Page 46 of His Hidden Royal Heirs

Her heart began to beat double time in her chest. She knew he could lie if he wanted to, but he spoke with a fervency she did not know how to take as anything but truth. The kind of promise she’d never been given before.

“I can make certain we marry, Zia. I can make certain I protect you no matter what. But if you could see my side of things, it will be easier. For everyone. If you can agree, without a fight, without an escape attempt, we can make a world that is better for our children than what we ended up with.”

She should be offended that he thought she couldn’t say no, that she couldn’t escape, no matter what, but he was talking to something bigger now. Protection.

Of the babies. Of Beau. Ofher.

These were words and promises she’d wanted. These were words that made everything she needed to do okay. Her babies and Beau free of her father. It should be enough, but...

“Because you hate what royalty did to your mother? Because you could not protect her, and she could not protect you?”

His dark eyes studied her, like he was taking in every line and curve of her face. So much so she thought maybe there would be...some other answer. Maybe she even held her breath hoping for somemore.

“Yes.”

It was less than she wanted from Cristhian, and still more than she’d dared hope for when it came to a future marriage. It was what she’d tried to live her life for. To protect Beau, andthen these babies once she’d learned of them. So how could she say no? He was offering her a way out of the walls that had held her and the people she loved captive.

Maybe there would be new walls involved, but in protecting everything she held dear, did it matter? He was offering more than she’d had under her father’s thumb, and maybe in that there would be some space for her own say.

“All right.” She tried to manage a smile, but couldn’t quite get there. “I’ll marry you.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CRISTHIANHADALREADYmade certain all the wedding plans were in place. He had foreseen no circumstance where the wedding wouldnothappen. But now that Zia had agreed, he expected to feel an even stronger sense of certainty. He would not have to thwart any escapes or overcome any overzealous nos.

Everything should be fine and settled with her agreement and everyone in the household on the same page.

If anything, as he got word the minister would be arriving shortly, he felt the opposite. As though her saying she would marry him without incident harvested an entire field of doubts inside him.

Which was ridiculous. Marriage was the right course of action. And he would protect her, their children, her sister. Anyone else. From all that the monarchy so carelessly hurt.

That was the legacy his father had left him.

And look how that turned out.

He shook his head. They weren’t running away. If anything, they were standing up to the pressures. Just as he had done as a young man, extricating himself from a family who had never cared about anything other than their own reputations.

He was taking that need to run away from her.Forher. In all the ways he’d been too young to do it for his parents.

He had been a success ever since he’d stepped away from his mother’s family. So how could getting Zia away from hers not be a success?

And the king had agreed. Even now, their lawyers were hashing out the details. All necessary agreements would be completed and signed before the small ceremony tonight.

But what had caused the king’s change of heart? Something to do with Beaugonia. It had to be. The timing made no sense otherwise. Which was really none of his business.

So he tried to convince himself. Still, the worry, the confusion, the frustration lingered.

If whatever had gone on between the king and Beaugonia hurt Zia...

Eventually, Cristhian could not stand it any longer. He had one of his staff members hunt down Beau and bring her to him. Without Zia.

It took longer than he would have liked. First his lawyers swept in with their concerns and paperwork. Things the king had tried to sneak by them, things they had tried to sneak by the king. But in the end, Cristhian had what he wanted.

A legal guarantee Zia would not be required to fulfill any royal duties she did not wish, that their children would make their own decisions on if they would like titles or not. A small and, to Cristhian’s mind, unnecessary inheritance, but he wouldn’t fault the king for that.

All would go into place once he and Zia were married, and then all would be just as Cristhian wanted it. Everyone protected as he saw fit. By the law and his own hand.

And still no sense of calm came over him.

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