Page 30 of The Prince's Secret Daughter
But she shouldn’t have had sex with him last night. She’d wanted him so intensely and, at the time, she’d wanted this, wanted to be with him. However, in the bright light of the morning, Helen knew that sex had only muddled her thoughts. Before, she’d been prepared to let him walk away, to co-parent Angela with him.
Now, she would sob her heart out every time Angela got to see Raj. She would cry the entire time she was with him. And when her daughter returned, her heart would ache more with every revelation of what Angela got to do with him. Angela would feel the warmth of Raj’s smile and get to talk with him, to be by his side and experience life with him. While Helen would wave goodbye to her sweet daughter every time she boarded a plane to go see her father.
The pain was going to destroy her!
Slipping out of bed, she tiptoed around the room, gathering up her clothes. She went into the bathroom to dressinstead of just grabbing a robe and heading down the hallway since she knew that the guards would be in the hallways and great room.
Helen bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from sobbing until she was in the privacy of her own room. When she was safely under the warm spray of the shower, Helen finally allowed herself to sob. Life had been so simple just a few days ago. But now, she had a daughter that she wouldn’t see for perhaps half of the year, she’d reconnected with a lover that…Helen knew that she loved with him all of her heart, she was unemployed, and probably unemployableif Paul and Nathan Grishom were her only references and….she knew there was more, but at the moment, Helen was too overwhelmed to keep thinking about it.
After crying her heart out, Helen washed up, then dried off and padded barefoot out to the beautiful room. However, she didn’t see the soft blue silks and velvet décor. She didn’t see the gorgeous sun rising off in the distance. All she could see was the vast nebulous question of her future.
She grabbed a pair of jeans and a sweater, snipping off the tags and wondering when she could return to her condo to get some of her own clothes. These were fine…better than fine, actually. These were designer clothes that she could never have afforded. Good grief, even if she could afford these designers, she wouldn’t buy clothes this expensive. There were so many better ways to spend one’s money, she thought with increasing resentment.
She’d just pulled a soft, cashmere sweater over her head when Angela raced into the room, her stuffed elephant tucked absently under her arm. She was dressed in a pretty blue sweaterand a new pair of jeans. On her feet were a pair of pink cowboy boots that had sparkles on the sides. Where in the world had those boots come from?
“Momma!” Angela called out, excitedly twisting her tiny body to show off her new boots. “Aren’t these beautiful?”
Helen had to stifle a giggle because her daughter was serious. She clearly adored the rather tacky boots. “Where did you get them?”
She bounced, her stuffed elephant barely secure under her arm. “The new babysitter brought them! I love them, Momma!”
A moment later, Angela turned and started racing out of the room again. “I’m going to show them to my daddy!” And then she was gone.
Helen considered stopping her before she raced into Raj’s room. Was he still naked?
Helen watched her daughter race off with grim amusement. Raj had lived a carefree life for the past five years. It was time for him to truly understand what life with a kid was like!
Welcome to parenting, she thought maliciously. If he wanted to parent, then he was going to have to learn to always be one step ahead of their exuberant daughter. And if Raj had to learn the hard way, then so be it. Helen had learned these lessons the hard way too. She hadn’t had warning of Angela’s energy levels and had figured things out as she went along.
Yeah, Helen knew she was being petty. She turned and headed into the bathroom to put on makeup and figure out what to do with her hair. At the moment, she didn’t feel particularly pretty. And when she looked in the mirror, she was shocked at how swollen her lips, and her eyes, were.
Apparently, her pity party in the shower had noticeable repercussions. With angry strokes, Helen dabbed on makeup, hiding the evidence of her moment of weakness. All the while, she thought about what she was going to do with her life. She needed a new job. Maybe in a different city. Perhaps she should…? Maybe there was…?
Helen had no answers at the moment. She had more tears, she thought with an angry swipe to get rid of the tear that slipped down her cheek.
“You’re just being emotional!” she hissed at her reflection, then tossed the mascara onto the countertop. She’d done her best and most of the evidence of her crying fit was hidden.
Leaving the bedroom, she squared her shoulders and pasted a fake, bright smile on her face. For the first time in…years…Helen wasn’t sure what she was going to do today. She had no direction. No goal. No plan! She needed a plan! She needed to figure out where she was going and the ultimate end game!
“Momma!” Angela bounced, those gaudy pink boots flashing with every step. “Daddy says we can have pancakes for breakfast!”
Helen kept the smile pasted onto her features. She never allowed Angela to have pancakes for breakfast. They were emptycarbohydrates and sugary syrup. Angela tended to crash pretty hard when she didn’t have enough protein in the morning.
She turned and found Raj sitting at the dining room table with a tablet in his hand. Was he reading the news? Helen could easily picture him with a newspaper instead, looking like an arrogant lord of the manor. With his dark, good looks and easy smile, she knew that the village ladies would giggle whenever he visited the local tavern. Her irritation cranked up a notch.
Chapter 29
Raj was already irritated after waking up with Helen gone from his bed. But when he looked up and found her standing near the table, looking cool and in control, he wanted to snap at her. He wanted to say something, anything, to break through that cool demeanor and find the passionate woman that he’d made love with last night.
“Are you okay?” he asked, but his tone was harder than he’d intended.
“I’m fine,” she replied and turned to Angela, barely glancing at him. “Where is Emily this morning?” she asked. “I need to speak with your daddy for a moment.”
Angela grinned and spun around so that her boots would light up again. “She’s sick. Today, I get to play with Mindy.” She spun around again. “She brought lots of games! We’re going to have fun!”
Raj glanced at Nazir, both of them tensing in alarm. Immediately, Nazir started whispering into the hidden microphone on his wrist. The man disappeared into the next room, where the security team had set up their temporary headquarters.
Helen didn’t notice the sudden tension, noting that her eyes seemed to be darting around the room, pointedly not looking at him.
