Page 23 of Royal Reluctance

Another sigh like she’s the wronged party. Technically, she is… but so am I. “Did we even have a marriage?” she asks in a small voice. “I know it was real…”

“Justice of the peace. And it was… consummated.”

I cannot think about how it was consummated. About how it felt to hold Hettie that last night, never dreaming it would be the last time. We planned our life together—

We made a baby that night. We conceived a child. I swallow the lump in my throat. “That’s not what I’m asking. Are you really in love with this—what’s his name?”

Timothy. She told me what his name is.

I hate that name.

“Timothy,” Hettie says. I hate the way it slides over her tongue, like he matters to her.

I hate that he matters to her.

I hate that I let that happen even more.

“Yeah. Him.”

“I care about him,” she says carefully, like she’s crossing a river by stepping on wet stones.

“That’s not what I’m asking,” I say again.

“Bo—we shouldn’t talk about this now.”

“Should we go back to why you didn’t tell me about her, then?” I ask. I heave a deep breath. There’s nothing to gain byarguing with her. It’s only going to strip me of more time. “Tema. Where did that name come from?”

“There’s a girl at the school where Abigail works. She talks about her a lot and I fell in love with the name.”

“Is Abigail a teacher?” I ask, confused. I should know this. I should know all of this.

“Teacher’s assistant. She wouldn’t take the time to go to teacher’s college.”

I should know all of this. My knuckles turn white.

“Bo? Do you want to go inside?”

“I don’t know how to do this,” I admit. “I don’t know what to say, how to be a dad.”

“You don’t have to be anything.”

“I am her father.” It comes out as a snarl, like when I try and take one of Kody’s chew toys away from him.

“But Tema doesn’t know that. You’re a stranger to her, so you don’t have to worry about doing dad stuff right away.”

“Will I have to worry about it later? Are you taking her back? Is this the only time I have with her?”

Hettie closes her eyes. She may have changed, but I can still read her like a book.

She had no intention of telling me about her. She came to get a divorce, and then she’ll take my daughter back to her life with this Timothy.

I’ll be asking castle security to check up on him as soon as I can. In the meantime, if this is my only chance to meet her—

I open the car door and without waiting for Hettie, head across the lawn. My boots make dark imprints along the melting snow.

Abigail answers my knock, as Hettie hurries to catch up. “Bo,” Abigail breathes, looking around for Hettie. “What are you—?”

“It’s okay,” Hettie tells her but Abigail doesn’t move aside.

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