Page 58 of The Prince of New York

“Good. I will remind you of that as often as needed. Are you wearing your suppressor?”

“I am.” I had my enhancer in my pocket, but I would leave it there. With my emotions as they were, it wouldn’t surprise me if I busted through my suppressor if provoked. “I’ll keep my temper in check. Vengeance will be served cold and in such a way where those little girls understand they will never be hurt like that again.”

* * *

Change always needed a catalyst,and I recognized the moment my sister transformed from a woman expected to do her duty to a queen determined to rule her kingdom. It would bother me for a long time that Baby and May held responsibility for the shift in Rachel’s perspective, but some prices needed to be paid.

“They’ll be fine,” Dr. Stanton promised, and she handed over a chocolate milkshake I’d suggested be ready to face my sister’s wrath. “Ian did everything right, and once we go back to the hospital, we should have more news on if the girls will be able to return to the palace tonight or in the morning. If Melody’s father is handling their case, we’ll have them settling into their suites no later than noon.”

“He’s on the way. I already spoke to him. He isn’t handling the situation any better than I am, which made me feel a little better about the situation.” Rachel sat beside me, scrunched her shoulders, and went to work vanquishing her chocolatey foe. Once she had a hit of sugary goodness, she grumbled, “There are reporters outside, and they’re gobbling up the drama like the bottom feeders they are. Ethan is talking to them, and he’s asking them if they might, out of the kindness of their hearts, be gentle about how they release the news articles. He’s bribing them with adorably cute pictures of you holding Baby, Ian. The RPS agents took a bunch of shots knowing the reporters will be coming for your soul. There are also pictures of you combing their hair and doing your fatherly duties to children you hadn’t even adopted yet. This is going to blow up on us.”

“How so?”

“Every single mother in the kingdom is going to want a piece of you. Madelyn was positively drooling once you started handling the kids and she realized that you’re not just some spoiled prince.” Rachel hesitated. “She’s allowed to drool. That was before we understood how severe the abuse issues are. Then she went red hot with fury. The empaths have had a rough day. But I was told to improve your self-esteem, and Madelyn was running hot the instant she realized you’re the kind to randomly adopt two kids to protect them from their biological parents.”

“Well, that was not the intention, but I’ll take anything I can get at this point. Think she’ll help me raise them? Because I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“I’m fairly confident she’ll help you with the child rearing portion of this venture,” my sister replied, and she relaxed. “You don’t mind about the pictures?”

“Do I look like a handsome prince caring for his new daughters?”

“Absolutely.”

I shrugged. “I’m going to be talking to Will in the morning to ask for advice, as he’s going through similar. It’s not the same, as his new kids weren’t abused, but the unexpected adoptions are similar.”

“I’ll text him with a warning so he knows the talk is family related rather than business. We’re trying to keep him in Montana, and we might actually succeed. It helps I’ve sent Daphne over to get the plane, so wemightdodge him coming and rampaging. If I tell him I need him at home to confer with Mackenzie and talk with you, he might actually stay in Montana. If he stays in Montana, Alaska will stay home, too.” My sister set her milkshake down long enough to tap at her phone. “How did you convince Dr. Stanton to bring us here of all places?”

“The hospital food is scary enough I won’t touch it, and I needed a milkshake. If I needed a milkshake, there was no doubt in my mind that both of you could use one. We’ll behave tomorrow. The girls will be kept under sedation or encouraged to sleep through the rest of the night. I expect they’ll be kept sedated. They probably won’t remember much about the hospital visit, and we’ll discharge them during the reversal process. Melody and I can readily handle any reversal complications should there be any. That way, they’ll wake up being held and at the palace, feeling a lot better. For them, it’ll be a day and night difference. I expect a great deal of confusion from both children when they wake up without being in pain.”

“How long do you think they’ve been hurting?” my sister asked in a subdued tone.

“They’ve been hurting their entire lives. Baby’s pain tolerance far exceeds the norm, and there were numerous signs of having endured stress over a long period of time. I’ve only had limited interactions with May, but I suspect the same for her. For a while, we’ll be tiptoeing around them until we learn what the precursors for them being hit were. And Ian? Do not be surprised if they start calling you their daddy almost immediately. I will be asking the RPS to refer to you as ‘your dad’ or ‘your father’ to the girls, and titles will not be used. I’d like you to start teaching Baby her real name once she’s home. Go ahead and also use baby girl and similar so she’s comfortable, but get her used to the idea of having an actual name. Coach her with asking if she knows that she has another name, and depending on her answer, teach her that it’s Danielle. Then you can ask her if she likes it. If she doesn’t, start proposing new names for her and we’ll process the name change to be the one she wants.”

“I’ll do that.” I snagged my milkshake, which was also chocolate, and eyed the glass doors, where Ethan held a rather lengthy conversation with the paparazzi. “I feel he’s doing more than just asking them to use good photos of me while presenting me in a positive light.”

“I’m sure he is. He is likely giving them all the case information, which is available as a public record, so that we can start working on tightening up abuse prevention. Also, he was going to adopt them if you hadn’t. He stopped to ask me first, which is why we lost the draw.”

“You’ll just have to provide me with nieces and nephews in other fashions. I’m sure you can figure out the pertinent details.”

Dr. Stanton snickered. “Just ask Melody to help with the prenatal care, Rachel. She’s already making frequent trips here to help with Olivia’s twins, so you won’t be much extra work. You’re healthy enough now that you can pursue children should you want.”

My sister lit up. “Really?”

“I was going to wait to tell you until your brother left and you were feeling sorry for yourself because he’s in California and you aren’t, but yes. You’re physically capable of handling the strain now should you wish to pursue children. We’ll have to take care with your diet and ease you off as many milkshakes, as gestational diabetes is a real thing that can happen to some women, but we’ll monitor you closely.”

Judging from the way my sister bounced in her seat, she had plans, and they involved the eradication of all things birth control. Until Ethan, she hadn’t wanted children, but the father of her future children made all the difference in the world for her. Before Baby and May, children hadn’t even been on my radar.

The one woman I’d even consider having kids with had been far out of reach. That could change, but until it did, I would muddle my way through my changed circumstances.

I considered my sister, and I wondered what else would change in the near future. “Please politely refuse any offers from single moms or bachelorettes on my behalf. I know the offers will be coming.”

They’d be coming from far and wide, from elite to royal families, until my sanity threatened to completely crack under the strain.

Rachel laughed at me. “I’ll just tell them you’re a concentrated leech focused on taking care of your new babies. You’ll be fine. I’ll accept only one offer of marriage for your hand, but I wish you the best of luck with receiving said offer. However, I feel you made progress today, as you did the one thing she never thought you’d do.”

“You mean put everyone else before me?” I muttered.

“I mean, you are a spoiled New York prince,” she teased. “But yes. She has had her misconceptions thoroughly crushed. The instant you started combing May’s hair, she realized she had the wrong idea about you. She’d started realizing it upon coming to the palace to live, but the courthouse changed everything.”

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