregnant In The King's Palace

‘Needs must.’ He surveyed the groaning table of untouched food. ‘You haven’t eaten.’

She laughed, tightly incredulous. ‘Help yourself.’

He did just that, but not before handing her a sheet of thick, creamy coloured paper with a crest embossed on the top. ‘Sign this.’

‘What is it?’ She couldn’t read the language but a signature had already been scrawled on one side of the paper.

‘Our wedding contract.’

He took his time spreading soft cheese on crusty bread, and topped it with a slice of fresh fig. ‘Our what?’

‘Dated today. There’s no other way.’

‘There’s not marrying you. That’s definitely an option.’

‘You are sadly mistaken.’

‘You can’t just take what you want!’ she snapped. ‘There are rules. Laws.’

‘And they will favour me.’ He shrugged. ‘If—as you say—the child is mine, you’re carrying a future heir to the Thallasian throne, provided the baby is born within wedlock.’ He smiled crookedly, wholly without mirth. ‘Sign the papers. You’re not leaving until you do.’

‘Valentine, please. We do have other options.’

‘What? Squirrel you away somewhere until you have the child? Pretend it doesn’t exist? Adoption? Abortion? Letting a child of royal blood be born outside wedlock? I will tolerate none of those options. You will give me an heir. I will give you a crown and a lifetime of service. You lose—don’t think I don’t know that. Welcome to royal life.’

‘Walk away,’ she challenged him doggedly. She’d seen his utter disbelief and horror at the news they’d conceived a child together. He hadn’t believed her. Hadn’t wanted to believe her, and now all of a sudden he wanted to marry her?

‘No.’

‘You don’t want this. I saw you lose your mind at the thought.’

‘I found it again.’

‘You can’t possibly want to marry me. Your people will never accept me.’

‘We’ll see.’ He ate the tiny snack he’d created, his manners neat, his hands already busy creating the next.

‘Valentine, think.’ She marshalled her arguments. ‘You can have a proper wife, one who could help you rule—like Moriana does Theo, or Sera with the King of Arun. I’m not trained to do this. I know about horses. I won’t do you any good.’

He ate again, poured a glass of water and then another and kept her waiting. ‘Drink?’ he asked finally.

‘I don’t want to be your brood mare.’

He picked up a plump date. Ate it.

‘I am wholly unsuited to be the mother of future rulers!’

‘You wouldn’t be the first.’ He looked at her, his lips twisted in a bitter little smile. ‘C’mon, Angelique. I’m not a magician. I can’t make your pregnancy unhappen, even if I wanted to—which given my circumstances I sure as hell don’t. This is a gift for me. A second chance at a role I thought lost to me for ever. Did you seriously think I wouldn’t take it?’

‘If it turns out that you test fertile again—which you must be—you can marry well and have children you actually want. Why stick with me?’ She voiced her deepest fear and watched as he went pale and his eyes glittered, first with shock and then thinly hidden fury.

‘Is that truly what you think of me?’

‘No!’ Yes. ‘Maybe.’ Honesty was important. ‘I think getting me pregnant with your child is not an outcome you would have wanted for your country.’

He turned away, jammed his hands into the pockets of his trousers and began to pace. ‘Maybe you’re right. But Valentine the man is ecstatic. You at my side and a family we’ve created—it’s been my go-to fantasy for more years than I care to confess, so don’t you dare think I don’t want this. Us. A baby. I just never thought I could have it. Never dared reach for it might be a better description, but you’re here for the taking, you and a chance at fatherhood. We’ve been happy these past few months, haven’t we? I know I have. Marry me and we can continue with that. What’s stopping us?’

She had to laugh at his arrogance. ‘Your crown?’

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