Page 77 of Royally Arranged

Through my fingertips, I imagined the life growing inside her womb.I’m going to be a father. It’s really happening.My face twisted up, everything in me bunching as I hugged her anew. “I’m so sorry.”

“For what?” she whispered.

“Not remembering who you were. I don’t know how it’s possible to forget the face of the woman who’d own my heart someday.” Tilting her chin up, I kissed away the tears at the corners of her eyes. “Maybe I should be locked up, because what crime is worse than that?”

- CHAPTER THIRTY -

HAWTHORNE

Glen was waiting for us just outside my cell. His face was slightly red—I suspected he’d heard what Nova and I had spoken about. But that was all right. The world had seen our fake love; I wouldn’t be ashamed about the real thing.

“Did you help her break me out?” I asked as we approached.

“She ran into me on the way here. When she said she was looking for some royal holding cell, I knew exactly the place. Wasn’t much of a breakout, though.”

The three of us hurried up the stairs. I realized he was right; there was no one guarding this section. “Where did they all run off to?”

He didn’t look at me, he just hurried faster. “There’s a problem. Every able body is in the middle of handling it.”

Nova glanced at me, her hand wrapping around mine. “It’s all thanks to Darla. Just ... look!”

We’d made it into the west wing of the castle. On my left, through the huge windows that allowed sunlight to stream onto the red rugs, I glimpsed the front gates. There I saw something that blew my mind. A mob had gathered on the front lawn. Media vehicles with satellites served as backdrops for multiple people speaking to camera crews.

“What the hell?” I asked, running faster down the hall. There was a dull roar now, the cacophony of hundreds of voices all talking at once. Through the opening ahead I saw the main staircases at the entrance. Much of the crowd had poured through the front doors, swamping the foyer. At the base of the stairs on either side of the upper level, the royal guards—as well as some of my men and the Valentines’ men—had blocked off access. Against the banister, staring down at us all, were Kurtis and Valencia. Over their shoulders I saw their other children; those three were huddling by the wall.

“Whatisall this?” I asked Glen when we pulled up behind the first row of shouting bodies.

“Those bastards up there have started quite the riot,” he said, his hand hovering at his hip. I saw his holster and wished for a gun of my own. “Your parents gave up on trying to talk to the guards or the Valentines and went into town to get help from the police. They were sure something had happened to you, your mother insisted you’d never send a photo likethatfrom your own phone.”

“Photo?” Glen wouldn’t look me in the eye. My stomach ate itself—I knew what the photo was.

“Yeah,” Nova said. “My sister handed it to the world this morning. Then my father made an official statement that they planned to begin the process of stripping you of the crown for your crime. This is the result.”

I recognized some of the castle staff among the faces. Everyone was screaming; I caught bits of sentences.

“Pure bullshit! I never ...”

“Why are his parents speaking to the cops? Is the king really missing?”

“He deserves a fair trial! Don’t judge him guilty before that!”

“It’s fake! The photo is fake! Give us the king, let him answer himself!”

Kurtis slapped his hands down on the banister. “None of you have permission to march in here!” Amazingly, his voice carried over the crowd. He scanned everyone—then he saw me. Fury blackened his features. Valencia followed his eyes. Leaning close, she spoke in his ear, though the noise would have made it impossible for anyone to hear.

I hated how his smile lit up.

“Hawthorne Fredricson!” he shouted. Every set of eyes, one by one, turned to me where I was standing in the hallway. Glen tensed at my side, as did Nova. “Everyone is here to cry havoc at me and my family. They think I’ve done something wrong by requesting the crown stay with my daughter, with or without your support. These people have grown fond of you quickly. They’re suspicious that what was emailed to them this morning was a lie. But I think, if they knew your true nature, that would change.”

“Shit,” Glen said under his breath.

Everyone was silent. Larchmont drew closer to the banister, more eager to see me put on the spot than he was afraid of being injured by the mob.

“Do you deny you had sex in the royal, sacred cemetery?” Kurtis asked me.

The crowd gasped collectively. Standing there with their mix of disgust and disappointment raining on me, I found my eyes moving upward. I saw the large painting on the wall. The one of my father and his family.

I’d rather be an idiot than a fraud.I held my head high. “I don’t deny it.”

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