Page 26 of His Hidden Royal Heirs

She considered this, as if it required consideration. He did not like to see that kind of behavior continued or rewarded, and itwashis business, he told himself. Because how Zia’s parents dealt with her would inform how they dealt withhischildren, and he would not allow fear.

“I have never been afraid of him, no, because the things he cared about were not the things I cared about. But...with this pregnancy, I do have concerns about the reach of his power and what it could accomplish if I do not have full autonomy from it. He will consider these children his, in a way. Heirs.”

Heirs. How Cristhian had come to hate that term in his life.

“Either way,” Zia continued, “his family has never come above his country,” Zia said firmly, as if fear did not matter. “I suppose that is the way of a king, and I shouldn’t blame him for it.” She shook her head as if to shake the words away. “Why are we discussing all this?”

“To get to know each other.”

She studied him. “Because all of a sudden you think we could fall in love and somehow make a marriage work in a way that would support a family?”

“I realized it would be shortsighted not to be open to the idea, Zia.”

He knew he’d gotten her there because she had no quick quip of a response. She just watched him with a thoughtful look on her face. Which was a good place to end things for this morning.

He rose from his chair, crossed to her. “I have a few phone meetings I must attend to. I would like it if we could have tea together this afternoon.”

“Oh. Well, I don’t have anything better to do, I guess.”

“Such a ringing endorsement, Princesa.”

Her mouth twitched at the corner. “You’re going to have to help me out of this chair, or I’m going to be stuck here until teatime.”

He offered a hand and helped her up and out of the large chair. He did not release her, convinced this was the way toward getting what he wanted.

That was theonlyreason he lifted her hand to his mouth. The only possible impetus for brushing his mouth across her knuckles and watching the faint flush creep up her cheeks.

If he remembered all too well the way he’d made that flush take over her whole body months ago, there was nothing wrong with that. This was all part of his grand pursuit for her love.

That was all.

Zia had gone back to the conservatory for the next few hours. She had not been able to stop herself from dwelling on that strange morning. From his honest answers to hers. From the way her body still reacted to every last thing about him.

Was love really such a crazy idea? When her heart hammered about in her chest just from the way his gaze held hers, his lips barely touching herhand.

Love. She didn’t really have a clue what love was. She loved her sister, her children-to-be. But that felt elemental.Just immediately and easily part of her. Not something that happened, but something that was.

Nothing about Cristhian felt that simple, that certain. It felt all jumbled and confusing—had before she’d even realized she was pregnant. Because no one had ever made her feel like that, and even when she’d walked away from him that morning all those months ago, she had believed nothing and no one would ever make her feel that way again.

It had been a sort of poetic, really. Thatonenight.

Now a million nights stretched out before them with consequences complicating things, and that confused everything.

Even the stories he told of his parents and grandparents loving each other made it sound like love was some immediate thing. She had felt attraction for Cristhian, lust, certainly, and everything she learned about him was interesting.

Were those ingredients to love?

And if they were, was that even something she wanted to consider? It seemed a dangerous element to add between them when they had to put their children first and foremost. Not each other. How could she take care of her children if she was worried about taking care of him?

She ruminated over that for the next few hours. She’d been brought lunch up in the conservatory. She’d enjoyed the plants, read a little, dozed. She’d even risked a text to Beau. Still just to assure her sister things were fine, not to ask for help...yet.

They were stuck in this castle for a few days. Perhaps she should simply...hear Cristhian out. Get to know him. She didn’t know how to believe in something like love as some magical answer to this complicated problem, but maybe understanding could lead to...

She blew out a breath, frustrated with her mind turning in the same circles. Because it always came back to the fact thateverything she understood about relationships was that one person inevitably came out the victor.

Even with Beau, whom she loved with her whole heart, everything ended up a contest with a winner and a loser. And she always tried to protect Beau from being the loser. A protection born out of necessity—the heir, the...very much not heir.

And now you’ve left Beau with all that baggage. So who’s the victor?

---