Page 70 of Crowned for His Son

Dear Lord, could she sound any more desperate?

Hastily deleting it, she replaced it with a less emotive message.

We need to talk. Call me.

Then she watched as the speech bubble rippled for a heart-stopping twenty seconds before disappearing.

Fury rising to mingle with the anguish of her heart cracking, she took a deep breath and dialled his number again. Listened to the ring tone with her fingers wrapped tight around the device.

Just when she thought he’d ignore that too, the call connected.

But it wasn’t Azar who answered.

‘Good afternoon, Your Majesty.’

‘Put me through to him, Gaspar.’

A taut pause. Then, ‘I’m afraid His Majesty is indisposed. Perhaps I can pass on a message?’

Her heart cracked wider. When her legs lost power, she sank to the side of the bed.

‘It’s eight in the morning. I know he’s about to sit down to breakfast and I know he’s deliberately avoiding me. Put me on speaker so he can hear me.’

‘Your Majesty—’

‘Do it, Gaspar. I don’t care if the whole world can hear me.’

‘Yes, Your Majesty.’

The fact that he complied forced another spike into her heart. But she scrounged up the last bit of her composure.

‘I’m going to keep this simple, Azar. I know you don’t want me. And you can do whatever you want to me, but if you do anything to hurt my son with this interview I’ll never forgive you. I’ll make sure you regret it for the rest of your life. Do you hear me?’

She hated the quivering in her voice, but she’d got her message through.

And when she heard a muted rough exhalation she knew he’d heard it loud and clear.

Yet ending that call felt as if she’d stopped her own heart from beating.

CHAPTER TWELVE

‘IT’S NOT TOOlate to change your mind.’

Both Azar and Teo swivelled their heads to Valenti, who scowled at them for a second before staring out of the window of the media room of the palace.

‘I swear I didn’t switch bodies with him. I’m still Teo.’ Teo turned to his twin. ‘What the hell has got into you? I should be the one to tell him that, even though I’m told women love it when you make a fool of yourself over them.’ Teo eyed Azar up and down. ‘And you’ve got that tortured lover look down to an art.’

‘Enough,’ Azar growled, wishing he could open another shirt button.

But he’d pushed things already by conducting this interview minus a tie, sending the palace council into apoplexy. If he told them it was because he couldn’t breathe properly they’d have him trussed up in an emergency room before he could explain it was an entirely emotional condition, not a physical one.

‘You can both shut up. Or leave. This is the only way.’

They stopped talking. And the roar in his ears grew louder, his heart slamming against his ribs as Eden’s words echoed in his ears.

‘I know you don’t want me…’

‘I’ll never forgive you…’

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