Page 15 of Modern Romance September 2025 5-8
As if she needed a reminder…
‘You agreed to play a part. That was the deal. You’re reneging on it and I want to know why.’
‘I’m not reneging on anything,’ she countered, having zero intention of thrashing out her complicated feelings with someone who wasn’t remotely interested in hearing them. ‘I’m just tired. And rather overwhelmed. You’re used to all this. I’m not. The constant security presence, the cameras, the attention, the people… It’s exhausting.’
‘That explains nothing,’ he said bluntly. ‘You’ve dealt with seventy-two-hour crises and I’ve never once seen you flag. You thrive on the adrenaline.’
‘This is different. The spotlight is on me. But I’ll get used to it. And anyway, what’s your excuse?’
His brows snapped together. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, you haven’t exactly been playing your part either, have you? If I’ve been quiet, you’ve been positively Trappist. If I’m the Arctic, you’re theAntarctic. These headlines aren’t all on me.’
Ivo’s frown deepened, as if he were unsettled by her observations. ‘I’ve been under a lot of pressure,’ he muttered eventually, the admission that he’d been firing on less than all cylinders obviously an unpleasant and frustrating one. ‘Which I grant hasn’t helped the situation. But it must not continue. I simply can’t allow it. So from now on, we need to focus on the bigger picture. We should up the eye contact. Smile at each other more. The occasional display of affection wouldn’t go amiss either. I assume you’re in agreement with this, yes?’
Well, no, she wasn’t in agreement with that at all, as a matter of fact. Not only was she at sixes and sevens emotionally, her defences weren’t up to smiles and touching. Despite how annoyed she was with him, she could hardly glance in his direction without swooning. What if they collapsed entirely and she had another altar moment? How mortifying would that be? How would she ever regain control then? ‘There has to be some other way.’
‘I’m open to suggestions,’ he said, his irritation at being challenged yet again evidenced by the muscle pounding in his cheek. ‘You’re the expert, after all.’
That was true. She was. And there was no situation she couldn’t spin. With relish. However, she wasn’t feeling very expert right now. She was having trouble focusing, and it had nothing to do with the sway of the train as the forest gave way to the beginnings of a town. She was in danger of losing herself in the mesmerising depths of his eyes. But that wouldn’t do, so she blinked to break the connection and instead decided to turn her attention to the heart of the matter, which with any luck might be something shecouldunderstand. ‘Is the 1 percent really that much of a concern?’
‘What?’ he said, the word slicing through the air like a lash. ‘Of course it is. I’m surprised you even have to ask.’
‘Why?’
‘Because, unchecked, 1 percent can rapidly become 2, then 4, then 8. Especially in an age of instant news and social media. When my grandfather married my grandmother, he took her off to a secluded estate in the southeast and they weren’t seen for six months. The attempted coup didn’t come out of nowhere. There was a power vacuum. Disparate factions saw an opportunity to unite and grabbed it.’ He leaned forward, the sudden intensity of his gaze fairly pinning her to her seat. ‘I can’t risk that happening again. I’ve worked too hard and there’s still so much I hope to accomplish. We have to be seen to be believed, Sofia, and we have to be convincing. Loyalty requires a life of almost unlimited publicity to sustain it. My father spent decades bringing the country back together. I won’t allowanythingto jeopardise a legacy that he paid for with his life.’
A shadow darted across his features and, despite her resolve to remain aloof and unmoved, her heart twanged. She’d been taught about the attempted coup that had taken place sixty years ago, of course, but she’d never thought of the emotional impact it might have had on those who came after. Yet it had obviously been significant. Whether or not he was aware of it, there was a trace of bitterness to Ivo’s words that suggested he blamed his grandfather for his father’s fatal heart attack at the age of fifty-eight.
‘Sothat’swhere your sense of duty comes from,’ she said, unable to prevent the ache that sprouted in her chest. ‘You feel you owe it to your father.’
‘Yes,’ he confirmed with a short nod. ‘But not just that. My responsibilities have been ingrained into me since birth. I eat, sleep and breathe them. There’s no room for selfishness—for whatIwant—so it’s fortunate I don’t want anything. The country, the people and the monarchy always come first.Always. And now you’re part of that. So you need to step up.’
This was the second time he’d denied or minimised wanting something, and Sofia had the feeling he protested just a little too much. But however intriguing she might find that, however much she might fancy comparing notes on playing second fiddle to something or someone else, there was no point asking him to elaborate. His intractability on the subject radiated from every pore.
And perhaps, she thought with a twinge of guilt and the ebb of her umbrage, she ought to take a leaf out of his book and stop thinking only about herself and her needs. The pressure he was under was immense and he was right, shehadmade a commitment to support him. She loved him, and people did anything for those they loved, didn’t they? Besides, it wasn’t as if she didn’t know how to put on an act. She’d been doing it for at least the last year, and she’d learned from the masters, her parents, who, despite loathing one another in private, had been perfectly civil to each other in public.
So she had to get over herself and stop overthinking this. Ivo wasn’t, was he? He wasn’t struggling with feelings he had to suppress. Unlike her, he clearly had no misgivings about anything. His objectives were the same as they had been when he’d proposed. She just had to focus on those.
‘I understand,’ she said, nevertheless desperately hoping she wasn’t going to be burned to a crisp by the experience. ‘Whenever we’re in public, I’ll do what’s required. You have my word.’
He gave a nod. His jaw relaxed. ‘Good,’ he said, glancing out of the window as the train pulled into the station. ‘We’re here. It’s time to get the show on the road. Ready?’
No, not really.She had the horrible feeling that if she didn’t exercise extreme caution, her emotions might get the better of her and snowball into the chaos she feared. That he could all too easily do her heart serious damage if she let herself care too much. But as long as she remembered that this was a performance, a role she’d been contracted to play and nothing more, she could handle the odd touch here and there. On the off-chance she did get carried away, she could claim it was part of the pretence. And in private, she would continue to guard her fragile heart with everything she had.
‘Of course,’ she said, plastering a smoothly professional smile to her face as she pulled her shoulders back, straightened her spine and lifted her chin. ‘I’ve never been readier for anything. One happy couple? Coming right up.’
CHAPTER SEVEN
AWEEK INTOtheir agreement, Sofia thought that she’d never worked so hard in her life. Criss-crossing the southern peninsula, they’d visited ten towns in seven days. Quite apart from the relentless deployment of her professional skills, she’d shaken countless hands, her facial muscles ached from smiling and her brain hurt from the effort of remembering everything it was supposed to be doing.
Did she regret agreeing to Ivo’s strategy and giving him her word that she’d stick to it?
Well, no, not in the round because she would do anything to defend the man she loved and protect the way of life they now shared.
But on occasion, she did, very much. Mainly whenever he looked at her with warmth and her heart melted and she nearly forgot that none of this was for real. Or when he took her arm or her hand and she had to fight the urge to lean in and rub up against him like a cat. Luckily, however, with the help of a sharp mental slap and an ultra-stern talking-to, she managed to pull herself back from the brink of madness every time.
The fact that he’d thrown himself into the role of devoted husband with the single-mindedness with which he did everything else didn’t make remembering that it was only an act any easier. In fact, it made it harder, because all the smiles and touches were an unhelpful reminder of what she could have if only he returned her feelings.
